fee1991

[fee1991]

I'm not the problem! I might be a worthless screw-up with no self-confidence and whose so afraid of being noticed or judged she doesn't say what she's feeling and lied to her therapist about things, but I've just realized I'm not the problem. Or at least not completely. I was raised this way. It's on the people who raised me. It's on my parents. They raised me, they didn't do anything to build me up. This is there fault. They are the failures. They failed as parents. Not me.

This opinion may change as my current emotions fade. And I know I will regret all of these words. Depression and anxiety are like that. But for now, for this moment, this self-revelation needs to be said. Needs to be felt.

I'm not the problem. The people who raised me are the failures.

[fee1991]

Farm Legacy Challenge - Year 3, Spring & Summer

Spring

A new year blooms with the arrival of Spring. Wulfe got out of the house to collect honey from the elixir shop and then returned home to fish for a while.

 Rory had his birthday to childhood and a few hours later, Wynn went into labour. She made her way to the hospital where she gave birth shortly after midnight to a baby girl they named Lauren.

Rory’s childhood birthday

Despite the recent birth, both parents kept up with the harvest when the frost would diminish enough that they could. Wynn made it to the consignment store one day with all the family's collected produce, the first day with their produce in stock netted roughly $19,000.

 Wynn and Wulfe celebrated their one year wedding anniversary on Love Day, and Wulfe gifted Wynn with a new dishwasher since their old one kept breaking every other day.

 Lauren celebrated her first birthday, growing to become a toddler. Before the season was out she even learned to talk!

Summer

Summer began with a full moon and the discovery that the doll Rory received as an infant was magical as it came to life!

Rory and his imaginary friend

Josie celebrated her birthday by the light of the full moon, becoming a teenager. A few days on she learned to drive following lessons from Wynn and Wulfe. Josie even applied--successfully--for a part-time job at the bookstore.

Josie learns to drive

Lauren was finally potty trained and learned to walk. With summer nearly over the family celebrated her birthday to childhood.

 The whole family kept up with the harvest, even pulling produce from the empty lots nearby. Both Wynn and Wulfe made separate trips to the consignment store that earned the family over $60,000 combined on the first day.

 For Leisure Day, Josie and Rory went to the summer festival where Rory beat his older sister in a hot dog eating contest. The whole family has also spent several hours throughout the summer week fishing in the large pond on the property.

Josie and Rory compete in a hotdog eating contest

Josie went on a date with the older Hasan Fox, the youngest son of the prestigious Fox family. But during the date, she met Hasan's older brother, Dakota, and dang if he isn't better looking. Josie had to ask herself why she was hanging out with the evil brother when the elder one was nice--if a little clumsy.

[fee1991]

Farm Legacy Challenge - Year 2, Fall & Winter

Autumn

Just in time for the start of fall, their new house is ready. They spent the first day of the new season moving everything in and just getting used to the house. Some things may need to change--wall colour and where they've put some stuff--but Wulfe is very happy with the job the construction boys did.

 One of the first things the family did upon moving into their newly built home was celebrate Josephine's birthday! Wynn made a cake just for the occasion, but unfortunately when they blew out the candle's the cake caught fire. Wulfe was quick to jump in and put out the fire to save their new kitchen. Josie meanwhile aged up to being a toddler none the wiser.

Josephine’s birthday cake inferno

Wynn returned to her garden and managed the harvest whenever she could, but with the temperature beginning to drop she wasn't able to get produce every day. Wulfe kept up work at the firehouse.

 Wynn announced she was pregnant again. Josie was successfully taught to walk and talk and was potty trained.

 After spending 8 hours and change working to put out a large house fire, Wulfe decided that he'd had enough. He has a busy garden to help his wife manage at home, a toddler, and a baby on the way, he was leaving the firehouse. But he knew how Wynn would handle the news--they needed the money more than ever since all their savings had been sunk into the building and decorating their new home, and again, they had a second child on the way--so he didn't quit right away. He and Wynn talked it over on Spooky Day and in the end, Wynn admitted that she was going to need more help around the house, so Wulfe called in right away to quit.

