Fogdale family: Red as a cherry

[Year count: 134]  It's time to stop by at the Dump again, to see how one of the poor families residing the lower Farmland District are doing; The Fogdale household!

Since our last visit, Eremias' sister, Magda (with the boobs) moved out and married the Hill boy (worker family residing Maurice Creek at the upper Gal District. She wanted to find a rich town boy, but coming from this poor quarter that wasn't as easy as Magda thought...

Eremias and Tusha are doing pretty well, but they don't have enough money to buy any new stuff. Tusha wants a bicycle and Eremias wants a chicken coop, but at the moment they can afford neither.

Eremias' younger brother, Jody Fogdale, was planning to move out, but having no starter money, he can't build his own house, but would need to rent a room or get hired somewhere. So, today he asked Eremias to stay a little longer. Jody is the one working hardest with the crops, so Eremias would have been stupid turning down the request.

Tusha works at Garton Technologies, the biggest factory here in the Dump. Now that their daughter Misty became teenager, Tusha convinced her to take a few evening shifts as well. Tusha is concerned with the fate of the discoloured kids, and Misty being one of those, and see it as a good move to make them spend time amongst others, rather than staying at home avoiding reality. At the factory nobody cared about Misty's skin and kinda unfortunate looks, but then abnormal kids are pretty common in this district.

Tusha would like to join the politics, especially now that the Stadium is debated, but she knows there's no opportunities there for her, so now she aims for becoming the next factory workers spokes person instead.

Jody dreams of becoming a novelist. A few days every week he brings some paper sheets and a few pens to Ellie's Library. The library is pretty old already, located just east of the Town Hall. Jody started a sci-fi novel, inspired by all the cars that have filled town lately. But then a woman started to talk to the library's director, pretty loudly, and Cody just couldn't concentrate. He knew who she was, Camille Kragger from Moon district. It sounded like if someone who died had left behind a few books...

Across town, near the City region, Misty was at Constant Hope Hospital. She was waiting for the annual check, together with Albertin Smith, also from the Dump. She likes him, but knowing he will soon grow up while she just left childhood, well...

There are currently 4 locals working at the hospital. Elderly Alphonso Brugster is a specialist (soon to retire), Countess Constance Pettonta works a few days every week as a general doctor, and Cornelia Brottington (wife of the photographer) is a nurse, and is also serving the reception desk.

Misty had been to these checks many times, and knew the routine. They would take a few tests of her skin, listen for weird sounds from her chest and back, asking all the same stupid questions that she answered hundreds of times already.

Doctor Brugster was a nice old man, but it would be tons more interesting if he asked her how she felt about looking so different. He could have asked if any adults called her bad names, or if the school bus driver joked about her looks. But no, he only followed the old medical tracks.

I gotta tell you a little about what the doctors have found concerning the abnormalities. They think it is just a skin disease, and they think it was caused by the catastrophe 90ya. They still have no clue to what caused the reaction though, and doctors don't believe in magic, so...

After both had their tests, Misty and Albertin walked down to the Old Market, that recently burned down, but now reopened as a festival park. The council suggested a new fancy name, but most locals still called it Old Town Market, or just Old Market. A corner is still offering farming products, though.

When Misty and Albertin arrived, other guests stared at them. To the right are the two nosy kids of Ludmilla Barksdale.

Ludmilla herself was busy conversing with Mrs Andrine Seylouse, and Misty could hear the blond woman suggest to ignore the two! Btw, Ludmilla Barksdale is the one owning Chez Ludmilla, the tiny restaurant in front of Church of Similius.

Misty got a chance to test the horseshoe thing (I had it for so long, but this is actually the first time I tested it, lol).

