The document provides an update on several Sim households. At the Miller household, Isaac has settled in well and helped plan a winter luau that devolved into a kicky bag party. Frederic may have accidentally agreed to foster parenting. At the Couderc farm, Fantine has handed over ownership of the farm stand to Chant as she ages. Penny learned to use the potty and Skye grew up at Buttercup's house.

1. Hello, and welcome back to Already in Progress! I know it’s been
a while, and for that, I apologize. I completely burned through my
buffer earlier this year, and didn’t have time to adequately rebuild
it before it was needed again. There are a number of paid holidays
coming up soon, so perhaps I will be able to rectify that.
In the meantime, I hope you remember what happened last time,
since my recaps skills are actually slightly worse than my bungee
jumping skills. Not that there is any real plot to recap…

2. Today’s episode of Goldberg & Silent Lady is brought to you by
game animation boxes and poseboxes by Jaydee. Use any Nightlife
animation the game has, without pesky nuisances like having to
buy a karaoke machine! Also available in other EP flavors.
(in one of those rapid undertones used for the “small print” in all
the best commercials) You must have the appropriate EP to be able
to use the pose or animation boxes. If you do not have a particular
EP, do not install the matching box. Available from the website
www.jd-movies.com. Jaydee is in no way aware of this
endorsement.
And now, let’s rejoin our story: Already in Progress…

3. Life in the newly-blended apartments is going pretty well. The
families all get along well, and are in and out of each other’s
apartments all the time.
Despite my best efforts with assigning Myne doors and locking
them. Curses, foiled again!

4. Don and Sam are still ridiculously happy with each other, as are
Charlie and Louise.

5. Or, more accurately, as were Charlie and Louise.
Thanks to a glitchy-slaved-lifebar problem, I couldn’t tell if
Louise, Sam, both, or neither were getting near to the end of their
span. As it turns out, Louise was the one who was running out of
time.

6. Louise (Sanders) Miller, age unknown due to a glitchy lifebar.
Louise mostly liked girls, except for that “experimentation” phase
in college, and she liked Charlie best of all. She was terrible at
running a business, and she never did learn how to balance a
checkbook. I wish I could say more about Louise, but she never
really “came alive” for me, which was probably more my fault than
hers.
Rest in peace, Louise.

7. The household is about to increase by one again, though, since
Catherynne lost no time in proposing to Professor Douglas
Wheeler, and he lost no time in accepting.
For those of you who noticed the stink cloud: Professor Douglas
does bathe regularly, but he was a little too close to the breadfruit
tree in the yard that caught on fire -- three times in a row. I have
replaced the breadfruit tree with a bay tree, and Professor Douglas
has since had a shower.

8. And, following a quick marriage with no party and a new
wardrobe, Professor Douglas Wheeler became one of the family.
Since he is older than Catherynne, she took his name.
Catherynne Miller is now Catherynne Wheeler. Yes, I am aware of
the humorous potential in that name.
The closest thing to dramatic events in this household this rotation
was the kitchen fire shown here.
The family has a fire alarm, so what made this dramatic?

9. Mostly the fact that there are no stairs in the building, only an
elevator -- which was busted at the time.
Fortunately, it was repaired before the house burned down. You
have no idea how much screaming at the screen was happening for
those thrity seconds.

10. MURAKAME
So... Silent Lady. Any interest there?
GOLDBERG
Huh?
MURAKAME
Is it okay with you if I ask her out?
GOLDBERG
Her decision, isn’t it? (drinks) But I think she’s
got better taste.

11. At the House of the Double A’s, there is not so much to report this
time around, since everyone’s work and school schedules sync up
such that they are all out of the house at the same time.
On the bright side, that means that they are generally available for
water balloon fights at the same time too. I forget if this one was
“boys against girls” or “grown-ups against kids.” Adam has a
tendency to switch teams based on who’s winning at the moment.

12. Early in the rotation, Latifah went off to chase the catnip mousie in
the sky. This was something of a surprise all around, but is proof
that my pet lifespan mod is, in fact, working.
I did mention that this family is the testing grounds for many
things, right?

