Good News and Bad News

First, the bad news: my Grand Finale story has been scrapped. I’ve wracked my brain for weeks trying to wrap things up in a way that makes sense, but there’s just too much ground to cover. If I can’t do a story justice, I’d rather not do it at all. So…my apologies to those of you who were excited about a Grand Finale. I hope the good news will make up for it.

Now, the good news: I’m working on a new Sims project, and with it, a new web site. It’s very different from Greetings from Mt. Geneva, but will feature some of the same characters and settings. So yes, you will find out what happens to Fran and her family! Stay tuned for more info. It may be a few weeks yet (it’s a huge project) so if you would like to be notified when I post next, you might want to sign up with FeedBlitz.

Some random news: I was looking through my old Sims stuff and found the set of pictures I was going to post for the next Burr Legacy update way back in the Winter of ’06. I thought it would be fun to share them.

I never posted this story because I used pay content in my pics, and that was around the time I started boycotting paysites. There isn’t any text to go along with the shots, but if you read the intro blurb, you’ll get the gist of what’s going on. So if you want one last glimpse at the Burrs, read on!

Burr Family

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Presents and Promises and Lots of Cake (Part II)

Day 9, Tuesday, 9:15 PM

Whew, I’m all birthday-ed out. I think I have a stomachache from all the cake. I didn’t feel right just having a piece of Bernie’s cake, so I had a piece of Weezy’s, too. I didn’t want her to feel left out!

By the way, Uncle Elvis is a baking GOD. (And a raking god, too. I swear that’s all he did today: bake and rake.)

Franchesca Diaries

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The Art of Diplomacy (Part II)

Day 8, Monday, 9:14 PM

I wasn’t kidding last time when I called our house the loony bin. This house is a bin if I ever saw one, and we are the loonies. LOO-NIES. I could give you more evidence of that, but first I want to tell you all about my completely weird job.

After my phone conversation with Joel, a very sad and very decrepit carpool car picked me up from the loony bin, drove me out into the country, and deposited me in front of this hulking yellow villa that seemed to rise up out of nowhere.

I wandered towards what I hoped was the “office” entrance of the house, but I wasn’t sure, because there weren’t any signs anywhere. I mean, how do you choose between two front doors? Thankfully, I picked the right one. (Hey, there’s a first time for everything.)

Franchesca Diaries

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Free Site of the Month: July

I’m a month late, but I have TWO wonderful free sites to showcase for July. Only one is getting my donation money for the month, because the other doesn’t have a donation button. But they’re both awesome and deserving of praise!

The Strawberry Patch
This is like one-stop-shopping for kids’ clothing. The site’s sole owner and creator, Purplepaws, released a huge update in June with everything from toddler outerwear to lovely formal dresses for girls. She also has a few hairstyles for kids, teddy bears wearing tie-dyes, and cute child models for download. Another cool thing is that if you donate to her site, it goes straight to her webhost, so you know that your moolah is being put to good use. Start your back-to-school shopping early and head over to The Strawberry Patch!

Moune’s Neighborhood
Moune is a member of the Juniper Sun forum (where you can also find tons of cool stuff) who has started up her own site. She has exotic furniture and loads of deco items in colorful textures. I love her Le Morvan shelf collection, the Nyemo deco items, and her paintings. It’s like shopping at Pier One Imports, except for Sims…and it’s all free!

Happy Simming!

Down by the Bay

I am still hard at work on Ahanu Bay and the next Fran update. Unfortunately it might be awhile before I post them, since I’m going on vacation soon, and my free time before I leave is dwindling down to almost nil. However, I do have a few pics I can share with you, just for fun. They’re just views of Ahanu Bay and the cottages.

The first is a postcard type of shot. I discovered this view while moving the camera through the backyard of the Begonia cottage:

Ahanu Bay

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A Secret in the Desert

Good evening, dears! Do you remember old Maude? Some of you may. For those of you who don’t, I’m the friendly phantom that used to flit around Mt. Geneva, spying on its residents and spinning tales out of their triumphs and tragedies. A lonely job, to be sure, but better than hiding in one’s tombstone and venturing out only to scare young ruffians.

When Mt. Geneva disappeared (one day it was there; the next day it was not! Tragic!), I escaped to tranquil Shady Bluff. For awhile it showed promise, but then it, too, withered away, and I was left watching the squirrels run around and chitter at each other. Not very exciting for an old busybody like myself! Maude needs people, you know, not squirrels.

Maude at the Oasis

So I became a wanderer. I drifted away from Shady Bluff and traversed the vast lands of Sim Nation, through forests and fields and desert. Mostly desert. I don’t know what I was looking for, dears, but it certainly wasn’t turning up.

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