They could of course not afford buying hot dogs or burgers, but there was an eating contest coming up, and hey - that's a smart way to ease the hunger, right? (Never tested this before either, I basically dislike playing with food, but as my sims were hungry it didn't feel as wasted - LOL )

Finally, the Old Town Marked seen from the Town Hall. Together with the tiny park it forms a nice little line down to the harbour and the sea. Art Academy is to the left, Heiserclump Bakery and the church to the right. After taking the picture, I noticed what must be an UFO being parked down there! Now I wonder where that alien was hiding, as I totally missed it all?

All for now, next stop will be the Moonster family of the mysterious Moon District!

Bonus: Heisserclump Bakery

[Year count: 132]  Oups, I forgot to mention that Suzi Baruba's son finally moved in with her in Gaucca. He is one of the two bartenders at Suzi's Heaven, and I forgot to mention it, so here's a picture - hello Tonny Baruba, I think you might inherit your mom's jolly place!

I'll be out of town for a week again, so I'll just share a few pictures that are not really from any of the 5 households I'm supposed to focus on. In the past I told you about the Heisserclump family running a bakery. Well, their descendants still run the bakery, and you were never invited inside.

So, enjoy Heisserclump Bakery!

The one serving the cash register is Richarda (Garton) Heisserclump. She is daughter of late Ellen P. Garton, who was daughter of the honorable Maurice Pettonta, who was son of the first settlers 200ya, Count Gustavo and Countess Eleonora :-)

The baker man is of course Hendrion Heisserclump. Not really sure if he is 3rd generation bakery owner or what.

Have a super day!

Seylouse: Grown up heir

[Year count: 132]  While the Old Market was put on fire, it's time to move on to see how the Seylouse family is doing at Pettonta Heights.

So, the view from Pettonta Heights down to the ocean has been severely cluttered by more high rise buildings in the city region. Galucca is growing, for sure! And the families up here are not too happy about losing their great view!

The Seylouse family might still just about see the ocean, if they look west, and if the land down there is not infected by more tallness.

Louis and Chloe are both doing well in school. Louis has developed a nosy attitude, criticizing others. The bus driver is no exception, wearing a jacket that looks like a parody of a fantasy future.

Louis and Chloe are serious kids, learning that appearance is next to everything, and that building a bright future depends on opening the right doors. Maybe that's why mother Andrine disliked those shoes? Lodvic doesn't seem to care a lot about shoes...

So, Prom night is here, and the crowd gathered outside the old school. This is Galucca's first school, named just School of Galucca. Recently a new school was built between City region and Pettonta Heights, and nowadays the better families prefer sending their hopeful heirs there instead. That school is named Superior School of Galucca. Both schools educate kids and teens.

So, when hardly anyone could enter the Prom, Louis ran over to Superior School, and attended a Prom there istead. All alone it seems, but he had a good night anyway. Smart guy! :nod: No new girlfriend though.

And now Louis has grown up!

Andrine Seylouse is quite eager to see her son married off well. She is known as Galucca's Charity Lady, knowing many important residents, trough constantly begging for their money for charity, of course.

But Louis wants to find a woman on his own...

Today is another important day for Andrine. She has been planning "sports for the poor" since long, but would need some financial help to see it all come trough. Galucca already had a Stadium for a while, but there is no organized physical training outside school, especially not for the poor kids and teens.

She has finally got a meeting with the noble family at the castle, and it's hard to decide what to wear to make the better impression. The blouse with a ribbon has been a huge success at Tackott's Fashion Store, maybe the Countess also got one? Better wear something less fashionable!

Yes, it turned out that Countess Constance was wearing a variety of the modern blouse, Andrine was relieved she had changed! The meeting went on well, the Countess was such a nice person, at least Andrine felt that every word was well understood. The Pettontas had recently spent most of their funds on developing the Constant Hope Hospital, but Countess Constance would bring up the need of sports arenas on the next Town Council meeting! Oh, that was not the reply Andrine had hoped for! The council works too slowly!

Chloe is now a teen, and being quite concerned with clothes and hair, she actually looks rather modest for her age. She is very bright, in addition to after school activities at Superior School of Galucca, she practice painting at the Arts Academy. She likes to paint, and although some of the other painters are pretty weird artists, she can easily hang there for hours until her painting is done.

