Aw man, poor Linestra! Shame on Bendy for doing that to a stranger! And a perfectly nice one at that. He should be sent to his room with no supper. :sadbendy:

I spy the group photo behind the banister in the shot of Madame F playing billiards. :bloosmirk: Oh, and I love Frankie's ear rings. :frankiesmile:

(Again, I've removed the smilies from quoted posts to comply with the 10 images per post limit.)

Or with supper, provided that supper is IT. (Evil grin Bloo smilie goes here)

For the record, Sparky made the pic.

I loved picking them out for her; I've always wanted to buy her jewelry, although I'm more interested in getting her a ring. (Frankie smilie goes here)

Continuing with Day One at Foster's...

After drying off, Linestra joined the Welcome Wagon and a few of the residents at the lunch table:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so11.jpg

It was a typical Foster's lunch, meaning that there was as much talking as there was eating. Everyone had a thousand questions for Linestra; unlike everyone else in the house, she's native to this part of the Valley, and so was able to fill them in on a lot of things; who lives here, what's fun to do, etc. The questions continued after lunch, with Eduardo pausing from studying for a moment:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so12.jpg

"Do you have any potatoes?" Yeah. Anyway, the rest of the afternoon was a pretty leisurely one, with little going on other than casual conversation and idle play, such as Coco and Mr. Herriman with the swings:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so13.jpg

The two of them were surprisingly close in the old Valley; perhaps they remember that on some level and are trying to rebuild it. Hard to say. Evening rolled around, and the second prescheduled event occurred: the Downtown invitation. In addition to the Welcome Wagon, every new family gets a call at 6:00 pm and one randomly selected adult or elder gets invited out for an evening of theoretical fun. I say "theoretical" because I've seen some real disasters now and then. The trip is optional; you can go out or stay in. In this case it was Frankie who got the invite, and there's no way I'm going to keep her in all night if I don't have to. Besides, I wanted to see who else was roaming around Downtown that night. A few minutes later the taxi showed up, and she was off to the 125 Cafe:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so14.jpg

It's a combination restaurant and coffee bar, one of my favorite Downtown locations. The conversation soon turned to sports:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so15.jpg

And a moment later they ordered dinner. While waiting for the food to arrive I let my attention wander, curious to see who else was in the restaurant that evening, and soon a familiar face showed up:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so16.jpg

You can almost hear Duchess thinking, "Oh, no, not you people again! Can't I be rid of you?!?!" or something equally rude. Cranky old battleaxe. She moved off to the coffee bar and spent the next hour getting wired on espresso. Then this guy wandered in:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so17.jpg

Severus Snape, or as I call him, "One of those Potter People". The only one, by the way, so don't look for a Foster's/Hogbarf crossover. Should've added Gandalf. Also present, and fortunately just missing Duchess by minutes, was her favorite victim:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so18.jpg

Hello, Checo. Had he and Duchess met they wouldn't remember that they hate each other but I'm willing to bet that a new Persnicketty/Ramirez feud would have been born. The girl to his left, her name is Kim; she's one of the native residents of this part of the Valley, and the other natives grew strangely quiet as she passed them. Frankie noticed that and asked; she was told, "You don't want her family's attention. So, uh, how 'bout those Mets, huh? Good pitching in the works for next year, I heard..." Something's going on here but I don't know what; this part of the Valley is new to me, too. Frankie dropped the matter, and later smirked as this guy strode passed:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so19.jpg

Good ol' Blake Superior, on his way to the espresso machine. When he's through he'll be bouncing around like an overgrown version of Tigger. Eventually I'll have to post a video of him jumping around on the couch; it's so ridiculous I can't help but laugh. Seated near him is Luanne McBride; her husband and some of her sons are criminals and thugs who occasionally work as enforcers for the local powers-that-be. Not that Luanne herself is any better; she wants her kids to get ahead in life and she isn't fussy about how they get there. Interesting family. At that point it was time to head back to Foster's so I zoomed in for a close-up of my favorite character:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so20.jpg

My stars she's gorgeous... uh, and a moment later she was out the door and headed for the taxi, full from a hearty dinner, but full of questions, too. There's a lot going on under the surface, she realizes; this isn't like the Foster's Valley she barely remembers but can never completely forget. Frankie wants some answers. So do I. So, I suspect, do the rest of you.

The final pics from Day One at the House are next. Stay tuned...