13. The corner where Latifah’s bed used to be looked awful empty, so
the family went ahead and bought an iguana named Theodore.
The iguana is a TS3 to TS2 conversion by bienchen83, and can be
found on MTS, along with a wide variety of other caged pets.
Haven’t you always wanted a chinchilla?

14. However, unlike real iguanas which eat chopped and shredded
fruits and veggies, Theodore eats dried pellets. Not so good for
real!iguanas, but apparently just fine for sim!iguanas.

15. On the last day of the rotation, I got to conduct a little experiment.
You see, it was time for Bryan to age up, and I wasn’t sure if there
was an automatic aspiration drop at transition time. Here we see
Bryan’s platinum plumbbob. Although you can’t see his aspiration
meter, I can tell you that while it was high platinum, it wasn’t
maxed out.

16. And here is Bryan after he aged up (and gained points for Growing
Up Well). As you can see, he’s still platinum.
Further experimentation to see if a drop in aspiration occurs only
from Toddler to Child is required, but it appears that a drop is not
automatic.
Which means I’m an even lousier Simmer than I thought, to have
lost the Permaplat Challenge so very early.

17. You may have noticed that Bryan’s hair changed rather radically.
Never fear -- his genetic hair color is still blond, as you can see by
his eyebrows. The custom hair he was wearing, though, is
apparently not binned, or familied, or linked, or whatever it is that
makes a Sim grow into the next lifestage version of it.
A quick trip to the mirror, and Bryan was back to his old self.

18. I learned one other useful thing at the House of the Double A’s,
although this was not a deliberate experiment. If you have a car
alarm and a burglar walks past the car, then the police will show
up before the burglar can get into the house.
I don’t think the family even woke up.
I rarely add car alarms, but from now on, they will be part of my
standard playstyle.

19. GOLDBERG
Can you describe your wife for me?
SPOSO
Oh, she’s a lovely Rottweiler bitch, twenty-four
inches at the shoulder, 110 pounds, black and tan --
not mahogany, tan -- docked tail...
GOLDBERG
I’m sorry -- it sounds like you’re describing a dog.
SPOSO
Well, except for the midnight hour, yes.

20. Heya, Sally! What new and exciting?
SALLY (V.O.): Oh, not much. Troy got promoted the other day --
it came with really a very nice bonus, although we didn’t need the
money. Still, we can always give it to charity or something.
Is Troy happy about the promotion?
SALLY (V.O.): Oh, yes! He worked really hard to get there. I just
hope he doesn’t blow his knee out now -- first-string offside
sword-page is really a much riskier position than shortstop striker.
Er, I’m not sure I understood that…

21. SALLY (V.O.): Well, I have to admit that I don’t much understand
sports either. They just don’t make any sense to me. But Tamara
likes them a lot -- she and Troy can spend hours debating the
merits of this team versus that one, and how that player stacks up
against the other, and so on.
Well, it’s good that they have something to bond over.
SALLY (V.O.): Oh, absolutely!

22. SALLY (V.O.): Tamara’s starting to make a few friends, too,
which is good. I mean, she’s very Outgoing, so she wants to have
friends, but she’s also very Serious, which makes her pretty intense
when you first meet her. That kind of turns people off, you know?
But at least she’s got a good friend in Bryan -- Amy’s son?
I know Bryan. So are they dating, or just friend friends?
SALLY (V.O.): Just friend friends, I think. I’m pretty sure they
don’t have any chemistry. Not that chemistry is everything, of
course, but they don’t seem to be romantically inclined. And that’s
nice -- Amy and I are such good friends, I’m glad our children are
too.

23. SALLY (V.O.): Really, the one thing that’s not been all that happy
here is that Tom died.
Oh, I’m so sorry!
SALLY (V.O.): Well, I know he was a very old cat -- do you
know, Dad gave him to me when I was Tamara’s age? -- but I’m
still going to miss him.

