It's not that long since we've last been to this house, where Jonah Powers and siblings Roxie and Edwin Sharpe live. In January, we were here because of the Powers surname, now it is the Sharpes' turn.
Roxie and Jonah are still the firm 3-bolt-lovers they've always been. Neither of the two have ever rolled the wish to get married. Is it going to be different this week? They are both 74 now.
Edwin is 67 and, just like last time we were here, can be relied upon doing most of the household chores - on his own accord. All three household members are on Permanent Platinum. In spite of them being elders, I've not sent them to the Senior Residence, because I hope Jonah will live long enough to welcome his daughter Perseida Powers back home after her graduation.
As I said, Edwin does most of the house work...
...as well as what needs to be done outdoors...
...and the gardening.
He does not complete this task, though; a coughing fit interrupts him.
On this Monday, Jonah forgoes the perfectly well-stocked fridge in the kitchen and prefers to find his breakfast in the bin.
Yum!!!
He then stuffs his face in front of the fridge while I have Roxie serve one of the Baked Alaskas found in her inventory.
These two always have something to talk about :-)
Edwin greets Stephanie Stacks and Carl Capp.
Later, Roxie welcomes B'Elanna Beaker.
On Tuesday morning, I have Roxie order groceries. Just as the delivery van arrives, Jonah decides to pick up the gardening where Edwin left off yesterday.
Inside, Edwin cleans up after his sister and her lover.
By the time Jonah finishes, the yard is spic and span again. Then, all three household members are picked up for work.
Just as Jonah and Roxie come back from work, Georgia Newson walks by and is duly greeted.
I remember this from the last time I played here: Every day (all week, really), Bianca Capp gets off the car pool with Edwin after work. The moment her feet touch the ground, she turns into the ghost she is and disappears.
Can this be fixed in SimPE? If anyone knows how to, I'd be grateful!
For a change, Roxie does some cleaning up.
Early on Wednesday morning, Georgia is still here. Jonah is less than pleased to find her in the bedroom when he wakes up. She says she only wants to say good-bye, but looking at Jonah's face, he is not so sure!
I take back what I said about Edwin doing nearly all the house work.
Nothing else worth mentioning happens that day.
It is already Thursday morning when all three meet in the living room.
And dear Edwin takes care of the old newspapers again.
Friday morning sees Roxie and Jonah, still in their work clothes from yesterday, on the bed together. Actually, I told them to do this. They both rolled many romantic wants about each other, and I wondered whether this would trigger the wish for marriage. Well, it didn't.
Zoe Zimmerman walks by...
...followed by Björn Summerdream, Bottom Summerdream's husband and one of Loki Beaker's sons.
Parvati Patel is next...
...and, last but not least, Paola Picaso joins the crowd.
Finally, Jonah remembers to be a good host and prepares pork chops on his own accord.
It is much appreciated not only by today's guests!
The next morning, Saturday, Roxie cleans up last night's dishes.
Meanwhile, her little brother takes it upon himself to clean one of the upstairs bathrooms.
Both Jonah and Roxie have wanted to throw a party. Since they are both going to turn 80 today, I have them invite over as many of their friends as possible.
Nearly the whole Hart-Stcaks family are there, as well as Beatrice Monty. Of course, Jonah's daughter Perseida has come over from college for the afternoon, too.
Melody Tinker and Frances Hart look nearly alike! Melody can't wait for Edwin's burgers to be ready.
Later, nearly everyone groups up in the living room.
I'm amazed not to see four of the guests occupying the jacuzzi forever!
Edwin finds out he has three bolts for Melody Tinker!
The party was a success. Jonah breakfasts on stale burgers on Sunday morning. He does have some rather unhealthy eating habits, doesn't he!
Edwin gets the pruning shears out again.
The week ends with all three of them sharing a delicious roast turkey.
By the looks of their lifetime bars, Jonah and Roxie won't live very long into their next week; they are both 81 now. Edwin is younger, 74 now, and maybe it will have to be him to wait for Perseida's return from college.
What follows on the alphabetical list of Maxis-made Sims after Roque? That's right, Roth. So, I was about to start a week with the Roth family last night after work... and could not find them!!
Where are they?
I checked the main 'hood of New Maximiliania, the shopping district (where I have placed all the apartment lots, many shops and other community lots as well as the cemetery) and Downtown (where there are some more community lots and a few residential ones). But the Roths are nowehere to be found.
I know they have not all died (Stella and Morty have, but the younger generation were alive and kicking when I last saw them). The only explanation I can think of is that I accidentally deleted the entire lot, house, Sims, dogs and all.
Do you remember the weird graphics bugs I experience from time to time in New Max? An example is here. When that started to happen more frequently, I began bulldozing some of the affected (empty!) lots, intending to re-organize New Maximiliania anyway before the start of my next round. Maybe I got a little too enthusiastic with the bulldozing and unwittingly erased the Roths' lot from my 'hood.
They are not in the family bin, nor in the Lots & Houses catalogue. I've even checked the entire Sims contents of the 'hood in SimPE - no Roths there.
Two more things I have not tried yet: 1. Check my last back-up of New Max and see if they are still there; in that case, I could package their lot and add it to my current game as if they were a download. 2. Check out any other family in New Max, see if they have the Roths as friends, and have them invite them over (if they still do exist in the relationship panel).
Any other ideas on how to recover the Roths are welcome!
