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.