Mornings as usual were bright and early; and sometimes it took a little to kickstart the brain in the mornings. River stood by the bed for a long moment taking some time to think, and assess what she had to do for the day. It was a way of aligning her tasks according to necessity and ranking them so that she could tackle them one at a time. Her stomach felt a little queasy...and fluttery...well...let's just say that things would get a little more queasy throughout the day. The fluttering in her stomach told her all the news that she needed to know. A slight baby-bump had appeared...and that definitely confirmed one thing: Yep, she was in the family way. In fact, she told her husband and Haruo was ecstatic. She felt an overwhelming feeling of love for him and basically grabbed him and lip-locked him. Needless to say, Haruo was all for that. ...because it ended up with him heading off to the shower...along with an anticipative smile on River's face... ...and her following him... It wasn't too certain if they got clean, but they certainly got wet...and tired... ...and hungry. In fact, hungry enough so that both Haruo and River had to have a decent meal, first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, Haruo's collection of uncut Tiberium rocks was increasing exponentially. He usually cut them ten at a time however he'd been a little lax what with painting and all. When he did get around to cutting them, however, they, more than likely, would fill a substantial area around the front entrance and would pretty much light up the area underneath the covered section of the entrance with a pale green light. River noticed that her baby was active and she spoke to it, causing her stomach to flutter a bit more...as the baby responded to the sound of her voice. In any case, Haruo heard her talking to what seemed like herself and then realizing that she was talking to their child, felt an overwhelming burst of love and kissed her. Noting that she was in pain, he gave her a backrub which took care of that back-pain negative moodlet and she gave him a look of utter gratefulness. School got out... ...and Braden had to make a bee-line to the store in order to do some homework research for the next day for a report. So he headed over to the convenience store and did his research like a good little kid. Haruo headed out to do a little shopping for books at the convenience store. ...and River had started to develop the "pregnancy waddle" Their kids came home and did homework promptly at the table. By the time Haruo got home from the bookstore...River had gone into labour. This was probably not the time to ask how she felt...because the muscle contractions were excruciatingly painful. And they headed to the hospital. And several hours later, River emerged, exhausted...yet blissful: she and Haruo had another beautiful baby girl: Alanna. Her main goal was to get Alanna home as quickly as possible since it was so cold outside so they took a taxi home. (Isn't it absolutely amazing that Sims can fit their cars in their pockets?) Just about falling down with exhaustion, the two barely had the energy to get home, put Alanna in her crib and head off to bed... ...and so they slept...all of them, including Alanna.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Giving birth was physically taxing on River's body. And it was a blessing to have Alanna not wake up in the middle of the night thus allowing River to sleep...and somewhat recuperate though she would be sore for quite some time. (Creator: they really should have extended that body sore moodlet to include after pregnancy) River slept until well after sunrise. When they woke up, Haruo did some smelting with the new smelting machine. This way they would no longer have to send ore out to get it smelted and thus save some money on the processing costs. After all it was at minimum §40.00 per single ore sample to process and it could get very pricey, very quickly. And doing it at home allowed Haruo to have some control over the process as well as the savings in the pocket. River, of course, once she was awake, was more than happy to give him a good-morning kiss. "Well...good morning, sweetheart..." For the little one, being birthed was no walk in the park either and Alanna slept, recovering some energy from the experience of being shoved headfirst through a hole the size of a pea (not meant to have things the size of a small watermelon being shoved through it) and having her fragile head squeezed in a manner akin to cake frosting being shoved through the tip of a cake decorating bag. Oh, her head would regain the round shape, but it might take a while. Haruo knew that another mouth to feed in the family required even more focus on their chosen careers and thus he and River headed straight over to the painting easels. Each of River's paintings ended up being over §2500 (if they were Brilliant) and over §3500 (if they were Masterpieces) respectively. It was a heady time to see what River would produce with her artistic skill maxed out. Allan when he got up was able to ride a bike over to the northwestern part of town wher he was able to talk to Jack Bunch who had commissioned a painting from him. What he received in return was a rather sizeable amount of simoleons even though it wasn't in the range of what his mother could achieve with a single large painting. For Alanna, birth was traumatic and sleep was the best medicine for that. So Alanna slept... ...and Allan pedalled home. River decided to have Alanna's aging up party and everyone gathered at the kitchen downstairs to celebrate. Molly had held Alanna while River blew out the candles...but River took Alanna back after Alanna had her aging up process, and it seemed as though Alanna had inherited her grandmother's hair color. And yet another little Chikamori had gone from baby-hood to crawling little lump that liked to shove their fingers up their nose.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
It wasn't long before Alanna was learning her skills. Haruo taught Alanna how to talk and that was something that she picked up on very quickly. The rest of the family partook of the cake while Haruo and his daughter sat cross-legged on the floor chattering. River rolled a wish to teach Alanna how to walk...and like a fish to water, Alanna took to the skill; toddling her way over to River and thus taking her first steps in a bigger world. Plus it also saved the parents from having to replace sleepers from holes in the knee and rug-burns. Haruo had learned a new top-level recipe and he decided to make stuffed turkey. Especially for the holiday season. While Molly sat down and read a book. For Alanna, potty training and playing with blocks was on the learning timetable as well. She was going to be well-educated by the time she aged up to child. River placed Alanna in the high-chair when Alanna gave indications that she was quite famished...and provided her with a somewhat interesting bowl of slop (what the Creator calls that gruesome bowl of baby food...that the kid proceeds to eat with their hands) which makes a goddawful mess. In turn, Haruo got Alanna out of the high-chair once she had finished with her meal and had proceeded to decorate the carpet with the rest of the contents that she couldn't finish. Well...at least the stuff disappears and doesn't involve having to clean up the mess with the rug-shampooer (if they even have that sort of thing in Sims 3 CC. ) Satoshi...well... He got his heinie kicked by Charles the Evil Chicken again. Some Sims never learn.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The rest of the day involved a flurry of painting that culminated a few sales over the course of the day. Haruo was called by Victoria Andrews because she was curious about the painting skills of the other half of the couple that she had spent over §30K on for a painting. Well, River was a Master Artist; Haruo on the other hand was less so...and even though he had mastered the art of painting, he was still trying to find his muse. Did the painting that Haruo presented her have the emotional impact of the type that River had presented? Not as much as she would have liked and Haruo didn't have the technical perfection that River had in skilfully wielding her brush, but it still was a nice painting and as such she would be able to display it. ...and for Haruo that was good enough because the amount that he'd gotten from Victoria was far higher than any amount that he'd received before for a painting that he'd put his effort into. When he arrived home, he found River walking out...extending her left hand for the key as he passed her on the right. "Keys...thank you...will be back in about half an hour or so..." she grinned at him. Haruo shrugged his shoulders and handed over the keys, not even breaking stride. "Door's open..." River called back over her shoulder as she strode towards the car. First stop was a child who had commissioned a painting for her room. All the Creator can say is darn, these Sim-kids have tons of simoleons. And then the next commission for a large painting was Thornton Wolff who still felt that he was making amends for his rude comments towards River's husband. He graciously paid her compliments on her painting skills and told her that he appreciated her artwork. "The other painting hangs in my den." Thornton said engagingly. "I find that it gives me motivation. This one will go in my living room. It has an aura of energy that I find is quite conducive to my business dealings and with my clients in a better mood, I know I'll be able to close more transactions." River just nodded; outside of commissions, sales was a foreign subject to her. She was more interested in tangible simoleons for effort and well, if the painting was doing what Thornton was saying...well, good for him. "Thank you so much." Thornton told River as he paid her a substantial amount of simoleons. River nodded her appreciation of the payment. After all she did put heart and soul into her paintings and to be compensated so handsomely with that pile of simoleons was quite pleasing. Brianna ate with Allan, Grandpa Chikamori and Grandma Susan, mainly due to the fact that their parents were so busy with other stuff, they rarely got a chance to eat together. But still Grandpa Chikamori and Grandma Susan were great to be with. However it was late at night and the kids needed to get to bed to be well-rested for school. It would be hard to concentrate in class if one was yawning fit to split one's face in two. When River got home, she fed Alanna in her high-chair. Then she sat down and played chess on her laptop while waiting for Alanna to finish up dinner. And...with another long day in the books, River and Haruo put Alanna to bed and then went to bed themselves. Painting and taking care of Alanna...such was life with a toddler. If they had had triplets, Haruo and River would have probably gone insane with the Creator following shortly thereafter.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
When the Sim-Chikamoris are asleep, the Creator likes to take a stroll around the town to see the sights. I have no idea why He chooses to go to the graveyard, but the cemetery appears to be nice...quiet and peaceful. At least it had better be. It would certainly not be peaceful if the graveyard was active. I don't think the living would appreciate it much either. Looking at Specters Mausoleum in the cold winter snow was a photographer's dream. Well, for a photographer who had a penchant for the macabre.
