The Burb Family: Week 4

(You can find the previous week at this household by clicking on the "Burb" label.)

Let me start this week at the Burbs' house with a look at the portraits in their dining room: this is what John and Jennifer looked like until they turned into elders. Maybe you remember that they had a daughter, Lucy. Sadly, Lucy died in a fire at her college dorm shortly after she had left home to study. It was a tragedy; Carolina Curious, fellow student and co-resident at the dorm, lost her life that day, too.

John is now 61. He has been on Permanent Platinum for some time.

Jennifer is 57. She, too, has been on PermaPlat for a while. So, apart from making sure that each passing New Maximilianian is greeted, I rarely tell these two what to do.

The house still looks the same, and both Jennifer and John still work.

On Monday, John's best friend Darren Dreamer comes visiting on his own accord.

Later, Zoe Zimmerman passes by the house and is asked in.

The Burbs start Tuesday morning by telling each other jokes.

Jennifer even does some badly needed bathroom cleaning.

It is John's first working day of the week; he is a Celebrity Chef. Does anyone else think that his hat does not really go well with his Chinese-style outfit?

Jennifer greets Gary Greenman.

Early on Wednesday morning, she does some stargazing.

In fact, it is more than just "some" stargazing - she stays at the telescope until she is nearly frozen.

Isn't it sad that a celebrity chef's idea of breakfast consists of stuffing his face in front of the fridge?

On Thursday morning, John and Jennifer meet at the koi pond.

Whenever these two are not otherwise occupied, they interact romantically, which is rather sweet to watch (and it isn't even spring yet).

Jennifer surprises me by preparing a proper meal on her own initiative.

It is Grandma's Comfort Soup and very welcome!

Hailey Hart is spotted investigating the contents of the Burbs' trash can.

Angela Pleasant jogs by, and is stopped by Jennifer.

It is Friday, and Jennifer spends such a long time giving financial consulting that several of her needs are well in the red before she stops.

Meanwhile, her husband has a comfortable bubble bath upstairs.

During the day, Xander Roth is welcomed.

Finally, our celebrity chef seems to remember what to do with all that kitchen equipment, and prepares lobster thermidor.

Um... I would have expected this meal to turn out better!

On Saturday morning, spring is well and truly here, and I decide to exchange Jennifer's woolly hat with a more spring-like headgear. I took the picture a second too late - she was very enthusiastic about the change!

John does a spot of gardening.

And Jennifer once again makes soup for both of them.

Later, Jimmy Phoenix is invited in.

On Sunday morning, Jennifer finally clears up some of the old newspapers that have been accumulating near the front door.

Ellen Frost is their guest for a while today.

John spends all of Sunday afternoon in Lucy's old room, where nothing has been changed since she left home to study. He writes his diary and stops every now and then, heaving a deep sigh.

The week at this household is over. It was a bit boring, and most of the time, I was playing on fast forward. Not even a fire this week to liven things up a bit :-)

John is now 68, and Jennifer 64. How much longer will this couple, who have nobody but each other, be around?

The Bubbler-Thomas Household: Week 6

Click here for week 5 or simply use the labels at the top of the page.

We're here for another week at the Bubbler-Thomas household. There are two houses on this Veronaville-type lot, but they are not divided between Ty Bubbler and Sam Thomas. Instead, the house to the left is where the two of them live, and the one to the right is a shop.

Here's Sam behind the counter. She has reached her lifetime want of becoming General some time during the last round, but unlike other Perma-Plat-Sims in my game, I do not treat her as unplayable. Instead, she is kept very busy helping Ty to reach his LTW of owning 5 top-level businesses.

Here is Ty, serving Darren Dreamer. Like Sam, he is now 60 years old. So far, two of his businesses have reached top level: Bubbler's Bubbly, which was a shop selling bottles of Champagne and wedding cakes, and Bubbler's Bubbels, a community lot shop selling bubble blowers.

On this Monday, Ty's third business, Bubbler's Blossoms, reaches rank 10. That's more than half of his LTW achieved! What will he do next?

While Ty is deciding on his next business idea, Sam is taking care of household matters. There is more money on their joint account than they will ever be spending, and so nowadays she does not hesitate to call the repair service when anything in the house breaks down. How different this is from when they first got started on their champagne-and-wedding-cake shop! 

Summer is here, and Sam takes time out of her busy schedule to get some new clothes.

She quite likes this outfit, it seems!

 On Tuesday, Ty starts his next enterprise: Bubbler's Bakery!

The upper floor of the shop is turned into a cosy little café. I know that it won't really "work", but you never know; some Sim or other could still choose to sit down here for a little while.

The actual shop is on the ground floor. But before Ty can open it, he needs to fill the food counters.

His first attempt at making a berry pie is not very successful.

Sam makes sure she and Ty need to take care of as little other matters as possible, and pays their hired help and gardener extra tips so that they will give it their very best.

This leaves them both free to bake all day, and on Wednesday, business at the bakery is in full

sWith so much baking going on, it is hardly surprising that the stove catches fire. But of course there is a fire alarm installed, and only the cake comes to harm.

sSam, who is actually a better cook than Ty, does not fare better with her first attempt at cheese cake than he did when he made his first berry pie.

sThursday saw the bakery rise to ranks 2 and 3. On Friday, yet another kitchen fire sets off the alarm.

By now, Ty and Sam have established a routine in taking turns at baking, restocking and selling, as well as eating and sleeping. This way, they even find time for one phone call to a friend each day.

And they make sure to spend quality time with each other!

<Ty seems to be on the phone or at the computer ordering groceries nearly every day now, as is the case on Saturday.

<SnThe groceries delivery guy is Ty's new best friend :-)

<SnaOn Sunday, Bubbler's Bakery is on rank 4. Sam and Ty are now both 67. The bakery is a lot more time-consuming than I expected; will Ty live long enough to see this business to rank 10, and then have enough lifetime left to do it all over again with a fifth business?

[I apologize for the weird format of this post. I have no idea what happened here and blame it on blogger, since I did not do anything different than with all the other posts!]