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Katie’s Diary

Day Two:

Waiting for dawn… it always takes the longest when you can’t seem to sleep soundly.  Finally, I was able to hurry to the Junkyard in hopes of finding .. something to alleviate the horrid singed smell emanating from my body. After several hours of search, I found a cabinet in the shed there that held some “Shower in a Can” for fire emergencies at the Junkyard.  Still feeling guilty about “stealing” stuff, I only took two.  One for now, one for later emergencies.

By this time, my stomach was growling rather loudly, and it was actually cramping from hunger, so I hurried back home for my one daily bowl of soup… Chicken noodle.. cold.. again.  Yum?  .. no, not really.

Cold Soup… mmm… blech.

Immediately after breakfast (lunch and dinner!), I hurried back to my workbench. After clearing away the dust and ashes from yesterday’s adventure, I was ready to .. well.. begin anew.  This time I wasn’t just going to dabble around, I was actually going to attempt to build something.  (I have to do something with all this free time I have, right? .. and maybe if I get good enough, I can find a way to learn about what happened or find out if I really am alone… maybe.)

So. Paving the road with my good intentions, I set to work.  .. And worked.  And worked…. and then.. AHHHHH

fire! .. on my butt?

Hurriedly I grabbed the spare Shower in a can I had filched from the graveyard, and ….

Ahhhh.. cleanliness is next to inflammability.

Not to be deterred this time, I very determinedly went back to work inventing.. something.. anything.  A piece here, a piece there, some careful blowtorch work, banging on it (and my thumb), tightening bolts and screws.  It was starting to look like… a … Llama? .. Okay, we can work with that.  Being hungry myself, I added him a nice bowl of .. something for a metal Llama to eat.. and wa-la.  My first thing-a-ma-jiggy!!

Norman, my only friend

Well… I think I’ll call him Norman.  He can sit by my lonely dinner table and make it less… er.. lonely.  I hope.  Feeling rather sad, I went to the other end of my hut to take care of necessary business.. and wouldn’t you know it.. with the way my day is going — I broke the toilet. I sat down on my bed and cried for a while, but that seemed pointless, so then Norman and I had a conversation about where things stood in our little non-world.  We didn’t exactly come to any conclusions, however, so I went back to the scene of my immediate problem.. the toilet monster.

I contemplated, I muttered to myself… I racked my brain.. and then, just because, I couldn’t help simply screaming at it.  It made me feel better at least, although it didn’t appear to unclog the toilet.  It held the unrelenting silence back a little bit, as well.  During my rant.. I suddenly remembered the toilet plunger in my parent’s bathroom.  Checking the light outside, I saw that I had JUST enough time to race over and get it.  I didn’t think they’d mind, under the circumstances.

Screaming at the toilet monster

Trying to remember what dad had always done for this problem, I started “plunging away” … I made a big mess and seemed to take forever, but eventually, I got it fixed.  My one GOOD accomplishment for the day.  Yay!  On that note, while I still had brain power, I decided to read a little of one of the handiness manuals in my book shelf — perhaps I would be better prepared next time. .. Maybe.  I finished the afternoon off with a round of darts – at the dartboard, not my glorified pantry/refridgerator.  I was so hungry.. but I wouldn’t let myself falter.  I couldn’t eat until after midnight.  I’d made a promise.  One meal a day.  Gooo darts!  .. I think I actually even got a little bit better…. maybe.

Day Three:

Apparently all my good intentions aside, I didn’t stay up for my soup at midnight, I ended up curling up in bed (after pulling a few darts out of the covers) and falling into a fitful sleep.  Shortly after dawn, my belly woke me up and I forced down more cold Chicken Noodle soup.  There HAD to be something better out there!  Feeling refreshed, I put on my very best and went to check out the old diner’s supplies.  Maybe they had something useful.

The Town’s old Boxcar Diner

Apparently, locked doors are not impressed by formal wear, and they had some sort of shielding on the windows, so I couldn’t break them.  Sighing heavily, I decided to check the back shed door, and wandered through the mist around the boxcar to it.

The diner’s storage shed

Somehow, in their rush to go…. wherever they went, the diner employees hadn’t fully shut the door, so I went in and looked around.  It took several trips since I had to keep running outside for air due to the rotten food fumes, but I at least explored as much as I could.  Couldn’t find anything in the way of food, however, under one of the counters by the cooktop, I found an unopened four pack of showers-in-a-can.  .. Someone obviously hadn’t been a very good cook here, and they’d been prepared.

Packing those up, I made a short detour by the junkyard for some more scraps and ideas for another invention.  Ideas running around my head, I hurried home to try my hand at the inventor’s bench again.  Things went considerably better today, and I didn’t have a single mishap while building what I’ll just call a “Claw Dipper”.  I took it upstairs and attempted to use the lever action with the claw to help pull apart stubborn parts in the inoperable radio and phone.  All to no avail, of course.

After a rather lengthy debate with myself, I decided studying some more handiness might help me out in the long run, and I finished reading the basic handiness book.  Too hungry and tired to do much else other than think of midnight when I could once again eat my daily ration, I read one of the three paperback books I’d stolen from the school – “Where’s Bella?”.  It seemed appropriate.  Then, for lack of anything better to do, I took a nap until it was time to eat at midnight.

studying handiness

Day Four:

Started off the “day” at midnight with no sleep, but a VERY welcome bowl of .. yes.. again.. Chicken soup.  Feeling quite refreshed, I set about for the day’s inventing – and managed to come up with a floor hygiene-ator.. or at least the plans for one.  It certainly wasn’t going to work without electricity, though, so I sadly stored it away.  Feeling maudlin now, and since the sun had finally come up, I headed out to do more scrounging.