Louis decided to spend the night on town. There are a few hotspots and clubs that he never visited before. Residents of his class would of course prefer the Galucca Plaza which is the long, double street going through the city region.

Uhm, not really crowded. He could have tried a new exclusive club called Blue Energy, but this late at night the bartender recommended Suzi's Heaven. Louis heard of it before, a traditional Old Town bar run by some elderly woman called Suzi.

Old town is not a safe area this time of night, and Louis would normally not frequent a place like this. He would probably not find any suitable woman in there either, but now that he was already there...

It looked better than he feared. Not long ago it was rumoured that old Suzi let rooms upstairs to trashy girls bringing their customers from the harbour. It's just a couple blocks away. Suzi was smart enough to stop that business just before the Police stopped by - they found nothing.

Louis noticed the sister of priest Nikodemus Dipperwell in the bar, wearing a man's suit and hat. They grew up as neighbours and she was always different. Some say she prefer women, and that she even is involved with criminal businesses at the old warehouse near the harbour. The former priest's daughter, go figure!

Suzi's Heaven was pretty full, despites the place would soon close for the night. The woman wearing a white dress is Ms Meliss Brugster. The guy next to her is one of the athletes that Louis' mother had a meeting with regarding the "sports for the poor" project.

The gray haired dancing woman is Suzi herself. Investing in that brand new phonograph has really paid off! The old man back there wearing short trousers is Rufus Hydront (yes, Emma Hydront's dad). The other elderly woman back there is Camille Kragger from Moon district. But old Luphelia Moonster is nowhere to be seen...

Seems like Louis had a good time with Ms Meliss Brugster. She is pretty rich, isn't she? And just about Louis' age, too!

Next stop will be the poor Fogdales of the Dump.

Pettonta Castle - A new Count and a Firestarter

[Year count: 131]  We're back to the Pettonta Castle on this five households routine. Stopping at the castle might also be a good time to say something about developments in politics and commerce.

So, you heard the news already, old Count Gustavian is dead, the ceremony took place (sorry we missed that!) and the Countship ring switched hands. Good luck Count Junato Pettonta of Galucca! His lovely wife, Constance, is of course the new Countess - which means... the evil Maria was forced to step down. Maria refused to give up on her old, white ear-thingies - that ever since Galucca was founded have been passed on to a new Countess.

When her husband the count died quite unexpectedly in bed, Maria told nobody but pretended he was just feeling sick, and should not be disturbed. That way she managed to stay in control for a little longer. The cook, Patricia S. Litter, had misunderstodd it all, and brought a breakfast tray up to the master bedroom - that's how Maria's secret burst.

Ex-Countess Maria is 91yo, and she finds it hard to deal with the changes. One of her greatest concerns is the Old Market, the historical spot in Old Town that the Council has decided to preserve as is. Maria wants to develop the central lot, as they always controlled the trades there and should decide for themselves.

Count Junato, Maria's only son, seems to be a complex leader. He is evil minded like his mom, but he is also a lonely coward. Loving the outdoors he naturally supports the Council's decision of preserving a green lounge.

The fresh Countess Constance is a rather good and neat person, she dislikes all unfair alliances, and her eco-friendly attitude makes her support the Old Market, too. She got herself a job by initiating a new hospital to be built, and now she works there when the castle duties allows for it.

Most days Junato and Constance spend some time in their lovely garden. They have just 1 son, Baron Gustav, and 1 daughter, Lady Lincia (still a toddler). Gustav insists on dressing like a prince, and Constance lets him, as long as he is a child. Junato wants his son to be physically strong, but fact is that little Gustav is quite clumsy...

- And no, you can not visit anyone in the Dump, Gustav, that is the poor district in the lower Farmland District north of the castle, not suited for you.

