Painters and more

[Year count: 108]

It's soon time for the big catastrophe, year count 110. But first a few words about the local painters. Ever since you saw the Old Town Market, the two male painters have been busy. These days the new photography is about to take over, making paintings a bit old fashioned. But the Art Academy was built, and now there are rumors that a Historical Gallery is in the planning. Yay!

Andrew Portoille is the one who traveled the most. The wealthier families wanted him to paint their portraits, so he moved in with them for just 1 day bringing his easel, and they paid him well. On the picture above, he is painting the elderly Tackott couple, owners of the successful fabric and fashion store in Old Town.

Andrew was single for long, but lately some insisted on that one of the worst looking girls, Laura Sculler, had moved in with him, and they were absolutely right. Marriage? No. :dunno: The little cabin is located by the coast just west of the old warehouse at the harbour. The view to Ucca Island is great. You can barely see the Military Fort out there, recently built by Count Gustavian (actually started by his father, Count Jonathan), and currently administrated by Admiral Turmington, who also resides out there.

But there was one more painter in Galucca; Cluedo van Hutch.

While most of the Sculler girls certainly look "less stunning", I think Belliann is still one of the best looking women in Galucca. Ignoring her parents' warnings, Belliann Brugster long ago turned down a wealthy future, to marry the old painter, Cluedo. He even painted her in a few (for the time) frisky poses (!) - all in the name of art, of course. Paintings to be rediscovered in a future. Cluedo is dead by now, and poor Belliann's reputation was far from good. She had to look to Gal District to find someone to remarry, Blaine Huggin. Her son with Cluedo, Nicko, followed, and has now taken up painting and just turned young adult. Belliann and Nicko's stepfather expect their 2nd kid, and it's only a matter of days until Nicko van Hutch will move on... He won't inherit the little house anyway...

The 3rd traditional painter, is old Emanuel Litter. The blond guy who's been a live-in painter at Pettonta Castle for most of his life. Despite his horrible attempt to portray Countess Maria, he is yet not fired, but he is elderly and pretty much done as an artist. A few more words about old Emanuel in the next update, while the huge catastrophe slowly builds up...

The Church of Similius

[Year count 100] In a previous post I mentioned the Church of Simulius.

Just before 100ya, a little family of 3 arrived Galucca. Ada & Edmondius Dipperwell, with their toddler son, Nikodemus. Everyone noticed they looked different, but they seemed to be good people. The Dipperwells hailed from a spiritual group called Church of Similius. This group's beliefs had recently spread rapidly.

Edmondius was sent to Galucca as a priest, to secure establishment of Church of Similius here. He had the Pettonta's accept to build a little church next to the old cemetery. But Edmondius wanted a bigger church, and his timing could not have been better; the Cemetery conflict was real hot (see previous update). Count Gustavian's protests trigged the Aristocracy to support Edmondius' plans, even financially. The current church looks a bit blocky and will be adjusted, but I'm happy with the inside!

In the beginning locals hardly visited the services, but the support slowly increased. It simply felt good to believe in a life mostly in the green.

A little more about the Church of Similius. It was founded on the idea that when bars are more than half full, there shall be peace and no wars. The belief was rather based on natural needs and logics, focusing mostly on living a simple life. Instead of a god, they focused on the colour bright green, which symbolized satisfaction. Examples of their belief: Owning less but enjoying what you've got, consuming less but enjoying it the more, eating just in order to stay in the green. And so on.

Church of Similus (by the Pettontas satirically called "Church of Simoleons"), is filled with symbols, like the red and green lights indicating that green can not exist without the red. On the second picture above, little Nikodemus, now a kid, inspects the valuable ruin from the very first Church of Similius. All new establishments bring a fragment of the original church, from far away.

Ada, Edmondius' wife, serves the Church of Similius Gift Shop, just to your left when you enter the building. On this picture Farmer Hendric von Salamand is buying some gift for his wife, Lady Dora. Or perhaps for another woman, even, who knows what's on a Farmer's mind?

When Ada married to Edmondius, she accepted to wear simpleness. All females teen and up do carry a green cloth as a green symbol above her head. The men have a similar routine, but only the priests carry a nifty hat like Edmondius does.