Back of the bistro

Again, I lucked out with the back door of the Bistro.  In haste to get away (I guess) they forgot to lock the door.  Going through their stocks I found several packages of well-protected crackers, some tightly sealed and wrapped in plastic jars of jelly and peanut butter.  Vaguely I remembered their new special had been some gourmet take on pancakes with PB and J.  Weird, since these weren’t exactly brand name products… I grinned evilly, and packed up my goodies.  On the way home, I stopped by my parent’s old house again – this time in search of a cookbook, and perhaps some information on food storage and safety after disasters.  I had no idea whether the goods I’d gotten were even going to be edible – or how to put them together.

scrounging in mom’s pantry

I did manage to find some information that looked promising on my new food stocks, and the cookbook I remember her using all the time, so I headed home.  Being back in my little underground bunker made me realize how badly I was smelling, but since I knew my “shower” resources were more than likely finite, I tried to avoid using them.  I tried desperately to concentrate on the cooking book, but couldn’t, tried taking a nap, and couldn’t even stay asleep.  My hunger had become almost a living thing… eating me from the inside.  But promises were promises, and to survive, I HAD to stick to my rationing plan.  Finally I buried myself in another of the paperbacks I’d snitched, “The Adventures of Raymundo” – which kept me occupied long enough to get me truly tired..

Reading a novel

and I finally fell asleep for a few hours.. and got some real sleep for the first time in days.

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Katie’s Diary

Day One:

I stood there, stunned at the silence and the utter stillness of the town.. and at the devastation I saw around me. Once I felt my feet could move again, I ran next door as fast as I could.  Of course I still had my keys, and I quickly unlocked the door and raced inside, yelling “Mom? Dad?” over and over. My voice seemed to almost echo in the eerie stillness.

What would I do without them.  As an only child, we had been so very close all my life.. maybe they’d .. come back?  Maybe they had been hiding for the endless days of the roar like I had been.  Maybe they hadn’t been bold enough – or out of supplies enough to have to venture out yet.  My mind doesn’t even want to consider other possibilities.  By the smells emanating from the kitchen, there hadn’t been time to clean anything out.. the power was definitely out… and all their things were still neatly folded in the dresser.  I tried the phones – nothing… same thing with the radio.. but on the off chance I could somehow tinker with them and fix them – if only I had tools – I took them back to my shack.  I also found my old bike in dad’s garage and brought that home.. how odd to call that horrid tiny place home.. But there is no way I’m staying above ground when it’s dark.  The darkness is always worse with the silence.  Not even crickets can be heard. Shaking myself free of my thoughts, I quickly biked to where my best friend, Becky, lived, and peered through every window.  Everything was like they had just .. disappeared.  There was even her favorite breakfast cereal congealed on the table as if she’d still been eating her morning meal. (ew!)

Seeing the rotten food reminded me that it was stupid of me to forget that my supplies were low. If I was to survive, I would need to find a source of food.  And safe drinking water.  Those thoughts turned into quick action, and I pedaled to the local supermarket.  Seeing it utterly and completely abandoned was un-nerving. Spoiled produce was still on the produce stand, the daily special signs still posted on the board.  Nowhere could I find a single evidence of even a struggle.  The doors were locked up like someone had simply gone home for the day and never come back.  I had never been a thief.. and I struggled with myself for long moments before I decided life and it’s continuation justified the means.

Stealing is wrong! — but I want to survive…

In the end, I did the unthinkable.  I found a good-sized rock, and busted in the front doors of the store.  After a quick look around, it was very clear that most of the foodstuffs were going to have to be ignored.  “Ah! – Non-perishables!” I thought, and ran for the soups aisle.  I grabbed as many as I could carry in my bike basket, and raced home with them. I planned to make at least four trips – two for soup, and two to carry bottles of untainted, sealed water.  It was still sealed in bottles, as well as shrink plastic in those multipak trays, so I figured it was probably at least drinkable.  The trips back and forth the the store were incredibly eerie.  The fog, the silence.. the utter lack of any form of life – even most the trees were dead or dying.

I was going to have to ration VERY carefully though. Who knows how long these meager supplies were going to have to last me.  Weeks?  Months?  Years??  With a shiver, I decided there were other things I needed to check before nightfall. Delivering my last load of food and water to my shack, I pedaled furiously to the City Hall. All Police and even Military matters had been conducted from there, and there were extensive basements. Perhaps they had a Green Cross shelter set up there? A spark of hope lit in my mind.. only to be fully doused by the complete abandonment of the only Government building our tiny little town had.

City Hall – abandoned too

Bitterly, I wondered to myself why Dad had made us move out here to the middle of nowhere so many years ago.

“I want to retire in a quiet place” he had always said, “With friends and fishing, hunting in the woods, and a nice quiet school for you to grow up in, Katie-baby.”  I smiled fondly, remembering.  With a sigh, I forced back tears and took a deep, even breath. Discipline. Practicality. I had always been good with my hands, and was always building little weird gadgets and tinkering with things as a kid – perhaps I could figure out this mystery – or at least fix the phones, radios.. anything to see if I really am the only one left.  I couldn’t let my utter hopelessness completely consume me…. I HAD to do SOMETHING!

Spurred into action, I ran around the corner to the local school.

The school – abandoned, front doors locked.. but I knew another way.

