#but as you can see Smiler had a good sales day

[victorluvsalice]

-->And hooray, I can finally have my food sale! I promptly had Smiler set up outside and restock the table (with minty mocha cupcakes, banana split waffles, artful foccacia, and garden pizza) before starting their sale, calling out to any passers-by to check out their wares while Victor and Shadow continued working on Heel training. And seeing this, I got an idea for how Alice could get HER New Skill Day Skill – specifically, I sent her to take some pictures of Smiler at the stand! (And Shadow spinning around chasing her tail nearby.) Because she wasn’t QUITE at level 5 Photography skill yet, and what better time to max out that mini-skill than New Skill Day? :D She got some good shots of Smiler in full salesperson mode (probably gonna put one up on the wall in the house – or maybe in the store?), then went to chat with Victor for a bit as the first customer of the day walked up to see the wares –

Morgyn Ember! Who I did NOT recognize immediately in their hot weather wear because they’d traded their curly locks for a giant bun and their iconic red coat for a red shirt and black shorts. O.o They started chatting with Smiler about the food available (Smiler, as usual, becoming their good friend up on introducing themselves), while Victor finally finished teaching Shadow how to heel (nice) and followed Alice into one of the vet treatment rooms to give her a little serenade. XD I had Alice respond by taking some pictures, including of him and some cute posters around the room –

And THAT knocked her over the edge, maxing out Photography at level 5 and getting her the New Skill Day skill she needed! w00! With THAT settled, I had Alice go hang out with the pets in the front of the vet, and sent Victor to go get a burger from the local food stand by the big old fountain (which he ate with one of the local strays). But how was Smiler doing hawking their goodies during all this?

-->Pretty darn good, honestly! After a long chat, Morgyn ended up buying a minty mocha cupcake, with Brant Hecking stopping by to grab a slice of garden pizza right afterward. Brytani Cho (that celebrity Smiler slightly dislikes for reasons unknown to me) then showed up and started being annoying, trying to hype up all her fans in front of the stand, but fortunately she was mostly ignored, and sales continued. Roxana Lopes popped by for a cupcake and Morgyn came back to snag some banana split waffles (and an autographed picture from Brytani, so I guess her hyping did work a little).

After that, there was a break in the action, so I quickly checked up on Victor and Alice and had them trade places – Victor returning to the vet lot to check up on the pets (he also got to know Butter, one of the other patients, who was a big cute fluffy Loyal dog) while Alice went to grab a haddock sandwich from the food stand (the eating of which taught her how to make it – was a little surprised, but hey, new recipe). Once I was certain they were good, it was back over to the stand to convince people they deserved snackies! Brytani decided to actually BUY something after Smiler hit her with a sales pitch and picked up some garden pizza, with Brant coming back in for another slice of same, and Catarina, Justin, Morgyn, and Brent all got some cupcakes before the sale ended. Final totals were six minty mocha cupcakes, three garden pizza slices, and one serving of banana split waffles sold for a total of $249 profit! Not bad – I like how the sale breaks down specifically what was sold, instead of making me keep track of it. Seems like cupcakes might be the way to go for future sales... Plus Smiler got TWO levels of the Entrepreneur skill from the sale, meaning they completed New Skill Day upon finishing it! w00! That’s what we like to see!

[allycryz]

🌹🍊🌸💗 Feel free to pick one, if that's too many!

🌹 How easy is it for them to connect with others and make friends? On the flip side how easy is it for them to make an enemy of someone? Are they the kind of person who hangs around the food table at a party and never talks to anyone or are they the type who can talk to anyone?

Nerys makes friends fairly easily. She is a big believer in nuance, that most people are basically good and often bad impressions come from catching someone on a day. Which doesn't always occur to her in practice because emotions are tricky but it is her guiding principle.

That being the case, she is not quick to declare someone an enemy. She is more likely to dislike someone because they hurt someone else. She believes in forgiveness but she expects any promise of change to be followed with action and not empty words

When it comes to events she compares herself unfavorably to Aymeric and Alphinaud (and later Haurchefant) who all have a bent for politics. It's easier with an guide. Post Dragonsong War, she accompanies Artoirel to various functions. He is reserved but knows the rhythms of the event. She can follow his lead. (Incidentally, he is an excellent dancer. If she needs a break from the gathered crowds he is glad to take her about the floor.)