(Mac smilie goes here)

You know, I spotted that picture of Snape before I read the caption underneath and I was like, "HOMG, is that SNAPE???"

Sorry, sorry, just a little random 8D

Every time I see Checo now, I just laugh. 8D Poor manvictim.

Oh geez, DUCHESS. If ONE character cannot be saved, make it Duchess. XDD

Yay, it was a good day for everyone it looks like. Well, except maybe Duchess, but that's just Duchess. Blech! :P And Linestra got to meet the whole house! That's awesome! And she sat right across the table from Wilt! :D

Well, if we get to share our Sim universe with just one HP character, I'm glad it's Severus Snape. ;D

Concluding Day One at Foster's...

After hitting the espresso bar and playing a few rounds of darts, Frankie made her way home. She's in the background here, talking with Mac's mom, while Linestra chatted with Derek Monroe:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so21.jpg

Don't let his posture fool you; he's not bored or being rude, he's just too dang lazy to stand up straight. Derek's a great guy but he'd rather loaf in front of the TV than do anything requiring more effort than raising a fork. Behind him, Bendy can't get a word in so he opted to go talk to Barbara Cravet:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so22.jpg

You can almost hear her thinking, "Sheesh, this kid is rude! What's wrong with him?" Almost makes living with Cheese seem like a blessing. Almost.

As it turns out, Frankie and Rhonda don't much care for each other's company. Frankie, needing to unwind, went out and played on the swingset for a few minutes, while Rhonda went into the kitchen and was confronted by Berry:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so23.jpg

Rhonda: "I'm sorry, but Bloo is my son's Imaginary Friend, and even if he wasn't, you couldn't adopt him. IF's can't adopt IF's, and you're too unstable young anyway."
Berry: "I DON'T CARE! HE OUGHTA BE MINE! I WANT HIM! I LOVE HIM! GIMME GIMME GIMME!!!"
And things just kind of deteriorated from there. I assume Berry will eventually meet Bloo and Mac; it'll be interesting to see if their Sims get along any better than the originals.

While the argument in the kitchen went on, Linestra spent some time getting to know Wilt better:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so24.jpg

And better:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so25.jpg

The two are very close to the "Friends" level as defined by the game; one phone call ought to put them over the top. Nice to see two members from my two largest families getting along so well. Alas, the same cannot be said for Barbara and Rhonda:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so26.jpg

"You bore me. Your whole family bores me. And no, I'm not taking Bloo off your hands, I've already got an Imaginary Friend messing up my house!" Bloo and Cheese in the same house... bad idea. The cleaning would never get done. Despite their differences the two managed to be civil to one another at the dinner table:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so27.jpg

Another round of chef salad was served. It's not as filling as hamburgers, which require the same level of Cooking skill, but it has one advantage most other meals don't, which is that it can't be burned or start a fire, although I'm sure some Sim somewhere is working on it. Near the end of the meal, Rhonda casually inquired about some rumor she'd heard about something called the Piano; as it turns out, Linestra, who is native to this part of the Valley, does know something about the subject, but all she did was shake her head and say, "I don't know what's in it. Kimmy and Daran said not to talk about it with the newcomers or else. We can't take another tax hike. If you really want to know, ask Sparky or Lynnie; I'd rather stay out of it." Frankie raised an eyebrow at that point but said nothing; Coco changed the subject to her desire to hit the mall. More mysteries accrue. The day wound down after that; it had been a long one and everyone was a little tired. Wilt volunteered to clean up:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so28.jpg

Frankie went upstairs to hit the books again:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so29.jpg

And Coco, after playing on the swings with Eduardo for a bit, fell asleep on one of the benches under the gazebo:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...90125/so30.jpg

And that's pretty much how the first day at Foster's went; friendships begun, meals eaten, self-improvement, and general fun all-around. And more questions raised.

Up next: a look in that other large house just down the street.

(Mac smilie goes here)

I liked these ones :)

Hope to see more soon; maybe some shots of me would not go unappreciated. Thanks! :)

Linestra and Wilt are becoming friends! That's so awesome! And some big time loling at what little we know about the "piano", we now know it's something scandalous. Maybe terrifying. I hope no pianos show up and make trouble. :wiltshock:

Looking forward to the next.... chapter? Page? Day? Well, looking forward to the next post. I'd like to take a look inside that other big house myself. :goo:

"Pianos? Well, I heard that if you press the white and black keys in the right order, they make music!"