Locked, of course. But I found a side door that wasn’t – we kids had always known that it was prone to not closing all the way, and we’d used that “entrance” on some of our weirder pranks – especially senior year.  Now, however, my target was the library. I quickly pulled out every book I could find (and carry in one trip) that was about basic Handiness, Fixing Stuff, Jury-rigging stuff, and even inventing. Found a faded book of logic puzzles and a couple of small paperbacks for the long nights, too.  Glancing at the afternoon sky, I knew I only had a limited time left, and I wanted to make two more trips, so I hurried home.

My next errand was to the old hospital/medical clinic. Had to break a window here, too, but I was starting to get a little more used to this breaking and entering thing. I didn’t like it – but I wanted to survive. Even if I’m the only one left, I want to live!  I went through any unlocked cabinets I could find, collecting what appeared to be clean sheets and a blanket for the cot in my shack. I also found some sterile band-aids, wound dressing, bandages, scissors, and antiseptic.  All medicines were locked up of course – and who knows what their shelf life was anyway… I didn’t want to trust those.

Ransacking the hospital – being prepared is my new motto.

Worrying at the already-darkening afternoon, I raced home with these supplies, then made quick work of a trip to the local dump. Perhaps I could scrounge something of use. In the little toolshed there I found a shovel, various tools that wouldn’t need electricity, matches, and .. torches?  What did ol’ Jim (the town’s old handyman) need with torches??  Shoving the thought aside with the encroaching dusk, I scrambled around, looking through piles of other people’s trash, picking out scraps of things I thought I might be able to use.  Pedaling as fast as I could, I raced home, and made it home before the shadows went past my shed door.  Hurrying inside, stowing my gear, I descended into my lonely basement. The matches and torches quickly illuminated what I had only been able to feel before.  I rigged up some holders for the torches, and started organizing and taking stock.

Taking stock… sad… but it’s what I have!

I was going to have to be VERY careful with my food and water supplies – because I had no idea how long they would hold out. I vowed to eat only one meal a day – and for now, that only meal was the various canned soups I had found.  Perhaps another time I would check the Bistro and the Diner to see if they had any stock that was still good that I could pilfer.  Beyond that.. I had the old fridge dad had abandoned down here .. – didn’t work, but it was mostly clean inside… so I put all my foodstuffs in there for safekeeping.  The scraps I had found I tossed into the scrap bin on the old inventing bench that was down here from the hermit that had lived here long ago.  Speaking of, I wondered if the nasty old sink and toilet still worked.  The buckets I’d been using while trapped down here reeked, and I took them outside, dumped them, and put them far enough away that I couldn’t smell them anymore.

well.. the water runs.. it stinks, but it runs.

Well, at least the water works. The water smells of… undefinable substances, though, so I don’t plan to use it for much.. but at least I do have running water.  I wonder if even boiling would sterilise it.  However, I wasn’t desperate enough to try that out yet.  The old bookshelf down here was quickly populated with my meager supply of reading materials, and I regarded the dartboard on the wall with a fond smile.  Becky and I used to…. I blocked the thought. Until I found a way to figure out what had happened, or opened up communications with a world that may or may not even exist.. Becky, Mom, Dad, ol’ Jim, and the rest of the town members seemed completely gone.  Thinking about it was self-defeating, and would only depress me.  Having a moment to take my breath reminded me suddenly of the cellphone and walkie-talkie I’d had when I ran down here in the first place. During the roar, neither had worked.. and I’d thrown them at the wall in frustration.. Wonder where they’d landed. Scurrying around by torchlight, I located both and eagerly tried them out.

phone service? course not.

Again.. nothing.  With a sigh, I decided I might as well tinker with stuff, see what I can do with it, and I headed for the invention bench.  Many thumb-bruises later (from hitting it with things).. I felt I was finally getting a handle on this basic inventing stuff.

inventing can’t be so hard… right?

Time to try some of the tools down here in the cabinets.. hm.. soldering iron? Or blowtorch…  Just what I needed.  With a spark of ingenuity, I set back to work, determined to make something.. useful.

maybe this will make this work..

Ack… maybe a few too many sparks??

ooooops 🙁

Definitely too many. On that note, I had a lonely bowl of soup, washed the bowl as best as I could, and forlornly curled into bed. It took hours to fall asleep, and when I did.. sleep was definitely not peaceful.

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“The Roar”

It began with the ground shaking. Then the noises began. The skies darkened and everyone, including me, ran for cover. When I stopped running, I found myself alone, in the dark basement of a rickety shed. I could hear glass breaking, the shed doors opening and closing violently, the wind blowing… and then there was that awful roar. What it was, I’m not sure I’ll ever know.. but I cowered here, alone, afraid. It seemed like forever. My supplies wouldn’t last forever, and I began to worry. Just as it became dire, and I wondered if I should venture out… the noise stopped. Silence. Cold, dark, eerie silence. I couldn’t even hear any wind. Carefully, slowly, I ventured outside, hoping against hope that it had been a dream. What I saw confirmed the nightmare – but it only got worse. Everyone else was.. gone. Completely, utterly.. gone. I could find no trace of friend, foe, or even creature. What now??

Name: Katie Jeffries
Age: Young Adult
Traits: Disciplined, Eccentric, Handy, Social Butterfly, Insane
Lifetime Wish: Monster Maker
Friends and Family: unknown
Skills: none
Money: who cares? Who would take it?

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Work, work, build house, try to find a suitable hubby, learn skills, run out of money… rinse repeat.

Oops… Repo-man. .. My table!? Really??