Luckily most of her friends and partners are excellent at parties and help her get settled. If she's on her own, she'll find someone who is vaguely familiar or looks like has something in common with her. She can get her bearings that way.

🍊 What is your OC’s favourite meal? Snack? Dessert? Drink? Any reasons behind this besides liking how it tastes?

What is your OC’s most hated food? Stuff they can’t stand to eat or drink?

Nerys has a sweet tooth, especially for maple sugar. Growing up her yearly treat was maple sugar molded into a leaf shape from a local festival. Even now if she sees it on sale somewhere she will buy it and *try* not to eat it all in one day.

(It doesn't always work out)

She'll eat most things and is a tea drinker but has enjoyed coffee now and then. Alcohol wise she prefers cider--especially from the East Shroud.

The one think she hates is mushy vegetables. A properly cooked vegetable is a thing of beauty. (As of yet, she has never had a bad meal in Ishgard.)

🌸 What does your OC’s voice sound like? Their laugh? Are they good at singing? Do they have an accent?

Nerys has a moderate voice and a very loud laugh when she lets loose. A lot of time she is more of a chuckler or a smiler but if you catch her off guard with a good joke or pun she will bark with mirth.

She's a good singer but it's the one thing she's a bit shy about. It's more comfortable if she's in a group or imbibed a little. Y'shtola is one of the few who have heard it (upcoming fic has this >>)

💗 What would your OC say is their best feature? Why? What do their friends / family / lover(s) / people they know think is their best feature and why?

Physically Nerys would say her legs or hair. Mentally/Emotionally she would say her capacity for compassion. There are times she is down on herself for feeling so. damn. much. but understands why it can be a good thing.

Her friends, family, and lovers all agree that her heart is her best feature in general, whether it's her courage or her compassion or her passion. Hades finds her extraordinary in this way and is always bowled over by her resolve.

(Thancred would write odes to her thighs if he was still a bard.)

[coolveraverto]

Fur, Feathers, and Fins (Chap 1)

Chapter 1: Why would some Quidditch extraordinaire want to work in a pet store? I seriously have no answer. But I’m determined to find out.

HPFT

Everyone else was rubbish. They were either too young and made butt-crack jokes, too old to keep up with the pace - or they simply just didn’t have it. I swear on Dumbledore’s beard - there just wasn’t anyone else qualified for the job. Honest.

When James Potter II walked into my father’s pet shop… well, I was quite surprised.

One: His Uncle owned the famous WWW joke shop in Hogsmeade so why the hell did he come in here looking for a job? Surely he could get a job at the family business. Or anywhere really; He was a Potter (surname props).

Two: I hadn’t seen him since our Hogwarts days. Except for that time over a year ago when I saw him in London shopping with a pretty blonde - not like he saw me. I think.

And Three: I knew him as the snarky and determined Gryffindor Quidditch star. Everyone at school always said he could be tough-as-nails on the Quidditch pitch (he made my best friend play with a broken wrist during the last match against Slytherin), and he was not as smart or walked around with his nose up in the air like his younger brother, but I always thought he sounded too cocky in sixth year Potions. So why would some Quidditch extraordinaire want to work in a pet store?

I seriously have no answer. But I’m determined to find out.

_

Since I could barely pick myself up without falling straight on my buttocks, we’ve had the shop. Here is a little history about Fur, Feathers, and Fins (AKA FFF):

Mum despised the shop. Dad was in absolute delight about it. FFF caused some major marriage problems between the two.

Backdrop: My parents, Alicia Spinnet and Nolan Mackenzie met at Hogwarts. Though hardly. Mum was two years behind him, a Gryffindor Chaser with a sharp tongue and no tolerance for distracting boys. Dad thought she was cute but he was a shy Hufflepuff that helped Hagrid feed the giant squid on weekends. It wasn’t until a year after she graduated when they ran into each other at a shared friend’s wedding. Long story short: They got married not even six months later. Everything was good - Dad was working at a muggle Bar and Mum was paying the bills because of the Harpies; They laughed and talked and mum prodded at his ribs whenever he sang terribly to her.

And then an abandoned shop went for sale in Diagon Alley. “This was my real chance!” he always says. It had always been his dream to open a pet store filled with all sorts of animals - magical and non magical. Anything with fur, feathers, and fins that wanted a home. And he was going to be the one to help that. Except mum hated it.

