Wednesday 16 January 2013

Every day should be a holiday, 2039

Round 34: December 2039 (Summer)

Lake Draper is 82 and Kendal is 63. 
(Rose and Joanna are 44, Rob is 38, Josie and Patience are 37, TroyAaron and Calvin are 36, Chris is 24, Sylvia is 13, JudeWill and Levi are 7, Felicity is 6, Amy is 4, Patrick and Andrew are 3, Natalie is 2 and Curtis is 4 months old)


Narrated by Kendal Draper


Now that school is out for Christmas, I've been enjoying some much needed relaxation time.




Every time I have a break from work, it’s like a little taste of what retirement might be like.


I have to say, I think I’m really going to enjoy it when the time comes.

It’s very nice to be able to spend so much time with Lake, as well as see what he gets up to when I’m not at home!

Mostly, he works on his garden, which I’ve been helping with since I’ve been home.


He just adores being out there and getting his hands dirty.



He’s got it in his head that he wants to grow most of the ingredients for our Christmas meal this year.


I’m doing all the cooking, because it’s best for everyone that Lake stays out of the kitchen. I don’t mind though. I actually enjoy cooking, even for big events like Christmas. 

I decided this year that we were busy enough preparing at home without adding the madness of the stores to the equation. We did it all online.


The big present this year is for the younger grandkids to share - a cubby house. Rose and Joanna had one in their backyard when Sylvia was little and she loved it.


As it turns out, Sylvia is still not too old to enjoy a cubby house.



Granted she wasn’t playing look out like Levi or going up the ladder and sliding down the pole over and over like Amy but she seemed to like having a nice shady place to sit outside.


Sylvia is the oldest of our grandchildren and there’s a big gap between her and the next oldest.

The primary-aged cousins all stick together and being 13, their chatter doesn’t hold much interest for Sylvia.

I think she finds our family gatherings a bit boring sometimes as a result but she seemed to be in good spirits on Christmas Day.

Rose says Sylvia has been less sullen lately in general but she’s a fairly moody teen. She and Joanna rarely know what she’ll be like from one day to the next!


Our youngest grandchild is Curtis and this year was his very first Christmas.


He’s much too young to know or care what was going on but we were so thrilled to have him with us anyway.

Compared to some couples, Calvin and Aaron didn’t wait too long for Curtis. But when you’re the one waiting, it feels like a lot longer. I’m glad they finally have their baby with them.


And selfishly, I'm glad I have one more grandchild to spoil! 


It feels like they’re all growing up too fast. Patrick and Andrew will both start pre-school next year, along with the big kids.


It’s hard to believe that Curtis will be the only baby in the family soon.


It might be a while before there’s another. I’ve accepted that Troy and Calvin are done adding to their families and I don’t think we’ll see any more babies from Rose or Patience either.


That leaves Chris, who remains steadfastly single. Up until this year, he was still studying, so it was understandable that he wasn’t after anything serious. I was hoping that would change this year but he hasn’t told us anything about a girl, so he’s still unattached.


Well, he hasn’t talked to me about a girl anyway. I see him in conversation with his brothers sometimes and they quickly hush up when I approach.


Most probably, Chris is dating around and doesn't want to share that information with his mother. Which I can understand but it doesn't stop me waiting for the day when he’ll get serious with someone.


He mostly talks to me about his job. He's the youngest at the architecture firm he's at and it's a lot of hard work. Chris is enjoying the challenge though. 

I know he's happy though and that makes me happy in turn.

But I’ll be happier if he brings a girl home for Christmas next year. I’d love to see him a little more settled.

All in all, the day went well, but we did have some drama when Josie started an argument with Rose.

I didn’t hear what went on, exactly, but it’s not a long bow to draw to assume Josie was the instigator. Rose is not one for conflict.

I like Josie well enough but she has always had a bad temper.

Troy took her into the dining room to calm down, as she was quite emotional.

That seemed to help, though I’m a little concerned about our next family get-together now. Things between her and Rose were left up in the air, so I’m not sure what will happen next time.

I’m hopeful everything will have blown over by then. Lake and I are trying not to concern ourselves with it too much and just preparing to enjoy a quiet New Year’s.