 Late in the evening on Spooky Day Wynn was woken from sleep to the breaking of her waters. She woke Wulfe up and, at home, baby boy Rory was born a little after midnight.

Wynn in labour with Rory

Wulfe also had the unpleasant experience of being abducted by aliens. He refuses to speak of the event.

Wulfe’s alien abduction

Winter

It's a very fortunate thing that a public greenhouse opened just as winter started. The Oak family has been making extensive use of the location in town, harvesting the produce growing within to help supplement what they've saved from all the fall harvests to sell over winter.

 Josie has had a birthday, growing from toddler to child--and not a moment too soon. The very day after Josie had her birthday, Rory celebrated his to toddler-hood. While Wynn's midlife crisis eventually worked itself out. Rory has been learning his basic skills such as talking, potty training, and walking.

Josephine and Rory play peek-a-boo

A burglar attempted to rob them, even grabbing their outhouse of all things, but the police arrived and apprehended the thieving crook.

 So far this season the snows have been so great that the city has labeled every day a snow day. Josie is both excited and frustrated by the news. She gets to stay home and play all day, but she also can't recall having ever left the house except to play on their extensive property. Finally, despite every day of the week being a snow day, Wynn and Wulfe sent Josie to school on Friday--she was starting to go stir crazy after all.

 To cap the season off, Wynn announced her third pregnancy, and Josie held a bake sale in the snow.

[fee1991]

Farm Legacy - Year 2, Spring and Summer

Spring

Ah, spring! With the arrival of spring the urn's of Wynn's parents finally--yes, FINALLY!--cleared customs and Wynn was able to bring her parents home with her. Now she just needs to figure out what to do with Uncle Jono's remains still in her kitchen, a fact that was brought up by the delivery men when her new stove was dropped off.

 Along the way, Wynn managed to get the brambles, and later the ranch weeds, on her lot cleared and stopped by the consignment store to drop off the honey she'd been harvesting through the winter, a consignment that ended up making her a little over $16,000. Yeah, she can't believe it either.

 Then came one of the best days of Wynn's life so far. She and Wulfe got engaged. There was nothing romantic about it, they were standing in the library, but her dreams are still starting to come true!

 Love Day came and things in Wynn's life got even better as she and Wulfe were married. It was a very private affair, just them--and Uncle Jono's skeleton--in Wynn's--now their--dilapidated home. But it was the two of them, and while Wulfe is already getting in touch with a contractor he knows to draw up plans for a new house, they couldn't have asked for more.

Wulfe and Wynn’s private wedding

Since moving into the rundown house--and while waiting to hear back from the city and his contractor buddy--Wulfe has taken to upgrading the appliances since he also has time off work thanks to his wedding--Wynn's been writing thank you notes to the three acquaintances that sent wedding gifts or running around town trying to find crops to harvest despite the long and continued frost. So far he's managed to finish repairing the car and has upgraded the dishwasher, sprinkler, outhouse, microwave, and laptop. He's also been in a couple time to the firehouse despite being off work just to see to general maintenance.

Summer

With summer Wynn's been able to finally start harvesting again, and she'd taken to fishing in their pond as well. She even entered the gardening competition one day and won third place, but she knows she can do better. Wulfe's gone back to work and his first day back saw him get to battle a large house fire and save 3 lives. Before he left, he did help with some of the harvests.

 In big news, Wynn discovered and announced that she was pregnant! While excited at the news, Wulfe's now feeling a little stressed. He's hoping and praying the city grants them permission to tear down Wynn's uncle's house; his contractor friend had been by and said the house is in such bad shape it needs to be demolished before anything can be done. During that somewhat unpleasant conversation, they started to draw up plans for the new house.

Wynn’s first pregnancy

On a lighter note, Wulfe celebrated his birthday becoming a fully fledged adult.