Satoshi ate breakfast that morning and then went out hunting for gemstones and metals. And frankly it was something that he needed to do. River's morning routine wasn't much changed other than getting up, eating breakfast and painting. It was a comfortable routine and she knew that she was making money enough to support the entire family and it was something that she enjoyed doing. Haruo worked at his painting skill. He was the first to achieve his life-time wish as his lifetime wish involved mastering the writing skill as well as the painting skill. And as such, his time was split between the computer and the easel, both of which kept him happy. However as of late, he was concentrating on his painting skill which was of prime importance. WIth two painters producing high-quality paintings in the household, it would mean that each time they produced a commissioned painting, they would end up making enough simoleons to pay bills. Satoshi, after freezing his tail-end off looking through the snow for gemstones, came home and headed up to the gym to work on his oft-neglected martial arts skills. At least it was something that interested him when he wasn't flirting with his wife. His party-animal trait tended to override his penchant for being a collector...and he was thus unemployed. Molly on the other hand, when she wasn't reciprocating the flirts from her husband, spent a lot of time in the hot tub trying to take on the skin consistency of a prune. Her career seemed to be "levelling out" at Chef de Cuisine at the local Bistro and it seemed like she was getting "nowhere fast". So whether lazing around the house and spending time in the hot-tub was a solace to an injured soul or just not actually caring about the direction of her career, well...it was something only Molly knew and she wasn't talking. Haruo ate breakfast or lunch; it wasn't certain which as all of the sims meals ran together and frankly, they were lucky if they ate meals once a day. While her father ate, Alanna spent time shoving square pegs into round holes or at least trying to. After he ate...River and Haruo got a little personal time in while Alanna was busy playing with the blocks. Needless to say, they both came out happier than they went in. "Ohhhhh...flarkle..."..."oh my..." Toshiyuki, on the other hand, played with balls...eh-hem...pool table balls. Creator: "Yeah...I'm not going there..."
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
It seemed like forever, yet it only seemed like yesterday. Alanna was all done with her training and learning new skills. Now it was time for her to age up into a child. Her party started with Haruo bringing her downstairs to wait for the rest of the family to join them at the kitchen table. What a cacophany of noisemakers and cheering. It was just amazing that Alanna wasn't frightened of all the noise and revelry. However, she didn't get frightened and the cheering went on for quite some time as everyone was excited to see Alanna age up to child. Haruo placed her on the ground and waited for the transformation to occur which appears to take a long time in Sims chronology; In fact they stand there for a while staring at the birthday girl and it seems like they aren't doing anything. However...it happened. Alanna kept her gorgeous red hair which definitely came in at a shade equal to her grandmother Fiona's locks. ...which she chose to wear in a gorgeous wave of gentle curls. The Chikamori family chose to hold Alanna's aging up party in the late afternoon as it allowed more of their family to be there. And plus aging up was a private thing for children. Perhaps the aging up parties for children aging up to teens would probably have invited outsiders, but for toddlers to children; that was a family moment. After the aging up party for Alanna...it appeared that a lot of the family were tired and made their way to sleep, including River and Haruo. ...and Toshiyuki made a start on his topiary...which he would sell...eventually. The sky had no shortage of snow to dump on Sunset Valley and it snowed...heavily... ...and snowed... ...and snowed... ...leaving a monumental pile of snow on Haruo's military collection in what used to be the old Alto's residence. Toshiyuki got his second wind early that morning and proceeded to finish off his topiary. Haruo ate breakfast upstairs...
