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Sims 3 aMAYzing Gift Exchange ~ DONE :)

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  • LMC6255LMC6255 Posts: 940 Member
    MsPrissy88 wrote: »
    While it's not exactly a weekend to "celebrate", I hope everyone has an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.

    I'm *finally* going to see my friend (the one who lost his girlfriend), tomorrow (Saturday). Spend some time with him, and probably do some reminiscing.

    Monday is the day I'll be "looking forward" to. 3 times a year, I make our homemade potato salad and cook up some brats to go with it. However... since I'm going to be streaming -- @Mystik -- I am going to cook the potatoes and eggs on Sunday; to get them ready. Or, just make up the potato salad a day early (and give me something to snack on :D ).

    Anyway... IF there are any more gifts that have to be presented, rec'd and downloaded, I will do all that next week.


    For now, tho ---- BYE EVERYONE! So nice to meet all the new comers, and always nice to see the familiar faces once again.

    @MsPrissy88 I hope reminiscing with your friend brings up many happy memories and that you both have something to smile about.. :) The menu for Memorial Day sounds delicious. As a new comer it is nice to get to get to know you, MsPrissy.. ;) Have a lovely Memorial Day! <3
  • SamelaRitaSamelaRita Posts: 1,007 Member
    @BreeMiles I love your three houses and families together build. I also like the idea of putting all the gift exchange places in a world together!
    @ADWilson Those two mirror image houses are so cute - and I like the idea of Marge and Don living next door to each other. I totally want Mr Fixit and the fixer-upper - you know mw and renovacies!
    @60smusicluvr Hello Sunshine is so aptly named! I love the layout, and also the really cheerful decor as well.
    @ciane Harvest Moon and the sims that go with it are amazing. And I reckon you just about nailed the sim version of the real thing! That was so impressive. And I love the Iwami house too.
    @suzses La Valeriana Roja is so vivid and colourful, and there's so much detail in there - another blow me away build by another amazingly talented builder. I feel like I've learnt so much by being a part of this gift exchange: it's been an education in its own right.
    (End of page 45)
    @Kgaff Scandia is a lovely home (when I get home, I'm digging out the thesaurus: I keep using the same adjectives!) and I really like the light and airy look. You are so right about the lack of daylight in winter - we live in the UK and we're down to about 6 hours a day in winter. My husband would say more like three on a gloomy day!
    (End of page 46)
  • MmdrgntobldrgnMmdrgntobldrgn Posts: 6,680 Member
    AlphaFen wrote: »
    @MsPrissy88 Daisy is a perfect picture of a border collie!

    @Jessabeans I like the Brontes too, Jane Eyre I think is the best and I wasn't the biggest fan of Great Expectations either it was a bit thin. I forgot Douglas Adams! I still sometimes sign off emails with "So long and thanks for all the fish" which possibly explains why I don't always get responses....

    @KaytayRoall I won't need pics as I will definitely be checking this wonder out in game! Fun for every type of sim on 40x40!

    @Mystik1978 I do like the little touches you put into your gardens, the gnomes in your first build and now the starfish by the pool! Lovely!

    @DinoJr I got in game yesterday and have had immense fun exploring the base camp (got a chance to admire the path flow and all the individual activities provided) and the sims bios (so funny and sweet) I admit I have a soft spot for Maurice. Thanks for taking the time and Olympian effort to go back an comment on everything and for saying such nice things. I will go google the podcasts you mentioned ;)

    <3<3<3
    Love Douglas Adams, in high school (80s) I would hang out at a local shop with a small group & we would listen to a weekly broadcast based on the novels on the local public radio station.

    As a young teen I loved Jane Eyre, but my love of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and Anne McCaffrey's Pern series & writing style, is closer to where my heart stayed. I also loved Ann Rice, but for some reason her most recent book Lestat has had no reading appeal not sure what changed, possibly me because I loved most of her other books. I tend to read more sci-fi, fantasy than straight or historical fiction. Some of the other literary influences on my growing years are David Eddings, Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Asminov (like Agatha Christie) I do better watching films/shows based on the books than reading them, Ian Flemming, and many other authors whose names I can't recall.

