Day 6, Saturday, 7:31 PM
Wow, it is pouring rain outside. The proverbial cats and dogs. Funny how it didn’t rain all spring, and then, on the first day of autumn, we get dumped on. The weather is very strange here in Riverblossom.
Also, I’m dying here, because my mom is in the next room, and Elvis says she could have the baby ANY MINUTE. Eeee! I keep listening for, I don’t know – yowls of pain? coming from her bedroom, but so far, nothing. I’m all fidgety, and it’s hard to focus, but I have so much to tell you guys, and I don’t want to get behind!
Ugh, speaking of behind, Rico better not be poking his nosy nose over my shoulder right now…I really hate having the computer desk out in the hallway. There’s too much foot traffic up here! (That means YOU, Rico. Begone!)
Oh, good. He went to his room. Not that he couldn’t just read this blog tomorrow and know all my intimate thoughts, but I don’t think he knows how to find it, or surely he would have teased me about it by now.
Anyway, today was another weird day. So far every day since we moved here has been fairly weird, so I suppose I should just get used to it.
First off, it’s fall now, so the trees have changed colors. Which is nice, but…the leaves are dropping already. Already! You know, I really miss having a summer. Bright skies, warm breezes, fireflies at night…and swimming! Can’t forget swimming. But Riverblossom doesn’t even have a pool. It doesn’t get warm enough.
So what did I do today? Well, since it’s a Saturday, I slept in a little (glorious), then had cereal and watched cartoons with Bernie for a bit. Then the gods of labor frowned upon me for being such a sloth and sent Uncle Elvis down to fetch us. He wanted help finishing up the nursery, which was in a sad state.
We spent all morning painting the room. It used to be blue with a border of roosters around the top. Mom wanted it to be a bit more…neutral. (“Roosters are for kitchens,†she said. “And barns,†said Bernie. “And weathervanes,†said I. “And Chinese calendars,†said Rico. Mom shook her head at us and went back to sleep.)
It looks so different now. Definitely neutral. A bit blah, if you ask me. But it’s better than mustard yellow. Or rooster-y.
And we don’t have a crib yet, because…well, I’ll get to that later.
While we were cleaning up, the phone rang, and I pretty much raced down the stairs to get it. I had a feeling, you see, that it would be Joel. And it was! But…he had bad news. He called to say he wouldn’t be able to come over and buy lemonade from Bernie today because his Grandpa George passed away this morning.
Oy. Poor Joel. His voice was all sad and muffled. I wanted so badly to say something comforting, something that would brighten him up a bit, but nothing came out. It was horrible. My brain just…took a coffee break or something. ARGH.
Of course, after I hung up, I thought of things I could have asked him, like, “Are you doing OK?†or “Do want to talk about it?†or “How did it happen?â€, but by then it was too late.
I hope he’s doing all right.
(continued on Page 2)
Nice baby outfit Jen, where did you get that?
I’m loving this latest series, especially the way you incorporate the funny sims-stuff in the story!
Aww, Weezy is such a cute nickname. And Luisa is a lovely proper name. How sweet! :) I’ve been pondering; since Uncle Elvis seems to be more interested in the new arrival than Fran’s dad – maybe Elvis and his sister-in-law have something “going on”? Hem hem. Or maybe not, I don’t know.
Very cute update, Jen! :D
Hi. aww Luisa’s a little cutie pie. and I love the look on the cats face on the last pic of page 3 it looks so funny!.
Mauricio is a nutter! he really needs to get his piorities (er I hope it’s spelled right) straight or I can see a diviorce in the works. and speaking of that where was he when his wife was giving birth?.
oh yeah a quick question how do you get a sim to take food to a neighbour’s house?. As I’ve also seen it when I was looking though the Goth’s family photos when sisters Nina and Dina come round holding pie.
I’ll be looking forward to seeing more of Luisa.