And then, because I was so shocked, and laughing so hard I cried.. I watched the above repo-man go into the unfinished “bedroom” and repo my Monarch butterfly.  Worth a whopping 0 simoleons.. and he TOOK MY BUTTERFLY!!!!! Seriously, just the thought of it still cracks me up.  This was a sim-memory I simply had to share with my entire family.  It even topped my daughters’ “almost catching the maid on fire” while playing her ISBI game on sims 2 (she couldn’t resist after watching me play … lol.  Anyway, on her challenge, her teenager decided to cook something – who knows what, I think it turned out to be rather crispy chili con carne, but the stove caught on fire… and the maid was there… and the counter by the stove was apparently dirty, so the maid was merrily cleaning said counter with the fire blazing practically on top of her.  Unfortunately, the Fire Dept. showed up too early and saved her before she died… but Devvie (my daughter) was quick enough to get a screenshot proof on it.  But still.. the butterfly repo totally won the day.  I was still laughing about it four hours later when my husband got home from work.  🙂

Ok… tangent averted, back to the game.  She’s a gardener, so I was trying to learn gardening without buying a book/tv or having to go to class – which is easier said than done.

.. get used to seeing the swim-suit.  She seems to like it.. a lot.  At least for gardening and daily house work (especially while pregnant later… yikes)  I had a lot of trouble finding a suitable guy for Colette.  The one I liked the sim-looks of the most (thinking future generations here!!) was this Gray Winters chap.. unfortunately… he was working as a mixologist at the Local Watering Hole – Alligator Sally’s.  (Dont ask- downloaded lot from another town, but it fit in the spot I had for it, and it works.)  As my luck would have it, mixologists are notoriously hard to pin down to get to know.  Talking to them at the bar is hit or miss, usually miss.. so I tried phoning him, with little success.  I had to get her up early for work and phone him before he went to work at 10 am – which didn’t help Colette’s sleep “pattern” any.  Tried finding other guys, but every even partially suitable candidate ended up being vampirized by Colette’s “night-loving” boss.  Finally, I decided to invite him over before his work-time one day, and put some time into a “get to know you” session.

Turns out, ironically enough, he had very recently changed jobs, and was now an acrobat .. well at least he can stay to chat awhile – but there goes my one command for his lifetime… 🙁  (he won’t be able to stay an acrobat, because I can’t command him to go get gigs and such – so I’ll have to change his job).  During this “chat all afternoon” day, I attempted to get him to marry Colette.  However, a slight issue turned up after he’d accepted the “let’s date seriously” question and moved to the “let’s get hitched later” one.  Turns out.. he’s insane.. and he said no.  Well, doesn’t that beat all.  I manage to pick the one guy in town who happens to also be insane!!  So, he may have said “no”.  But he didn’t mean it, right??  So the next day, I invited him out on a REAL date, saved up enough money from work to pay for both a cheap dinner and a movie – and then tried proposing again.. and this time I got an agreement.

Colette’s Hot Date

.. And an instant wish to throw a bachelorette party.  Err.. ok.  So I admit, I hadn’t tried one of these in game yet since I got Generations, and I immediately invited Colette’s “friends” (read: co-workers and boss – who are mostly vampires due to the above-mentioned boss) to a party.  Of course, after paying for the date, there was no way I could afford to rent a venue, so I had the “party” at my .. well, “home”.  Okay, at least it has walls and wallpaper now! (sorta)  Colette’s first wish upon starting the party was to ask someone to make a toast.. so she did.

After this, at least one of the other guest showed up.. followed by a screaming fire truck.. wait.. a WHAT? … (daughter was at this point bored of her sims and heading to “play in her room” .. I convinced her to come back to see what the fire truck was.) .. Yep, you guessed it.  Stripper.  Who decided the house was so horrible he wasn’t even going to dance.. picked his stereo back up .. and ran outside to play in the garden sprinkler.  Between various vampires falling asleep on the floor, and the fireman in the sprinkler.. the party ended up verging on disastrous.. and Colette spent the rest of the weekend trying to catch up on sleep and house chores so she could have a decent wedding.  Then, I waited another couple of days to save the simoleons to rent a venue for the event.  It turned out lovely!

Colette’s wedding .. oo the shore.. the venues in the background…

Colette’s wedding close-up

And hey, he even agreed!  Yay!  .. and moved in with.. oh joy .. a whole 2, 347 simoleons!  (hey, I can finish the bedroom!) .. and buy a cake!

Mmm. Cake.

Then, tried to do the whole traditional wedding dance.. which turned out so awful I didn’t bother taking a picture.

“I’d rather have salad” says Gray…

However, once I got the wedding toast from the bartender.. Gray’s comedy began.. and he immediately avoided the drink, and ran for salad… what? .. yep.  Salad. .. ooookay.  So he ends up with the “stuffed” moodlet (ok, I peeked, I admit – I was already hav
ing trouble non-micromanaging by this point).

I send Colette home – Gray stays at the party venue… errr… hey.. it’s my wedding night… (clueless me sits there for a while, then figures out I can use the phone to “Call Everyone Home”… oo!) .. Yep.  Little hearts all over the bed, and a lullabye plays.  Yay!  Baby on the way!  Did I mention her lifetime wish is to raise five kids?  Oops.  Silly me.  His, aparently, is to be a monster-maker.  Yeah, right.  Not going to happen.  So he’s eccentric, insane, loner, genius.. what better place to stick him than teaching kids, right?  Sure.  Only I didn’t think about the Charisma requirement.  (roll eyes).  Oh well, he’s used his one action to switch from being an Acrobat.

Stay tuned for the generation one babies!  Girl or boy?  What do you think??

(Edit: 11/27/13 fixed images)

The tiny pictures I posted really didn’t do these lots justice, so I took a few extra pictures.

Download links and lot info can be found in this blog post.

