Dealing With Debra

Dolly had had a bad night, she was suffering with a tummy upset which wasn't serious but was sufficiently uncomfortable to cause her to wake several times though the night.

Eventually, as morning came round, Carl or Malia would take her out of the cot and spend a little extra time with her telling stories or practising her developing motor skills. It seemed that simply having that time and attention comforted the poorly child and helped distract from her unsettled stomach pains.

Putting Dolly back in her cot for a few minutes while she went to prepare breakfast Malia noticed that Debra was also already up and working on the family computer.

Engrossed in what she was doing Debra didn't notice her mother approaching until "That doesn't look like class work ..."

Quickly closing the screen, Debra attempted to explain "Umm, I, um, it's a new art project, I just remembered Miss Shadlock asked us to do ..."

Malia was unconvinced, "Oh, I didn't see it on your homework list; let me have a look."

"Umm, it's not finished yet, it won't be very good ..." 

"Well, that's OK, I understand, I just want to see what you've done so far."

Sheepishly reopening the screen, Debra's 'art project' was revealed to be a web site "Prank the Parents!"

"Well, I see," Malia started  as she closed down the computer screen, "I don't think Miss Shadlock assigned that now, did she?"

"We've told you about using the computer haven't we?  And you know that sort of thing is not what it is for!"

"If we can't trust you to use it sensibly then you won't have it to use at all."

Malia didn't like having to be so strict with her daughter but she knew that boundaries had to be set, especially on the computer where it was far too easy to find all sorts of unpleasantness.

As they sat for an uneasy breakfast Malia's mind was taken up trying to think of ways to divert Debra's energies to more appropriate activities.

It wasn't that she was a bad kid at all.

Indeed, she had a really good relationship with baby Dolly, really enjoying being a big sister and spending time playing with her.

But she did seem to spend a lot of time on pranks and the like ...

-- * --

A few days later Malia was in town to sell the produce of their garden when she realised that the new Juniper Lane Art Centre had opened.  The building, previously the Royal Order of Simologists meeting hall, had been closed for many years had been bought about a year ago by a small entertainment company with plans to convert it into a cinema.

According to the news reports the company had also converted the upper floor to an "art space" that local artists could use to create, display, and sell their work.  It also promised a lovely little café, and Malia loved little cafés!


She was not disappointed! In keeping with the "local artists" concept, all the cakes and pastries were hand-made by small local bakers and all looked delicious.

As she ate her generous portion of carrot cake Malia looked around the space that had been created.  It was certainly well equipped with easels and drawing tables for those artists working in two dimensions.

That was pretty much as expected, but she was delighted to see that they had managed to find room for a sculpting table.

As she sipped the last of her herbal tea, an idea began to take shape ...

As she was about to leave an energetic and effusive man introduced himself; "Hi, I'm Erwin Fraser, one of the directors of the Arts Centre.  Thank you so much for visiting us; is there anything I can do for you today?"

"Well," Malia smiled in return, "there might be ..."

Erwin listened thoughtfully as she explained how her daughter had plenty of creative energy but little in the way of constructive outlets.  How a place like the Arts Centre might be good for her ...

Nodding eagerly in agreement Erwin described how they were just setting up a number of classes for both adults and children.  In a couple of weeks, he said, they would have both a mid-week after-school session and a week-end class that would be ideal for enthusiastic children, to introduce them to a variety of arts and craft skills.

And so it was, just a few weeks later, that young Debra realised she had something of a talent for painting. Her parents were delighted she had found a way of expressing her boundless imagination - and, best of all, in a way that didn't involve colourful surprises dotted around their home!

-- * --

As the months and school terms passed Debra continued to hone her skills and quickly became a regular at the Arts Centre.  Being able to spend time in such a creative environment had other, 'knock-on' effects; her school reports frequently contained glowing commendations from her teachers and she was turning into a fine role model for her little sister.

When Debra had a idea for a painting she would often turn it into a story for little Dolly who would sit, rapt, as another exciting tale unfolded.

--* --

Having successfully completed an especially challenging series of experiments Carl's lab team decamped to Han's Tavern for a celebratory drink or two.  On that particular night Bert Alto was also in the bar and the two men got talking about family and legacy - a subject Carl wasn't always comfortable discussing. Bert mentioned, in passing, that he still had his grandfathers old classic car in storage and how sad it was that the car was probably going to rust away before he ever found time to restore it properly.