Sorry, couldn't resist. XD

Anyways, w00t. Wilt and Linestra becoming friends. :D

Quick update...

There is one slot open in the NF house but I have two people looking to move in, three if Antgirl1 is still interested. Might I interest y'all in a separate house across the street?? This would include Invader Bloo, Ignate, and Antgirl1 at present. Also, AG1, if you are still interested, I can send you instructions for creating a package file, or I can try to replicate you from the Sim pic you posted some time back. Your call. Also, since I'll likely be building a second house shortly, there's room for more if anyone else is interested; the only qualification is that you not be banned. (If you are, I reserve the right to Sim you anyway and make fun of you. How's it goin' there, Megatron01? :bendy: 8D).

Pics from Day One at the NF house will be up shortly. Play has been temporarily suspended while I try to solve the newest glitch. It seems that some of the lots that I imported from the old Valley are experiencing a form of temporal disjunction, which is just a fancy way of saying that the game clock and some things dependent on it are completely out of whack. Since I don't know how this might affect a Sim's aging process I'm treating the affected lots as unplayable at present. The solution will probably be to move the families out, delete the old lots, and rebuild them; time-consuming but, well, whatever.

Yes. I'm still interested. But I think learning how to make package files will be too confusing. So I guess you'll just have to replicate the Sim!Me. =P

Ugh, more glitches. Sorry to hear that, Cass. Hope they're fixable, and not too much a pain to do so.

Yay Ant! I hope she won't have to be the only girl in the new house though. 8D :wiltshock:

Your house gets played tonight. I'm sending you out for a new outfit but I'm not sure what to get. Eh, I'll try to pick something that's in reasonably good taste (send me a pic of what you like!). In the meantime, I'm sticking some pics from outside the Valley in your PM box. :D

It's a mystery within a mystery. That's all I'm saying.

I'll need the info noted way back in Post #222. I'll take a shot at making her sometime tommorrow (later today, now that I've checked my clock). I'll send you the package file creation info anyway, in case you want to take a crack at it (it's easy) or are just curious.

The game has had a reputation for quirks, glitches, and crashes since it was released in 2004. I am firmly convinced that there are a lot of people at EA Games that need to be smacked. :mad:

Oh, I'm sure Ignate and Invader Bloo will behave themselves (in theory, at least). Y'all can always try to talk someone else into joining, too, if you want. Lots of people here who would make interesting Sims. :bloocross:

Alright, lemme go play Fomi's house for a bit and organize some pics. :D

A few pics from that other large house just down the street

Monday morning finds Sparky at her computer, looking over the previous evening's posts on a certain Forum:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R01.jpg

The score:

Humans: 8
Imaginary Friends: 2
Comic Con 2008: 4
Other Entertainment: 4
Way Off Topic: 9
Spam: 745

About average these days. Some of those posts came from within her own house, some from elsewhere in the Valley, the rest from around the world. While Sparky worked, Jekylljuice played:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R02.jpg

All Sims know how to juggle, and they're pretty good at it, too; no one has ever dropped a bottle. The really playful ones even carry a set of juggling balls with them, useful for killing time that could be wasted on homework. Fortunately there is no school on Day One, therefore no homework for Jekylljuice to avoid. Lynnie, on the other hand, went straight to the bookcase when she entered the house:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R03.jpg

She and Linestra were both intent on picking up a point or two of Cooking skill, and both succeeded. In the background, Jekylljuice is job hunting online while xxxClaire heads for the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. x_dummkoff_x, hereafter referred to as Xdx, had already found the cereal and plowed her way through it:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R04.jpg

Looks like I've got another Eduardo, here. Breakfast was a haphazard affair, with everyone pretty much on their own instead of one big group meal. That's often the case, particularly with the larger families, as not everyone is always hungry at the same time. Much of the morning was spent killing time really, just getting to know each other a little better and picking up a skill point here and there. And a little gossiping went on,too:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R05.jpg

I honestly have no idea why they're gossiping about xxxClaire; as far as I know, she hadn't done anything gossip-worthy. She did take off from the house a moment after the pic was taken; her destination was the mall, her mission was to buy a Gameboy or some such thing, which she did, and earned 500 Aspiration Points for doing so. More importantly, she ran into someone we all know:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R06.jpg

She and Coco hit it off rather nicely. Their personalities are quite different in some respects but they seem to have similar interests and goals, which definitely helps. Oh, she met this guy, too:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R07.jpg