Edits: As you know, the actual file for this was lost.. however, based on the pictures I took, I really think I can rebuild it, and will be trying to while I’m doing lot testing this week. (12/3)

Well, I spent a couple days building this. I’m not sure exactly where the idea came from, but I started building a coffeehouse from scratch to see if it 1, worked and 2, could be done easily… and somehow it morphed into one of my most ambitious builds ever. I ended up including a “frieze” – a quarter-level floor in-between the first and second floor .. which I’d never attempted before, but had been reading about in advanced build tutorials. Also, I installed a split-level “half grand” (my definition.. lol.. is a grand staircase that doesn’t “split” into two..) staircase that didn’t interfere with the outside walls – something the perfectionist in me is glad to see works. .. and also, something I’d only read about recently. That being said, I’m running through some final tests today, and with any luck, I’ll be uploading it for those who would like to download it. Meantime, however, I’d like to show it off! 🙂

Front lot view

Right side view

The back view

First floor walls-up overall view

Second floor walls-up overall view

Upstairs walls down view one – this shows bathroom layout

Walls-down view of upstairs again.. this shows the little sitting area outside the bathrooms.

Upstairs sitting area close-up

Upstairs balcony outside the bathrooms – note even the ceiling has been matched – perfectionism = attention to detail!

The upstairs balcony looking down at the “half-grand” staircase and the stage below.

I’m really not sure why the stairs are showing so dark.. I do have light squares there – but they didn’t seem to turn on.. will be investigating that before uploading.  🙁  grrr.

The downstairs “reading area” – including the ubiquitous and annoying spawned proprietor – proving the place works. 🙂

Most of the furniture is from the “Regal” set from the store.  I used NO CC in building.  Overall, I think it turned out extremely nice.  My initial plan was for a small rural – style coffee house, and I ended up with a fancy Victorian Tea House … *shrug*  will have to try again for the rural idea.  (chuckles).  The floor tile and pattern were hubby’s idea – I think he had a good call there.  I didn’t get the rest of the downstairs pictures yet, will post those later.  I also have to test that the stage is actually work-able.  The sim I had visiting to test  isn’t  a performer, so I couldn’t test that part yet.  I did make sure that all five of the stage floor seating area and the stage have NOTHING blocking them – I’ve read that can be a major (even game-breaking) issue when performing/simporting with custom venues.  I’m positive the venue will require the regal set, pets, and world adventures.. but a couple of the wall hangings may have been from generations.  I tried to be very specific on what I was using to decorate, to allow for the fewest requirements possible.  Anyway.. more to come! Tell me what you think!

This was the challenge that launched this blog. “Play notes:  Falconvale is played based on the “Nothing is Free” Challenge Rules, which are found here on ModtheSims.com.  It’s the brainchild of the brilliant Avalikia, and basically takes the old Build a City Challenge for Sims 2, and makes it more suited for the Sims 3 playstyle.  There have been other “morphs” of the BACC for Sims 3, but most simply take the old rules and plop them onto the Sims 3 game engine – which isn’t the same style of gameplay at all… and to play the Sims 2 style you need extensive mods to change the aging and gameplay style back to the sims 2.. which seems sorta silly to me.  This Challenge seems to be the best way to run BACC for the Sims 3 game engine, and I fell in love with the challenge as soon as I read it.  That being said.. welcome to Falconvale.”

Unfortunately, this save file ultimately got corrupted by an invisible friend bug, and I was never able to recover it. Loved it while it lasted, though.

Chapter Two – Starting a Family << | >>

Day by day, life went on for the little family.  Jessilyn spent more time fishing, gardening, cooking, and fixing things that broke.  Between clogged toilets and broken sinks or showers, it seemed there was always something to do.  Upgrading things so they would be self-cleaning only made sense to save time.

Upgraded!

With all the fixing and upgrading, Jessi reached level 5 of the handiness skill!  Dave wasn’t slacking either, and spent his days Jogging, working out, or finding critters to sell.  His nights were spent watching the stars.  Where he found time to sleep, we’ll never know!  Then, one night, he spotted something in the sky he’d never seen before.  After writing a letter to the mainland observatory, they decided they hadn’t seen it either.. and he was awarded some money for finding a new star!

Not only a new star, but level 5 logic!

Finding out his new hobby might also help add funds to the family, Dave kept working on it, and soon he hit level 5 in both logic and athletic.  He still spent time daily with his son, and watched him grow and learn to do new things, like spit up all over clean clothes, and roll over – almost off the bed.  The things that new parents never think of before hand.

Jessilyn practiced cooking with her new produce from her garden (now level 5!), and soon her cooking reached level 5 as well.

Level 5 cooking = more things I can make!

She had even learned how to make Sushi to make use of all her fish from fishing – although they still tended to be used as fertilizer in the garden far more.  Fishing got to level 5 as well, and finally the ocean catches started getting a little better. Life in the little family seemed close to perfect.. if a little busy.

Still very much in love…

Dave also decided to order a Chemistry set to practice his logic on – and, well, because it simply sounded fun.

Stand back.. I’m doing SCIENCE!

(oh and yes, that’s another paparazzi in the background.. crazy people just won’t leave this family alone!)  Before they knew it, Peregrine had finally grown up to be a toddler.  With Jessi being busy with fishing and gardening much of the day, Dave took time out from his skill-building to spend time teaching young Peregrine some things he would definitely need to know.  First order of business… talking.  No more of this crying at all hours and not telling us what you want, ok young man? .. Right..

Peregrine can talk! (maybe he’ll tell dad how much burnt hair smells?)

