I have a plan when it comes to developing Ely Corners and the rest of Wilshaw County (what I’m calling the whole map), but I’m not approaching that plan very methodically. I have lists of Sims I want to create, lots I want to build, and gameplay things I want to try, but I work on them in a very haphazard fashion, according to whatever mood I’m in when I boot up the game. So these blog posts will probably seem kind of random for awhile.
Last weekend, before my Fran interlude in Riverblossom, I added another family to Ely Corners. Moira Trivett used to work as a corporate drone in Pigeondale, but is now a freelance photographer and collector of rocks.
She’s also a new mom.
Moira always wanted a kid but never met the right guy, so just after her Adult birthday, she decided to adopt. She ended up with a sweet little toddler named Daisy.
They moved to Ely Corners because Moira was weary of city life and wanted a little house with a yard. She had always loved old houses, so she was thrilled to find a little two-bedroom stucco bungalow just off of Ely Road.
This one isn’t a Sears home — it was inspired by a bungalow I saw in an Old House Interiors magazine. I had to come up with the floorplan myself, but I like how it turned out. Well, aside from the laundry nook. I keep forgetting to plan laundry rooms into my homes, so once again, I had to carve out a little space in the hallway for the washing machine. Darned noisy things!
Moira burned her first meal, of course (the accursed oven-waffles), so it was some quick organic cereal for her (she’s Eco-friendly; I seem to be using that trait a lot lately), and regular ol’ baby food for Daisy.
Daisy learned to walk, hooray. I figured she might as well learn, so she doesn’t have to spend the next 64 days of toddlerdom crawling around on the floor.
Moira loves being a mom…
…but new mothers need a break once in awhile, so she asked her neighbor Joann Deshannon over to babysit. Mostly I wanted to try Master Controller’s “Add Sim” function to see if it would work for this purpose. That way I don’t have to use NPC babysitters, and my teens can make a little pocket change.
Moira didn’t know Joann yet, so I had to use Master Controller to invite her, too. Once she was there, I used “Add Sim” to add her to the household. I figured once Moira returned home, I would switch back to the Deshannons and have them add Joann back in. Again, not a very elegant solution, but I like the realism and connectedness it adds to the town. (Unfortunately my game crashed later on, unrelated to this, so I couldn’t test the adding Joann back to her house part.)
She was a little apprehensive about leaving her kid with a stranger, but Joann reassured her that she had plenty of babysitting experience.
Since Moira wanted to buy a dartboard, but I didn’t think it would be practical in her house, I sent her off to the pub to play darts. For some reason people keep using the side door; I guess in Moira’s case, it was because she was walking in from that direction, and it was closer. It kind of bugs me, though.
Yes, this is what passes for night life in Ely Corners. Moira is Shy anyway, so she isn’t the mingling type.
I still haven’t built a house for the Chapeltons, so they hang out at the pub a lot, even though Leo Chapelton acts like he’s too good for the place.
Lillian Chapelton just sits at the bar and talks crap to Will the bartender. I think she might be a bit of a lush.
Moira avoids the strange snooty people and eats her nachos alone. (I think I might have to delete that chair — everyone sits there to eat, and they just look funny, with their backs to everyone.)
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Oh man, I LOVE that Shane is a sheriff with “no sense of humour” – that’s gonna be hard on the town crooks, methinks! LOL
He’s also pretty darn good looking, my dear. ;)
I laughed so hard at Moira being bored to death! I had no idea Sims with “no sense of humour” could do that! I gotta add some real personality variety into my town so I can start to see some of this stuff, too!
Glad that site came in handy. :) I need to go make some more notes myself. I was finishing the outside of a house for Radford last night and got a tad lost. I think it turned out well enough, but I need more inspiration for the next one. LOL
Ooh, I can’t wait to see more of Radford Island! :)
aw cute kids!
Rawr! Love how you slipped a photo of Spencer’s hawtness in there… yum.
Shane looks good in uniform! Grats on getting your hands on that and the recolor is awesome.
Thanks, Ruby! :)
Shane is such a hotty! You say his wife is sister to another sim. I’m curious, is she a “storyline” sister, or did you somehow set their relationship as siblings even though she’s married and living with Shane?
Yep, I made Toni as part of Shane’s family (with Will, Hannah, and Owen), then split them up into their separate houses. Then I made Spencer and his parents, and used Twallan’s Master Controller -> Advanced -> Family -> Add Parent on Toni to make her related to them. I save people to the CAS bin when I make them so I can use their genetics for things, but sometimes the parents are generated by the kids, which sounds weird, I know. :)
Yet another fabtastic update, Jen. I can’t help but pour over all of the little details within the pub, each time you feature it. It really has got an amazingly authentic feel to it! Also love the new additions to the neighbourhhod, Moira looks like she’s got a depth of character that’ll add something special to Ely Corners… and Trivett happens to be the family name of one of my favourite, funniest friends – so I’m honour bound to like her!
One complaint… no new pictures of Spencer… I had my favourite sexy underwear on and a glass of wine at the ready. I was going to woo him with my wobblies then get him plastered and have my wicked way!
Did you say 64 toddler days?????? Are you paying the very long life span then? ARE YOU INSANE????
Omygosh, Lily, I spent a full minute laughing at your comment! I think “woo him with my wobblies” is my new favorite phrase. Heeheee. And yes, I’m insane. Actually, since I’ll be playing about 10 different households in rotation, I’ll probably only end up playing maybe 6 days total of Daisy’s toddlerhood. There’s no way I’d play on Epic lifespan if I were only playing one active family…that WOULD be insane!