See ya
Francesca is always so much fun. I love the little details you take in developing this family. The baby is adorable, as is her “crib” courtesy of Uncle Elvis (good find!) I’m very suspicious of Joel though…. I think he’s up to something…
oooh! i llove this update!! did you get that baby outfit from mod the sims? i got one like that one for my lil simsies! anyway i got FFF EP!! yay! nd i also got the university code online i can play it again!! {my bff lost jus after i uninstalled everything coz of a virus!} dis update rocks!! xxx
dat FFF is suppose 2 b ffs {family fun stuff} xxx
Awwww.. what a cute wittle baby! I love her little outfit. The crib though.. *shakes head* I love the personality that the whole familiy has.. nice, but a bit whacky.
Wow!!! A baby girl!!! Great!!! Haha, I think I’ve gone the exclamation point limit. I agree with Yicke, love the baby outfit, where did you get it? Or is it from seasons…I don’t know, I haven’t been able to buy it yet. Grr….well, my birthday is coming up soon….;) Awesome update!
Great episode Jen, I really enjoy reading it. I’ve even showcased it on my site. Its a really refreshing way of telling a story.
The baby is oh so cute, and I agree with gethane. I love the personality of the family to. And the cat, lets not forget Taz. Probably the funniest cat I’ve come across in stories.
Francesa is so WEIRD! She hopes the couch flew a way, like a magic carpet. *chuckles* Her father, on the other hand, I just want to take out back and beat him to a bloody pulp! It’s like he doesn’t care about ANYTHING! Uncle Bernie is more of a father than his brother will EVER be! GRR!
And Joel … poor Joel … but … something seems “fishy” to me on that front. First, why didn’t he tell her he had a new job? Even if his grandfather (allegedly) has passed on, *I* still would have worked it into the conversation through my grief … to get my mind off of things. SHEESH!
Taz … needs to get laid! :D
Jen – I am so enjoying this new family and yes I went back to your posts in Jan. sowwy it’s been awhile but now I’m subbed for your updates Yay! :)
This family is just so ‘life like’ uncle Elvis just cracks me up with his scowl and the family’s personalities are wonderful – but Maury what is up with him? He is such a dreamer.
For some reason, I was observant about a few things, such as on Fran’s computer, it was the actual WordPress screen (I think)! That’s so cool! And on the wall, I recognize those from ilona’s artwork (http://ilona.deviantart.com)…if you don’t mind telling me, where’d you get it?
I like the name, “Luisa”…I look forward to seeing more of the baby. :D
Yicke – Hey!! It’s great to see you. The baby outfit is from Totally Sims 2 Crazy and the mesh is from MTS2. The file overrides the default diaper mesh, so you can only have one outfit installed at a time. Also, there’s an unfortunate gap at the baby’s neck during a few interactions, but if the pic is far enough away or at a certain angle, you can’t tell.
amalinaball – Hmm, interesting thought, for sure. You may get an answer to that in the next update.
Pandora Moon – Fran didn’t actually take the food to the Pfefferles. I had to cheat a bit. Basically, I loaded the Pfefferle lot, had Joel’s dad make mac ‘n’ cheese, summoned Fran with the Insimenator, used “move_objects on” to place the mac ‘n’ cheese out on the sidewalk, and had Fran carry it in.
Amy – Heh. (That’s all I’m gonna say!)
ally – Thanks, and have fun with FFS!
gethane – Good to see you, gethane! “Nice but whacky” is an excellent assessment.
Phil – Re: the baby outfit, check out my reply to Yicke above. And I hope you get Seasons for your birthday!
Taryn – Wow, thanks! I’m honored to be posted on your site right next to Mao and Sydonie.
Angelia – Bwahaha! And wow, both you and Amy are suspicious of Joel. Must be something in the water over in LegacyLand…
PRMami – Hey, it’s awesome to see you! Glad you’re enjoying these stories!
Rachel – Heh, I was wondering if anyone would catch the WordPress screen! Nice job. And I got the pics in the nursery from Sims2Play. Of course, now I can’t find the page I downloaded them from — I think there’s a broken link somewhere. And wow, thanks for telling me who that artist is — I love her style!
Jen,
Your stories are so much fun! Thanks for the update. I’m loving this family & Luisa is a cutie!