… Perhaps dad only took time out of his skilling because his latest Chemistry concoction failed miserably? … Noo.. can’t be.  (hehe!)

With days that seemed even busier, Jessi woke one morning to an ominous message..

Yep, you guessed it..

All that woohooing and being in love clearly has side effects.. Jessi finds out she’s pregnant again.  With nothing to do for it but order another crib, daily life goes on.  Crawling around on the hardwood floors is great for keeping things swept up, but Dave is sure there’s a better way.

Getting around is so much easier this way, son!

Peregrine took right to the walking idea, and slowly he even started to get the idea of potty training.  With all the time spent with Peregrine, Dave barely had time for anything else, and getting in a few hours of star-gazing seemed almost like heaven for him.

Time to get up? But I’m still sleepy!!

Time flies when you’re always busy.. and while Dave was chatting with the mailman outside one morning, he heard Jessi yelling inside.  A few hours later, young Osprey was born.

Welcome to the family, Osprey!

(oh and yes, that’s Jessi that stinks, not the new baby.. hehe)  He was born with light blonde hair like his mama, and a much quieter disposition than his brother.  Clearly these two were not destined to be “two peas in a pod”.  But there was little time to worry about such things for now.  With two very young children in the house, a garden to care for, and skills to learn, there was never a spare moment in the Falcon household.  Even making friends with the paparazzi had to be put on hold to keep a handle on all the daily tasks that needed juggling.  Taking time for keeping their relationship good seemed like a must, so once the kids were asleep, Jessi and Dave would try to cuddle and find time to talk before they simply passed out from exhaustion.

Uh… oh… again??

A a couple mornings later, while attempting to take out the trash Jessi drops everything as she realizes…. sure enough, she is pregnant again.  With such a lack of time, Jessi finally let Gyr loose back into the world.  She simply couldn’t bear to see him sold into a pet shop.  One day, she promised, they would find another falcon – or perhaps, even Gyr!  (actually, the poor neglected thing croaked, but heck, this sounds better – hehe!)

Finally.. a girl. Welcome, Lanner!

Before Osprey even aged up to toddler, birth round three began.  Dave – once again – decided to make himself scarce, and simply cared for the other two children while Jessi kept herself busy screaming at Dave to get her some ice chips or something.  They named her Lanner, after the beautiful and fast Lanner Falcons in the (real) world – because she arrived so fast, of course!  Again with the gorgeous red hair from Dave, Lanner immediately showed an interest in the world around her, much more so than her brothers.

Too many babies.. not enough sleep.

Poor Dave felt a bit overwhelmed, but completely blessed.  Osprey and Lanner both had gotten mysteriously empty packages in the mail from “long-lost” relatives, while Peregrine hadn’t.  Perplexed, but determined not to allow the slight to harm his son, Dave threw himself into caring for his ever-growing family.  As he watched his children grow, he began to worry more and more about their safety.  Finally, he decided he would found a police station for their little town.  Well.. when it became a town, that is.  First he had some research to do, learning about crimes and profiling, and getting logic and athletic high enough to be worthy of a police chief title.  .. maybe he’d better find another officer or two as well..?  .. Nevermind that now, though.  There’s things to learn and kids to care for … oh, and…

Osprey turns toddler..

Osprey is now mobile as well.. so that should make things even more interesting!  What a cutie.. although his hair certainly could do to grow a little bit.  (wink wink)

That night, Jessi and Dave finally had some time with all the kids asleep to talk.  What they needed, they felt, was some more recruits to help build their town.  Jessi had a couple contacts back on the mainland who had helped her with some of her repairing problems over the last few months (weeks in simtime), so she decided to give them a call and see if they would be interested in joining her town-building project.  Since Dave wasn’t interested in starting up the military base, perhaps one of her repairman friends would be?  A new military base was sure to bring jobs and interest in the small community.. and she was afraid if she didn’t take the general up on his offer soon, he might change his mind!  She liked Dave’s idea of starting up a Police Department, but agreed it was probably a ways off still.. the priority needed to be finding someone to run the base-to-be.. and founding Jessi’s fishing hole.  She had noticed recently that the horses had taken to using the falls as their home base, and she felt if they set it aside as a fishing hole and wildlife reserve people might be more interested in her cause as a whole.  Exhausted, but excited about their town’s prospects, Jessi and Dave fell asleep.

Of course, babies don’t sleep as long as adults…

When Lanner woke up for her feeding, Dave was nice enough to get up early to care for her (and the two toddlers she woke up… eeks!)  …. and yet another day began.

Chapter Two – Starting a Family << | >>

Chapter One – A Place to Call My Own <<  |  >> Chapter Three – When is it “Me Time”??

Starting a Family

Very soon, Jessi noticed some disturbing nausea and other symptoms.. and sure enough, a test (pop-up.. lol) confirmed that she was pregnant.

Expecting? Oh yes…

Since she was already awake, Jessi set about doing some house cleaning and maintenance – it appeared the sink had stayed dirty so long that it had broken!  After pulling out her handiness manual, she decided she might be able to fix it on her own.  It took two tries – but wonder of wonders, it was fixed!

Broken sink? .. No problem…

Since her jammies and fuzzy kitty slippers were now completely soaked from the sink fiasco, she did another load of laundry, and cooked up a nice breakfast of waffles for her new husband to wake up to (from one of their very few eggs).  After a lovely breakfast, the first order of business was ordering Dave’s bike so he could get around the town as well.  Jessi had more fish to catch, and she headed to the shore to work on her fishing.