And Susan read a book downstairs in the living room. Meanwhile, Molly decided that taking a trip through time would be the best way to stave off depression...and dove into the time. Considering all the stuff that happens with that time-machine Yasunobu is considering selling off that thing. Toshiyuki started yet another topiary. ...and the chickens were wondering if and when they were going to get their next meal. Just another day in the life of the Chikamori family...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Toshiyuki was quite busy with sculpting. In fact he was focussing so much on sculpting that he didn't have much time for anything else...and thus he wasn't getting much in the way of painting or inventing done and he did have to master the inventing skill. The SUV that Toshiyuki had was definitely good at handling the snow, unlike Haruo's Margarite Vaguester which required a skilled hand and a deft touch to the steering wheel. The sportscar certainly did not like black ice but the 4WD on the Tofunda Wagon barely uttered a protest as Toshiyuki handled everything that the icy streets could throw at him. He did make it safely to the City Hall where he handed over his sculpture to the buyer. A second call from another buyer while he was out ended up coming from the bar up on the hill opposite to the one where the Chikamoris lived. ...and yet another sale was recording in the books for Toshiyuki and just as he exited the bar, a third call asked for a painting at Hogan's Diner. Toshiyuki was exceedingly happy as these sales were bringing in money. ...and that certainly helped the family keep their roof over their head. As it stood, the Chikamoris were getting a little low on fresh fruits and vegetables so Toshiyuki took it upon himself to get some. Also while he was there, he noticed the lotto machine and bought himself a lottery ticket too (nope, he didn't win anything). In the meantime, the Chikamori kids did homework. Nope...they didn't like it either...but c'est la vie. Haruo was not in the slightest bit inclined to let homework slide. That came from his mother who never ceased making life miserable for him as a teenager insofar as homework was concerned. Time to pass the favor along. Meanwhile; Haruo and River enjoyed some "extracurricular" activity of their own. Sim-Borat says: "Smexy time...yes?" Evidently that tuckered them out so much that they went to sleep.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Early mornings presented its own set of unique challenges with four kids heading out the door all at the same time. Breakfast had to be early for the kids to get their meals in before heading off to school. And Allan barely had time to check his e-mails on his new smart-phone before high-tailing it out the door. Making sure that getting to school didn't prove a problem, the kids biked it to school. That way they would be well ahead of the traffic jam at the front door before bell-time. Since the fridge was getting so low on pre-made victuals, Haruo went ahead and used the entire morning cooking meals so that everyone could grab food at the fridge. Well, it wasn't the most enjoyable of experiences cooking one dish after another after another, but Haruo wanted to fill the fridge with cooked food so that others could eat when they wanted to and being able to pick and choose your meal was probably the better bet in a house filled with palates that eschewed certain foods over others. And with picky palates like those...it was difficult to make sure that there was stuff in the fridge that everyone liked. On top of that he had a veritable collection of tiberium that he needed to get cracking on cutting into small spires. River was getting set on painting yet another Masterpiece and that would bring in the big simoleons that would boost them financially. When the kids got out of school they came home directly and got busy cracking on homework. River noticed that the trash was getting rather noxious and took the garbage bag out. ...and headed off to take care of a few items of business at City Hall. Braden did his homework in his room.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
I just caught up on your story - the last part i remember reading was Alanna's birth. She is a lovely toddler and child - the curly hair you gave her is so pretty! And I love your pictures of the Sunset Valley cemetery at night during snowfall.
Evidently seeing promotions handed out to her coworkers was grating on Molly French-Chikamori and she decided to take out her frustrations on Charles the Evil Chicken. This is probably the only time that I feel sorry for that demonic bird. "cluck-clu-cluck cluck. CLUCK cluck CLUCK cluck...bak cluck!?" Charles pronounced as he glared at Molly rather disturbed at being awoken from dreams of torturing hens and chicks (you see, he's evil...right? It only makes sense that this is what makes him happy). Roughly translated to: "What the FLARK do you want? You sorry excuse for a meat-bag..." Molly snorted derisively, "You want to insult me, you're going to have to do better than that. I've skinned tougher chickens than you...you sorry excuse for a rooster" as she gesticulated, her hands waving in mid-air. "You seem to be about the right size for my stewpot. Which I have ready with boiling water. How would you like to go for a swim, right about now?" Molly snapped at Charles who didn't like the idea of being made into chicken stew. "Of course, you would probably be so tough of a bird, we'd probably have to boil you for days..." Molly looked at him with an evil glare. "CLUUUUCK!!!! (TRY IT!!!)" screeched Charles...as he braced himself for the fight of all fights - heck...forget equal rights. This was someone threatening his very existence - I mean, threatening to put the bird in a vat of boiling water and steaming the very life out of him. What could be worse than that? Oh, it was on... ...and Molly got her rearend royally beaten. Nobody, but nobody messes with Charles the Evil Chicken. Not even Chuck Norris. Even Chuck knows to not mess with Evil Incarnate.
But...evidently, Molly wasn't that smart. She came out the loser with her rear handed to her on a plate. If Charles was able to...he probably would have stuck Molly in the soup pot and made Molly Stew.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Well, while Molly Chikamori was suffering the humiliation of being thoroughly and utterly outclassed and beaten up by a chicken, Haruo had to go out and talk to a buyer about one of his paintings. Well, he drove his Vaguester. It turned out very well, even though the amount of simoleons that he brought in with his commissioned paintings was nowhere near the amount that River brought in. But it would provide a comfortable living wage. He received yet another call while out on the first one and managed to sell a painting on commission to Simis Bachelor, which he appreciated. Chalk up two sales that day. When the kids came home, they immediately sat down at the kitchen table with a bit of coaxing and started to finish their homework. This was the routine every single day after school. After all, their objective was to achieve honor-roll status. When River got hungry, she came downstairs and grabbed a bite to eat. ...and was soon joined by her husband, which offered her an opportunity to talk to her husband about some things that had been weighing on her mother's mind which Fiona had mentioned. He sat in silence for a long moment waiting for her to finish chewing her food. River looked at her husband and said hesitently, "The thought has crossed my mind that my mother really misses her home-town." She paused for a long moment to let that sink into her husband's mind and then continued. "She moved to Sunset Valley to be with her boyfriend; my father, but he turned out to not be the man that she thought. But because I was born here, she was stuck living here because she didn't have the money to move back."
Haruo realized that this was going to mean a major upheaval. The Chikamoris weren't from Sunset Valley either. In fact, it was only because his parents (Yasunobu and Mayumi) had thought that Sunset Valley was the perfect little small town to raise Haruo, that they had even set down roots. And he was grateful for that because he had met the love of his life there. "...so where was her roots?" he asked wondering how far they would have to go.
"She's originally from Riverview...and her ancestors are buried in the cemetery there so that's where she'd like to be...you know...to finish off her life." she explained, hoping that was explanation enough for Haruo to uproot their life in Sunset Valley. Needless to say, they had to talk it through because it was a tough decision. It would mean uprooting their children from school, taking them away from friends that they had made and putting them in a new school during the middle of a school term. But at least they would have each other to rely on. Would they break-even on their investments and above all, would they get a decent market value for their home? But change was an integral part of life. If one didn't change and grow, one would stagnate. Haruo thought pensively for a long moment...then said, "OK...we'll look at doing this. Your mother made a choice to stay in a town that she didn't know to raise you up to womanhood. I think we can make a choice to move to your mother's hometown to give her a measure of peace." River looked at her husband gratefully; it was going to be a tough decision: leaving everyone that they knew and venturing out to a town that only her mother had any ties to, even if it was the McIrish family hometown. But her mother had selflessly did everything in her power to raise her daughter and give her a sense of security when she, herself, was wallowing in the depths of despair with a failed relationship and a rash move to a town where she was completely alone with no visible means of support. She had started out her career as a paper-deliverer, just so that she could have a roof over her head and food for her daughter. Could she have moved back to Riverview earlier, certainly, but she wanted to give her newborn daughter a sense of stability. But because River was with the love of her life, she found that it was easier for herself. Her family (her husband and her children) was her bulwark and as such, it would be much easier for River and Haruo. But how...to break it to their children...