Disclaimer: The Church of Similius is not meant to offend anyone, and whatever is said about belief or the sims involved, is not meant to draw lines to any known religion. Just needed something new and big to make the Count and his castle smaller :)

The Pettonta Family Grave

[Year count 95]

I told you about some upcoming conflict. Not so long ago Count Gustavian moved the noble family graves to a new family cemetery, closer to Pettonta Castle. This upset Galucca's better families, because up to now they had seen themselves as pretty equal to the Pettontas. It might sound silly, but moving graves made a deep impact on future community structures. Aristocracy was developing aside of the Count, changes were discussed without his presence. The rich families no longer accepted all directives from the castle, and at this time a great part of the land was even on other hands. The town council still worked, but hidden alliances were more often able to take a discussion into a wanted direction - benefiting the alliance, of course :).

The Pettonta Family Grave was raised from the ground, and several stairs leading up to the top where the dead Counts and Countesses can enjoy two golden statues and many lovely plants. The lowest level is reserved future family members - access to this cemetery will of course be very restricted, but I'm not sure what rules they finally set on).

The castle can just about be seen in the distance.

This lot is located where the soon-to-come Galucca Plaza begins. This is some sort of an avenue-to-be, running through the future city area.

When the graves were moved, it turned out that Countess Rosanne's (Gustavian's mother) grave, had been robbed. Funny, not! Might have to move her grave from another save, if possible.

Late at night, on the last night before Count Gustavian turns elderly, he spent hours alone at his ancestors' graves. Then, both his grandparents, the original couple who founded Galucca, stepped out of their graves!

Gustavian could talk with them, and they kept warning him about a soon to come tragedy. Some bad spirit wanting to harm him and his family? A catastrophe hitting Galucca? You never know how to deal with warnings from ghosts, do you?

Growing community

[Year count 95] Ok, I simply can't rest, because after the castle ceremony, there is so much to tell!

I've built quite a lot around Old Town, and I love those squares that form between the builds. Countess Maria often visits the business build, because she is involved with quite a few businesses which the Pettonta family still controls. At this square just behind the offices, she ran into Bert Onioon, I think he was selling - onions.

Countess Maria wants a new cook, but because it's more popular to work at the many busy bistros and cafés near the harbour, it's hard to find Patricia Sculler's replacement. Wherever Countess Maria walks, locals will look at her, gossiping about the bad salad they heard the guests were served. Combined with another event that I'll tell you about in my next post, the Pettontas seem to have less respect among the commons.

At this time Galucca is blooming, population wise. No matter where I look, there is always someone waiting to get married. I mentioned the rushed marriages earlier, they are still very much rushed, and so are their woohoo's. It has become routine to send all couples to the "superstar trailer" that is parked north of town, where not much is built yet, but the city will unfold in the near future. Only problem is that couples I left there, stay when I switch households, and the cheering crowd is growing day by day :)

One couple is Amanda Malone and Dax Brugster. There are currently 3 Brugster households, I almost hope for some kitchen fire - or sterility...

In Gal District, the Scullers' main heir, Davan Sculler, married next door girl Rhonda Huggin. Davan is a Sculptor like his dad, and Rhonda is a Weaver.

In Moon District, Detch Moonster of the original Moonster house, just married Katherine Gnomes from the Lower Farmland. This is the house where aliens have been observed at night.

These are just a very few of many new couples!

So, in other words, life goes on in Galucca. I mentioned some event harming the noble family's reputation; Count Gustavian made a less popular decision to move those family graves away from the communal cemetary. A bad move, as it opened for the establishing of the Church of Similius. More about this shortly...

Party at Pettonta Castle

So, the party at Pettonta Castle is about to start, and many guests are flocking to the huge building that is located up on the hill, overseeing most of Galucca.

The party is a new tradition; in order to celebrate the new Count and Countess of Galucca, the more eminent residents are invited to the castle. It has of course been talk of the town for days, who were invited and who were not?

Tonight Baron Gustavian will get the Count title, and his wife, Baroness Maria, gets the Countess title. The couple has already been head of Pettonta Castle for a while, but the titles were not available while Count Jonathan was alive and healthy.