Perhaps it was the exuberance of the successful day in the lab, or maybe it was the drink, but Carl had a brilliant idea occur to him ...

"Better someone give it a new life than just leaving it to rot wouldn't you say?  If you don't have the time ... y'know ... maybe I could take it off your hands ...?"

Somewhat taken aback by the unexpected offer Bert paused to consider Carl's suggestion, "y'know that might not be such a bad idea. Let me think it over, I'll give you a call tomorrow, we can sort out the details."

And so it was that a few days later, and with the exchange of just a few hundred Simoleons, Carl became the proud owner of a classic roadster.  Well, it was a roadster many years ago and hopefully would be again but right now ... more just a pile of parts.

As he explained to Debra when the car was delivered, "with the family growing it's getting expensive to use public transport and I expect you'll be learning to drive soon as well ..."

Debra wasn't convinced, this was, after all, a pile of junk! Though when Carl suggested that she could help out with the repainting working on the upholstery she agreed that it might be a fun little project ...

When she starting working on the car with her father, trying out a number of different colours and patterns Debra felt a particular affinity to the spray paint she was using; that it could be used to realise some of the creative ideas she had.

On her next visit to the library, Debra was a little surprised to discover that 'Street Art' was a thing and there were many recognised and respected artists in the field.

One of the books she borrowed, "The Word On The Street: The Story of 'Simski'" really spoke to her.  Describing how the legendary street artist had created his  most iconic works and the way he drew inspiration from the political artists of previous centuries; she was certain this was something she just had to try.

-- * --

Author's Note: The "Juniper Lane Art Centre" is a version of the "Little Theatre Picture House" lot that I have previously uploaded to the Sims 3 Exchange.

In this version I have added the 'art space' to the upper floor and put in a Rabbithole Door so that the lot also works as a Theatre location.  The ground floor has been changed just a little to accommodate the stairs up but the basement cinema area is exactly the same as the original.

Download Links:

• The Juniper Lane Art Centre: Google Drive Link
• Jynx Rabbit Hole Rugs and Doors: Mod The Sims Link
• The Original Little Theatre Picture House: TS3 Exchange Link

 You can see more pictures of the ground and basement floors on my Tumblr: page 1 and page 2.

A Festival Day Out

Summer in Hidden Springs was coming to an end, in only a couple of weeks they would be into the uncertain weather of autumn.  In these last balmy days of the year, as was traditional, the summer Beryl Forest festival was on.

An ideal opportunity for a family fun day out.  Malia arranged a babysitter for Dolly so that she, Carl and Debra could take advantage of a full day's leisure.

It was Debra's birthday in a few days time and they weren't going to be able to afford a big party so Carl and Malia let their little girl decide on all the activities for the day.  As soon as they got to the festival ground Debra knew exactly what she wanted ... Water Fight!!

Lining up against her parents Debra was going to enjoy soaking them!

Her first shot was spectacular.  Looking at Carl as she learnt back to give her shot as much power as she could ... she suddenly switched aim ...

... and Malia, taken completely taken by surprise and hit square in the chest was bowled right over!

As she got to her feet, vainly attempting to shake the water from here dress out Carl and Debra were rocking with laughter.

A couple more well aimed water bags and Debra managed to score hits on both her parents, getting them properly soaked.

Eventually, of course, it was Debra's turn to be the target.

But, as hard as they tried, neither Carl nor Malia were quick or accurate enough to get a direct hit as she easily ducked behind the wooden barrier.

Having exhausted the supply of water balloons, the girls sent Carl off to get some snacks while they had a little shoot-out competition.

Debra was taking it very seriously.  Carefully placing the ball and lining up to send the ball exactly where she wanted it to go.

Malia's time on the home exerciser paid off here as she was quite quick and agile enough to get to every ball that her daughter sent goal-wards. 

... and Debra's disappointment continued when she took her place in goal and tried to stop Malia's shots.

Malia's competitive nature came to the fore and gave poor Debra no chance at stopping the ball.  Well, it did seem a fair response to the earlier soaking!

Not that Debra could stay despondent for long, not when Daddy hands over her favourite ice lolly; a Rainbow Rocket!

Even better, Malia gave her a couple of tokens for the face painting booth where she could get made up as a Princess Debra of the Starways!

While their daughter was being transformed into an astral princess Carl and Malia shared a few minutes alone together...