That night it snowed heavily...as they uprooted themselves from their comfy existence in Sunset Valley and moved lock, stock and barrel to Riverview. Fiona was overcome at the thought of her son-in-law and daughter doing this for her. The house that they had moved into was a large mansion, but it didn't suit the style that they wanted for their home, so it would be torn down and remade into a house more typical of what they were looking for in a home. Cozy and comfortable, but still large enough that they could have a decent living space and privacy...the house would be expanded as the children grew in age. "Thank you, my love..." River said as she gave her husband a hug. "You realize just how much it meant to my mother to come home...to her hometown..." They say you can't truly come home again...all of what she knew here was gone...(Fiona's parents were long since deceased) but at least she was at peace. ...and so River and Haruo's family's life in Riverview began...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The house came together pretty quickly even though there were some tense nights in the motel waiting on the house to be built. But eventually everything came down to moving day and they spent their first evening in the kitchen of the newly build home. Of course, whatever food they had was no longer available to them and they had to start over with new food and Haruo, of course, had to do some cooking as Molly was still brassed off about Charles. Geez, get over it...will you...Molly? Well, since it was still the holiday season, Haruo and the kids decorated the tree and Haruo headed up on the ladder to string Snowflake Day Lights. They had moved into their new house on a weekday, so the following day was still a school day. Poor Allan; he decided to bike it all the way. It didn't seem as though it was as far as Sunset Valley Elementary, but still there were hills involved. At least it wasn't so hard to get into the school.
River got on with her painting. And she did buy a few photographs...which she promptly framed and hung up for inspiration. Even though the house was less of a financial burden on them than the last, they knew that it was going to be quite a different setup...in any case and they still would have to pump out several paintings a week in order to pay the bills. Their wedding photograph hung on the wall in quiet testament to the solidity of their marriage.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
While River was painting, Haruo went and took the Learjet out for a stroll...down to the city hall, presumably to deal with some city ordnances about collecting or something. Frankly nothing seemed to surprise the towns-folk. Even seeing a Learjet taking out half the lamp posts. Haruo MAY have to repair the damage to wing of that Learjet or it's just gonna be a museum piece. And River fielded a call from Parker Langerak who just wanted to talk. River wasn't averse to talking with an old friend provided that he kept things platonic. "Oh, yes, my mother is from Riverview and well...since she was feeling homesick, Haruo and I decided that the best thing was, that since we have money, we move to Riverview. I don't think that we'll be returning at any case. Hubby's roots aren't from Sunset Valley either and if we move from Riverview, it'll be to the place where he was born." "Well, we have four kids now...Allan, Braden, Brianna and Alanna...and they're both doing well in school. Thanks for asking, Parker..." Nope, hubby is still doing his thing... y'know...painting and collecting. He takes care of our kids when I'm busy with painting and he's an all-around good father...and husband. "Naw...Parker...everything is going absolutely great...we're in a nice new place...the home is beautiful and we've got a great view of the river." River looked up to see Haruo standing there with a bemused expression on his face, "Oh, hi, honey...did the thing at city hall go well?" she asked and turned to the phone..."Yeah, my husband is back...sorry, but I need to discuss some things with him. Well, I hope you do find that someone special...like I have, Bye-bye, Parker..." River saw her husband's expression change to one of sheer want and a smile crossed her face just before he pounced... "Well...I see you missed me..." River exclaimed breathlessly... Her husband stood there smiling enigmatically... ...and let's just say that it led to other things more pleasurable...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
...and finally...after a long hiatus: a Chapter from The Chikamori Selfacy... The Chikamori Selfacy
First Comes Pleasure; Then Comes the Price
Oh...yes...a million times more pleasurable... However the kids didn't find what their task to complete...was pleasurable...frankly...it was homework...and that didn't make them very happy in the slightest. Tough luck. Homework was essential in getting a good solid educational background so that one could get a decent little piece of paper that said how "smart" you were and that you were destined to be hired to become a cubicle mole and being screamed at by your boss if something happened that your business's accounts didn't like... Molly wasn't sure she liked Riverview and told Satoshi that she was pretty bleh...to the whole deal. Considering that she had to uproot herself and Sandi out of Sunset Valley to follow them over to Riverview...she certainly let Satoshi know it that she would have been much happier that the four of them had stayed in Sunset Valley. "So...Alanna, how is your arithmetic homework coming along?" River asked her daughter.
"Ugh, Mom...I hate this stuff...it's so boring...I mean...who the heck deals with trying to figure out the square root of 49 unless you're a NERD!"
"Well, you still have to do it anyways. Mommy doesn't want to listen to your teacher complain that you didn't do your homework..."
"DAAAAD!!!!"
"Not now, honey, I'm cooking and I don't want to burn the house down..." "Mama, did you ever have to deal with complaints like this?" ~pointed stare from River~...
"Do not even go there...honey, or you're sleeping on the couch!!!"
Fiona: "All the time..." River: "Honey...go out and feed the cow...
and the chickens..." "...and the BEES!"...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The nice thing about having soil rugs was the ability to transplant plants inside the house during the winter...of course having a greenhouse outside also allowed the Chikamoris to be able to grow stuff during winter time as well, so nothing went dormant...
...and apparently tiberium dust also grew well on soil rugs. It was dinner and off-to-bed for the children due to the fact that there was school the next day. Haruo got a late-night call from the Bistro asking him to deliver some paintings. And then of course he ran into the Bagleys who had commissioned him to paint something for them. Well, he definitely got to talk face to face with the matriarch of that family, being paid by Ma Bagley. ...then it was time to go home again and create some more paintings. Meanwhile Molly, also being sore about the fact that the time-machine was left in Sunset Valley...ranted at the pool-side slide, which didn't deserve to be yelled at. What did it do? And on top of that to do it in a bikini...outside in the snow...she's going to be freezing her assets off. Evidently Molly's unhappiness extended to being forced to live in Riverview which ended up with her storming down to City Hall and ranting about taxes. Constance Shelley was appalled...mind you, APPALLED...at this rather pointless display of vulgarity. Well, that's the way the cookie crumbles...get used to it. Then Molly went one step further and decided that to show her appreciation for being uprooted, she'd "decorate" City Hall... Well...that didn't go over well... It certainly wasn't what Haruo and River were expecting, to see Riverview's finest pulling up in a black and white and dropping off a rather less-than-penitent Molly. That's a great example that you're setting for your kids, Molly.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
It was certainly very cold that evening, while Satoshi went out to search for gemstones. It appeared as though Molly was not in the slightest bit happy with their situation living with the rest of the Chikamoris and evidently it was mainly due to the fact that it appeared as though River and Fiona had taken over the minding of the French-Chikamori children. Something had to be done and the only way that it would be tenable to live in Riverview was if she and Satoshi found themselves a place to move to. It meant that Satoshi would have to do a lot more searching for things to make money with...or go back into a field of work that he really hadn't enjoyed. But Molly wanted out of the house. ...and so Satoshi to build up his monies in preparation to move out spent a lot of time at night going out to pick up space-rocks and gem-stones and selling them, either through the consignment store or through a private sale.