Both Junato and Constance set aside time for meeting with locals - locals wanting to debate subjects that are important to them. The list is long, but one meeting per day is enough. Mrs Seylouse, a local woman often referred to as town's Charity Lady, calls nearly everyday, but must wait in line like the others. Today a poor worker from the Dump had made an appointment. Tusha G. Fogdale is concerned with the future for the discoloured kids. Kids born near the polluted area 10-20 years ago, got the weirdest skin.

It's easy to see when Countess pay real attention, then she will lean forward and listen carefully. And then Count Junato will know to leave the subject to her. In this case, someone is even paying attention through the window ;-)

From the master bedroom window, Junato and Constance can see the city growing, nearly from day to day. The hospital was named Constant Hope Hospital, after the founder but with a twist.

Constance was off to meet Tusha G. Fogdale at the hospital.

(yeah... I renamed the hospital after preparing the picture. Constant Hope Hospital sounds so much more promising.)

So, Tusha had gathered a few of the unfortunate kids. The oldest already reaching young adulthood, but will they ever find a spouse? They are Brit Humph (red), Didrik Gruston (purple), Albertin Smith (green), Shellith Gnomes (blue) and Virton Gnomes (gray) all to the right. The pale redhaired girl in front is Emma Hydront. Emma is from the upper Farmland, and all the others from the lower Farmland, but Tusha avoided to bring her own daughter Misty. In addition there are many miscoloured kids over at Maurice Creek (Gal District).

Tusha requested more science, and better social welfare to secure the kids' future. Due to their looks they are less likely to marry rich, or to get a good job, and will face tougher lives than others.

Countess Constance promised to support this all.

Back at Pettonta Castle, the cook Patricia was instructing Baron Gustav to collect eggs from the chicken coop. According to the ex-Countess it's not what the cook should do, and definitely not what a Baron should do. Clumsy Gustav dropped all the eggs, and blamed the poor instructions.

So - Patricia was fired, and she and her teen son, Christopher, are finally leaving the castle after so many years, her son never lived elsewhere. Although Patricia is rather poor, she has a large family, and her sister Stella is actually married to ex-Countess Maria's cousin, Richie Wooming - owner of the Soil and Fertility Science Lab. So, they moved in with Stella's family.

Recently the city region has been growing rapidly, and finally the Galucca Plaza is forming like I planned it from the start. The double street leads southward from Petonta Family Grave, and Ucca Island can be seen in the distance. On both sides there are numerous high rise builds containing a mix of apartments, cultural arenas and other social hot spots. The apartments in this area are of course expensive, but the next quarters on both side offers more moderately priced apartments as well as more shops and offices. The area is still not completed.

Many locals dislike this rapid development. Outside the Town Hall, located just north of Old Town, many residents from the Farmland have gathered to protest. I think there is an ongoing protest concerning the old onion farm (Onioon family, living close to Galucca Plaza) now being turned into a high rise commercial center. Plan has to be stopped!

Oh - note the huge golden fountain at the stairs - it's a duplicate of the old Pettonta Gral - the original gral is safely kept at the Historical Museum. In fact, nobody found the original gral, the one in the museum is the 1st copy, and the one on the stairs is a copy of that copy ;)

A view to the Old Market, debated earlier in this update. I love this area, and there's often lots of people hanging around, as well. The red building to the left is the Arts Academy, and to the right is Salamand Bistro. It's pretty obvious that Old Market was built before anything else.

Then, after dark a person dressed in black walked through Old Town. It was ex-Countess Maria, but why is she wearing such an anonymous outfit - and a man's hat?

Uhh-uhh... :no: Is it too much to ask for a rainy night?

Next stop: the Seylouse family.

The Moonster family at 2 Moon Trail

[Year count: 129] It's time to stop by at Moon District. Here's the 5th household that will be followed for the next 70 years, finally!!

East of town we find a special district, so please pay attention! If you follow my other story, Seagull Cottage Bed & Breakfast, you might know that it takes place here in Moon District. So, we might be getting closer to some mysteries...