Not quite as in synch as with Coco, but good enough. Wilt has been a frequent visitor to the mall when I send other Sims there, much more so than in the old Valley, and has met quite a number of people since I started playing. Works out well for everyone, as far as I'm concerned. xxxClaire eventually got her game and went home, at which point Imaginary Light decided that she wanted to take a trip to the mall, too. No one from Foster's was there this time but she did run into this guy:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R08.jpg

Quentin McBride, one of the members of that family of thugs I mentioned awhile back. Quentin, however, is kind of the "white sheep" of the family. He has no interest in crime or troublemaking; he's a good student with a passion for medicine and dreams of someday becoming a doctor. Nice to know there's one good kid in that family. After they parted company, Imaginary Light, feeling the need to earn a little cash, made her way to the crafting station in the robotics shop and got to work:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R09.jpg

"Hey, Cass? Go photograph that Hanazono anime girl and let me work in peace, okay?" Love to, but Karin's not here, and this post is about you and your family, not her. I did pull back, though; one does not argue with a woman who has a screwdriver in one hand and a wrench in the other. Shortly thereafter a toy robot was created and sold for a small profit, and she gained 500 Aspiration Points in the process. After that she went back home, where Linestra was getting lunch on the table:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R10.jpg

In truth it was a bit early for lunch but hunger knows no schedule. Those who were hungry ate; those who weren't found other things to do. Pretty easygoing morning, overall. At that point the clock struck noon, and everyone sat back and waited to see who would be in the soon-to-arrive Pest Brigade Welcome Wagon.

More to come... (Mac smilie goes here)

LOL! I may not post in the spam section very often, but it's sure fun to read. As it has been said many times by many posters, "One can never have too much spam." 8D

And LOL again. Yeah, I wouldn't want to argue with someone holding two heavy tools in their hands either.

I'm happy for Claire in meeting both Coco and Wilt. :D Cool that some members are gaining aspiration points already too. And haha, everyone can juggle, huh? If only that would rub off into real life. I've never been able to do it. No matter how much I practice.

Yay, I'm looking forward to more! :up:

Hah! That's pretty awesome. The Never Forgotten house looks great.

Why must people always gossip about me? :(

But I'm glad I got to meet Coco and Wilt! :D Yay!

Haha, do not get in my way if I am brandishing a screwdriver and a wrench...because I'll probably end up killing/hurting someone very badly on accident :P

Accident? More like on purpose, however you look at it. =P

Oh yes. I have it out for every single one of you! Watch out :P

Guess I shouldn't let you get anywhere near my "Tactical Assault Rifle" hack. :wiltshock: 8D

Haha, so we've identified one field in which my Sim counterpart has already surpassed me. In real life I wouldn't really have the eye-hand co-ordination you'd need to be a successful juggler. In fact I think I'd be even more dangerous with a set of juggling balls than IL would be with a screwdriver and wrench. :weirded:

Anyhow, great pics, Cass, so nice to see that we're all getting along so swimmingly in the NF house. Here's to hoping I'll track down a decent job with a not-too-tyrannical employer. ;D

You did find a job. Decent? I'll let you be the judge. You work 7 days a week from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, with Mondays and Saturdays off. You are currently employed as, um, a golf caddy. :cheesegrin:

Surprisingly, I'm actually quite elated about that. To me, there are few things quite as tranquil and enchanting as a golf course's immaculate greens. Not that I actually play golf myself - again, the eye-hand co-ordination is kind of a problem - but it's a world which I've often found myself gazing into rather wistfully nonetheless.

I work 7 days a week and get Monday and Saturday off? Hmm, does that mean there are 9 days in a Sim week, then? 8D

I'd love to show you the course but work happens off-screen. "Golf Caddy" is the first level of the Slacker career track, by the way, and by entering that track you gained a thousand Aspiration Points. :D

Yes, yes it does, as follows:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Typoday
Tardday
Sunday

:cheesegrin:

That's awesome. Though presently I'm racking my brains to work out what could possibly be the highest level of a Slacker career track... :bloocross:

Lol 8D

Oooh, a four day weekend, every week! Man, I wish I lived in Sim Land, lol. 8D

Congrats to JJ at gaining 1000 aspiration points. :yeah:

These were fun :)

Can't wait for more. Weird, in my Fantasy Fields Wilt is rarely seen on Community Lots; hte most frequent out is actually Madame Foster. :D

Level 1: Golf Caddy
Level 2: Gas Station Attendant
Level 3: Convenience Store Clerk
Level 4: Record Store Clerk
Level 5: Party DJ
Level 6: Projectionist
Level 7: Home Video Editor
Level 8: Freelance Photographer
Level 9: Freelance Web Designer
Level 10: Professional Party Guest

For the record, teens can only advance as far as Level 3 in any career.