Since his bike wouldn’t arrive until the next day, Dave walked across the street to the old farmhouses (left over from the original colonization attempt) and searched through their weed-ridden surrounding property until he found a few seeds for Jessi.  Content that he had a nice present for her, he then aimlessly walked around town, wondering what he would do with his life from now on.  He’d always wanted to be a Sports Star.. but now that he was out in nature, he figured that was pretty silly.  He didn’t want to have to commute across the bay to the mainland, and without a harbor or an owned boat, that was pretty impossible anyway.  Sighing, he wondered what an athletic sort of guy could do.  He’d learned Photography while working as a Paparazzi, but his camera had been one of the many personal items he’d had to leave behind.  To pay tribute to his darling Jessi’s dream, all he had brought with him was his diploma and his clothes – not exactly an auspicious start to a life, was it? …  He wondered for a while whether he ought to start a Military base with the offer Jessi had secured from the mainland general… but he’d never been one for buzz haircuts and the thought of drilling every morning frankly made him sick to his stomach.  For now.. he resolved to do something with his desire to be athletic.. and ordered a stereo and a workout tape or two.  After watching poor Jessi struggle with morning sickness AND a broken sink that morning, he also resolved to learn a thing or two about wrenches, tools, and fixing things, so he headed home and set about reading the handiness manuals she had in her .. interesting.. bookshelf.

Oooh! A wild horse!

On her way home from fishing, Jessi saw a wild horse and her foal for the first time, as well as a deer.  Amazed by all the wildlife, she vowed to… someday.. tame one of the horses for her own.

The long bike ride to the shore every day was taking it’s toll on pregnant Jessi, and she decided to hire some mainland workers to dig a small pond on her home property.  Obviously, it would have no fish – yet – but hopefully she would soon be able to stock the pond from her own fishing adventures.  With the baby on the way, she also decided another home addition was going to be necessary… so she had the workers put on a baby’s room and install a permanent awning for a “garage” of sorts.  It would protect the washer and the bikes from the elements.  As the pregnancy progressed, Dave obligingly started doing more around the house.

What a considerate man he is…

Dave also started making good use of his new stereo and bike.  He spent several hours each day combing the local flora and fauna for collectibles to send back to the mainland for sale.  Money was getting tighter and tighter with all these home – and family – expansions, and they still had to think about Jessi’s dream fishing hole.  Dave finally mastered the basics of Athletic, and started jogging instead of biking sometimes on his money-making jaunts.

Up down up down.. (I’m a little teapot?)

(in the picture, you can also see the half-wall and fence/gate kitchen “addition” I installed for them.. and the sleepy Falcon)  All this exploring led Dave to wondering more and more about the world around him, especially the night sky, and he ordered a telescope so he could see the stars closer.  Pretty soon, he mastered the basics of logic, and wanted to know even more.

What’s up there??

All this sky-searching led to some more soul-searching, and Dave began to wonder .. yet again.. what he would do with his life.  He had to do something!  He didn’t feel right just doing nothing, and the town had to grow.  … eventually, at least.  And not just with their family.  Perhaps he should think of what would help the community out.. and use his new Logic skill.. and Athletic… hm… more thought was going to have to be undertaken.

Then.. one fateful evening, Jessi went into labor.  Since a hospital visit was out of the question, she simply sweated and screamed through it.  Tylenol didn’t help much, and her ire rose.. and with it, the annoyances with the “little things”.  Before you know it, Dave was running around cleaning the entire house for her, hoping to appease the mother-to-be.

Dave cleaning house while the baby is born..

(clearly, looking out the window – he wishes he was anywhere else!!)  After an eternity (it seemed), the new baby was born.   A boy!  They named him Peregrine, in honor of both their last name, and the town.

Meet Peregrine..

Soon after seeing the wild horse and the deer for the first time, Jessi started noticing hoofprints around her garden, and some missing produce.  They didn’t mind sharing, but when it was their only food source, it only made sense to protect it.  A visit the next morning.. or rather ..home-invasion of the furry kind.. drove that point home for sure.  (out-take.. lol)

A home invasion of the furry kind. (notice the pedo-bear ice cream truck too.. lol)

(oh, and that’s another paparazzi about to get squished by the wild horse… note the baby horse peeking around the house-corner.. apparently he’s a bit more shy.  this pic also gives a better idea of what the home looks like currently – the solar panel and wind turbine are in the back yard, the pond off to the right..)  A fence was clearly going to be necessary, and the newly-handy Dave set about building her a fence for their food garden.

The baby was a joy – well, ok.. most the time.. – and the home-life stayed busy.  Jessi finally got tired of cleaning the sink, and installed a self-cleaning mechanism.

Yay.. no more sink-cleaning!

On a roll now, she decided fire-proofing the stove was a must with a baby around, and Dave watched the baby for her.

a spartan baby room.. but it works!

He loved spending time with his first-born son, anyway, so caring for him while she worked on making their home safer seemed like an easy trade-off.

There.. all safe!

Oh.. and one final note.. the falcon, Gyr, learned to talk.

Gyr learns to talk..

Chapter One – A Place to Call My Own <<  |  >> Chapter Three – When is it “Me Time”??

>> Chapter Two – Starting a Family

A place to call my own….