Here some of the guests arrive the castle. We recognize (left side) Doctor Alfonso Brugster with wife Rudbeckia, Industry leader Jim Garton with wife Ellen, Baker Ludwig Heisserclump with wife Myrianne, and even Sculptor Jack Sculler with wife Darling. And (right side) Fashion store owner Bertin Tackott with wife Lisa, Machine trader Roman Rivers with wife Elmira, Farmer Hendric von Salamand with wife Lady Dora, and Onion farmer Bert Onioon with wife Toya. Also the Woomings, the Turmingtons and the Dipperwells were invited.

Guests came from the entire countship, except Moon District.

Everybody gathered in the butterfly room, to witness the formal ceremony. First Baron Gustavian removed the Baron ring from his hand, held it up in the air to bless his descendants. Gustavian then put on the Countship ring, before he handed the Baron ring over to his son, Junato, who by this gesture got the Baron title. The Baron title can only be given to the oldest son, but in this case there is just one son in the family.

Then the daughters were officially given their Lady title, Lady Ronda and Lady Helena. Normally a Count's daughters get the title at birth, but that would of course require that their father was a Count and not just a Baron, at the time of the daughter's birth.

There are also a few costume traditions, like the blue scarf for the Count and the Baron, as well as the white earrings worn by Countess Maria.

- The Count is dead! Long live the Count!

Some of the guests were carried away, cheering more enthusiastically than strictly required. Ellen P. Garton (centered on the left picture above) is Count Gustavian's cousin, and although she completely accept that her own father was only the honorable Maurice Pettonta, while her uncle, Jonathan Pettonta was the Baron, she was now filled with pride for the future of her cousin's family.

The other cheering woman is... uhm, I'm not sure, might be Mrs Heisserclump with a random hairdo (randomness seems to be the new fashion in this town). I'll fill in later. (Edit: It's indeed the Baker's wife, Mrs Heisserclump.)

On the right side picture, the elderly woman is (my favourite) Darling Q. Sculler. She has never set foot inside the castle before, but her hubby, Jack Sculler (next to her), is a respected Sculptor who even sold a sculptor to the late Count Jonathan. Darling is very proud, her daughter Patricia was hired as a castle cook, and in a while her food will be served.

Everyone entered the dining room, and were served some simple, but still... edible, food. The guests were all coloured by the special occasion, but Countess Maria was very upset over the new cook. The food was a disaster, nothing less!

After the meal there were fireworks from the top of the castle. It could be seen from most of the town. Over at Moon District, a person was watching it all, actually a little too far away. She had not been invited. Oh, how she hated the Pettontas!

Castle cooking

[Year count 100]   So, just a quick peek into the Pettonta Castle kitchen before we leave the time wise milestone 100ya behind for good. At this time Count Jonathan was dead, and Baron Gustavian and Baroness Maria were to be instated as the new Count and Countess of Galucca. This will take place on a little ceremony at their castle tonight.

Right now the recently hired cook, the unskilled but unfortunately looking, Patricia Sculler, is busy preparing food for the guests. Last time I stopped by I placed her in the castle library reading about cooking, so I was surprised that she still has zero cooking skills. She was still reading, but obviously totally clueless. Poor girl. Soon-to-be Countess Maria is a control freak, and although it gives the girl a few hints regarding the food, poor Patricia is very nervous today.

All Patricia can make, or thinks she can make, is Autumn Salad. The kitchen is filled with other courses to be prepared though, it seems to be a busy day... Sorry for the blender, it's quite modern for its time, and I'm surprised Patricia already knew how to use it.

Then the lady of the house smashed whatever hope Patricia might have had left. 28 persons eating? Then one bowl of salad might not be quite enough?


More about the ceremony and guests coming up next :-)

Moon District Households

[Year count 100]   So, the eastern district is called Moon District. You may wonder why, because can't the moon be seen from all of Galucca's districts? Did it ever fall down in this district? Answers would be Yes, of course and Of course not! But the first family settling here 100 years earlier, back when Galucca was established, was the Moonsters. Now, some think they actually got their family name because of residing in the Moon District. Others say the district was named after them. I'm sorry that I can't say which came first...

This district is the more misty, hidden part of Galucca. No trades nor production took place up here, at least nothing that was recorded by the tax collectors. Where Moon Trail (the dusty road) ends, is where a bed & breakfast named Seagull Cottage will be built on or about Year count 120 (20 years from this tour). But beyond this address, there are still some residential lots to be reached only by foot. This primitive privacy attracted sims with a more alternative look at life.