Wulfe’s birthday to adulthood

Everyone kept working in the garden, pulling the harvest, and when not on the garden fishing out of their pond. Wulfe has kept working, despite the fact that he had been thinking of quitting once Wynn announced her pregnancy.

 The news came through that they would be able to demolish the house. It was a welcome piece of news, but Wynn was due any time now, so they sat down and weighed their options, demolish and start the rebuild now or wait until after the baby was born. After much back and forth, Wynn got the final say--it had been her uncle's home originally--and they began packing up their belongings and rented a caravan and some camping supplies to see them through the building process.

Camping while their house is rebuilt

And just as the crew was starting to lay the foundation--on Leisure Day!--after tearing the place down, Wynn went into labour and at the hospital gave birth to a healthy baby girl they named Josephine. To cap everything off, Wynn had her birthday the next day and Wulfe, unfortunately, missed it battling a large house fire that took 6 hours--about every window was spewing fire--to battle. Unfortunately, Wynn's journey to adulthood was accompanied by a midlife crisis. Which isn't surprising given her parent's tragic death on vacation, the knowledge of her father's numerous debts essentially bankrupting her, giving up her life in Starlight Shores to move into a crumbling house the once belonged to her now dead uncle--whose body is now in the back corner of the property--and giving up her dreams of becoming a surgeon in order to make use of the extensive land she now owns in the heart of farm country. Deep breaths Wynn.

[fee1991]

Farm Legacy - Autumn & Winter

Autumn

Autumn arrived with Wynn able to make one last harvest before her crops went dormant due to the drop in temperature. Grateful for the break from spending an entire day in her garden, Wynn dropped off all her produce at the consignment store where she had another chat with the shop keeper to stave off a nervous breakdown. A trip out to the abandoned gypsy camp produced more crops for her to harvest, and while she harvested them, they were something she chose to save for when the winter months would likely bring very few funds.

Spooky Day arrived with little fuss, and Wynn was glad she made the trip to the fall festival the day before where she even managed to harvest all the available pumpkins. After finishing her breakfast and putting in a load of laundry, Wynn carved up a traditional jack-o-lantern. After a few hours of fishing in the large pond on her property, she spent a while working on the broken down car left in her front yard and finally got around to putting her front door back on its hinges--something that had actually been nice to have open and broken in the hot summer month. Unfortunately, the fact the Wynn had been hoping to become a doctor before moving to Appaloosa Plains became evident when trying to make dinner on Spooky Day as she set her kitchen on fire.

Wynn working on the broken down car

Wynn has also been drafting a proposal to the Appaloosa Plains Town Committee to have the old windmill and water tower that stand on her property torn down. She's hopeful to hear back from them sometime before the snow starts and makes demolition impossible until a later date, that is assuming they grant her request.

A surprise heat wave struck Appaloosa Plains, and while it wasn't enough to produce crops Wynn kept her garden free of the newly growing weeds. While on her way to the gym, Wynn met a fellow newcomer to Appaloosa Plains, Wulfe Oak. She struck up a conversation with the man--who turns out is a firefighter just a little older than herself--and while they became friends, Wynn went home that night to dream about him becoming the father of her children.

Winter

Winter arrived and while working on repairing her uncle Jono's old car she got to experience her first snow in her new home. As the snow began to stay on the ground Wynn decided to head inside where she decided she'd had enough of cleaning her kitchen sink and decided to upgrade the darn thing to be self-cleaning. She also rewarded herself for a good first year's harvest by purchasing a laptop.

Over the next few days, Wynn visited the Winter Festival and spent time with Wulfe--after tracking down the busy man in the middle of the street. She also discovered a dragon egg, that when it hatched she sold the baby dragon at the consignment store--who knew they accepted such things?!

One day, Wynn spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon online chatting with Wulfe. Later that day she worked some more on her uncle's rundown old car and then paid a visit to the elixir shop to harvest some honey. Wynn thought she'd sit down for a few minutes in front of the store's roaring fire and instead ended up taking a nap; a nap she enjoyed so much she decided she wanted a rocking chair for her own home.