Newly decorated Debra wanted to finish their day on the skating rink that was the big feature of the summer fair

Debra had roller-skated a little before but the smooth rink surface was faster than she was used to and the other people in close proximity unnerved her a bit.

Gradually, however, her confidence improved and although she came close to losing her balance a few times not once did she actually fall to the floor.

Of course it also helped that Carl was pretty good on skates and was always nearby ... just in case.

For all her general athletic prowess Malia was not as comfortable on wheels as her husband so was slower and much more cautious but nonetheless enjoyed being able to spend this time together as a family.

-- * --

Inevitably, their day out came to an end; tired but happy they returned home after a day of fun, laughs and the occasional drenching.

Naturally the first thing to do when they got home was to check that little Dolly had also had a fun day under the care of the babysitter.

Smiling and giggling, it seems that she'd had a good day too.

-- * --

Author's Note: Malia's rather lovely floral dress was created by SimDetails and can be downloaded from The Sims Resource.

The Little Princess

It was nothing new, it had been the same with Debra, but with the extra responsibilities of looking after their first child and Carl's increasing workload; the routine disruption of a new baby took it's toll.

Not that Carl or Malia really minded, but it did mean they had to schedule their night-time duties so they could make the most of their day-time hours and not fall asleep at inappropriate times.  During the week Malia would take care of most of the night feeds and changes so Carl was happy to take over at the week-ends.

And it wasn't just her parents whose sleep Dolly would interrupt.

There were several mornings when Carl or Malia would wake to tend to Dolly and see Debra already up and playing or, especially on school days, having an early breakfast.

Debra never seemed to mind though; she had an active imagination and always seemed to have some adventure to play out on her own or would love having some quality talking time with her parents and new little sister.

-- * --

After the limitations imposed by her pregnancy, Malia was keen to get back to her best physical condition.  During the day while Debra was at school and Dolly quiet in her cot Malia would make use of the old exerciser she had bought from a neighbour.

It wasn't easy getting back into shape but she knew that the better she felt physically the better she would be able to care for the girls.  In addition to being fitter and healthier the exercise was a useful break from the routine housework that would otherwise be the extent of her daily horizons.

Malia also noticed that baby Dolly would smile more and sound happier when she was cuddled or played with after a work-out.  Maybe it was the extra body heat or the smell of perspiration, whatever the reason it was a lovely bonus after a strenuous session on the equipment.

-- * --

A special recorded delivery package addressed to Carl arrived one afternoon and Malia had to wait several hours until her husband returned home from work before she could discover the contents.  Some weeks earlier Carl had said that his boss had told him his contributions at the lab had not gone unnoticed, and he'd been nominated for an award.  This could be news of that award ...

Opening the package, Carl found a covering letter and a large wrapped rectangular object.

Inside the wrapping they found a handsome framed certificate from the foremost association of engineers.  Malia decided that this recognition of his innovative designs for new test equipment and his ability to build them within both budget and time-scale deserved pride-of-place in their home.  So now, almost the first thing visitors to their home see is Carl's' latest certificate.

Not that Carl was the only one getting recognition.  After a successful term at school Debra was invited on a field trip to the local theatre to learn all about the different aspects of producing plays and musicals and they even performed a small scene on the main stage.

The theatre manager was so impressed by the knowledge and interest the class demonstrated that he offered each of them a souvenir of their visit - Debra picked a dressing room mirror, complete with lights and stars!

Naturally the first thing she wanted when the mirror arrived was to have it installed in her bedroom.

What was a lovely animal themed room was to become the birthplace of many fabulous new characters!

All her toys were there to assist her with her make-up and costume and help her get into character and when she was ready they were an eager audience for her impassioned performances.

Something that particularly fascinated Debra was how simple it was to change an actor's appearance to fit their character; how everyday materials could be used to create a specific look.  Materials often found at home or at a local shop.

Wouldn't it be really fun to make-up her friends ... or family ...

She just knew that Dad would love a new look ...

As it turned out, Dad was not in love with his new look - bright yellow was not quite the image he wanted as a respected professional at the lab.

After taking another shower to rinse out his shocking new hair colour, Carl tried to explain to his daughter that there was a time and a place for experimenting with make-up and he would love to teach her all about controlled trials and scientific methodology.

But, as he left for another day at work, he wasn't entirely sure that he had managed to convince her ...