Another amazing update. I am completely gripped by your stories and am already dying for the next installment!
Aw, thanks, LemonJelly! I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying my blog. :)
Ha, the Chappletons are funny (off-key singing: “It’s Snooty, it’s Snooty, and the Lush, Lush, Lush, Lush Lush!” My apologies to Pinky and the Brain, I’ve only had one cup of coffee, and my brain is still snoring), and the houses are cool! Ian looks like my cousin Michael when he was younger. Nice one, Jen.
LOL, love the “Snooty and the Lush” song. I’ll be singing that in my head everytime I see them in the pub now… And yay for Sims looking like cousins! Heh, that’s kind of cool.
Nice update. Even thou I love to watch what you build, I do have to say I love even more watching you play. I can\’t wait until you start playing for real. Also, I hope you get the police station done, I\’m now dying to see it.
A question. You said you used the register mod to assign Will Sothers as the bartender. But what happens when you play his family? I tried the mod once, but it was creating clones of my Sims, so when I was playing Wanda Hurst, and assigned Wanda as the clerk, a Wanda clone walked into the shop and stood behind the counter. That\’s the reason I don\’t use the mod currently, but if this issue is fixed or I was just using it wrong, I\’ll might give it another try.
That’s a very good question, Ani. I’ll have to test that out next time I play. I would hate it if it makes a Will clone!
Are you going to offer this hood (plus a list of used CC) for us to download when you’re finished? I love the characters you have here and the houses are gorgeous!
Thanks, Deb, I’m glad you like them! I might offer some of the houses and/or families up for download if I can figure out why my CUSTARD program is not recognizing lots and families so I can clean my Sims3Packs…I just re-downloaded the program, but I haven’t tried it yet, so we’ll see! I think if I were planning on offering a whole ‘hood for download I would have approached it very differently and not used so much CC on both Sims and on lots. Plus since I’ve been using Twallan’s mods my town probably would blow up on other people’s machines. Heh.
Shane is pretty hawt. :O)
The toddler is probably one of the cutest I’ve seen in TS3.
Sorry to here about your crashing. I was just playing for fun yesterday and had played for several hours when I got the bright idea to change up some clothes. And just as I was finishing up in CAS — CRASH! =__= Bleh.
I love that stucco-style house you built for your single mom. You should put a sticky note up on your computer so you can remind yourself about laundry rooms. *LOL*
Good stuff!
I tried really hard to make Daisy not look like the usual scary TS3 toddlers, so I’m glad you think she’s cute! :D Ugh on your game crashing…that’s so frustrating! Especially in CAS where you can’t really save. :-( And good idea about the sticky note! LOL!
If it keeps you interested by playing to whatever mood strikes you, then feel free to approach as haphazardly as you want! ;)
Congratulations to Moira and Daisy! *cheers* What is the little “glass house” thingy on the front porch?
64 days as a toddler? *faints* I’d go bonkers, if that was my game. *shudders* Hehe, I love Daisy’s face in the shot of Moira lifting her.
Did the “Add Sim” thingy work as desired? And how do you “pay” the teen if you’re actually adding them to your household?
Maybe Leo Chapelton just doesn’t like the smell of spilled beer? *giggles*
“No one was on fire or anything?” *cackles*
Sorry your game froze up/crashed on you though. :(
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *chokes* OMG, I think I have to make a sim with no sense of humor now. That’s freaking hysterical that he bored her to death! *cracks up*
Awwww *melts* Okay, that shot of Moira saying goodnight to Daisy is beyond precious!
The Sotherses are a good looking family! I love their kitchen! Mine all seem to come out looking identical. *sighs*
Shane’s a cop, so obviously he’s safe. *giggles at her pun* Ooo, he looks good in his sheriff’s outfit! *whistles* (Looks like Sheriff Carter’s outfit on Eureka.)
I always enjoy reading your comments, Aeronwy! That little glass thingy on Moira’s porch is a plant terrarium from the Outdoor Living Stuff Pack. And the “Add Sim” thing worked at least at the outset, but then the game crashed, so I didn’t get to test adding Joann back to her household and paying her. I’ll have to try it again! Ooh, I’ve never seen Eureka, but from reading a blurb about it on the web, I’m intrigued…and hey, the first season is on Netflix Instant Watch! *adds it to queue* Thanks, Aer! ;)
Hmm, Shane is looking pretty spiffy in that uniform – I do love a sim in uniform!
Moira and Daisy are so cute. They live the quiet life that suites Moira’s personality – they seem so sweet. Although, I like Moira’s sense of humor. The whole fainting from boredom was a bit much but hey, if Shae is boring well I guess he’s really boring!
Loved this one Jenba (and the added porch on the back of the house makes me so envious! How cool would that be to have?).
Yeah, I was really surprised to see Moira pass out from boredom…I’ve seen Shane bore other Sims to death now, and they didn’t pass out, so I wonder if it’s just because Moira has a sense of humor? Ah well, I still have so much to learn about these crazy Sims.
Oh wow, I really love how Ely Corners is turning out, such a wonderful families and homes. I once did the Ely corners, but couldnt handle Riverview map, so moved all six families to Sunset families, but later abandoned them as game kept crashing whenever i switched families.
I really like reading how your little home for those sims is coming along, I don’t have time usually comment, but man at times your entries make me giggle.
Looking forward to the next entry.