So do I, albeit for different reasons.

I haven't seen Madame Foster or Eduardo outside of the house yet, although I've spotted everyone else wandering around town.

Day One at the Never Forgotten house continued with the arrival of the Welcome Wagon. No one from Foster's or any other family from the show was present, but it did include this lady:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R11.jpg

Some of you may remember Amanda Blue from much earlier in the saga, before the SecuROM disaster. Still wants to be a cop, still very a friendly but no-nonsense sort of woman, and still a tremendous distraction for me on every lot that she visits. You don't want to know how many pictures I've taken of her. Also present was a couple originally from the old part of the Valley, Bjorn and Ingrid Gustafsen:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R12.jpg

Bjorn aspires to be Mayor of the Valley someday; Jekylljuice is chiding him for his position on one of the issues. Dunno which one but there was a picture of a rat in her speech balloon so it might've been an opinion on politics in general. In the background Linestra is getting lunch on the table, and shortly thereafter the meal began:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R13.jpg

Bjorn and Amanda, along with some of the house residents, were outside playing on the swings; none of them seemed to care about the fact that it was raining at the time. Talk at the table centered largely on the local school system; Bjorn and Ingrid have two teenage daughters of their own, one of whom is pictured earlier in the thread, and naturally Ingrid wants to know if the schools in this part of the Valley are any good. Trust me, Ingrid, they're fine. Lunch ran rather late from all the talking despite it's early start and after it was done Lynnie cleaned up and began preparing dinner:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R14.jpg

Spaghetti is on the menu tonight. At this point Lynnie is only a little behind Frankie in Cooking ability, so the house will no doubt be well fed... and will no doubt need a treadmill before long. While Lynnie cooked, Sparky headed to the office to check on the Forum but never got there; Xdx intercepted her with a pillow:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R15.jpg

And got off one seriously good hit:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R16.jpg

Sparky retaliated:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R17.jpg

And they went back and forth for the next hour. Sims love a good pillow fight; you should see Wilt and Eduardo go at it. All of them do it, usually without any prompting from me, and I've rarely seen anyone say that they're not in the mood. Dinner, like lunch, was a haphazard affair; people showed up and ate at random. Bjorn hadn't eaten all day (he spent most of it on the swings) so Lynnie went out to get him:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R18.jpg

I think there was a comment or two about slaving over a hot stove but she was very polite about it. I don't think these two are too fond of each other but they'll get over it. Sparky wasn't hungry at the time so she headed upstairs to the easel and began to paint:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R19.jpg

It won't be high art but it's good practice, and it builds Creativity skill, which she'll need to get ahead in her job; earlier she went online and found a position as a dishwasher, which is the first step along the Culinary career track. In the meantime Lynnie studied, Jekylljuice and Imaginary Light watched TV with (through) Ingrid, Linestra and Xdx finally got around to having dinner, and the day began to wind down. Oh, and I got another picture of Amanda:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R20.jpg

What can I say? I like blue hair.

More on the way. (Insert Red smilie here)

Can't wait for more! And yeah, pillow fights... I still recall the first day at the Millennium home, when Major and Rip started one in the middle of the street and no one thought that was a little weird. :)

So, people just suddenly have pillows in their hands, randomly, and start beating eachother? I find that highly amusing. :slybendy: Especially when trying to picture it in real life.

Oh good, I'm glad no one will go hungry in the NF house. Or the rest of the valley if I'm going to insist people eat. After all, I slaved away at a hot stove all day, so you MUST eat. Heh, that sounds like me, lol.

The shot of Sparky getting smacked by the pillow is priceless. 8D 8D

Oh yeah. NEVER mess with Sparky in a pillow fight. =P

Can't wait until my housemates and I show up. :D

Whoa, I'm already getting on the wrong side of the man who could rise up to be Mayor of the Valley some day? That probably doesn't hold well for the future, lol.

Well, I do love rats (and Ratatouille), so it's perfectly possible that I was just singing their praises to the good visitor...are rats symbolic for politicians in the Sim world, then? Ouch, that's rather unfortunate. For the rats, I mean.