Let me add, in case you never heard of Seagull Cottage before - it's a separate story that will start once the building of Galucca is completed, and reaches our time (Year count 200, we're half way there!).

Back when the first Count Gustavo shared the countship between his 3 children, the only daughter Lady Esphella Pettonta got this eastern part, which was considered very low value. She might have been involved with magic, and some say that's what killed her. She had a daughter with some sailor, and the girl Luphelia was still just a teen when her mom was found dead in the deep well. Luphelia grew up with the original Moonster household.

Now for the 3 current households, 100ya:

Gerda Q. & Simon Moonster reside the oldest house. Simon is son of the original Moonster couple. They had just one son, Detch. He looks young adult on this photo, it might have been his birthday. This household is poor, Simon is an Angler and Gerda grows a tiny garden. Nobody ever saw her selling crops at the Old Town Market, so maybe she use it all for homely recipes. Magic, anyone?

Aliens have been visiting their garden at night, but it's not the first time this district had extraordinary visitors, and most residents are pretty open minded.

Luphelia P. & Don Moonster reside just behind the original Moonster house, where they both grew up. She married Don (Simon's younger brother), and they moved into and expanded the old house that late Esphella Pettonta left behind. Luphelia and Don have 2 lovely daughters, Esmia (teen) and Gloria.

Don works at the Marine Science Facility, which is just a quick walk. Luphelia is a homemaker, but she also is said to be a leading member of the regional secret society, MSW, including a few rituals of the past. It's secret, so how would I know... ;-)

Luphelia is cousin to Count Gustavian Pettonta of Galucca, but they never speak. She most likely is raised to stay away from the Pettontas, anyway...

Camille P. & Edwin Kragger moved in quite recently. They reside 3 Moon Trail which is next lot to what is to become the Seagull Cottage Bed & Breakfast. This is one of the first private homes with a fireplace. Galucca only had Summer this far, and heating is not needed. Camille and Edwin need the fireplace for mixing their magical remedies, though.

Camille heard about the MSW, and also Edwin is into that kind of stuff. They also grow some food. They are not totally acquainted with the locals yet, much because of Camille's modern style for the time. Against all traditions she cut her hair short (lengthy hair was the norm to signalize whether a woman was married or not - as soon as someone married they added a ribbon or cloth, while a woman with "no hair strings" was free). This short hair broke with the established routines. Camille also wears more heavy makeup than most women of this time. She might not expect to fit in over night...

Camille and Edwin have 1 daughter, Carla, and 1 son Perrie.


Yay - done with the 3 districts! From now on, the updates will be more community/castle/politics/conflicts/mysteries/town builds focused (phew!)

Upper Farmland households

[Year count 100] Can't wait to move on with Galucca, so I'll push the remaining 100ya tour to get over with it.

So, this is the last part of the Farmland District, introducing only 2 households.

Told you already that this district is split in the lower and upper part. Sounds like a chopped body, but it's not. The steep hill just makes it impossible for anyone to build between the lower and upper parts. While the small farms down there near the industrial area grow a limited amount of plants, the bigger farm is located up here. The upper part is pretty recently established, probably because of the longer transport distance to the town. It's not that long ago that a horse died on its way down this road, and all the tomatoes fell of the carriage, all spoiled of course.

Back then it took way longer to fill a carriage with new tomatoes than to find a new horse.

Ann E. & Rufus Hydront just arrived to Galucca. They expect their first kid. They are pretty poor after building a house and a shed, but Rufus is an experienced farmer, and Ann is a green thumb. They grow potato, tomato and garlic. Ann loves her black cat.

Nobody in Galucca knows about Rufus' criminal past, and he tries staying at home to avoid contact with local criminals. If they only can make some honest money, he will feel so much safer.

Lady Dora P. & Hendric von Salamand run the largest farm of the entire countship. Hendric's parents benefited from a strong tie to former Count Jonathan, and when the Count needed some support in the past, and (Hendric's father) old Abraham von Salamand gave him just that and secured a political win, Count Jonathan generously rewarded the von Salamands with his daughter Lady Dora's hand. Lady Dora inherited this bit of very good farmland, and Hendric's life wish was fulfilled! He is a green thumb, and thinks he was born to run a farm. Sadly he hired a farmer to do most of the hard work, but whenever it's harvesting time, Hendric can be seen happily tending his plants.