Hi. thanks for answering my question. I just thought it might have been some kind of interaction that came with sims as I saw a pic of something giving food in one of the Maxis made family albums and wondered if there was something I’ve missed.
Thanks again
See ya
I loves it. :D And Louisa is a pretty name! Where did you get the inspiration for the names of this family? Spanish, or something else?
Finally, where did you get that new texture for the mac’n’cheese bowl? :o That’s pretty! And thank you for the link to the paintings, I went on a massive download spree.
awww…how cute! I love the name Luisa! I am soo happy that she had a girl, but did they ever find Fran’s dad…
I think I spazzed out when I got the update email. I’ve been waiting since what feels like forever for an update lol! This was such a great installment in your series. I love the lighting effects you use. Do you have some hacks that help with that? Also, I love how your Custom Content looks as if it could be Maxis work. It fits in really well! Phew I think I am rambling a bit. Haha.
Oh, is that a crystal ball in the Pfefferle’s backyard, or a fence post I haven’t seen before? :P
I agree with Amy and Angelia. Joel is not being honest. That’s why his mom was surprised to see Fran with food. He probably has a date with someone else.
I love this family!
A little grayer update than usual, but you pulled it off beautifully. I swear, Maurice is SO selfish. When the story first began I thought Elvis would be the irresponsible one, and it’s surprising and nice to see this side of him. And a little girl, yay! I’m excited to see the new dynamic in the family. I noticed that you didn’t write of Joel’s mom being sad or upset or anything, and I don’t think that Joel would go to work the day his grandfather died. Something’s up. Or maybe I’m completely off. Either way, fantastic job!
P.S. Chapter Two: Border Relations is posted at my site.
Amy – Thanks! I’m really enjoying your blog, too.
Pandora Moon – You’re welcome!
Kay – It all started with Elvis Mortinez. I randomly generated that name and loved it so much I built the family around it. Since the last name sounded Hispanic to me, I randomly generated pseudo-Hispanic names for everyone else. But I was a lazy about it. For instance, “Franchesca” is an Italian name. I figure maybe Fran’s mom is of Italian descent. :-D
And the texture for the mac ‘n’ cheese bowl is actually a default replacement for all of the plates and dishes — I got it from Kiri’s Simthing for Everyone. The one I have loaded currently is about halfway down the page and has a picture of a gnome on it (of course).
Lucia – Thanks, and I have no idea where Fran’s dad is…OK, so I do, but I can’t say!
Teckno102 – Thanks! The crystal ball in the Pfefferles’ back yard is a yard deco statue that comes with Seasons. As for lighting effects, I use GunMod’s Radiance Light System, but that’s about it. The rest of it is a mixture of trying out different lamps to see what looks good.
Lisa – Glad you like the family! We’ll see about Joel…but I will say he hasn’t lied to Fran about anything yet.
Katie – Thanks, I always look forward to your comments! And thanks for the speculation — it helps me know what I’m doing right and wrong. As for Joel, hopefully that will be cleared up in the next installment.
Oh okay. Sounds like I will have to try that out! Have you tried his camer mod by any chance? Its something I want to try out also. Ahh so its from Seasons. Guess I haven’t dont much exploration with the pack yet if I can’t recognise things from it :P
How do you get everything in the pictures to look so sharp and defined? I know with my Sims 2 game, when I zoom in everything turns out… not so good. I’m jealous! :D
I can’t wait for the next update. Perhaps we will here about Fran’s job?
Major brainwhacking thought! (It’s probably wrong.)
Joel and his sister aren’t in the house, right? And their mom doesn’t look too pleased to see Fran (I think.)
Fran’s own dad has a shiny new telescope, and apart from his being weird there may be a reason for this. Uhh…this sounds dumb…maybe Fran’s dad and Joel’s mom are having an affair?! And he isn’t looking at the great horned pygmy owl, or the woods, but at Joel’s house so he can check if he can go round to visit Joel’s mom.
Ok, it’s a bit unlikely. But it would explain why he isn’t there to see his wife giving birth. Saying Joel’s grandpa died would provide an extra precaution so Fran does not visit the house.