Moon Trail is a short road leading from Galucca's harbour, pass the Maritime Science Facility on the left, then turning right until it stops higher in the terrain, where Seagull Cottage was built few years earlier. You can spot it back there on the picture. But this update is about the original Moonster house, which is the tiny cabin up there on the hill, a few steps off the road.

The house was built right after Galucca was founded, and the Moonsters were mostly fishermen ever since.

The current household contains just 3 persons, Detch Moonster, his wife Katherine (born Gnomes) and their teen son, Milton.

Detch is a fisherman, just like his ancestors. Katherine works at the Wired Winds factory at the lower farmland (aka the Dump), where she grew up. This household is poor, but the house was well equipped generations ago, and they do manage with limited income.

Moon District is home to magic, and Milton knows very well that his long gone relatives did stuff that... well, he doesn't really know what it was all about. There are still locals of this district who perform magic, and even the Moonsters do have a fireplace for heating minerals and gems for certain stuff. Milton wish he knew...

Katherine has never been involved with magic, and Detch never pushed her as he is too busy fishing. But she feels a bit excluded by the other women of the district.

But no, Leisure day or not, Detch found it more important to teach Milton to fish, than to hang out in a park. So the two guys walked off, leaving Katherine back home. Women just don't fish.

Detch took Milton to one of his better fishing spots, at Ucca Island. That is, he pretended that it was a great spot... He was convinced that Milton will need to experience bad fishing luck before he can become a good fisher man. So, he directed Milton to fish at a spot where he knew there would be no fish.

Detch is a very experienced fisherman, knowing exactly where to aim, and when he dragged in a huge swordfish, Milton pretended that he didn't notice. Actually he was busy absorbing the great view, dreaming himself away, thinking of how lovely this would be framed on a wall...


Meanwhile Katherine walked up to Seagull Cottage.

Even if she is not into magic, like Luphelia Moonster, they were almost family because Detch's brother, Simon, once married Luphelia. Luphelia was just a teen when her mom died long ago, and she lived with the Moonster family. Simon died long ago and their two daughters Esmia and Gloria moved to SimCity - that was when Luphelia sold their home and built Seagull Cottage instead.

Coffee? Sure!

So, there was Camille Kragger with one of her sons, Viggo. Camille is the brave woman who cut her hair short while all other women had long hair. She is the only woman seen wearing trousers, she is said to sunbathe topless, and she even drives a motorcycle! Katherine obviously has nothing in common with her.

Katherine just about knew that both Luphelia and Camille were involved with the secret organization, MSW. Whenever the three of them meet, they talk about anything but magic.

Like today, the death of Count Gustavian of Galucca. A ceremony was up at the castle, but everyone in Moon District stays away from such events. Not that they would be invited any way... Katherine doesn't know the details of the past, but Detch does, and it obviously includes the family secret that Milton was begging to learn about.


At night, Milton told his parents that he wanted to check out the community events taking place at the Old Market.

But he had no intentions of visiting the market... instead he secretly entered the Arts Academy, where he had been many times before without telling them.

Downstairs there are exhibitions, but upstairs there are 4 smaller studios for working artists. Milton had a few canvases and some paint up there, and practiced his obsession - painting. He didn't dare to tell his folks, only a few artists had seen him in there.

While painting, he could hear laughter from the market, then some fireworks - was that from the castle? Ah, mom had mentioned the ceremony for the new Count and Countess, it was probably on tonight!

That's all, we're leaving Milton and the Moonsters for a while. For next update we'll stop by at Pettonta Castle again! :)

The Malone family at 17 Gal Road

We've already stopped by at 3 of the 5 households that I'm focusing on in the remaining Galucca development updates, making sure to present various regions of this world. We recently visited the noble family at Pettonta Castle, the Seylouse family at Pettonta Heights, Fogdale family at Lower Farmland, aka "the Dump".