    At this point I know I'm behind by several pages, but I have managed an occasional sneak through ...... I might just snag someone's idea and plunk all of the wonderfully fabulous extraordinarily fantastic gifts onto an empty copy of legacy island (Rflong's world).

    Everyone, especially our wonderful (on vacation) hostess, did such a wonderful job of coming up with something for their buddy.

    Peace, GranMama Dragon
    Exploring life through imagination & satire since 1969.
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  • MmdrgntobldrgnMmdrgntobldrgn Posts: 6,680 Member
    @AlphaFen loving the book titles ;)

    shhhh .... I'm not simming I doing adulting stuff ....... ;)
    Peace, GranMama Dragon
    Exploring life through imagination & satire since 1969.
    Save Game Often
    repair & clear caches Often
    S3 Studio
    S3 blog Story, lists of empty lots by world
    Behrooz
    S2/3/4 Randomnes
  • cianeciane Posts: 16,996 Member
    I loved seeing your in-game fun @DinoJr and @BreeMiles. Please feel free to share more, lots more!
  • JessabeansJessabeans Posts: 3,714 Member
    edited May 2019
    Oh nice, I'm always on the look out for more authors for myself and more child friendly but entertaining for adult books (low concept adult fiction) to read to the little one at night. She seemed to like Asimov, or at least had the most questions when we were reading her foundation. Sometimes she gets annoyed that I don't voice the characters the same as my husband does when we trade off. My husband has been reading her some of Elizabeth Levy's kid mystery books this month.

    @Mmdrgntobldrgn I had totally forgotten about Dragonriders of Pern, I haven't read any of those in ages so I'll need to reread them to see what would need to be adjusted, I don't remember much that would be inappropriate. That's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. We are trying to read books to her that she will want to read on her own later. I had to change a lot of the earlier Harry Potter books, there is so much hitting and name calling in the first 3.

    I'd love to see more in-game pictures too. It's always nice to see what other's are up to in there game, I think that's half the reason I love reading sim stories.
  • DinoJrDinoJr Posts: 89 Member
    edited May 2019
    @Mmdrgntobldrgn Anne Rice based the character of Lestat on her husband, and after he died, the writing style in the books changed quite a bit.

    I love everything Douglas Adams has ever written, and I'm slowly making my way through Pratchetts Discworld books... All great so far. Other favorites are Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Covenant Chronicles, Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Series, Phillip K. Dick (anything! His short stories are amazing though), Stephen King... and my favorite author is Neil Gaiman. I have a tattoo of Dream and Death, two characters from his Sandman comics... and his novels are wonderful too. @Jessabeans Coraline is a young readers book by him that you may like for your kid.. it has some scary bits but they all resolve really well! Stardust, and Odd and the Frost Giants may be worth your time too. He does have some books for very young audience too, Blueberry Hair, and Fortunately The Milk.

    Ernest Cline's Ready Player One is still one of my top favorite books of all time. Don't watch the movie. Also The Giver by Lois Lowry. Again, skip the flick. I like a lot of Heinlein's stuff, but its pretty dated, and it shows!
  • KaytayRoallKaytayRoall Posts: 923 Member
    edited May 2019
    So much to do, so little time!

    I've been alternating between playing and looking at each gift and commenting in depth. I have so much catching up to do! I've been taking pictures while playing, though, and considering sharing how Shade and Sasha have been faring in my game... when I have time.

    I don't think I ever actually commented on the last gift I received, either, for which I'm terribly sorry, @Mystik1978 !! I looked at it on my way to bed, fell asleep planning and plotting and didn't actually write down my thoughts on it. Sunshine Stacks is a great Lunar Lakes remodel! I think I remember looking at the original a couple months back when I started a save in LL and was not very impressed with it. I love how you've kept LL's distinctive architecture, but made it much more cheerful and less sterile! Sunflowers are my favorite flower and seeing the vase of them in the living room brought a smile to my face. (There's some in the beach house, too, that just make my heart happy when I see them.) The distinctive pool shape is very cool. You have a real way with landscaping, too. I noticed it while playing the beach house and see more of it here. I really like the way that you have flowers in scattered bunches around the lot and the mix of flowers and terrain paint. Also the starfish near the pool in this one are fun, cute and creative! I will definitely be placing this in my Lunar Lakes save to take a closer look. Thank you so much for this and the other wonderful gifts <3