She wanted to open a Quidditch supplies shop. Anything that wasn’t even remotely human made her skin itch. And being seven months pregnant with me, she didn’t find it a spectacular idea. Something along the lines of, “You couldn’t even decide on bloody nursery wallpaper but you can decide on this in a split second!”

I spent the first four months of my babyhood yanking on the tails of Kneazles and swatting my chubby palms at flying Golden Snidgets. Mum only came to the shop when she absolutely needed to and Dad sometimes spent nights there alone. Then they got divorced.

I was too young to really understand it so having two parents that live in separate parts of the world and only speak to each other when it directly affects me was a norm growing up. I lived with Mum in Leeds until I went to Hogwarts and saw Dad on certain Holidays. He was so happy when I was sorted into Hufflepuff, and to be honest… I felt closer to him somehow. Mum scrunched up her nose like she always does but she never said anything.

Once I graduated Hogwarts, Dad offered me a job working for FFF. I immediately took it, moving into a flat in London with my best mate, and mum had gotten remarried to some boring bloke that didn’t age well. Dad is still hung up on her though and I only know this because he still has their wedding photos and such sitting around his house. I don’t say anything about them.

Anyway.

So for the last four years I have been working for FFF. Some people think it’s a complete joke - that it is easy. “Oh, you work at a pet store?” Like it’s lame. “All you do is feed them and wait for someone to take them home?” Like that shit is easy.

News Flash: It isn’t easy.

Some days I actually want to bury my head into a blender and make myself into a smoothie. The chirping and meowing and barking and growling and whatever else noises they can make can drive a person up a wall. So bloody loud and consistent. I don’t think I know what it’s like not to have a headache anymore.

And then we have to clean up after them. That’s right. The stuff that comes out of both ends of these magical buggers. And some are SO smart, in fact I think Monty (a kneazle) makes himself vomit on purpose because he knows I have to mop it up. They can be so cruel. And so nasty.

But the hardest part is: when they get adopted. I know, it’s what we’re even open for business for and whatnot. But I grow so fondly for each and every one of them, even the grumpy fur balls. It breaks my heart just a little when they leave the shop, but it’s a bittersweet feeling.

It wasn’t until the seventh employee that my dad hired had quit when he finally ordered me to hire the next. The thought of interviewing randoms made me nauseous - I was not cut out for that type of bizz. But we needed the extra help and so I made a funky flyer - and by “I made” I mean my best mate did - and suddenly I was interviewing at least a dozen people for three days straight.

But like I said prior: they all bloody sucked. The animals would hiss at some, hide from others - or the interviewees would scream at some, hide from others. It was turning out to be a bleeding mess. I was beginning to lose hope and starting to accept the fact that I was gonna have to work ten times harder.

And then James Potter walked through the door.

Cue the ironic sound bell from muggle rom coms.

His brown hair was styled with gel, his yellow tie was almost as bright as his face, which, to say the least, was dazzling. Of course I always admitted to myself that James Potter II was a handsome bloke, back in my Hogwarts days. It wasn’t like I daydreamed about him snogging me in the broom closets, but I did turn pink once when he picked up the quill I had dropped that one time. But seeing him grow from a teenager to a 20-something. . . Okay, he got better-looking.

He smiled awkwardly when he saw me and I looked like a right-damn idiot - my jaw practically sitting on the floor just staring at him like a pea-sized brain fish! But thankfully, I came to my senses, wiping my hands on my red trousers and trying to smile back. Key word: Trying.

“Can I help you with something?” I asked with my employee-polite-voice.

He whisked out parchment from his pants pocket. It was my stupid lime-green flyer. OH my Merlin.

“I’m here for a position?” He asked like it was a question, I almost laughed. “You’re still hiring right?”

“Um, yes, we are -”

Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Monty, the grumpy fat kneazle that hated everyone including me, was purring and trailing around James’ legs, making bright orange kneazle-fur to stick to his pants. You have got to be kidding me right now.

I snatched Monty away - trying not to get myself scratched in the process as Monty began wailing like something hideous. Which he is. “I am so bloody sorry, James. Truly, I do not know what has gotten into -”

“You remember me?” James asked, looking surprised. How could he even look surprised? Of course I’d remember HIM. But how in the bleeding world could someone like James Potter remember someone like ME? I had one friend in Hogwarts and I was - not going to lie - invisible.