River had wanted to order pizza for a long while, and well...tonight was pretty much the night to do it. Yasunobu and Susan decided to get frisky... ...and Molly still in a sour mood, ate dinner...at least until her husband came home and she and Satoshi decided to get frisky some more too. It was getting late so Yasunobu who was busy pounding on the training dummy, told the young girl who was here doing homework with Aidan that she'd better head home or she might run the risk of being picked up by the Riverview PD. It was a gorgeous yet cold night...and it was certainly best if the girl made her way home to her family. ...and soon it was high time for the Chikamoris to hie off to sleep... ...and soon their home went dark for the night.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Life was a lot quieter after Molly and Satoshi left. And frankly it was much less stressful too, considering that little Aidan was left to hang out with his second cousins. Considering as he was technically Haruo's cousin as he was the child of Haruo's uncle, the fact that he was being raised by them was a shocker for most people looking in on this family. The next few days passed relatively without much fanfare. Haruo looked after the bees and headed off to the Apothecary to drop off gems for consignment. Haruo kept the kitchen clean after making sure that the fridge was kept well-stocked and River kept producing paintings to sell. After all...the bills needed to be paid and well, it appeared as though River and Haruo were doing the bulk of the bringing in the income. River did what she had to, which was spend a lot of time at the easel making sure that the calibre of paintings that she created was of high quality. When she went to sell the paintings, she sold them individually to commissioned sales. As high as the amount of money that she kept getting in for large paintings, which was in the neighbourhood of §34K per individual painting, it wasn't worth it to do another Painting The City painting opportunity. When you can pull in over §34,000 per painting, getting only about §200,000 for an opportunity like that wasn't fiscally worth it. So River sold her painitngs to the community individually on commission for a significant mark-up. And it made River rich, frankly beyond River and Haruo's wildest dreams. Between that and periodically pulling in a substantial amount for large Tiberium spires, their net worth was north of §10M. The new house wasn't as expansive as the old house in Sunset Valley and well, it certainly made the situation seem cramped. The kitchen wasn't as big either and neither was the bedrooms. So there had been a lot of talk between the parents (River's mom and Haruo's dad between their respective spouses about letting Haruo and River have their space and finding a home for themselves. So that was what Susan Chikamori was doing that morning; looking up real estate for her and Yasunobu to move to. Fiona was doing the same. Haruo and River were blithely unaware of the familial relationship currents. River did get herself a new hairstyle as her hair was gradually growing out. And wore it at the next meal. Haruo and River had wonderful relationships with their children (all maxed out) and it showed in their closeness with their kids. Haruo did spend some time playing the piano after having maxed out his skill level in it. Alanna spent time with her grandfather at the kitchen table. After all, the children were unaware of the fact that their grandparents wanted to give River and Haruo the time to grow as a couple and as a nuclear family (defined as mother, father, children) instead of in an extended family situation. And the kids were growing and eventually they would all need their own space. The house was only five bedrooms and as such, there would soon be no space without expanding the home. And Aidan would have to bunk where Molly and Satoshi used to as he grew into his teens. Certainly there was quite a number of years before that happened, but Yasunobu and Fiona as well as their respective spouses planned ahead for that eventuality. Yasunobu and Susan though had their own social life and they wanted to go out and see a concert for once. Afterwards, they did decide to go out and get something to eat, in fact, it was like a little date, which was something couples needed to do to keep the romance alive. Well...Haruo and River did their own thing as far as keeping their romance alive too. Such was the goings-on within the walls of the Chikamori home.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Selling paintings was a must for River and she produced a major ton of paintings that she sold for a decent amount of money. Most were in the §34,000 range as quite a few commissions for large paintings came in. And buyers were satisfied with the quality that River had created. Four buyers in one day created quite a stir in the Chikamori household as River was quite the artist and to get four sales in one day was quite a feat. Haruo had his own little bit of studying to do. Seeing as he headed over to the bookstore and got some books on gardening. The kids were unsure of what to make of the situation with their grandparents moving out and they figured it was an "adult thing". So most of them shrugged it off and worked on their computers writing novels. After dinner with River, Haruo went outside and got himself stung. That certainly wasn't a fun way to spend the evening, nursing an angry bee-sting and sucking on Benedryl. But such was the case when one owns bees. Braden talked with Grandpa Yasunobu who lived next door in another house. However And River went back to painting. And of course, River and Haruo made time for each other. As parents, they needed to take some time for one another to keep their marriage strong. One of their little ones decided that he was going to watch TV...the BIG one.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
In the morning, Haruo did spend some time dealing with collecting the eggs from the chickens and milking the cow. Eggs were an essential ingredient in many of the recipes that Haruo made, however buying lots of eggs at the market was cost-prohibitive, so having the chicken coop was convenient. Milk certainly was nice when one needed a quick topper when one's hunger was in the yellow. And well, Bessie was more than willing to stand there patiently while Haruo got the milk. Haruo then made his way to the Apothecary to consign some jewels dust, which seemed to sell pretty well. Once he'd consigned the items that he wanted to, he headed back home. The kids went off to school...for a wonderful day, full of new ideas and learning new skills...(yeah...who am I kidding...? They were probably bored as anything...trying to stay away from school-yard bullies and the cliques involved in schoolyard-politics.). Funny how it seems that we forget this when we tell our kids down the road that "School is important..." Yeah, it is...but still...there's a lot of distractions from learning that go on. Haruo, when he came home, cut some more gemstones, while River painted... When night fell, it was time for dinner and bed. Midday on the next day, saw the kids taking a trip to the Riverview Police Department. Riverview had their own police force; after City Council had debated on the merits of having their own police force, versus having the Royal Canadian Mounted Police policing their community. That is why communities like Vancouver and New Westminster have their own policing force, rather than having the RCMP take care of their community policing needs. ...and Haruo spent time with the bees and the bushes... The next morning, River headed off to the park across from the Bistro to play guitar. One of the rolled wishes was to play guitar in the park, so that took care of that. ...and of course, the kids were in school. The school was extremely patriotic...with two flagpoles in front of the school, both flying the Canadian flag - in real life, it's the Canadian flag and the provincial flag. Oh, of course, they just also had to have the singing of the national anthem every morning too. And just to annoy the neighbours...they also sang Canada's alternate anthem: The Maple Leaf Forever...
At Queenston Heights and Lundy's Lane
Our brave fathers side by side
For freedom's home and loved ones dear,
Firmly stood and nobly died.
And so their rights which they maintained,
We swear to yield them never.
Our watchword ever more shall be
The Maple Leaf Forever The Maple Leaf, our emblem dear,
The Maple Leaf forever!
God save our Queen and Heaven bless
The Maple Leaf forever!
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Braden realized that when he'd gotten home that he'd forgotten to take the permission slips from the trip back to the city hall. So once he'd finished his homework, he cycled back to city hall and dropped them off. River sold yet another painting...this time to Sandi French; they were not related by blood, but now they were related by family ties, considering that both Molly and she were married to men of the Chikamori family. Defined, Sandi would be considered her Uncle-in-law's step-daughter or a step-cousin-in-law...(holy cripes, that's confusing). Relative or not, it was services paid for services rendered.