Dora and Hendric have two children, Jodriam who dreams of becoming a novelist rather than to run a farm, and Anne who is obsessed with what impact she can have on other people, men in particular...

Hendric adored Dora from the first meeting, while Lady Dora wasn't very happy with the marriage. He is fine, but she hated being outdoor, and becoming a farmer's wife was pretty far down on her wish list. But she had to obey her father's decision. She partly cut contact with him, and now that her brother, Baron Gustavian, is to become their next Count, Lady Dora actually don't want to attend the ceremony. She secretly clings to the Pettonta's signature colour, blue, through jewelry as well as the column at the house's entrance.

Lady Dora has a bad feeling for the castle in general, after she found the portrait of her aunt Lady Espella, who mysteriously was killed when Dora was young. Someone had hidden the portrait in the northern tower, and nobody was supposedly expected to find it. She felt they had all lied to her about aunt Espella, but there had never been anyone Dora could turn to. Aunt Espella's daughter Luphelia lives in Moon District, and Dora just can't be seen in such a place.


Sooo... only one district left, Moon District, and it's pretty small. But first there might be a few pics from the event at the Pettonta Castle...

Lower Farmland Households

[Year count 100] Here are the 4 households of lower farmland...

Judith and Viggo Humph came to Galucca nearly a generation ago. Their son, Bob, is about to take over this little farm, while daughter Mandie married one of the Gnomes sons just across Mine Road. Bob is the one featured in the post about the old graveyard/cemetary.
This farm grows lettuce and peppers, and old Viggo takes care of it alone. Bob works in the mines, but prepares to become a farmer. I think he has a good eye to someone, but I just don't recall who... ;)

Lincey and Rick Gruston are the latest newcomers to this district. They have 3 kids, and Polly is already young adult. Gusha will soon grow up, too. Ah, I think it was Polly that the previously presented Bob Humph is dreaming about, Is he the one sneaking around the Gruston home at nights, to get a glimse of her...?

This household grows quite a variety, mostly potato but also lettuce and plum. Except Rick and Polly, they all got a mischief look on their face, and most of them are quite ambitious - Gusha even wants to become a politician. So, maybe they are not meant to be poor farmers forever? Son Bobby is set to take over the farm.

Sandy S. & Pete Fogdale reside a decent house, and Pete who is much older than Sandy, lived here since a long time. Sandy is 3rd generation in Galucca, she comes from the Spangler Ranch in Gal District, and she got a horse from her folks. But she dislikes nature in general, and I'm not sure she married Pete for love (just look at that face of his!) He does pretty well growing water melons, though ;) .

Son Eremias just reached teen, and daughter Magda is a child. Eremias has no interests matching a future on a farm, but hey-ho, he might be a good farmer still.

Mandie H. and Tomus Gnomes grow just a little lettuce and more. This was always a large household (in a tiny house), and because teens usually worked at the factories, the household used to bring in enough money without gardening much. Mandie is sister of Bob Humph across the old Mine Road. Mandie and Tomus have 2 kids, toddlers, Viggan and Kendra. The greyhaired man is Tomus' old dad, Martin Gnomes, who was widowed long ago. The 3 girls to the right are Tomus' sisters Katherine (back), Alice and Johanna. In addition one brother and sister moved out earlier. I said it was a large household in a small house!

Tomus is 3rd generation in Galucca. Mandie used to work at Iron Winding, but when the youngest was born she started helping Tomus with the gardening instead, and they will need to increase production now that Tomus' sisters are about to move out.

Finally, a couple more views at the industrial builds. The old shack is the only original industrial build, but it is no longer in use for anything but storage. I must admit I like this lot, even if the builds look misplaced in a farmland. There are lots of working tables lined up inside, one building with inventors' workbenches, another with tables with small tools on (not really sure what Garton Technology produces). I would love to arrange for a few snapshots inside some day :D

On the second pic, you can see Pettonta Castle in the distance. This is Galucca's dirty backyard, so to speak, while the finer families concentrate more on the town and the trades going on in Old Town.

Looks like some pretty heavy pollution is going on, but that smoke alone can't be enough to cause the damages that are to come. No no no... there's gotta be something else, don't you think?


Well, the upper farms will be presented next.