“Well - yeah,” I replied lamely. And then out of bravery I asked, “You know me?”

James laughed. It was beautiful.

“If I can recall, you were always around Montgomery,” he explained and then he shook his head with a small smile playing on his lips. “You were always distracting that Keeper of mine. Could never block a quaffle when you were sitting in the stands. I guess it’s your fault we lost against Hufflepuff in the last match.”

Laughter erupted out of me so much I could barely control it. I never distracted Gavin during games. How could I even distract him? I was always too busy reading books on magical creatures to even know who won the blasted games.

James was looking at me weirdly and so I stopped laughing. Trying to play it cool I said, “I guess I just wanted my own House to win for a change. You Gryffindors were always too boastful.”

“Is that what you truly believe?” He was smiling like a kid on Christmas. “Maybe we were just trying to impress some pretty Hufflepuffs.”

Oh. My. Merlin.

Was he flirting?

He totally was.

Merlin.

I raised an eyebrow and decided to try to act like James Potter flirting with me was like bleeding normal or ordinary. “I’m not sure I can talk for all of my fellow Hufflepuffs, but I was too busy to notice arrogant teenage boys,” I said out loud, but on the inside I was dancing.

“Ah!” He jokingly put a hand over his heart like I had broken it. “My inner seventeen year old boy has a broken heart now. How dare you, Kitty Mackenzie.”

Oh. I hadn’t been called Kitty, other than by my father since I was in Hogwarts, so it was strange and unexpected when James said it. He was still grinning at me and I suddenly had the feeling that James Potter was a smiler and I would be damned if I were to be the one to break that smile.

“So. . .” I said as James picked Monty up off the ground and snuggled him against his chest. This cannot be real. When I finally wake up, I will realize this whole interaction had been a beautiful blissful dream. “When can you start?”

“You hired Harry Potter’s son?!” Dad has been freaking out since I told him the news of our new employee for the past like, ten minutes. His eyes are like saucers. “Harry Potter’s son is working for my pet shop.”

I roll my eyes and take a bite of my bread roll. In between bites I say, “Why do you keep saying his name like that? He’s just a person.”

“He’s not just a person, didn’t you learn anything in school?”

Yes, I know Harry Potter saved the wizarding world. He defeated the most evilest wizard ever. He’s the boy-who-lived. Yadada. Of course I know all about him, it’s basically imprinted in my brain forever. Especially since Dad worships the man. But he’s still just a person. And I could always tell James, and his siblings, didn’t like the special treatment they’d get all the time.

Instead, just to grind his gears a little more, I tell him all seriously, “No, never heard of him. I only learned about Nifflers.”

Dad gives me a look. “Do you realize how great this is for our shop?”

I raise an eyebrow. “How is James Potter great for the shop? He hasn’t even started yet. He might even quit like the last seven hires.”

Despite what I just told him, Dad smiles wide. “Everyone is going to want see Harry Potter’s son at work. Business will be booming!”

“Dad.” I sighed. “Don’t try to use this for publicity. I know you mean it from the heart but seriously, don’t. I think he might have some real potential.”

He studies me for a moment before nodding. “You’re right, I’m sorry Kitty. We shouldn’t even be discussing the shop. Let’s just eat this delicious dinner you cooked for us. This must have taken you ages, sweetie!”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, grinning. “One hundred percent a homemade meal.”

Okay, lie. It was totally take-out.

Later when I get to my flat, I run into a woman in the kitchen and almost scream.

Okay. I actually did scream.

“Merlin,” she gasps and almost drops the towel wrapped around her. Bloody hell, why is there a half-naked woman in my kitchen?!

The answer: Gavin. It’s always because of Gavin.

When I swing open his bedroom door, he curses and quickly tries to cover himself with a blanket. “Kaitlyn! Bloody hell! Can’t you knock?”

I lean against the doorway and give him a sour look. “Oh, I’m sorry. Are we talking about rules right now?”

Gavin sits on the edge of his bed and sighs. “Uh, I know. I know.”

I don’t budge. “‘Cause I thought we had a rule about you bringing women to the flat only on Fridays and Saturdays. NOT on Sundays. I almost just sucker punched that woman in the face, Gavin!”