Notes:
  • I'm doing all right getting these out about once a week so far! I'm going faster than I thought I would be able to but then again, I'm not back at work yet. We'll see how I go once I am (which will be February).
  • The next update might take a bit longer to get out, as I haven't made most of the sims I need. I think the lot I need comes pre-decorated, so that might save me some time. Honestly, the most tedious part of this process so far is all the editing in SimPE - personality, interests, etc. Bleurgh. Really wish there was some kind of automatic way to do it!
  • Anyway, here it is, my much belated Christmas update! I feel like the Drapers have had Christmas like 3 times now, so I might make sure it's someone else's turn next time. But I like getting this family together. 
  • Josie and Rose: I have NO idea! Like Kendal, I don't think it's a stretch to assume Josie started it but I really don't know what happened. I teleported everyone over and let them all start interacting. The next time I saw Josie, she'd just finished shoving Rose and they were furious with each other, with a relationship score of -67. Josie attacked Rose (and Rose won, lol!) shortly afterwards, so their relationship score is now -100 and they're enemies. They were actually friends in Sullivan (in game, anyway - I never considered them to be particularly close story-wise), so it's quite strange! Josie clearly needs close supervision. 
  • I love that Kendal is still Kendal. She was unemployed when I played this session, so you'd think she'd want a job. But no. She wants a grandchild and for a relative to get engaged. There is only one relative who is both old enough to get engaged and single and that's Chris. So pressure is still on, Draper!

20 comments:

  1. I'm really looking forward to Kendal retiring, only so she has more time with Lake, as he is getting quite up there in age! I can't believe how old they are and their family. This is one of my favorite families, so I do not object to them having an abundance of Christmas celebrations!

    Hope Rose and Josie are able to make amends! Seems awfully huge of a fall out for something no one knows about the reason for! I hope that Chris settles down shortly enough, I'm not sure how much longer Kendal can wait! Sad that he's the last to settle down, and have a family, all of them have such adorable kiddos, and adoptees.

    I like that hair and hat on Sylvia, it fits her dramatic personality.

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    1. I know! I'd got used to my sims' ages but during my hiatus, I think I kind of forgot how old they all were, because their ages are surprising me yet again. Kendal and Lake are definitely favourites of mine too. I'll be sad to see them go, when their time comes.

      LOL, I don't know what was up with Rose and Josie. I think inviting Josie to a large gathering like this where she doesn't actually know anyone well yet (not many of my sims are even at the friends level as of yet) was probably not a great plan! But it's just so funny that it had to be Josie who got into it, even though Troy has identical personality points! It just goes to show that there's much more to our sims than those five personality traits!

      Don't forget that Chris is a lot younger than his siblings. Troy and Calvin have 12 years on him, Patience is a year older than them and Rose is older still. Kendal knows all that but she's still keen to see her baby settle down. He will but he wants to have his fun first. ;)

      I like the hat on Sylvia too, actually. I'll probably keep it for a while. It's not Pookleted but the texture is a bit more realistic than most of the base game hairs, so it doesn't stick out too badly!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Yes, isn't it funny how our Sims sometimes start an argument completely out of the blue!

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    1. It is. But not totally surprising coming from Josie, I suppose!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Aww, I love the pic of all the younger grandkids sitting together in the living room. Poor Sylvia is at that age when you're too old to hang with the little kids and too young to hang with the adults. The story of my childhood lol. I'm glad she was in a good mood for Christmas and will get over that moody early-teen stage quickly.

    LOL I saw you mention (on Tumblr? N99?) how Chris and Troy got quiet when Kendal walked into the room. Even their expressions are perfect, Chris looking annoyed, Troy with the big smile like nothing's going on! So crazy that Josie and Rose had that big blow up at the gathering. But yea, Josie probably started it lol. And it turned physical? You're going to have to keep your eye on Josie 2.0.

    Wow, you don't go back to work until February?! So jealous! Hope you're enjoying your time off!

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    1. LOL, story of my childhood too! I think Sylvia has it worse though. She'll be in college by the time Jude and her brothers become teens.

      The Chris and Troy thing with Kendal was all game play too, which I love. Kendal doesn't to hear about Chris's casual relationships, even though she's likely worked out that's the kind of thing he's into at the moment. Truthfully, I probably needed to keep an eye on Josie 1.0 too, but she'd made so many friends before she was even able to attack (pre-teen years) that it was never a massive issue! This will be interesting.

      Yeah, I start back in February but remember, this is my summer vacation! And it's a lot shorter than teachers in the US get as well!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. Cue the dramatics. I'm not surprised at Josie though, it's so typical. It seems like Josie 2.0 is really shining, I see more of her personality. Every time you update about this family, I expect Lake to kick the bucket, but he's going strong. Wow.

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    1. I don't know if Josie 1.0 ever got in a physical fight before though, I have to say! I'll have to think back about that. I'll have to keep an eye on her. ;)

      Lake is getting up there, isn't he? I'll have to check when he's supposed to die actually, because I've completely forgotten. Safe for another round though, as you can see. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. A fight at Christmas! It's like the soaps on British TV, but thankfully minus the deaths!

    Kendal and Lake are two of my favourites in your hood. I didn't think Kendal could get more beautiful as an adult but I was wrong! She always looks very elegant. And I just love Lake's impressive longevity!