2 more to go, and today we'll visit the Malones!

[Year count: 127] The Malone family lives as far south as you get in Sunny Field, which is the southern third of Gal District. Gal District is pretty mixed, home to the poor worker families up north, crafter families half way down Gal River, and the warm and sunny region near the coast called Sunny Field.

The Malone house is in front on the above picture, and you see the river, the new, green bridge, the Monastery, the beaches and Galucca Town in the distance. In case you wonder, the Seagull Cottage (to become Bed & Breakfast) is located far in the distance, under the City label.

The Malones settled here long ago, and the current owner's parents, Agnes (Sculler) & Stepp Malone, both died long ago. Everet has 2 older sisters, but none of them were interested in running this farm-like lot.

This sunny region is good for growing grapes, but in addition to a few grapes and apples, the Malones specialized in growing flowers and other plants for sale. Most plants on community lots were produced here.

The house is pretty tiny, although Everet Malone is both wealthy and successful. The savings allow them to keep on growing plants, even if the business is a bit up and down.

Side note: this is one of the few houses built with the Blueprint tool. It takes me less time to build a house from scratch, so I didn't really use the tool again.

Everet Malone is a young adult, he's got star quality but hates art, so maybe he suits producing flowers instead of acting, bringing out dramatic colours or softer arrangements. He loves running this place, the only failure was inheriting his dad's old horse. Everet is clever, and doesn't hesitate to ask the Town Council for financial contributions whenever business gets tough.

This morning, Everet's wife, Ursa, gave birth to their 2nd son. The toddler boy is Syrup, named so by Ursa because he was such a sweet baby. So, with both Syrup and Steven as soon-to-be assistants, the future of the flower production looks promising.

The flower production takes place in their greenhouse. They grow all kinds, and we'll just pretend that there are more plants in there than those you can see on the pictures ;-). The business is well established. :cheeky:

Both Ursa and Everet work in the greenhouse as needed. Everet also serves the Malone Flower Market in Old Town, and days are quite busy.

They are very much in love, even after 2 kids. Not sure if flowers would be the best surprise gift for a woman working with plants all day, but it's the best gift Everet can think of, and Ursa knows that. She comes from a rather poor family that moved to the upper Gal District (Maurice Creek) some time ago. Her folks live up there as the Swims family. Ursa never really fancied plants, and she dreams about moving into one of the new flats in Galucca City. She knows she was lucky to meet Everet, and she loves family life, so maybe running this business isn't too bad after all.

The City region is under construction, although several flats and businesses are ready. I really enjoyed organizing the high rise builds, and shortly someone will give you a tour of this new and modern part of Galucca, but not today. Everet is on his way to the Flower Market.

He has ordered a car, they can afford it, and it will make it so much easier bringing plants to town.

Sallith Gnomes often stops by to ask for wasted stuff. If there are broken pots, she will bring the pieces back home. Although Everet knows that poor Gnomes family lives up north in the Dump, he has no idea why she would collect those pieces.

The Flower Market is rarely ever packed with customers, but being located between the harbour and the Church of Similus, many locals walk by during the day. And some might stop to buy something.

Back home Ursa helped Syrup to check on their old horse, Quicksilver. The horse originally came from the Spangler Ranch that is located near by. Syrup is obsessed with the big animal, and Ursa hates to think of the day when the old horse will no longer be around. Hopefully the boys will grow old enough to understand, and no explaining will be needed.

Ursa and Everet might be very different, both by looks and interests, but they always find time for a good laugh, and they both care a lot for their sons. Typically, Everet will share some gossips from the Flower Market - Countess Maria cutting her finger on a cactus, or retired priest Edmondius Dipperwell buying a plant called Devil's Tongue. If Ursa visited the beach during the day, she might have seen a Monk swimming wearing his robe, or elderly Camille Kragger from Moon District sunbathing topless! :)

We'll stop by again in about 10 years. Next update will be from the Moon District!