He suppresses a laugh and I give him a look that could really freaking kill him. He gulps.

“I’m sorry, Kaitlyn but -”

The woman clears her throat behind me and I turn to her. She looks even more pissed than me. “Excuse me,” she says to me, “but did you say women as in plural or singular because I was under the impression that I was the only woman in Gavin’s life.”

“Uhhh,” I say, stumbling for words. Oh, crap. “Well. . . I mean, you’re not the ONLY woman in his life, I am his roommate.”

She raises her auburn eyebrows and her brown eyes dart back and forth between Gavin and I. He looks so nervous. “Really?” She says. “Wow. Huh. Because he said that his roommate was a guy.”

“Okay, I think I’m gonna let you two talk and - “ Gavin sends me pleading eyes as I slip past and run for cover.

I hear him say, “Babe, I know this looks bad but it’s kind of a funny story actually -” before the door shuts.

I would NOT like to be him right now. He’s my best mate since basically forever but the guy is a total womanizer. He had it comin’, as people say.

I’m sitting on the sofa eating popcorn when the redhead marches out, never even glancing my way, and Gavin jumps onto the seat beside me. He grabs a handful of popcorn and eats it like the animals at FFF.

“Whatcha watching?” He asks me brightly.

I raise an eyebrow. “A muggle film. Aren’t you a little upset about whatshername?”

“Why should I be upset? Everything is fine.”

“Oh. So you guys talked?”

“Oh, yeah,” he says. “We “talked” all right.” And then he wiggles his eyebrows.

“You’re a pig!” I tell him and shove him so hard that he nearly topples to the ground. Once he stops laughing I tell him that I actually hired someone.

“Woah! Congrats! Who’s the unlucky person?”

“Okay, so don’t freak out. . .”

“Why would I?” He asks me, his dark brows furrowing.

“I don't know. My dad did. And you know him from Hogwarts.”

Gavin looks surprised by this. “Really? Hmm. All right, tell me.”

“It’s James Potter.”

“Fucking Hell.”

“Gavin!” I exclaim.

He looks stony serious. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just. . . a bit weird that you hired James Potter. And you’re going to be working with him like, everyday now.”

“Why is that so weird?” I ask him.

“Because that girl - bloody hell - that girl is Lily Potter. James’ younger sister.”

Oh. Shit.

Hi! I hope you enjoy the first chapter! I am currently working on chapter 6 :)

[thelittlebaobab]

Most of my blogs this year have been about the big things – the festival, the hot air ballooning, the situation in Gambia, trekking in Guinea and further guide book research trips. A couple of other things have happened, but I’m saving them for future blogs and a book. Behind the scenes, Khady and co have been working tirelessly to keep the guest house running whilst I’m off enjoying myself. 

Rusty

So far this year we’ve hosted 63 guests. Of those, 24 are returnees and of those, 6 are back for the third or fourth time. I take that as a good sign. But it’s not for everyone and one couple left after one night as it was  “too basic.” I’ve since taken further steps on the website to ensure I spell out that we’re in the bush on the edge of an African village without the same amenities enjoyed in neighbouring Gambia, but I’ve always felt our prices reflect “how things are.” 

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We’re slowly but surely finishing the latest – and final house. The floating staircase has my builder stumped, but we’ll find a way. 

Smiler crushes shells to mix with cement for the entrance gate

We’ve also built a new gateway – I’m holding back on pictures until it’s finished. The rocket stve is in operation (to be discussed in a separate post) and we’re improving the bar furniture. 

I made a back stage pass thingy for C-boy

After all the trips, it was great to spend time with the family. 

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What is meant to be a pond attracting birds in a secluded forested corner of our land has turned into something else:

I gave the kids “Daddy hair cuts,” Khady wasn’t impressed and had them shorn:

Then she cut off her own locks saying it was due to a head ache:

Which means she has to mess around with weaves and so on as African women are wont to do – unless I get there first:

Eddie, the Irish guy written about in Chasing Hornbills rocked up bearing bounok (palm wine):

My friend Baks had these t-shirts made (for sale in our bar):

Gulliver has a new best friend who he’s named Tundu:

Most days, if not touring, building or gardening, are spent writing. Sometimes with palm wine – a perfect day:

Perfect until Gully and Alfie find me:

And I pick, then eat our homegrown food:

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One day I fancied pizza. It’s not quite as simple as calling up a deliver company. First I have to travel to the next town to buy olive oil and cheese:

At the supermarket

Meanwhile, Khady prepares dough and Oeff stokes the fire:

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Then I make the sauce, this time on our rocket stove:

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Eventually the pizza is ready:

It’s not easy and patience is required – I can cook two or three at a time, but I reckon they’re getting better with time and the guests wolfed them down. Very often our guests like to learn about Senegalese cooking – they’re very welcome to join the girls in a visit to the market and then get involved in the preparation and cooking:

Khady is now helped in the kitchen by Sadio, shown here in beautiful Senegalese dress:

There’s usually a large diola male initiation ceremony each year somewhere in the province. This time it’s for for the lads of nearby Albadar.

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I haven’t quite worked out how these things work, but the diola of Khady’s village had a celebration and I took my English and German guests to see it. Khady’s brother, Mustafa, was keen to give them an experience to remember and danced across the forest clearing slashing manically at his neck and arms with a knife – I was quite shocked to see after that it was my expensive global kitchen knife that he’d grabbed from our kitchen and he had some nasty looking welts across his skin – the ju-ju medicine had prevented the skin breaking.

Reckon this “do” will catch on?

The next day I took the British guests, Matt and Gabi, on a two day island trekking trip. We taxied to the small diola village of Kassel, waded several hundred metres down a muddy mangrove channel to the boat – the tide was low – and puttered across to the island.

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There ensued a two hour or so trek through the varied landscapes, from trails through the mangrove to bleached out salt pans to cool palm and cashew forests. I pointed out many of the local fruits growing wild including these baby mangos:

I greeted one chap who was chopping wood. He replied in perfect English:

“Hello, I’m James from Sierra Leone.”

“Wow, how did you end up here?”

It’s a long story,” he shrugged with a smile and returned to his wood pile. He clearly didn’t want to tell us. 

Is it a mushroom or is it a termite mound?

It was early afternoon and roasting when we arrived at  my friend Jean-Christophe’s house. I’d tried contacting him but it seemed his number had changed, so we just showed up. Never a problem in Senegal.

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He pulled out some plastic chairs and we cooled down in the shade and chatted for a while, before descending into the way conversations tend to so often here – just sitting in silence and throwing out the occasional comment.

Salt pans near Kouba

After a while I showed Gabi and Matt down to the river where there’s a great swimming spot and I had a poke around in the mangroves looking for the ninke-nanka – you’ll be hearing more about that over the next year or two. 

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And that’s all folks – another typical month at the Little Baobab. 

  Making pizzas, knife cutting, ninke-nanka's a month of life in Baobab land... Most of my blogs this year have been about the big things - the festival, the hot air ballooning, the situation in Gambia, trekking in Guinea and further guide book research trips.

[victorluvsalice]

-->And then – success! L. Faba bought the first item of the day by getting a strawberry fizz cupcake! :D And with her leading the way, the sales started pouring in – Victor, done cloudgazing and actually feeling a tiny bit social, came over to chat with customers Dominic and Clara as they bought an everything bagel (Dominic) and some pumpkin spice waffles (Clara), then Alice showed up (having finally finished her painting – also a masterpiece – and unsuccessfully scavenged in the park) just in time to see a few more plates of pumpkin spice waffles and banana split waffles, along with another cupcake and a bagel (L. Faba, returning for another go) get sold. I decided it would be nice to have her commemorate the occasion and had her take a couple of pictures from a couple of different angles of Smiler and the crowd. :) And then, right afterward, I had her grab some leftover pumpkin spice waffles someone had dropped and gobble them down so they wouldn’t go to waste. XD She started cloudgazing behind the crowd while I sent Victor (who wanted to level up his Handiness anyway) to upgrade the weather machine with a “moisture vaporator” so it would be even better at producing clear skies in the future –

And then I got an MCCC Error as Clara came back and got a slice of blueberry pie. *sigh* Oh, Sims 4, why you gotta be this way... I looked at the error log after the fact, and I think Alice was trying to say goodbye to her, but the interaction didn’t go off the way it was supposed to. *shakehead* Hard to tell if these errors are from mods or the damn game itself sometimes...