Snowflake Day arrived and Wynn was able to invite Wulfe over where they began their very first date. Wynn was so excited but she tried not to let it or her nerves show, she just prayed she didn't screw this up. As they date wore on the two made their feelings official and became boyfriend and girlfriend and then went over to the coffee house for something to eat, afterward they enjoyed some of the SimFest acts.

Wulfe Oak

By the last day of winter Wynn finally heard back from the town council, and yes she did have permission to tear down the old windmill on her lot, but only the windmill at this time. The city even sent out a team to do the work for her, and despite the deep snow, the windmill was gone. While the windmill was being dismantled, Wynn purchased a microwave and a food processor. She also took time through the day to work out and work some more on the car.

[fee1991]

Farm Legacy - Introduction and Summer

Following a tragic boating accident resulting in the deaths of Starlight Shore residents Tighe (pronounced: TIE)--an accomplished film director--and Bathsheba Roper--an orchestra lead--while on vacation in Isla Paradiso, the SRA (Sim Revenue Agency) came in to collect on Tighe's numerous debts. To cover the cost the SRA took everything to the family's name save a plot of land in Appaloosa Plains that once belonged to Bathsheba's bachelor older brother, Jono--the SRA determined it had no value to cover the debt.

Tighe and Bathsheba Roper just before the tragic boat accident

Jono's own tragic demise is shrouded in mystery. When the SRA showed up at his home to forcibly collect on the numerous bills he hadn't paid, they found only the skeleton of the homeowner--at least it is strongly believed to be the remains of Jono Knightly, and no one has disproven the claim. With the news of Jono's passing his neighbours--who never really knew the eccentric loner--pillaged most of his belongings while the house fell into disrepair and the land became an overgrown mess.

Only known photo of Jono Knightly

Is that you uncle Jono?

Tighe and Bathsheba's daughter Wynn is now left to figure out what she's going to do with little to no money and a ramshackle house in another town.

Wynn Roper

Summer

Wynn Roper has fled to Appaloosa Plains after her parent's deaths and the loss of her family's fortune. Wynn used the last of her money to purchase a plane ticket from Starlight Shores and arrived at her new home now broke--truly broke, as in zero money.

Taking stock of her new home she quickly realized the only thing to do was to make use of the land she now owned around it and went in search of seeds to begin planting. Finding no seeds on her first day, she chose instead to try planting some of the food in her refrigerator.

A couple days in, and a near nervous breakdown from lack of communication with other Sims, and Wynn was making her first harvest. Thankfully she'd learned that the elixir shop had beehives that she could harvest and sell the produce from to the consignment shop in the meantime.

As rewarding as her days now are away from the life of leisure she had enjoyed before she was none too happy with the fact it took her an entire day to manage her little garden. That and despite having sold some honey and beeswax--no produce yet she's been too busy in the garden to get out and sell anything, and yes that is leading to another breakdown--Wynn has less than $500 in her pocket. Of course, most of the money she made from the honey and beeswax went to a fence around her garden to protect it from zombies. ZOMBIES!!

As the end of summer approached--it was the last day--Wynn finally made it to market again where she put a week's worth of harvested produce up for sale. She saw a demand for her goods that very day making a little over $3,000. She spent most of it right away on a burglar alarm--not that she had anything anyone would want to steal, but a rash of burglaries in the neighbourhood made her nervous--and a tablet. She also managed to curb her desolate mood brought on by lack of communication by having a lengthy conversation with the consignment specialist.

[fee1991]

Sims 3: Grow As You Go - Farm Legacy Challenge

Alright, so yes I still play Sims 3, but with all my mods and stuff, it does not feel out of date or anything.

Anyway, on Mods the Sims a challenge was posted and it has to do with farming. Now aside from the horses--I find them too time-consuming--I like the whole farm/garden/country thing. I also tend to lose interest in legacy families after a generation or two, but maybe chronicling everything will help. Here’s hoping at least.