Well, it’s probably not true. But it was fun indulging my detective instincts for a bit! :D
Very cute update Jen! And yay for a new baby sister! Is Joel’s family a playable family? Or did you make them, and their house, yourself? I love the feel of this town and all its residents!
An interesting point you provide there Jen, “Joel hasn’t lied to Fran about anything yet” However it was his mother at the door not him. If he is with someone there are several posibilites: he lied to his mom, his mum lied to Fran, or he could be innocent and have a job! What’s happened to you guys? The other week you were all goo-goo over them being together, now when he is at work he becomes the focus of all spiteful gossip. Shame on you, though it would make a good story… No… I mustn’t think like that, Fran is great we don’t want her feelings hurt now do we.
Oh and I do like your style amalinabell, that is daring. Now you’ve said it, people shall start thinking about it. A rumour has been born! Don’t give up hope yet, Jen’s mind will also be ticking with that prospect now!
I am so behind on everything! Great update, Jen, although Fran’s dad kinda reminds me of mine. My ma used to go mad at him for putting my carry-crib-thingy on top of his stereo speakers.
Hey, sorry to bother everyone with another one of my many questions: Can someone please tell me what they Uni hack is, and how to get it? ;)
Which one, Lucia? :-) There’s oodles of hacks for the Uni ep.
Uhh…is there one that makes University A LOT shorter to get through? heh…
Ah-hah! I thought so, but there’s also popular hacks for having babies in University etc etc, so I wanted to check before I went digging. :D I use the college clock from more awesome than you, though there should be at least a couple of other items out there that give the same effect. http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/ffs/ then uni then hacks, and you should see ‘collegeclock.zip’ in the list. Click it, download, install.
Lovely update — I thoroughly enjoyed myself! :)
OMG THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!
XD You’re welcome!
Hey Jen! great update! Sorry I commented so late. I have to ask you though, where did you get the baby barrel? haha, it is so awsome! And I was also wondering what’s been going on with Jade and the isle of thyme? Her site is closed for some reason, and I was just wondering, if anyone knew why?
Thanks!
I’ve been wondering what happened to the isle of thyme too… anyone know what’s happening???
For those of you asking about Isle of Thyme — all I know is that it has closed. Whether it is closed for good or may return at some point, I have no idea. It looks permanently closed for now. I know nothing beyond that, unfortunately. :-(
To answer some other questions –
Teckno102 – Yep, I’m a big fan of GunMod’s Camera Mod as well. I definitely recommend it! There’s more info in my FAQ if you’re curious. But feel free to ask more questions if that doesn’t help!
Mandie – I created the Pfefferles and their house. In fact, they’re the starring family of the little Seasons feature I posted when it first came out.
Abby – The barrel crib is from Parsimonious — you can find it under Sims 2 Furniture –> Nursery, Kids & Teens Rooms.
And the next Fran update is on the way…
Hey Jen, speaking of updates: are you gonna get the H&M Fashion Stuff pack that’s coming out in early June?
Hi. I’m a fan of Island of Thyme too but I’ve got a feeling it’s permently closed at least at that address as I have seen this happen with other sites that I liked it looks to me as if this other site square space has taken it over.
Jade if you’re still look at this site can you let us know what’s going on please we just want to know what’s happened. Thanks in advance.
See ya
Update? Update! Update update update? :D Update! Updaate? *big shiny teary sparkly anime eyes super deluxe edition two version 5.7* Q.Q Q.Q Q.Q
My ‘Jenba’ need meter is on orange and falling! ;o;
OK, so this is completely off topic, but I’ve been deprived of updates and skimmed your general section and saw Shady Bluff. I saw the pay site Shady Bluff (yes, I know you aren’t doing that one anymore) and fell in love with it.
The point is, when you’re done making the new shady bluff (unless you stopped making it :-O) please please please put it up for download, cuz a whole neighborhood of Jen houses would be to good to be true!!!
(Seriosly, I think you build great houses AND write great stories-love this site)