With all the recent complaining about homework and all that, Haruo and River decided to show their children just how important education was...and enrolled in university. After a discussion with their children to keep up their grades while Haruo and River pursued their degree, they enrolled in university. Yasunobu and Susan would take care of the children while River and Haruo were off at the University of British Columbia. Yay. "Tuum Est"
And so they departed for their first term with a send-off from Susan, "Study hard!!!" Of course, the moving van appeared and Haruo and River got in... and off they went for higher learning. As mature students, they weren't as pre-disposed to fun hijinks and other university pranks. Their goal was to study, get their degree and get home. Although in their case, it would take two trips to University to do so. For economy's sake, they tried living in the dorm. ...and Haruo got himself a varsity jacket and a more fitting hairstyle, at least for university. Welcome to the University of British Columbia. Of course there was a vocal minority trying to change the university mascot from the Llama to the Thunderbirds quoting that it was a more fitting mascot than an Andean long-necked sheep. Well...you can see who won...
Hail to the Thunderbirds, hail UBC,
Thunder and lightning, onwards to victory.
Hail to the blue and gold, hail UBC,
U B C forever, onwards to victory.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Morning involved a little run. Since Haruo and River had arrived on campus on a weekend; they ended up with a day to kill before classes started. Then he went off to train on the weight machine. Evidently BC has a different weather system than the rest of the country because it was nice and warm...and it had transitioned to December there...but everyone was mentioning that it was going to be a cold-snap coming down as the Arctic weather front was going to move into the region in a few days. River was mentally psyching herself up for classes and a bit of me-time over at the coffee-shop was just what the doctor ordered. The snacks sold at the coffee shop were quite delicious...the only thing that she missed was Nanaimo bars...and unfortunately this coffeeshop didn't seem to have them. Oh well, she could subsist on brownies, but that would entail that she needed to work out to keep her trim figure. Haruo in the meantime was working out his muscles and huffing and puffing on the weight machine...after all, the jocks tended to do such stuff and well, he was married...and wanted to look appealing to the hot wife that he had. ...and decided that he would do an intense workout designed to build muscle and body-mass. ...and tried to ignore the red-headed eye-candy at the machine next to him. and River got some undue attention from the unattached boys loitering around the coffee shop, "I'm sorry, boys, I'm flattered, really, but I have a husband and four kids...better luck next time..." Boys: "Aw, plum...told ya she was married, from the ring on her finger..." River decided to bike over to the gym and meet up with hubby. And sure enough, he was on the weight machine. After a shower (separately...mind you, no sneaking into the women's shower room to woohoo with River...) they sat down for a bit on the sofa outside to kind of wind down after the good workout. ...and of course the obligatory college selfie. Of course, they had to get something to eat to replenish their famished stomachs after the workout. ...and a little woohoo was in order considering that they had some time to do so...before classes really got into session. Of course, they had dealt with orientation...and things before getting the rest of the day to enjoy themselves. ...and so concluded their first day on campus and tomorrow the real classes would start.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Morning was a rush, that Monday, as Haruo and River downed their breakfast as they needed to get to class by 9:00AM...in time for the prof to come walking in at about 10 to 10. Of course...profs took their sweet time getting to class while expecting their students to be in class and seated in their seats waiting for half an hour. Haruo sprinted to class, since he was in a different building from the building that River was supposed to be in. River was more than ready for her class that morning...of course standing outside in the damp, cool morning wasn't too fun...it looked like rain. Of course, classes took two hours; one ended up taking a whole bunch of notes and imbibed a whole bunch of caffeine, just to stay awake. Considering that River's next class wasn't until four, River had some time on her hands to get some studying done. But before she did that, she headed over to the campus bookstore and bought her textbooks for the semester. Then she went back to the dorm to study... Then she headed over to the SUB to have a little free recreation time before heading off to the next class... Of course, class-time came around all too soon. Haruo finished his second class of the day at two in the afternoon which allowed him to spend some time in the university park to sit down and read his textbooks and study. Then of course, it was time to head home to do some more studying. River did the same once class was over... Of course, there were also plenty of distractions...some of them self-made... Which ended up in the shower... Luckily no-one walked in...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Tuesday morning was an atypical day...since all there was was a lecture from ten till noon...but it still entailed a frantic rush out the door after breakfast for class. River too. Both were lucky that they weren't late. 15 minutes after classes started, the profs locked the doors. Of course, Haruo getting there earlier than River was engrossed in a conversation with another student, female...of course...but River just eyed him with eyebrows raised and he quickly followed her into the lecture-hall... Scot Macklamoor, evidently had too much fun the night before and passed out on the floor. It certainly caught everyone's attention for a while. Evidently order wasn't present in the classroom, since everyone seemed to stand around and mill around even during the course of the lecture...but it didn't seem to bother the instructor, Madeleine Noetal. That was probably because she was insane. I'm sure I've known a few profs like that in my time... The Fine Arts Lecture class that was held from 10-12 Tuesday and Thursday, was the only class that River and Haruo had together and yes, they definitely took advantage of it. Others in the class, like Jerry Dean and Ann Connors chose to catch up on their sleep. It was a packed class and some students whether they wanted to or not were left standing...and Haruo and River took advantage of that, by standing beside each other trying to listen intently to Ms. Noetal teaching the class. What sense they could make of it would probably be dealt with by themselves at home. Since they didn't want to dip too far into their savings for everyday things, Haruo headed over to the Elixir store...to sell off a few gemstones. After which upon returning to their dorm, River studied...and Haruo...well, he sketched in the bathroom. What wonderfully aromatic odors he's discovered...BLEAGH!!! Maybe Madeleine Noetal's exhortations of "Learn to live art, create it where people will least expect it...you all have it within you..." started rubbing off on Haruo's mental stability.