-->I soldiered on though (not the first time I’ve gotten an error) and had Alice hang out with Victor as he finished up his upgrades, having them talk about her lycanthropy and Victor’s magical status and getting in a little kissing and flower-exchanging while Smiler finished up their food sale. <3 The whole kit-and-kaboodle finally ended at around 6:30 PM in-game, with Smiler making an even $400 in profit (from two cupcakes, three pumpkin spice waffles, five bagels, four banana split waffles, and three slices of blueberry pie), getting level three of the Enterpeneur skill (meaning they can now research business plans if they want) –

And causing their number of thrown “social events” in their Party Animal aspiration to tick up a notch! Apparently food sales count! O.O Well, that’s good to know... Anyway, I had them clean up the food and pack away the stall, then sent them over to go get their flirt on with Victor –

Only for the skies to darken, and the rain to start falling again. Oops – thunderstorms are back! Time to get home before the lighting starts flying!

[victorluvsalice]

-->And the moment I arrived, THERE was the holiday overlay! Whew – so changing lots got the game to acknowledge the holiday. Still worrying, but at least my Sims could PARTICIPATE!

First things first, though – it was hot in Brindleton, so I had Smiler change into their hot weather wear (as Alice and Victor had already done so – vampires are immune to temperature, so they don’t automatically change, which can be a little annoying sometimes), then start looking around for a good spot for the food stand while Victor felt the love with Shadow and Alice signed up Surprise to be cured of her affliction. I finally got Smiler to put the stand in a good location as Alice and Surprise waited for the vet, made sure it was stocked, and prepared to start a food sale –

Only for the game to tell me it couldn’t have “two social events” going on at the same time. Hmmm. All right, I was game to wait until after Surprise was cured. I instead had Smiler entertain Kelly with a laser pointer to pass the time –

-->And decided, “you know what, Victor’s Pet Training skill is almost up to Level 4, meaning leveling it up would count toward New Skill Day – why not train Shadow to heel?” So that’s exactly what he did, getting the dog to follow him around outside the hospital. Shadow was – a BIT distracted by her own tail at first, but as time went on she got better at keeping pace with Victor. XD I then checked in on how things were going with Surprise’s examination...

Only to discover they weren’t. For some reason, midway through the exam, the vet just stopped what she was doing, and Surprise was let go without anyone even trying to diagnose what was wrong with her. >( Damn glitchy game...I instead decided to have Alice get Shock spayed instead and see what happened there – fortunately THAT worked, and it went a lot faster too. Maybe because both vets were awake and working this time, instead of one sleeping on the waiting room couch. XD (Seriously, that ALWAYS seems to happen when I first load into the lot for some reason...) Alice was starting to get twitchy from being around all those strangers, though, so I had Smiler sign Surprise up for examination number two and let her clear her head by running off to a far-away dig site to see what was inside. Ended up digging up a new fossil rock with a fossilized egg inside, nice. :) She then went and entertained poor coned Shock with some laser pointer in the vet’s back yard while Smiler chatted with Brant Hecking inside the vet (learning he was a Personal Sports Trainer for The Other Sports Team, apparently) –

And Victor got Pet Training 4 from working with Shadow! :D One person’s New Skill Day skill down – two to go!

-->But first – finally getting Surprise cured! Yes, this time Surprise got checked over by the OTHER vet, who successfully determined she had Winterfest Fever. Smiler paid the big bucks for the best treatment (as I say so often, my Sims can afford it), and the cat was given a shot that brought her back to normal. I was very pleased with this, both because hooray, the vet lot decided to work –

[victorluvsalice]

-->After I managed to stop him and Alice playing with the clay blob, Victor DID indeed call the Sim Teleportation Service, and the gang DID in fact make it to their store! Earlier than usual, in fact, thanks to Victor super-selling everything instead of picking it. Just sending your produce into the ether DOES make "harvesting" that greenhouse go a lot faster! :p I first took a moment to unset a bunch of stuff for for sale (mostly the back row on all the shelves of canned and jarred goods), in the hopes it would help the lag problems I've had on this lot in the past, then Victor opened the store while Smiler cleaned up the out of stock signs and Alice pulled a poster off a nearby electrical box (repeat, unfortunately). I then sent Alice downstairs to clean all the spoiled food out of the basement fridges (taking a moment to reset the glitched-out juice fizzer downstairs with a shift-click as well – from what I can see, that DID stay reset, so that��s good), while Victor and Smiler started attending the customers as they filed in. It didn’t take long for the store to fill up with interested NPCs, but fortunately most of the customers were content to just browse on their own while I tried to coordinate my “sales staff” to, you know, actually make sales. XD I was doing reasonably well, having Smiler take on the bulk of the socializing and even having them let out a blast of happiness by the bakery section to encourage good vibes while Victor took care of anybody left over –

