Small potatoes

No major new creations this week. I think I spent all my efforts on the Thatcher Natatorium and Gymnasium. So last night I spent some quality Sims time finishing up one small project--Benton's Supermarket--and tweaking an existing Riverview lot--the Gazebo.

Completing Benton's is no major accomplishment: The '50s-'60s fabulous supermarket is a preexisting structure available in build mode in Sims 3. All I did was minor stuff--building a parking lot, adding some trees and a fire hydrant, and making the lot look more "service-oriented" with a loading zone and refuse dump. I also added a farmer's market stand and some wheelbarrows of produce, a part of the Al Fresco Street Market venue, a recent purchase from the Sims Store.

If I were to do it again, I'd move the refuse dump to the back of the building, but I made the lot a little too small. I was trying to match the lot size with others on the same street in an outer part of Riverview, a location that I'm' trying to turn (slowly) into a suburban strip shopping area.

I have other plans for this Riverview/Clemmons Landing strip district--Langhorne's, a department store, a recreation of something I built in Sims 2; a Chinese restaurant and a 1950s-styled diner; a pet store perhaps; a health club and spa; and whatever else comes to mind. All of which will take some time to accomplish.

So in the meantime, I'll focus on the small stuff--like Benton's Supermarket and some tiny tweaks to the Gazebo, adding a farmer's market stand there, too, a lemonade stand, and a bandstand for outdoor concerts.

With all this farm-standing, I better get busy creating a farm to supply the operation. Maybe that's my next big building endeavor.

In the swim

Oy, it's humid! At least it was today in Simsylvania. And hot, too! Over 90F/32C--and it's only mid-May. Let's hope this isn't a trend . . .

The best way to cool off in Clemmons Landing is to dive head first into the glistening pool at Thatcher Memorial Natatorium and Gymnasium.

Again, more shades of Mark Twain, Thatcher being a reference to Becky Thatcher, Tom Sawyer's love interest in various Mark Twain stories. So in my mind the story goes that Judge Thatcher bequeathed his sizable fortune to Clemmons Landing, and the citizens of said Landing decided to spend part of his bequest on public works.

Such as this lovely Beaux Arts-esque swim center and health club, a public facility, free and open to all. Decidedly much cheaper and more convenient than Mister Crunches Gym.


The TMNG is my latest Sims 3 creation. It was a challenge to do, and I think I must have redone the floorplan at least three times, bottom to top, start to finish. I kept running into layout problems, the lot itself being just large enough to hold the building. I couldn't get the stairs right, the shower area right, the pool right, etc., etc. So I tore it down and started over again. And again and again and again.

But I learned a lot in the process, too--for example, you can't put stairs next to a wall. Once I got past that, I could do pretty much everything I wanted to.

Except put in an elevator. The Sims god only knows how to put an elevator in a building, especially if you're trying to go from the basement to the top floor. I just gave up on that after a while. But stairs I mastered.

I was actually aiming for something a bit dingier, less polished, more like an old-styled bathhouse (the public kind from the 19th century). Something that says "faded glory of the Northeast Corridor." But this is the Midwest! Nothing faded. Everything beautifully preserved in amber.

So you can see the results: the gilded gym, the sparkling pool, and the pristine locker room.

I'm pleased with the results, and others seem reasonably happy as well (55 downloads, 1 favorite). I'm not sure where to go next though. That building project took so long that I want to move onto something simpler and less complicated. Right now, I'm considering doing a campground--tents, fishing hole, outdoor restrooms and showers--or a farmer's market--produce, stands, and wheelbarrows, tying that into a farm I should also build.

Time will tell what I accomplish. But on hot, humid days like this, I'm OK with staying indoors to work on Sims 3 projects.

Sim stylin'

Sometimes I do more than design buildings and lots in the Sims. I often do individual Sims and even "families"--broadly defined: I almost always have a handsome farmhand, ranchhand, or boarder attached to one of my Sims bunches.

Said hand almost always ends up seducing the daughter (or the son) of the family. Sometimes even the mother (or father) of the family. I seem to have a deep abiding for Sims stories in which "Simsylvania Dutch" farmers are corrupted by the modern ways of the gleam-in-his-eye, built-like-a-brick-house stranger-journeyman.