24. SALLY: On the other hand, Rudy is still doing great! Do you know
how long cockatoos live?
Sorry, no.
SALLY: That’s okay. We’ll be glad to have him around as long as
he wants to stay. (tickles Rudy) Thanks for stopping by!

25. GOLDBERG
As bubbe volt gehat beytsim gevain mayn zaideh! [This
is both rude and crude, and everyone reacts
accordingly] If Thornleaf’s got her, we need a real
plan.

26. I suppose that Dmitri and Rose could have used a car alarm; the cat
burglar has been very busy lately.
Once again, the family did not wake up. This time, the burglar got
away with three or four items, but the house is so cluttered that I
can’t figure out what she took. (sigh) I suppose I’ll figure it out
when it starts to smell, hey?

27. Since a suitable period had passed, Rose and Dmitri had their
wedding. Although there were a few stumbling blocks along the
way.
ROSE: You’re working too? Can’t you just call in sick?
ROSE: Well, no, we didn’t send out save-the-date cards…
ROSE: Well, we’ll save you some cake, okay? Stop by later in the
evening.

28. ROSE (calls, off): Hel-looooo? We’re getting married now! Don’t
you want to come watch?

29. DMITRI (V.O.) (sotto voce): Esme, I can’t believe your sister and
my sister wore the same dress!
ROSE (V.O.): Maybe we could tell people they’re my
bridesmaids?
DMITRI (V.O.): Not with the way they’re looking daggers at each
other about it.

30. But the actual wedding went well, and everyone who attended was
very happy for the new couple.
Dmitri Sanders is now Dmitri Shankel, by the way.

31. In fact, the party was a Roof Raiser, and nobody had to take their
clothes off to make that happen, either.

32. Which is not to say that clothes didn’t get taken off later. We’re
talking a pair of Family Sims here.
Both Rose and Dmitri are thrilled about this new development, and
we will get to meet said development next time.

33. GOLDBERG
That is a woman cursed to live twenty-three hours of
every day as a dog!
ÆLFRIC
Ah? Our analyses of the spell matrix appear to have
produced exactly opposite conclusions, then, but no
matter. I bought the creature in good faith, and I
will return it at once.

34. Isaac is fitting into the fabric of the Miller household quite nicely
now. On the first day of the rotation, he assisted in the planning of
and preparation for an epic luau.

35. Admittedly, holding a luau right at the beginning of winter was
probably a tactical error. The guests all showed up in their
outerwear and spent all their time playing kicky bag.

36. After Eddie and Celeste were nice enough to provide music for the
limbo, too!

37. It was supposed to be a wedding party, but nobody paid attention
to that, either. Kicky bag and laughing at the epic fail involved in
trying to limbo, that’s what the party was all about.
Isaac Clemens is now Isaac Miller, whether anyone was watching
or not.

38. The party was a Roof-Raiser despite the unseemly PDA exhibited
by the grooms.
I also learned that you can’t cut a wedding cake unless you’re
actually throwing an official Wedding Party. Since this was just a
luau, nobody could haz caek. :(

39. But it’s what happened after the luau that’s important. (If you were
following my Myshuno! Prompts, this will seem awfully familiar.)
ISAAC: Answer me: Yes or no?
FREDERIC: Huh?
ISAAC (repeats): “Answer me: yes or no?”
FREDERIC: I didn’t hear the question.
ISAAC: I know you didn’t.

40. FREDERIC: I’m about to level up, so -- (mashes the buttons
desperately) No! No! Cowplant! Jumpjumpjumpjump -- YES! Ha
ha!
ISAAC: So, what do you say?
FREDERIC: I have no idea what the system crash you’re talking
about. Sure, whatever.
ISAAC: Okey-doke. I’ll go call the agency. It’s usually next day, I
think. (leaves, humming cheerfully)

41. FREDERIC: Okay, great.
(Frederic freezes in horror as the conversation finally sinks in, and
then dives for the door, calling desperately)
FREDERIC: Isaac? What did I just agree to?

42. SPOSO
Oh, my darling, my darling!
HEIDI licks his face enthusiastically.
GOLDBERG
I guess all’s well that ends well, right?
SILENT LADY nods, smiling fondly.