    I don't mind how long it takes you to prepare this next update, I'm just glad that Sullivan is in one piece!

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    1. LOL, yes, thankfully, everyone left alive!

      I adore Kendal and Lake too. I was going through old pictures of them yesterday and I've always loved them. They both make very attractive elders, I think. Lake is the one who looks better as an elder to me. :)

      Heh, thanks. I've been taking my dog back and forth to the vet, so I have some RL things going on as well. I'm working a little bit on getting ready every day though.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. I love your family get togethers, especially Lake and Kendal's. They are still one of my favorite couples.

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    1. I enjoy the get-togethers too! I can't wait until I can hold one without a CAS family-making marathon and subsequent hunt for appropriate CC, lol! Lake and Kendal are very sweet though. Love them.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. I always love these updates because of the family get-togethers! Why can't someone develop an instant teleporter for TS3? LOL The 'invite over' option in SP is nice, but it isn't the same. The sims still have to DRIVE all the way there...

    Josie and Rose! Haha! I love it. It's like a real family gathering. You can't have one without at least a little bit of a tiff. It's bound to happen. ;)

    I will be so sad when it is eventually Kendal and Lake's 'time to go'... :(

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    1. If there's one thing TS3 needs, it's a teleporter a la TS2! When I say I'm not really in love with the open neighbourhood thing, this is really one of the reasons why. I imagine it makes making a teleporter very complicated and probably impossible. Otherwise, I think we'd probably have one by now.

      That is, sadly, so true! Fights are sort of part and parcel of holiday gatherings for many families. You can't choose your family, I guess, so there's no guarantee you'll get along with them all!

      I'll be pretty sad about Lake and Kendal too. :( Lake is so old already! I never used to get attached to married in townies but Lake and Kendal really turned me around on them!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. I’m super late, so I will be brief. I loved the Christmas update and very realistic with the sprinkling of family drama. Hopefully, the fight between Josie and Rose was trivial and won’t affect their relationship too greatly. Kendal has a pretty big family to keep her busy when she finally retires, though most of her children seem to be doing pretty well. I don’t know why I thought Chris was dating Veronica. Who is she dating?

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    1. Josie and Rose are actually enemies now! I might keep them away from each other for a while and let Josie cool off a tad!

      Veronica has actually been single since she and Josh broke up - not that I blame anyone for forgetting! It's been a long time. But she and Chris flirted a little bit when they were both in college, which may be what you're thinking of. They have fairly high chemistry and I may have mentioned that too. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. Poor Rose, just like you I'm pretty sure Josie was the one causing this :) I hope they get out of that enemie-state though, familygatherings aren't going to be nice when Josie and Rose are starting a fight every time.

    As always, the Christmasgathering was so nice. All those kids playing together.
    Even though Sylvia might think it's a bit boring at the moment, I'm sure she'll like them at the same time. It can't be easy being the only one of a specific age, but I'm sure she'll enjoy those gathering :)

    Poor Chris, the pressure really is on him, isn't it? :) For some reason I don't see him settling down any day soon though, despite what his mother wants :)

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    1. Ha, well, we'll see. It will probably be a while before the next whole family get-together, but who knows what Josie and Rose will get up to on community lots!

      Poor Sylvia. When I played this family, she was literally the only teen in town, let alone in her family! There are a few more floating around now, including her best friend Alice, so she can at least hang out with kids her own age outside of family gatherings now!

      Oh yes, Kendal is very keen for Chris to settle down! He will eventually but he's not ready for that yet. At this point though, I think Kendal would settle for him bringing a girlfriend home! He's never been the type for that in the past, though Kendal did meet Elspeth (and taught her, obviously!)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  10. I thought I had already commented on this but apparently I haven't. Anyways, I can relate to Sylvia being the only "big" kid except in my case all my cousins from my dad's side are years older than me so I've always felt a bit awkward around them because we have nothing in common. At least she has her friends to hang out with now.

    I actually feel a bit sorry for Chris because I imagine Kendal is going to put a lot of pressure on him to get him to settle down. But I also think that maybe it's time for him to start thinking about commitment so I'm basically taking Kendal's side anyway, lol. Just because I want to see a lot more babies in Sullivan. ;)

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    1. I was the eldest in our bunch of cousins but fortunately, I have always been quite happy to take on the leader role, so it never really bothered me! Just gave me another excuse to be bossy! But the age difference was not as stark as it is with Sylvia and her cousins. That's a lot harder.

      Ha, I feel a tiny bit sorry for Chris too, because feeling pressure to do something you don't feel quite ready for is tough. But he's probably going to reach a point where most of the girls his age are going to be thinking about settling down too, so maybe he should get used to the idea! ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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