When Alice, who had been keeping herself busy in the kitchen with the lump of clay she’d knicked from home, came upstairs and distracted Victor with a shy kiss, causing him to leap into her arms. XD That “Sims 3 Romantic Interactions” mod is pretty hilarious sometimes. XD I let them have their fun for a bit, amused –

-->But then – first sale of the day! The child Amy Prescott, looking to purchase a box of meat substitute jars for $450! I quickly had Victor jump on that while Smiler chatted with Geoffrey Landgraab, leaving Alice with nothing to do (as, for some reason, she again couldn’t greet customers today). So I sent her into the break room to do a workout using the TV in there so she could keep improving her Fitness –

Where Cameron Fletcher was microwaving a pastry. I suddenly remembered that I wanted to double-check that I hadn’t locked customers out of the bathroom by accident when I’d meant to lock them out of the break room – I hadn’t, fortunately, though that did just mean I’d never locked the break room door in the first place. So, once Cameron wandered out (forgetting his pastry), I just locked the door right behind him. XD Sorry, Cameron – you’ll have to buy something if you want to eat!

-->Anyway – with the customers properly banished from the break room, the day continued with me trying to keep on top of everything and my Sims, fortunately, mostly cooperating. Alice continued her workout (which looked pretty fun, honestly), while Victor finished up his sale and Smiler kept make the socialization rounds. Their conversation with Penny Pizazz didn't go great, unfortunately, as she insisted on attempting to talk to them about death – maybe it’s rude to bring that up with a vampire...

[victorluvsalice]

-->And with that, it was time to get this group out and about! Not for fun, though -- rather, I had a couple of rather important errands for them to run. What were they? Well --

Errand #1: get Kelly spayed. I do NOT want any more surprise kittens, please and thank you! And so I sent the trio straight to the Brindleton Bay Pawspital, where Alice signed Kelly in for the procedure before any more accidents could happen. She snacked on some mushroom conserve while she was waiting for the cat to emerge from the surgery machine (for some reason, insisting on going into the bathroom to do so), while Victor bought some age-up treats for the kittens (I have aging off in my game currently, remember?) and delightedly praised fellow patient Blue the dog for being a good pupper, and Smiler dug up a time capsule (another Chaz McFreely) and chased a flock of pigeons for the fun of it (no feathers, though – or, at least no feather pile that could be seen on the snow!). Kelly eventually came out with her cone and no more ability to have babies, and Alice gave her a nice bit of praising for being a good cat before we moved on.

Errand #2: Hit the Finchwick market to see if there was any herbalism stuff available! Because I knew I'd seen chamomile and the like for sale in the past at both Kim's grocery stall and the Crumplebottom garden stand, and it's easier to check those than go all the way to Granite Falls! Victor and Alice thus entertained themselves in the local pub (Victor having a little groove session to the music and Alice drinking a root beer float) while Smiler chatted to Kim and Agnes, hoping to strike it lucky...

And they did! Agnes Crumplebottom was selling both noxious elderberry and poison fireleaf! :D That right there will make a LOT more herbalism potions available to Smiler! I also had them pick up a coconut, some garlic, and a soy bean from her, and a black bean, a pineapple, and a pomegranate from Kim – seems like it’ll soon be time to rearrange the greenhouse as well!

-->With THAT all sorted, I sent the gang home so Kelly could chill out and recover from being coned, and Victor and Alice could get in a nap before we started the "main event" of the day. They snoozed away while Smiler cleaned off Moory and gave her a second milking (again, not letting that cow get in one complaint), stopped one of the local foxes from attacking the chicken coop (little fucker), sorted through the garbage for compostables, and did some recycling. Oh, and I finally remembered to name the bonefish that Victor caught a little while back “Jangles.” I’m sure you can guess why. XD Eventually, though, Victor and Alice woke up, and it was time to actually set my big plan into motion...