Yeah, it's probably a little too early in the semester for that...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Haruo and River had stored the Murphy Bed (that thing claims victims...rather easily) and replaced it with a bed of their own...that didn't fold up. Yes, certainly it made the room more cramped, but at least they wouldn't be having to worry about their bed falling out on top of them and meeting Grim too soon. But even so, mornings were always too early. Haruo went into the kitchen to make breakfast so that everyone could eat since most of the dorm-mates couldn't cook to save their own life and were more interested in woohooing and parties. Haruo and River were more interested in studying and getting good grades. Dorm Living when others played loud music and had raucous parties was not conducive to studying in the slightest. Three days in and Haruo and River were looking for alternatives...up to and including finding a different place to live, buying it and just moving in. (have to utilize visit house with...command). Next semester, he and River will buy a house to live in... Then it was a frantic rush to classes. The campus was a large one as campuses go but it was well-designed in that it didn't take them long to get where they wanted to go. The trees were in beautiful color due to the cold snap and there was talk of snow shortly. When Haruo got home from classes he headed directly to the oven to cook dinner for the rest of the relentless party animals so they wouldn't starve to death. How magnanimous... I mean...if Haruo is going to cook for them, then they should be more conscientious and provide a little quiet so he and River could study. Right? Ungrateful little sim-snots. Night fell over the university campus and well, parties were in full swing all over campus...regardless of whether they had a school day next day. Well, I guess university is for partying and living life. I wouldn't know, I had an asian tiger-mom breathing fire down my neck. ...and so River and Haruo went to sleep dreaming about pencils and oils. Yes, scintellating stuff, I know...but when you want to get the highest marks possible in school, well, you have to study to the point where you're dreaming this stuff in your sleep. Since Thursday was an activity day in Fine Arts class, Haruo asked River if she would pose for him...since he was doing a study on drawing the nude physical form...and of course...she acquiesced, since it was her husband asking. The activity class administered by Ms. Noetal was dry...though it was wet outside. The class got drenched. River got in some education-training by teaching a class on guitar-playing, which well, a lot of the class were attentive. And frankly quite a few of the class were class-mates of theirs, who after class, insisted that River should be the Fine Arts professor since her class appeared to be more interesting than Madeleine Noetal's class which frankly put the majority of the class to sleep. And to top it all off, Haruo and River found themselves a home where they could actually lay their head and study, so they moved themselves (technically they were still there, but had just visited their bought home...so that they could visit that home and sleep there, but they were still classified as being dorm-students - and all things considered...the rest of their dorm-mates didn't even notice they were gone). So ended Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the first week...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Midway thru the term, River got a call from Allan asking Mommy how she was doing in school? River smiled as she talked with Allan about how school was for her and asked him how he was doing in school. He also asked how Dad was and River responded that Dad was doing fine, that they were doing well...and that Allan and the rest of their kids needed to concentrate on their schooling as well and maintain their honor-roll status. It was a long call...and long distance too. But River knew that they could easily afford it, considering their financial status. Because they had deferred their post-secondary education till after they had become financially stable, they were able to easily afford their post-secondary education, paid in full. Sometimes a post-secondary education in this day and age was a trade-off. Especially since they were well-established as painters in their town. Also, the green glowy rocks helped too. "Now make sure that you listen to everything Grandpa and Grandma tell you and make sure that you do well on your tests. OK, Allan?" Mama River told her oldest son. "I love you...son..."
"Love you too...Mommy, give Daddy a big hug for me...and my brother and sisters." her oldest son stated.
River smiled at that. "Oh...I will...son...I will...you tell your brother and sisters that we'll see you all soon. Study hard."
"I will, Mommy..." and the call was terminated. Because fine arts required buying a few items such as a street-art bag, they had to drop by the bookstore to pick one up. While there, they ran into yet another one of their class-mates. from the lecture hall course. Haruo made dim sum for dinner... Then promptly rolled a wish to graffiti his own lawn for which he got apprehended. "Hey officer...you realize that I bought this property?"
Officer: "You are under arrest for an offense under Section 430 (1) (a) of the Canadian Criminal Code. You have the right to remain silent, anything you do or say can and will be used against you in a court of law... You have the right to an attorney, if you do not have the financial resources to obtain an attorney, an attorney will be provided for you..."
Well, darn... River got him out of the charge and well, they went home...and well...one thing led to another... (Everything is tastefully blocked out thanks to their arm-positions...) "Y'know, hon, I don't think you should graffiti the lawn anymore."
"But...but...how am I ever supposed to fulfill that rolled wish to create a street art?"
"Well, even if you don't complete it...I'm sure you'll live..." And thus they went to sleep... However... Haruo decided that he was going to wake up in the middle of the night...and finish off that graffiti street art. And he did... To the Campus Cops: Yep...BOO YAH!!! (mic drop) so there...
PSA to all Children 21 and under - Please do not copy the activities of Sim depicted in above vandalism incident in real life. You will BE ARRESTED and obtain yourself a Criminal Record which will do wonderful things for your future employability. This has been a Public Service Announcement from @Nikkei_Simmer - your somewhat responsible adult Simmer.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Comments
Here Comes Baby Number Four
Mornings as usual were bright and early; and sometimes it took a little to kickstart the brain in the mornings. River stood by the bed for a long moment taking some time to think, and assess what she had to do for the day. It was a way of aligning her tasks according to necessity and ranking them so that she could tackle them one at a time. Her stomach felt a little queasy...and fluttery...well...let's just say that things would get a little more queasy throughout the day.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Post-Birth Recovery and Alanna Ages Up
Giving birth was physically taxing on River's body. And it was a blessing to have Alanna not wake up in the middle of the night thus allowing River to sleep...and somewhat recuperate though she would be sore for quite some time. (Creator: they really should have extended that body sore moodlet to include after pregnancy) River slept until well after sunrise.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Learning New Things
It wasn't long before Alanna was learning her skills. Haruo taught Alanna how to talk and that was something that she picked up on very quickly. The rest of the family partook of the cake while Haruo and his daughter sat cross-legged on the floor chattering.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
A Flurry of Painting
The rest of the day involved a flurry of painting that culminated a few sales over the course of the day. Haruo was called by Victoria Andrews because she was curious about the painting skills of the other half of the couple that she had spent over §30K on for a painting. Well, River was a Master Artist; Haruo on the other hand was less so...and even though he had mastered the art of painting, he was still trying to find his muse.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Recreation Time
When the Sim-Chikamoris are asleep, the Creator likes to take a stroll around the town to see the sights. I have no idea why He chooses to go to the graveyard, but the cemetery appears to be nice...quiet and peaceful. At least it had better be. It would certainly not be peaceful if the graveyard was active. I don't think the living would appreciate it much either.
Satoshi ate breakfast that morning and then went out hunting for gemstones and metals. And frankly it was something that he needed to do.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Alanna's Aging Up Day
It seemed like forever, yet it only seemed like yesterday. Alanna was all done with her training and learning new skills. Now it was time for her to age up into a child.
And Susan read a book downstairs in the living room.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Toshiyuki's Busy Day
Toshiyuki was quite busy with sculpting. In fact he was focussing so much on sculpting that he didn't have much time for anything else...and thus he wasn't getting much in the way of painting or inventing done and he did have to master the inventing skill.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Daily Duties
Early mornings presented its own set of unique challenges with four kids heading out the door all at the same time. Breakfast had to be early for the kids to get their meals in before heading off to school. And Allan barely had time to check his e-mails on his new smart-phone before high-tailing it out the door.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Rumble in the Back Yard
Evidently seeing promotions handed out to her coworkers was grating on Molly French-Chikamori and she decided to take out her frustrations on Charles the Evil Chicken. This is probably the only time that I feel sorry for that demonic bird.
But...evidently, Molly wasn't that smart.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
A Monumental Decision
Well, while Molly Chikamori was suffering the humiliation of being thoroughly and utterly outclassed and beaten up by a chicken, Haruo had to go out and talk to a buyer about one of his paintings. Well, he drove his Vaguester.
Haruo realized that this was going to mean a major upheaval. The Chikamoris weren't from Sunset Valley either. In fact, it was only because his parents (Yasunobu and Mayumi) had thought that Sunset Valley was the perfect little small town to raise Haruo, that they had even set down roots. And he was grateful for that because he had met the love of his life there. "...so where was her roots?" he asked wondering how far they would have to go.
"She's originally from Riverview...and her ancestors are buried in the cemetery there so that's where she'd like to be...you know...to finish off her life." she explained, hoping that was explanation enough for Haruo to uproot their life in Sunset Valley.