It's been a long time since we've last visited this Maxis-made residential lot. It must be one of the weirdest ones in all of New Max: Originally, the tower was the only structure on this vast piece of land. Then, the tiny house you can see next to the tower was built (by me).
A closer look.
Gunnar Roque lives here.
He started working at his lifetime want of having woohoo with 20 different Sims already during his uni years, his very first woohoo being with Brittany Upsnott. Many years and many ladies later, he reached his # 17 with Florence Delarosa last round.
Gunnar has never worked, but has managed to get by on the money he saved from his student's grants plus the inheritances he has received every now and then from his former conquests.
At the beginning of this week, he has 1.531 Simoleons. But as soon as I press "play", at least one more inheritance kicks in, and he has now 4.011 Simoleons.
On this Monday, he invites Sally Riley over. She is one of four or five 3-bolt-ladies for Gunnar, and a hot candidate for # 18 on his list. She brings along her friend Ophelia Nigmos.
When Gunnar imagined a hot afternoon with Sally, this definitely was not what he had in mind!
"I know you truly love your husband, Sally... and you know I don't want anything else from you but this one woohoo. It won't hurt anyone..." Gunnar can be very convincing, but Sally is not ready (yet) to help the younger man towards his LTW.
After she leaves, Gunnar takes care of the shrubs in his vast yard. No lady will stop at his house if it nearly disappears behind weeds and overgrown bushes, will she!
Tuesday morning sees Gunnar having a bowl of cereals on his own.
There's more yardwork for him before he can think of inviting over any lady.
But soon, Sally follows his invitation - and this time, not only to his house, but also between his sheets. That's only 2 more to go for Gunnar!
After Sally has left, he invites Beatrice Monty over, and it doesn't take the two of them long before she becomes # 19.
And then, strangely enough, the game informs me that Gunnar has just fulfilled his LTW! I count and re-count, both my notes and Gunnar's memory say the same: woohoo with 19 different Sims, not 20. But maybe the game has mis-counted the one public woohoo Gunnar had a long time ago with Jessie Dosser as "woohoo with a different Sim", even though it actually was the 2nd time he woohoo'd with her?
Anyway, he is now on Permanent Platinum, 6 days from Elderhood.
From now on, I will only control him to pay the bills and when a fellow resident of New Maximiliania walks by.
Wednesday is off to a good start with our newest PP Sim: Gunnar takes out the trash on his own initiative.
Once he's out there, he makes use of the early morning hours by catching fireflies.
Still in his undies, he then does some birdwatching...
...followed by rope skipping.
He chooses a can of juice for breakfast after he's had a shower.
Later, former uni (?) friend Francis J. Worthington comes visiting on his own accord.
But Francis does not stay long, and so Gunnar has more time to do more gardening and remember the lovely ladies he's been meeting over the years.
It is Thursday, and Gunnar is out near the road once more, skipping rope again.
Orlando Ottomas walks by, and I have Gunnar stop him.
Can you believe that bragging about his woohoo expertise is the first thing Gunnar does?!
The teenage boy is, of course, VERY interested in getting Gunnar's best "How To" tips on this particular subject ;-)
"You mean, I should cook for a lady before starting to... erm... get closer?"
"Definitely! And practise beforehand - it's no good just offering some fried eggs, you know."
"Also, don't forget to always stock enough drinks in the fridge. Most ladies appreciate a refreshing sip after... the... erm... heat of the moment."
"If you have the means, you can start getting closer by watching TV together, maybe a scary movie so that she will want to snuggle up to you in order to feel protected."
"Or music. Nice, romantic music."
"How about a computer game?"
"No? Not a good idea? What if I take her out to have ice cream with me first? I like ice cream!" Gunnar seems to have had enough of teaching for today; he goes to bed.
Orlando is left to his own devices and makes his own entertainment with the fridge door.
On Friday morning, Gunnar spends hours reading the health section in the paper.
Later, he practises his hand-eye coordination by juggling bottles from the fridge.
Nothing much else happens on Friday. By Saturday morning, it is time to do some gardening again. Gunnar really is surprisingly good at taking care of his house and garden, and of himself - I didn't expect him to be so neat. He even cleans the toilet and shower without me telling him to. Maybe one reason for his diligence is that there is little to do for him; no distractions such as TV, computer, musical instruments or games.
The last day of his week is here. After I have just told you how good he is in keeping his place in order, he contradicts me by playing with the pile of leaves he just raked up.
I was waiting for this - the Social Bunny drops from the sky just as Gunnar takes the rubbish to the bin. It really isn't often I see this in my game!
Gunnar and the Bunny spend a few hours together. Once Gunnar's social life has improved enough, the Bunny disappears again.
The phone rings - it is Orlando, asking for more advice from Gunnar, THE expert for everything about the ladies.
"Yes, jewellery is a good idea - provided you can afford the really good stuff." - Says he, who has never given any lady anything more expensive than a rose!
"Make-up products? Hmm... she could misunderstand that, you know, as if you think she needs it to look pretty."
"A hat? Only if the idea is hers, and you are just there to pay the bill."
Gunnar ends the week on Sunday night building a snowman.
He'll turn into an Elder on the first day of his next week, and I already now I'll move him to the Senior Residence then. He'll certainly be an interesting addition there!
Or is he going to settle with one of his 3-bolt-ladies?