Jessilyn Falcon began life in Sunset Valley with her family, and she grew up in the normal way.  Father and Mother worked nine to five, and she was an only child… so she spent a lot of time on her own.  She began to like it this way more and more.  In her early teens, a stereo her father was upgrading spontaneously caught fire, and the fire department arrived too late to save him.  Lost and sick at heart, her mother wandered aimlessly through life for a couple weeks, then made a reckless decision to go swimming in the community pool when she was already tired.. and drowned.  Because Jessilyn was “too young” to live on her own, she was promptly put into the social services system and dropped around from home to home, never really fitting in anywhere.  Finally one family decided the only place for her was boarding school, and sent her off to the School of Peace and Love, one of the cheapest schools, and the one that offered the most tuition support for a lost, outdoorsy-type teen.  As soon as she graduated high school, Jessilyn was free of Social Services, and she packed what little she had, and the stipend they had given her as her “start in life” .. and she left town.  Literally.  She researched in the library and found an area that had once been slated for colonization, but had been abandoned.  Through pleading and contacting the media for support, she managed to get City Hall to allow her to re-zone the area and re-instate postal and cellular phone services.  She knew life would be tough, but she felt she could make it on her own.  She initially petitioned for a small military base to be installed, but they insisted she would need to recruit her own commanding officer to move to “that god-forsaken place” before they would even think about it.  Jessi packed just enough food to get by, and had a wind turbine and solar power cell shipped out to the island so she would be able to run electricity to her new home.  She also arranged to have a well dug and a rudimentary water pipe system installed from a local underground spring… and then she took the plunge.  With nothing but some money, the clothes on her back and some changes in her suitcase, a little bit of food she felt would last her until she could find her own sources, her cell-phone, and her diploma.. she set off for the land of new beginnings.

Meet Jessilyn!

… At least the grass was green and lush, right?  With some help of contractors she had hired, Jessi set about building a small home.  She knew she would need to expand with time, so she planned ahead as much as she could.  She also tried to use as much as she could in the way of local resources – logs and wood harvested from the local forest.  During lulls in the construction, she explored the area.. and the lush green-ness struck her everytime.  Soon she began to call her little home “Falconvale”.  She noted lot of small wildlife in the area that she felt she could catch because of their non-shyness around humans, and contacted a pet store back in Sunset Valley.  They agreed to buy anything she would catch, and the postal service agreed to ship the live animals – very carefully.

Home Sweet .. Tiny Home

Finally, her tiny home was complete.  Two tiny rooms – living area and bathroom – and just the bare amenities… but it was home.  She put in a call to have her wind turbine and solar panels.. and well dug.. and sat down to wait.

Learning cooking and handiness while waiting

While waiting, she decided it was past time to “better” herself, and set about reading all about cooking.  There was no sense in burning down the house when there was no fire department, right?  After picking up cooking, and the workers still hadn’t arrived for their appointment, she decided she’d learn handiness.  It wasn’t like the repairmen lived right around the corner, either.

Finally, the workers arrived and set to work, and with them her new bike and … the paparazzi.  All that media attention she’d had to get to make City Hall let her move had backfired.  Now they were sending story hounds after her!  She guessed it only made sense – not many people had the guts to set out into nowhere, to build a town from nothing.  People were only curious, right?  Sighing deeply, she made her way over to the two journalists that were sent, and completed the interview.  One of them, Dave Ramsey, seemed extremely interested in her ideas to start a new town, and .. maybe she was reading him wrong.. but it seemed he might be interested in her, too!?

They talked all day as the workers did their job, and by the time darkness had fallen and the workers had finished, Dave and Jessi had decided they needed to pursue this attraction between them.  A quick, awkward first kiss goodbye before the workers and Dave set off in the boat back to the mainland.

Jessi and Dave’s first kiss.

Jessi, feeling a bit lonely for the first time since she had moved to Falconvale, headed inside to plug in her appliances, make dinner, and go to bed.

Early the next morning, she set off on her new bike to explore a bit more.  She managed to catch several animals to send to the pet store, and, even better.. she found what she was just sure was a lettuce seed!  With her limited food stocks – and equally limited cooking knowledge, finding this was a godsend, and she hurried home to plant it.  One of the animals she had managed to catch was an injured falcon, and Jessi decided to order a bird tree and keep the bird as a mascot.  While ordering the bird tree, she decided to order a washing machine and a clothes line, since her clothes were getting rather ….grungy.

The next day, the bird tree arrived, and with it… Dave Ramsey!  They decided to call this day a “date” and spent all day talking and getting to know each other before the boat had to leave.

An exciting … date?

(note the dirty sink in the background.. haha)  After Dave left, she did laundry for the first time on her own, and headed to bed.  The next morning, with more exploring and animal catching, she also discovered a tomato seed, and hurried to plant it.  While exploring, she noted a wonderful waterfall lot, and decided she wanted to make it into a fishing hole… if only she knew how to fish.. so she set about learning how to fish.

A week or so later, while tending her tiny garden, she finally felt she understood the basics of gardening… and planted some more seeds she had found recently.

The mini-garden

(note the paparazzi in the Lord Sponge t-shirt.. I swear I didn’t put him in that…)  Over the week, Dave and Jessi had kept in touch, and, finally, they decided to tie the knot.  He really believed in her “living simple” approach, and wanted to do everything he could to help.  .. So Jessi proposed.  Unorthodox, yes, but so was her home.

After, of course, a romantic woohoo…

He said yes, and stayed the night – (starting a family wouldn’t be a bad thing, either!) The next morning, they filled out all the appropriate forms.  Jessi hired some workers to put a small addition onto the back of her tiny cabin to support a full bedroom with a double bed, and once that addition was complete..  and the marriage license arrived…  they had a small .. and VERY private ceremony at home.

.. yep, he’s thinking about bed again already!

The wedding night was everything Jessi could have hoped for, and she fell asleep in her new double bed in their new bedroom with romantic visions of a wonderful family dancing in her head.

Another new beginning… what comes next??

>> Chapter Two – Starting a Family