    I want to chime in on the book chatter, too! I second @AlphaFen's recommendation of Diana Wynne Jones for reading to your little one. Her books have the heft of a meaty fantasy novel, but are geared toward a younger audience, with a lower reading level and lack of explicit content. That said, the stories are engaging, the characters well-developed and identifiable, and the writing full of little touches of humor. I didn't discover her until I was an adult, but have enjoyed all of her books that I've read.

    I grew up reading the Dragonriders of Pern (and Andre Norton, @Mmdrgntobldrgn !), but also haven't read them recently enough to judge their suitability for little ones. I remember liking the Dragonharper trilogy when I was young, before reading the others, so that might be a good place to start. I do recall the first book having some, er, "bad parenting" in it, though--although not treated as lightly as the same in Harry Potter, which could be better or worse depending on your viewpoint. I'm impressed your daughter made it through Foundation, @Jessabeans! I read that for the first time at the end of middle school and definitely didn't understand all of it. I appreciated it much more the second time I read it, after high school.

    For humorous authors, I'll add John Scalzi to the list of those already named. For anyone even passingly familiar with Star Trek, his book Redshirts is a hilarious parody. (I actually listened to this one on audible, rather than reading it--it's read by Wil Wheaton, which is a fun bonus!)

    For authors of books for little girls, Tamora Pierce was another big one for me as I was growing up. While her first quartet, Song of the Lioness, has some messages that I no longer agree with entirely, overall I'd still recommend them. The thing to look out for with these ones is violence--nothing gratuitous, but they are fantasy adventures--so ymmv depending on what content you do and do not want to expose your daughter to.
  • SamelaRitaSamelaRita Posts: 1,007 Member
    @Jessabeans Have you come across Diana Wynne Jones for reading with your child? Fantasy, with a great sense of humour, mostly based on various myths and legends. For someone young, 8 Days of Luke is good (norse myths), also Archer's Goon, and then there's the Chrestomanci series as well. Pretty very low on violence, and emotionally suitable. I'd avoid Time of the Ghost though. You might well enjoy Hexwood, Deep Secret, The Dark Lord of Derkholm and The Year of the Griffin.
  • MmdrgntobldrgnMmdrgntobldrgn Posts: 6,680 Member
    @Jessabeans if you're worried about content and age appropriate then you might want to skip Pern for a year or two more.

    I'm not sure if my parents ever tried to shield me from any books (I had autobiographies for kids on Harriet Tubman, and more), mom grew up on a working farm, and my dad had relatives with working farms, and I was sharp enough early on to notice that other kids were not nice, especially if you were different in any way. (I grew up the outcast, until I found my tribe in junior high.)

    There's a website called a mighty girl with an extensive book list, which includes one of my favorite children's books Jan Brett's Trouble with Trolls, maybe you can find something listed there that will fit your reading style.

    Fyi politically correct fairy tales (gifted to us by relatives), should you ever stumble across a copy, is Not for kids .... I oopsed & ad-libbed my way through that one with our then 9 year old daughter.
    Peace, GranMama Dragon
    Exploring life through imagination & satire since 1969.
    Save Game Often
    repair & clear caches Often
    S3 Studio
    S3 blog Story, lists of empty lots by world
    Behrooz
    S2/3/4 Randomnes
  • MmdrgntobldrgnMmdrgntobldrgn Posts: 6,680 Member
    This is as far as writing is going to get tonight.
    Rossi - Prelude to a Prelude, I have everything I need to work on the prelude tomorrow.
    @Jessabeans I grunged it up a tiny bit more. ;)
    screenshot-157_11_orig.jpg
    ... and that added object didn't stay in that location ;)
    Peace, GranMama Dragon
    Exploring life through imagination & satire since 1969.
    Save Game Often
    repair & clear caches Often
    S3 Studio
    S3 blog Story, lists of empty lots by world
    Behrooz
    S2/3/4 Randomnes
  • cianeciane Posts: 16,996 Member
    I'm still playing the quads here: http://cianesims.home.blog/story/mcgowan/
    I've played though 4 days. The quads should grow up tomorrow in my game.