That night it snowed heavily...as they uprooted themselves from their comfy existence in Sunset Valley and moved lock, stock and barrel to Riverview. Fiona was overcome at the thought of her son-in-law and daughter doing this for her. The house that they had moved into was a large mansion, but it didn't suit the style that they wanted for their home, so it would be torn down and remade into a house more typical of what they were looking for in a home. Cozy and comfortable, but still large enough that they could have a decent living space and privacy...the house would be expanded as the children grew in age.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Settling In
The house came together pretty quickly even though there were some tense nights in the motel waiting on the house to be built. But eventually everything came down to moving day and they spent their first evening in the kitchen of the newly build home.
River got on with her painting.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The Phone Call and the Aftermath
While River was painting, Haruo went and took the Learjet out for a stroll...down to the city hall, presumably to deal with some city ordnances about collecting or something. Frankly nothing seemed to surprise the towns-folk. Even seeing a Learjet taking out half the lamp posts. Haruo MAY have to repair the damage to wing of that Learjet or it's just gonna be a museum piece.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The Chikamori Selfacy
First Comes Pleasure; Then Comes the Price
Oh...yes...a million times more pleasurable...
"Ugh, Mom...I hate this stuff...it's so boring...I mean...who the heck deals with trying to figure out the square root of 49 unless you're a NERD!"
"Well, you still have to do it anyways. Mommy doesn't want to listen to your teacher complain that you didn't do your homework..."
"DAAAAD!!!!"
"Not now, honey, I'm cooking and I don't want to burn the house down..."
"Do not even go there...honey, or you're sleeping on the couch!!!"
Fiona: "All the time..."
and the chickens..."
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Molly's Disgruntlement
The nice thing about having soil rugs was the ability to transplant plants inside the house during the winter...of course having a greenhouse outside also allowed the Chikamoris to be able to grow stuff during winter time as well, so nothing went dormant...
...and apparently tiberium dust also grew well on soil rugs.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Molly and Satoshi Decide to Move Out
It was certainly very cold that evening, while Satoshi went out to search for gemstones. It appeared as though Molly was not in the slightest bit happy with their situation living with the rest of the Chikamoris and evidently it was mainly due to the fact that it appeared as though River and Fiona had taken over the minding of the French-Chikamori children. Something had to be done and the only way that it would be tenable to live in Riverview was if she and Satoshi found themselves a place to move to.
River had wanted to order pizza for a long while, and well...tonight was pretty much the night to do it.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Splitting Atoms
Life was a lot quieter after Molly and Satoshi left. And frankly it was much less stressful too, considering that little Aidan was left to hang out with his second cousins. Considering as he was technically Haruo's cousin as he was the child of Haruo's uncle, the fact that he was being raised by them was a shocker for most people looking in on this family. The next few days passed relatively without much fanfare. Haruo looked after the bees and headed off to the Apothecary to drop off gems for consignment.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The Daily Grind
Selling paintings was a must for River and she produced a major ton of paintings that she sold for a decent amount of money. Most were in the §34,000 range as quite a few commissions for large paintings came in. And buyers were satisfied with the quality that River had created.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Canadiana
In the morning, Haruo did spend some time dealing with collecting the eggs from the chickens and milking the cow. Eggs were an essential ingredient in many of the recipes that Haruo made, however buying lots of eggs at the market was cost-prohibitive, so having the chicken coop was convenient. Milk certainly was nice when one needed a quick topper when one's hunger was in the yellow. And well, Bessie was more than willing to stand there patiently while Haruo got the milk.
At Queenston Heights and Lundy's Lane
Our brave fathers side by side
For freedom's home and loved ones dear,
Firmly stood and nobly died.
And so their rights which they maintained,
We swear to yield them never.
Our watchword ever more shall be
The Maple Leaf Forever
The Maple Leaf forever!
God save our Queen and Heaven bless
The Maple Leaf forever!
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Off to University
Braden realized that when he'd gotten home that he'd forgotten to take the permission slips from the trip back to the city hall. So once he'd finished his homework, he cycled back to city hall and dropped them off.
With all the recent complaining about homework and all that, Haruo and River decided to show their children just how important education was...and enrolled in university. After a discussion with their children to keep up their grades while Haruo and River pursued their degree, they enrolled in university. Yasunobu and Susan would take care of the children while River and Haruo were off at the University of British Columbia. Yay. "Tuum Est"
And so they departed for their first term with a send-off from Susan, "Study hard!!!"
Hail to the Thunderbirds, hail UBC,
Thunder and lightning, onwards to victory.
Hail to the blue and gold, hail UBC,
U B C forever, onwards to victory.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
First Day on Campus
Morning involved a little run. Since Haruo and River had arrived on campus on a weekend; they ended up with a day to kill before classes started.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
First Day of Classes
Morning was a rush, that Monday, as Haruo and River downed their breakfast as they needed to get to class by 9:00AM...in time for the prof to come walking in at about 10 to 10. Of course...profs took their sweet time getting to class while expecting their students to be in class and seated in their seats waiting for half an hour.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
The Lecture
Tuesday morning was an atypical day...since all there was was a lecture from ten till noon...but it still entailed a frantic rush out the door after breakfast for class. River too. Both were lucky that they weren't late. 15 minutes after classes started, the profs locked the doors.
Yeah, it's probably a little too early in the semester for that...
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Study, Study and More Study
Haruo and River had stored the Murphy Bed (that thing claims victims...rather easily) and replaced it with a bed of their own...that didn't fold up. Yes, certainly it made the room more cramped, but at least they wouldn't be having to worry about their bed falling out on top of them and meeting Grim too soon. But even so, mornings were always too early.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Bein' a Rebel
Midway thru the term, River got a call from Allan asking Mommy how she was doing in school? River smiled as she talked with Allan about how school was for her and asked him how he was doing in school. He also asked how Dad was and River responded that Dad was doing fine, that they were doing well...and that Allan and the rest of their kids needed to concentrate on their schooling as well and maintain their honor-roll status.
"Love you too...Mommy, give Daddy a big hug for me...and my brother and sisters." her oldest son stated.
River smiled at that. "Oh...I will...son...I will...you tell your brother and sisters that we'll see you all soon. Study hard."
"I will, Mommy..." and the call was terminated.
Officer: "You are under arrest for an offense under Section 430 (1) (a) of the Canadian Criminal Code. You have the right to remain silent, anything you do or say can and will be used against you in a court of law... You have the right to an attorney, if you do not have the financial resources to obtain an attorney, an attorney will be provided for you..."
Well, darn...
"But...but...how am I ever supposed to fulfill that rolled wish to create a street art?"
"Well, even if you don't complete it...I'm sure you'll live..."
PSA to all Children 21 and under - Please do not copy the activities of Sim depicted in above vandalism incident in real life. You will BE ARRESTED and obtain yourself a Criminal Record which will do wonderful things for your future employability. This has been a Public Service Announcement from @Nikkei_Simmer - your somewhat responsible adult Simmer.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~