The link to the challenge is here.

I’ve slightly altered (okay, not really) and added some stipulations. The lot I’m starting on is a pre-existing 50x50 in Appaloosa Plains, The Madison. I’ve added lots of rocks, brambles, and weeds, a broken down car (from Roaring Heights), and an old windmill and water tower out back, as well as a pile of hay, a no fishing sign on the pre-existing pond, an all-in-one outhouse, and a non-functioning decorative scarecrow. There is very little furniture in the house. Used broken doors and windows from the Now and Then Century Manor, as well as wall coverings to simulate exposed or grimy walls. Used spider webs to show age, and used the skeleton from World Adventures for story purposes.

For my personal stipulations, or what I’m calling city permits--so to speak--on when the expansions can be built--aside from already stated restrictions. Each expansion has a monetary requirement and a length of time that that requirement must be held for, if the money drops below stated value the count would need to restart once it’s back up. Only one permit can be considered by the city at a time, meaning the $10,000 cannot be for a landscaping and a major home improvement, it can be used for landscaping then restart the count for the next--if the money is still there.

These “city permits” are: *Herb Garden for University Herbs (can be small, but at least five must be growing)  $1,000 for 2 days *Vegetable Garden (only vegetable crops, at least five) $1,000 for 2 days *Fruit Orchard (trees and crops count, at least five) $1,000 for 2 days *Nectary Shed + Wine Cellar  (shed) $7,500 for 1 week + (cellar) $3,000 for 4 days *Barn (add horse stalls if you like)  $7,500 for 1 week + $1,500 for 2 days (per horse) *Memorial Garden for the Founding Sim and Spouse (includes their graves)  $1,000 for 2 days *A Stocked Pond  $3,000 for 4 days *An Expansion on the House (no more than two rooms, or expand pre-built rooms). Can be done more than once.  $7,500 for 1 week (per expansion) *Beekeeping Area (at least one hive)  $1,500 for 2 days (per hive) *Horse Training Area  $7,500 for 1 week *Decorative Flower Garden  $1,000 for 2 days *Gazebo  $3,000 for 4 days *Wedding Grounds  $2,000 for 2 days *Wrap Around Front Porch (preferably when the house is to your liking)  $7,500 for 1 week *Adopt 2 cats/dogs or 1 cat and 1 dog  $1,500 for 2 days (per pet) Store Content: *2 Chicken Coops  $1,500 for 2 days (per chicken coop) *A Cow Shed  $7,500 for 1 week (per cow) *A Tractor Course  $3,000 for 4 days *A Berry Garden  $1,000 for 2 days *A Greenhouse  $7,500 for 1 week And bonus ones based on my lot and for my story: *Remove old windmill or water tank  $5,000 for 3 days (each) *Clear all brambles or weeds or rocks  $1,000 for 2 days (each) *Dry out existing pond $7,500 for 1 week *Demolish and rebuild existing house $15,000 for 1 week (this can be repeated at any time through challenge) My General Rule of Thumb: *Landscaping  $1,000 for 2 days *Major Builds/Expansion/Addition  $7,500 for 1 week *Average Build/Expansion/Addition  $3,000 for 4 days *Minor Build/Expansion/Addition  $2,000 for 2 days *Adding a Pet  $1,500 for 2 days

My Sims lifespan, while technically normal is also technically not and I really don’t feel like changing it just for one save. Pregnancy is 5 days; Baby is 3 days; Toddler is 7 days; Child is 14 days; Teen is 24 days; Young Adult is 42 days; Adult is 42 days; Elder is 24 days; 160-day lifespan. No changes to seasons or lunar cycle.

And I’m counting a new generation as starting when the heir has been a young adult for 1 season/week, or the previous head of the family passes away. The spouse does not take over unless the heir is a child or younger but if they are a teen they can assume ownership of the farm.

My starting Sim has been built and I’ll introduce her in another post shortly, hopefully. I’ll also try and post updates on how things are going at least once a week.