    Interesting book discussions. I enjoyed David Eddings, but that's some heavy reading. We have (or had) a board game based on Piers Anthony's Xanth. And there were some Choose your own Adventure books that changed endings based on choices you might enjoy reading to your daughter.
  • SamelaRitaSamelaRita Posts: 1,007 Member
    Just noticed that Kaytayroall recommended Diana Wynne Jones! Wrote my comment late last night and hadn't noticed hers - oops!
    @AlphaFen I love Magda Rossi - and I notice that @Mmdrgntobldrgn has already started playing her. Looking forward to seeing how that story plays out!
    @Hidehi That community garden is awesome! I never thought of putting beehives in, but it's such a natural place to have them (borrows another great idea).
    @ADWilson Prissy place was a great collaboration! I loved the larder shelves stacked with stuff, and also the working hampers under sinks - going to try that one too!
    @equuest Daisy Victorian was amazing, but what really blew me away was the garden, which was (a) beautiful and (b) so realistic. Another bunch of great ideas to add into my gameplay - given that I love gardening, my Sim gardens are surprisingly basic. But all that is going to change...once I've renovated the properties, that is!
    @BreeMiles Little Modern looks lovely - fresh, appealing and open and airy.
    I'm still away at the moment, but will be home about Wednesday (as long as our flight isn't cancelled due to freak weather conditions!), so I should get your gifts up by Thursday, @60smusicluvr . Sorry (again) for keeping you waiting so long!
    (end of page 48)
  • HidehiHidehi Posts: 1,109 Member


    Hi @ciane :) ,

    just to let you know ....

    84smm9y.png?1


    You have created some extremely beautiful sims and I love them!!! <3 x
  • KaytayRoallKaytayRoall Posts: 923 Member
    edited May 2019
    Ugh... Having lost all the comments I wrote last night because I stupidly forgot to save my word document before going to bed, I've realized that even being ridiculously far behind, I should post my comments as I write them, rather than storing them up... So here's the first batch.

    @ciane
    The Wang Family is such a lovely, small--but growing!--family. I've tried and failed in the past to achieve oriental-looking features with CAS, but you nailed it! The glimpses you give into their everyday life as they settle into their new home are so sweet and simple, yet filled with personality.
    The Haiku Apartments are wonderful! A beautiful recreation of your inspiration on the exterior and filled with thoughtful touches inside. I especially love the hot tub and sauna public rooms! The 🐸🐸🐸🐸's apartment has everything their growing family needs, but it's great that the other apartments are also furnished to provide more choices! As always, your simple but elegant sense of style and decor calls to my own similar tastes. :)
    The House of the Golden Dragon is beautiful! I can see why you picked that floor plan to sim-ify and you did a great job of it. I know it's been said already, but the tatami mats are ingenious. The attention detail on things like the step-up in the entry way for taking off shoes is amazing. The landscaping is lovely, too, with the stone paths winding all around and the little pond in the back.

    @suzses
    What a great family of nature-lovers you have with the Culpeppers. I love Lainey's story of wandering, then putting down roots and am glad she is still on good terms with Paulo, even if what they wanted from life diverged. It will be interesting to see what Lena and Colin bring to the farm!
    And speaking of the farm, what a beauty! I love all the blues! I'm amazed at how well you kept the overall rustic feel, with all sorts of fun and interesting eclectic decor. I don't even know what else to say, I'm just in love with the whole thing. Your write up on maintaining the whole thing was so thoughtful and helpful, too!
    I took a closer peek at this in game and it is full of beautiful and thoughtful touches! The book on the end table in Lainey's alchemy workshop is especially clever. ;)

    @Jessabeans
    The Millers have such a sweet backstory and look like they will be caring, loving parents. Rose is such a cutie now and I'm sure she'll grow up to be as beautiful as her mother. Here's hoping this little family can rebuild the place where it all started for them. The mill may be in rough shape now, but it has so much potential and plenty of space for this family to grow into. The hole through the middle where the mill equipment used to be is especially creative. It will be interesting to see if it becomes a feature that is built around, keeping the open staircases all the way down, or something that gets filled in. I've been interested in trying renovacies for a while and this one is high on my list!