But when I'm not putting my Sims through their pervy paces, I will yield to my fashionistic impulses and design clothes for the crew. Nothing too out there--basic stuff like polos, trousers, shirts and dresses. I like playing with textures and patterns in the Sims, at least when I take the time to do so.

Sometimes this works well. See the featured examples, which have had a good number of downloads and one or two recommendations from my fellow Simmers.

And then sometimes what I create is bloody awful--especially when I forget to change the trim color of an item from the original to one that complements the other textures and patterns of the garments.

Live and learn. I'll save the fashion show of my failures for another day.

For now, I'll entertain you with a small sampling of this spring's fashion-forward lines from Paris, Milan, London, and New York. Not to mention Twinbrook, Bridgeport, Appaloosa Plains, and Starlight Shores.

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Zandile's Glamour Gown

Designed for Cape Hermanus' (formerly known as Starlight Shores) ace investigator, Zandile Gugulethu, this everyday glamour gown highlights Zandile's African heritage and style.

Rhapsody in Blue cotillion dress

Daughter of Pearl evening gown

Which twin has the most fabulous look? Well, they're not twins; just vaguely reminiscent designs. On the left, we have Cape Hermanus "it" girl (model/actress/singer/whatevs) Chantal Stellenbosch's "Daughter of Pearl" evening ensemble. Above, Zandile gives it a whirl in this cool wave "Rhapsody in Blue" cotillion frock.

Kel's "I'm-too-sexy-for-this-shirt" Shirt

Moving on to Fountain Lakes-inspired men's- and women's wear daily, you'll find Kel Knight's "Summer Breeze" Panama hat below. To the right, you just might catch a glimpse of Kel's manly chest in his "I'm-too-sexy-for-this-shirt" shirt.

We'll introduce Kel at another time. He's part of a family I created in homage to the wacked-out Australian sit-com, Kath & Kim. Kel is the "purveyor of fine meats" boyfriend/husband of Kath. He is not unsexy or unattractive, but he's also not nearly as sexy or attractive as he thinks he is!

Kel's Summer Breeze Panama Hat

I haven't found a Sims home for the Kath Day/Kel Knight clan quite yet, but I do have them all designed and kitted-out. I plan to share them with you soon--in all their resplendent suburban Melbourne glory.

They're noice, they're different, they're unusual to say the least.

Heartland Ranch

As I stated in a previous post, my aim is not to make the redesigned Riverview the same as the fictional town of Hudson, Alberta, in the Canadian TV series, Heartland.

Nevertheless, one of my first creations as part of Riverview Revamped was to design my own version of Heartland Ranch.

My version is based only loosely on the home featured in the show. Even the largest Sims 3 lot (50 x 50) can't do "ranch size." Plus it is difficult to get a good view of the ranch, the house, the barn, and other features from the TV show.

Don't think I didn't try, though. In doing research for my construction, I did eventually find a blueprint drawing of the Heartland Ranch set. (Alas, lost to me now.) But, again, trying to include everything in the way it's placed on the set is difficult given the "small" size of the Sims lot.

In the TV version, there is a circular drive in front of the rather modest, rustic home (which does not look like the suburban American ranch-style home you're probably imagining right now.) There is also a horse pen near the road, an enclosed paddock, and a barn--all appearing to the left of the house, before you reach the front door. Additionally, there is a pond somewhere in the vicinity, a dude ranch, some outbuildings (including some outhouses on the dude ranch), and a long driveway into the property.

No way would all of that fit on the 50 x 50 Sims lot. Instead, I managed the pond, the horse paddock, the horse training area, the barn, and a rustic yet spacious home, smack-dab on Old Farm Road, not some distance from the highway.

The interior of my Heartland home differs as well from the TV version. My take has some homey touches, such as the TV/breakfast room off the kitchen and the screaming harvest orange "rumpus room" in the basement. However, the rumpus room also has a bandstand with instruments, ready for jamming (not jam-making). There's also a nursery, a large master bedroom with walk-in closet, and an almost-elegant living room, replete with trophy case.

I can't imagine the Bartlett clan from Heartland living so high on the horse. Instead, my version is an odd combo of the horsey set meets them thar hills.

It's not perfect, but it's mine. As I continue to redo Riverview, we may see another version of the homestead, maybe one in white clapboard with green trim, like a home and barn I see on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the central part of the state, one of my favorite examples of local architecture.