So did my Sim lose all her skill points in the transfer to your computer or did you strip them down Cass? She was already at the highest levels of Creativity and Cooking when I gave her to you. ;)

The first time I saw a pillow fight was on a lot in another neighborhood way back when I first started playing. Out of the blue the guy who lived there whacked the lady visiting him upside the head. At the time I didn't know they could have pillow fights, however, and I thought for a moment that I was witnessing some sort of domestic violence. It didn't take more than a moment to figure out the true situation but nonetheless it left me a little rattled. I went out and tracked down the Nightlife guidebook the next day.

A package file contains only a Sim's physical form, clothing, and make-up, nothing else; no skills, no personality, nothing. All of that can be retained only by packaging the entire lot, which in your case would have included sending along Government Man and, unfortunately, a large number of unlinked memories.

Concluding Day One at the Never Forgotten house:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R21.jpg

Ignoring the TV, enjoying the TV, annoyed with the TV. Lynnie, ever industrious, reads up on the finer points of working with greasecutters and other cleaning solutions, while Jekylljuice enjoys a Montero Bay video on Simstation Dance. Imaginary Light is not a Montero Bay fan, and thinks the lead singer, Jimmy Montero, is brain-dead. She may have a point. Jimmy is one of my creations; left to his own devices, he will spend all his time playing videogames and bouncing on the furniture. Not a bad choice, actually. Imaginary Light eventually tired of Jimmy's antics and opted to crash on the couch for an hour:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R22.jpg

Again, not a bad choice. But that reminded me of a pending issue that I hadn't solved yet, that being bed assignments. There are seven bedrooms in the house, six upstairs and one downstairs. Who gets which one? Not having any reason to put anyone in any particular room, I admit I was stumped, but then it hit me; I'll let them figure it out. When tired enough, Sims will go to bed on their own or yell at me to click on a bed and send them there. If I don't respond, some wil still go to bed without any input from me; others will head for the swings or the bubble blower if one's available. As it turned out, xxxClaire was the first to head for bed:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R23.jpg

Much to my surprise, she didn't grab the downstairs bedroom; she headed for the one furthest back on the upstairs floor. Beats me why. In the meatime, Sparky finished her painting and celebrated by contemplating the mysteries of the newspaper's crossword puzzle:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R24.jpg

Doing the crosswords helps build Logic skill, which is needed for advancing in the Culinary career. I'm not sure why; probably for converting between English and metric measurements. Meanwhile, Lynnie cleared the dinner table:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R25.jpg

And cleaned the bathtub:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R26.jpg

Since Lynnie has more points in Neat than anyone else in the house, it seems she's going to be the one who learns the Cleaning skill and do the bulk of the cleaning. Welcome to Frankie's world.

By that time it was after midnight, and most everyone was starting to drift off to bed. Time to send the Welcome Wagon packing:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R27.jpg

Amanda was the only one left at that point, Bjorn and Ingrid having left on their own a little earlier. With the three of them out of the way, the swingset was free, and Xdx and Jekylljuice wasted no time in commandeering them:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R28.jpg

Neither one of them seems to care that it's raining; the swings are available, and by golly they're going to use them no matter what the weather is. I have yet to see anyone use them during a blizzard but I have no doubt that eventually someone will. Probably Jimmy Montero. It was nearly 2:00 am when Xdx decided to turn in; Jekylljuice followed soon thereafter, but not before a brief encounter with in a puddle:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R29.jpg

Sims are so weird. Finally she, too, ran out of steam and went to bed, and a peaceful silence fell over the Never Forgotten house:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...i90125/R30.jpg

And so ended Day One. What future days hold for the residents of Foster's Valley remains unknown for now. There will certainly be new friendships and new rivalries born as the newcomers and the natives get to know each other. There is history here, stories to be told, stories yet to be written, choices to be made for better or worse. There's stll the unsolved mystery of the Piano, of course, and there's an adoption in the works. Bet that got your attention.

Up next: a few pics from some other families you may remember. And a video. Stay tuned.

(Mac smilie goes here)

Gosh darn it, the Piano is a mystery.

I went to bed first? That's so unlike me... 8D :P

Sleep well NF House. There's more fun to come tomorrow. ;)

Ah yes, cleaning. That's totally me, lol! 8D I actually enjoy cleaning, and the look (and smell) of everything when I'm done. Hopefully no one in the house will come down with a nasty bug. I'm sure Lynnie Sim will do all she can to prevent that. :)