    @SamelaRita
    What a great introduction to Ingrid's family and the upcoming changes in their lives. I think I've seen some sneak peeks further along the thread of what is to come, but the initial story is very well-written and pictured. Hopefully their new home will have room enough for Phillipa and Lydia and their very different interests, a good position at the hospital for Charles and the fresh air and scenery Ingrid has been longing for.

    @ADWilson
    Dan and Marge look like a fun pair of friends, who might (or might not!) turn into something more as time goes on. It's great that they have their Uni degrees and a good start on their respective career paths. These sims have so many options in their lives ahead of them, it will be interesting to see what becomes of them.

    @60smusicluvr
    K.I.🐸🐸🐸🐸. has a charming exterior and I'm amazed by how much you managed to fit inside! I love the living room, especially--all the clutter is so well done and the round coffee table is very clever, as is your use of the nectar racks, both here and in the kitchen. Oh, and that built-in closet in the blue bedroom! So cool! I can't wait to get this in-game and check out how you did the split-leveling, too, because that always interests me.

    @Hidehi
    Paige and Rene are a pair of good-looking sims! This is quite the predicament they've found themselves in, but at least they're well suited to it and love the outdoors! Hopefully they have enough in common to get along well with each other, too. Playing a "castaway survival" style game is very inventive and sounds like a lot of fun! The Jungle Camp is the perfect starting place for them. It may just be the basics, but it's still very charming.

    @BreeMiles
    Wow! Ciane's Place has a ton of curb appeal! I love the mixed materials for the exterior, the balcony and the interesting roof shape. The layout looks interesting, too. I can't wait to get this in game and look at it more closely!
    Edward is a charmer for sure! Who doesn't have a soft spot for an artist in glasses? And those eyes! I'm sure he'll have no trouble finding willing volunteers to model for him.
    Thank you for making gifts for all of us! Chella Modern looks gorgeous. I'm amazed by how compact it is--5 bedrooms on a 20x30!-- and yet luxurious. By contrast, 2019 Sulfur Lane looks like a charming little starter home, with some beautiful landscaping. Again, can't wait to have these in game and take a closer look.

    @AlphaFen
    Vincenzo is a masterpiece of a catastrophe. I don't know how you took five traits that by all rights should have added up to a ludicrous caricature of a person... and instead spun them in to such a horrifyingly believable sim. The write-up is pure brilliance and each picture is worth a thousand words meme-worthy.
    Post edited by KaytayRoall on
  • friendsfan367friendsfan367 Posts: 29,362 Member
    i gave up orgin acess and repurchased sims 3. free sounds like a good deal til it doesn't work. game is downloading now. one of the reasons i got it was so i would be able to leave better comments, my downloads weren't working cause i didn't have a registered game so its kind of hard to leave anything other than that looks awesome.
  • cianeciane Posts: 16,996 Member
    edited May 2019
    So sorry they couldn't straighten out your account @friendsfan367. Hopefully, this fixes everything.

    @Hidehi - I'm glad she got the son she wanted and that you like the sims. (I'm not so great at making Sims. I just adjust whatever random I roll or reroll.)

    @KaytayRoall - Thanks for the compliments and sweet words.

    So many sims and many stories to play out in all these new places!
  • MmdrgntobldrgnMmdrgntobldrgn Posts: 6,680 Member
    Magda Rossi's prelude is now available, all posts for her story after this one will be based on game play.
    For this post it's mostly game play to fit the story that spun itself out after @AlphaFen introduced us to Magda my main protagonist.

    For the record even deserted islands aren't immune from paparazzi. Of which I take full advantage of. ;)
    Peace, GranMama Dragon
    Exploring life through imagination & satire since 1969.
    Save Game Often
    repair & clear caches Often
    S3 Studio
    S3 blog Story, lists of empty lots by world
    Behrooz
    S2/3/4 Randomnes
  • JessabeansJessabeans Posts: 3,714 Member
    I'm keeping this short because auto-correct loves to change around words when I write on my phone. Thank you all for the recommendations, I appreciate it.