Or I may find that blueprint again and try to make my ranch even more Heartland authentic. The kind of place that Jack, Lou, Amy, and Ty would be proud to call home.

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An update: I just discovered this YouTube video, which gives a much closer look at the Heartland house. I guess I now know how I'll be spending my Sunday . . . .

Sammy's Brews and Billiards

The first entry in my Riverview Revamped series: Sammy's Brews and Billiards.

Riverview's after-work watering hole, Sammy's Brews and Billiards is the place to wet your whistle and rack 'em up at the end of a long day at the fish hatchery or the Doo Peas corporate tower.

There's a bar, a pool hall, an upstairs arcade, and "tavern rooms" for those times when you have to work late and can't make it home. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

Below ground, there are washrooms . . . and behind a hidden door posing as a library bookcase, a secret gambling club. Blackjack!

As perhaps you can tell, for the new Riverview, I'm aiming to pay homage to the communities, countryside, and culture of the Upper Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. Think Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Becky Thatcher, Mark Twain, and Samuel (aka Sammy!) Langhorne Clemmons--all living together, side by side, in the modern Midwestern U.S. Gazing toward the future, feet firmly planted in the present, with the wind of the past always at their backs.

Riverfront rowhouses, 1950s shopping centers, and a real downtown. Horse country. Blue collar. Factories. Farmlands. About as Middle America as you can get in the Sims 3.

There's more to come: I'm working on a new public gym and swim center (not as expensive as Mr. Crunches, not as depressing as the Riverfront Swim Club), a department store, a hotel, a diner, a blues and jazz club, and a dairy farm. To name but a few.

Roll on, Big River.

Riverview Revamped!

After a long while away, I finally find myself back in a Sims groove of late. I always play, but I don't always design and upload items to the exchange. I need inspiration, a theme, a family to build around, a place I've visited that I need to recreate first in my mind's eye and then within the game itself.

I've been watching the Canadian TV series Heartland for a few years now. It's the story of young woman who has a gift in healing sick and scarred horses, taking place in the big sky country of Alberta, Canada. Like all TV and like all of life, it has its good moments and bad, but to its credit, it has a strong sense of place, something I like in media and in reality.

So it has indirectly inspired me to revamp my Sims communities and make them have a stronger sense of place, to convey better what kind of communities they are. I think the creators of the Sims have this in mind as well, but there are so many communities now, with so many options due to so many games. It can be difficult to remember which town is which, especially when you can let vampires and horses run amok in all neighborhoods.

Thus, I'm slowly beginning to renovate my communities, starting with Riverview. I don't see it as Alberta's Heartland. Instead, with its parks and 19th-century homes and rolling hills and winding river, I envision it more as a sleepy Midwestern town. Maybe a community near the Ohio or the Mississippi or the Missouri rivers. Or maybe, like me, it's in Pennsylvania, the south central part, where there are dairy farms and Amish families and quieter, gentler way of life.

Or so the stereotype goes. Amish Mafia may have turned that fantasy upside down always and forever.

Regardless, Riverview is starting to see changes. First, I moved all the homes off the island and onto the nearby riverbanks. Next, I added new, more "urban" businesses to the island to make it feel more like the center business district of a small town. There's now a salon, a fire station, and a consignment shop. I'm hoping to add a cafe or coffeehouse as well, doing so without disturbing the lovely parkland of the original Riverview design.

Next, I want to design some "new" 19th-century homes and add them along neighborhood streets. I'd also like to move the military base, prison, and stadium to locations farther out and redevelop the existing area with more businesses and a few houses as well.

Then, finally, I'd like to make a dairy farm or two, add some "down home" families, clear the area of vampires and werewolves, and rechristen the town as . . . as . . . .

This is where I get stuck. What's in a name? Everything! And Riverview needs a new name, one that pays homage to its origins but one that is less generic, more tailored to the community that I want to convey.

I haven't a clue at the moment. OK, well, one: Finn's River, which makes the town sound decidedly Minnesotan. I may go with that, extend the winter season a bit, and add an ice rink downtown. But the name also conjures up Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn as well, perfect for conveying the mood of this Midwestern river town.

Sawyers River or Clemmons Landing might work as well.

We shall see, we shall see. All I know is that it's nice to have some Sim-spiration again. I can't wait to see which way the river and my creativity flow.