43. I’m not really super strict about how I play the rotation, or about
making sure all seasons are 100% in alignment on every lot, so
winter is more advanced at the Couderc farm than at the House of
the Double A’s.
Not that it really matters when you’ve got plantsims in charge of
the garden.

44. Because Fantine is not as young as she used to be, she now spends
the evenings under the grow lights, using the produce packing
station from SimWardrobe to pack up much of her inventory. The
packing station bundles vegetables in crates of six to twelve items,
depending on the produce in question. This is nothing short of a
godsend, because pepper plants each produce roughly twenty
peppers, and Fantine had well over two hundred to pass along.
Trying to do that the one-at-a-time way that the game allows is a
sure way to end up with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Chant is able to unpack any crate and have the individual fruits or
vegetables in his inventory again for restocking.

45. Fantine has also handed over ownership of the farm stand. This is a
picture of her handing over the deed, though, because pictures of
people going to a lawyer’s office and signing some papers really
isn’t all that exciting.

46. Of course, I’m not really expecting Fantine to need to pass things
along for a while yet; it’s more that there’s no harm in being
prepared.
And speaking of preparedness, Chant spends most of the night
baking either pies or cakes to sell, since both sell like -- well, like
hotcakes!

47. Really, Phoebe is the only member of that generation who sleeps.
It must be hard to sleep under those grow lights, though. I should
do something about that.

48. And obviously, sleeping is not the only thing that bed gets used
for. Nudge nudge wink wink.

49. MURAKAME
So, are you doing anything this weekend?
SILENT LADY shakes her head.
MURAKAME
Then let me buy you dinner and take you to a show.
SILENT LADY blinks several times. Then she grins
broadly and within seconds, is doubled over, wheezing
and pounding the desk in silent hilarity.
MURAKAME
A simple “no thanks” would have been fine.

50. There were some exciting milestones at Buttercup’s house this
rotation. Penny learned to go potty all by herself, and if you don’t
think that’s cause for celebration, then you’ve never changed the
diaper of a toddler who was allowed as much applesauce as she
wanted, whenever she wanted it.

51. Skye Grew Up Well, and into a look that was not actually eye-
searingly awful.
On the other hand, it’s not an outfit that suits her.

52. This look is a much better one for her, and is just generally cute.
Gee, I did a clever job of disguising the picspam, didn’t I? Go me!

53. I ended up taking very few pictures of this household after Skye’s
makeover because I was distracted by this fun little problem.
See how the inside of Skye’s mouth is all blue? That’s not
supposed to happen to normal Sims -- only aliens. Meaning Sims
with the alien skintone. Which Skye doesn’t have.
After much panicking and worry about irreversible game
corruption, I figured it out: the problem was Skye’s eye shadow.
Remove the eye shadow, remove the problem. I still don’t know
why the problem occurred in the first place, but I can deal with that
simple solution.

54. Right at the end of the rotation, Penny aged up as well. As you can
see, she likes orange. I’m thinking that right now she’s a very good
mix of both her parents, but we’ll have to wait and see just how the
genetics play out. At least she has Jo’s beautiful eyes, which are
unlikely to change.
And since I am now out of pictures, I’m going to call it a chapter!
Until next time, Happy Simming!

55. The Goldberg and Silent Lady sections used a lot of custom content and
poseboxes. All custom content is from Mod The Sims unless otherwise
indicated. In addition to the animation boxes advertised at the beginning, I
used:
“Timeless Office” set by jgwoods
Long drapes and recolors by KiaraRawks
“Hacked Coat Hook” by Mary-Lou and Numenor
“Custom Modeling Poses Hack V2 w/Facial Overlays” by decorgal21572
“Sim-Realistic Anime Spoof Posters” by taichikitten (deleted scene)
Skinchange vials by bstrd17
Contacts by BlueBlood220
“Frankenstein” outfit from the EA Store collection via MATY (deleted scene)
SimBlender by TwoJeffs, from Simbology
Wall paneling from the “Dirty Pretty Things” collection by phoenix_phaerie