    Kaytay, I'm not sure how much of the story she comprehended, the goal is for her to fall asleep by the end of the hour.

    MommaDragon, I try to scan the chapters I think I will get to before hand a leave little post-it flags for myself. I've had several oopses & ad-libbs too. We completely understand she will be exposed to the actions or words we have censored out at some point in her life but we don't want her to hear it from us.
  • cianeciane Posts: 16,996 Member
    Great story, @Mmdrgntobldrgn. I can tell how the children's music on radio and t.v. are going to make this adventure even more challenging! You don't have quads enabled in your game, do you?
  • MmdrgntobldrgnMmdrgntobldrgn Posts: 6,680 Member
    ciane wrote: »
    Great story, @Mmdrgntobldrgn. I can tell how the children's music on radio and t.v. are going to make this adventure even more challenging! You don't have quads enabled in your game, do you?

    Nope, that is not a part of my mod's list .... nor do I ever plan on that mod ever getting introduced to the game. This is not to say that quads or septuplets are off the table. ;) Just not through in game methods, cas is another story altogether. lol ;)
    Peace, GranMama Dragon
    Exploring life through imagination & satire since 1969.
    Save Game Often
    repair & clear caches Often
    S3 Studio
    S3 blog Story, lists of empty lots by world
    Behrooz
    S2/3/4 Randomnes
  • MmdrgntobldrgnMmdrgntobldrgn Posts: 6,680 Member
    :(Le Blush!!!!!!!!!!! :(

    Not sure how I did it (might have half a clue but not going to test it), however it seems I bloopered on the Twin's, if you download the "Lief Twins Plus Farm - no cc" you will need to either use the mod MC to fix there sibling status or come up with a story line on why they are no longer siblings.

    If however you download the "Lief Twins - no cc" without the house their sibling relationship is still in tact.

    I'll be in the corner writing lines ..... double & triple check all uploads in new worlds ......
    Peace, GranMama Dragon
    Exploring life through imagination & satire since 1969.
    Save Game Often
    repair & clear caches Often
    S3 Studio
    S3 blog Story, lists of empty lots by world
    Behrooz
    S2/3/4 Randomnes
  • DinoJrDinoJr Posts: 89 Member
    @ciane The Xanth board game was a lot of fun! You don't pick characters, but "Chair-Actors" lol!!! Thats one I'd like to get my hands on... The Xanth books are a lot of fun too. @Jessabeans I was thinking of other kid friendly books and I want to recommend Bruce Coville's stuff. Goblins in the Castle, and Aliens Ate My Homework are a couple of my old favorites.
  • suzsessuzses Posts: 2,433 Member
    edited May 2019
    @Hidehi I can't begin to tell you how much fun I'm having with Paige and Rene on Isla del Suzses! I was home alone a good part of the day yesterday and simmed so much that today the "mouse side" of my neck and shoulder are complaining. :D

    I thought I'd share a few pictures.

    Here is Paige narrowly averting being squished by the unexpected arrival of the time portal. It was pretty far into the day, and I had totally forgotten it had yet to make an appearance and wouldn't have expected it to pick just that spot anyway! I think with sims you have to practice suspension of disbelief like in theatre, but time portals do not belong in this scenario, so it is now tucked into someone's inventory!

    47938730522_f1c06f1a82_z.jpg


    Rene checking out the dive spot. We're making some money on eels. :)

    47938754343_d4eecca32b_z.jpg


    Late afternoon sun on the water between the camp island and "the big island." With a view like that, it's probably easier to overlook other things you might lack, like maybe a house.

    47938757768_7217d76a75_z.jpg

    Ackney-upon-Sherne Collab on the forum here
    My Sims 3 Studio
    My forum builds thread
  • cianeciane Posts: 16,996 Member
    Aw, those pictures are great, @suzses. I loved them. I actually think that was a great place for the time portal as it kind of blended in with the palm trees there (as if they were baby palms). I can't wait until I play on your island!

    The quads are now children and I've updated my site with a couple more chapters.

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