Spring Valley 7/31/24

 600 Chestnut Way:  Simon left for the mining camp, and Danielle found herself on her own with the household chores, sewing, and taking care of the boys (she gave birth to another son, Kevin).  It's quite a lot to deal with, but she's doing her best.  She misses her husband terribly though.

500 Pine St:  Thomas was unable to plant cucumbers, as he didn't have the skill for it; he didn't have the benefit of learning how to farm from his father, as that honor went to his older brother.  For now, he'll grow tomatoes to stock the larder.  Perhaps in summer, he'll have learned enough to get a cucumber crop going.  In the meantime, he has a new baby daughter, Frances, to enjoy; not the son he was hoping for, but there's always next time.  Wilhelmina is finding life as a wife and mother to be a constant struggle.  How do the other women in town do it all?

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/30/24

 300 Grove Rd:  Richard and Isabella got married and soon welcomed their heir, Adam, to the family.  Richard brought in a decent orange harvest and Isabella was able to craft a few plates to sell.  They are by no means rich, but they're headed in the right direction with their little family.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/29/24

 500 Chestnut Way:  Gabriel left for the mining camp and, once again, Jean is on her own.  Despite the exhaustion of pregnancy, she managed to push through, keeping everything afloat.  Ultimately, she delivered a baby boy named Julian.  Having two little ones at the same time was a new kind of challenge, but she's getting the hang of it.  Somehow, against all odds, she managed to finish quite a few sewing projects, which Joy and Rachel were kind enough to come and pick up, since Jean is pretty tied up at home with the kids.

200 Farm Acre Rd:  Aaron got his pole beans in the ground early and was rewarded with an early harvest.  That was lucky because Claudia was barely able to keep up with the twins (and new baby Andrea), much less make pottery to sell.  The poor woman has been run off her feet trying to keep up with the cooking, cleaning, and kids.  She's starting to get a handle on it, but she's exhausted more often than not.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/28/24

 100 Mine Camp Rd:  Norman harvested a few apples to stock the cupboards with and when the pond finally thawed near the end of spring, he was able to do a little fishing as well.  He hasn't had much luck getting anything to grow in his little garden, but the pole beans he planted seem to be hardy enough to survive in the harsh climate of the mountain.  Violet gave birth to a little girl, Daisy, and is expecting the couple's third child in early summer.  She's not very good at sewing yet, but she'll have plenty of time to practice her craft in the coming months; she's confident she'll get the hang of it.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/27/24

 100 Chapel Hill:  Mayor Curtis Johnson and his wife announced the birth of their third child, Cassandra, this spring.  They'll be expecting their fourth in summer.  Between the tax payments, fishing license fees, and his salary, the mayor was able to make a sizable payment on the loan he procured to build the festival grounds.  He's hopeful he'll be able to get the loan paid off during his tenure as mayor.  He has big plans for Spring Valley.  There has been some grumbling about favoritism, but since the farming district is the largest, more folks are benefiting from his tax break than complaining about it.

Happy Simming! 

Spring Valley 7/25/24

 PBH Unit #2 (500 Chapel Hill):  Katherine is 68 now and feels it's time to start thinking about who to leave her savings to.  She thinks it will likely be her sister Scarlett, as she's the last sibling remaining.  Rebecca found the most amazing piece of pottery at the general store, and she just had to give it to her brother David who, coincidentally, happens to be married to Katherine's sister, Scarlett.  Small world!

PBH Unit #3 (500 Chapel Hill):  The ladies had a very productive season of crafting, more than enough to take care of their expenses plus put some away for a rainy day.  Beatrice is really feeling her age.  Those stairs to the attic are getting harder and harder to climb every day.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/24/24

 PBH Unit #1 (500 Chapel Hill):  Jane and Molly are incredibly overworked at the school.  They've lost several teachers and no new ones have been hired to replace them.  With the town growing so quickly, they need to get those teachers stat!  Audrey and Grace are not qualified to apply, but they're not too bothered by it, as they're pretty happy just working on their crafts.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/23/24

 400 Main St:  Ethan has officially taken over the position of headmaster.  He had no idea how wildly understaffed the school was.  He hired on a new teacher, Ruth Ford, but that won't be nearly enough as he's still short four teachers.  Otherwise, things are going well.  Patience inherited a tidy sum from her cousin Gertrude, which took care of the property taxes and then some.  Ethan will be getting married to Amanda Adams in summer and they will likely be expecting before you know it.

Primrose Boarding House (500 Chapel Hill):  Joy is very satisfied with how her little shop has grown.  Many of the women in town are becoming quite skilled at their crafts, meaning more quality inventory for the boutique.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/22/24

 400 Pine St:  Nora was excited to learn that she'd won third place in the Winter Festival cooking competition.  Garrett and Tyler expanded the eggplant field to increase their income.  Tyler officially proposed to Dorothy Adams; the wedding is set for summer.  Emma will also be getting married in summer - to Carver Johnson, while her twin Ryan will be starting his own household - he's decided to become a fisherman.  With the younger children nearly grown, and the older ones getting married, Nora is anxiously anticipating the next phase of her life as a doting grandmother.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/20/24

 200 Grove Rd:  Liam passed away at age 69, leaving behind six children and ten grandchildren, the youngest of whom, Landon, was born just after he died.  Brody planted some new lemon trees and harvested a pretty good crop.  Lydia does not yet have the talent for flower arranging that her mother-in-law did, but she's working hard to get better.  The kids are growing by leaps and bounds (Lydia can't believe they have three already!) and there's another on the way in the summer.  Declan moved out to start his own eggplant farm.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/18/24

 100 Farm Acre Rd:  Clay and Marcel were able to expand the strawberry patch just a bit, which will allow them a slightly larger harvest in summer.  They could really use the extra income.  Carver moved out to start his own strawberry farm and Juliet has decided that she too will be moving out to the boarding house come summer as Marcel is marrying Helen Jefferson and they're already short beds as it is.  She feels it's time to get out of the way and let her nephew carry on the family legacy.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/16/24

 300 Pine St:  Chloe delivered a bouncing baby boy, Mitchell, who will be the next heir to the pepper farm.  She is expecting the couple's third child in summer.  Andrew expanded the field significantly with his sister's massive payment; he can't believe she managed to catch everyone up!  In any event, he'll be expecting a bumper crop come summertime, which will be more than enough to provide for everyone.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/15/24

 200 Pine St:  Jesse and Temperance got married and welcomed a baby girl, Evelyn, by the end of spring.  Alma has decided to move to the boarding house in the summer, as the household is very crowded, and she'd like some independence even if she's not getting married like her younger sister Kathleen.  Jesse and Ernest expanded the strawberry field and Virginia continued to crank out delicious cakes and pies to sell, so the family is pretty stable financially.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/14/24

 100 Pine St:  Since Rachel was finally able to catch up on what she owed, Nathaniel got a substantial payment this spring, not to mention the sum he inherited from his sister Clara.  Not only was he able to pay his tax bill in full, but he also expanded his field to plant a sizable pepper crop.  Charity made a number of pottery pieces and Nathaniel tried his hand at some more advanced toy construction, which means the summer payment will be more than enough to take care of the family until the peppers come in.  Nathaniel is proud of the work he's done, proud of the family he's created, and proud of the legacy he will leave behind.

Happy Simming!  

Spring Valley 7/13/24

 300 Old Mill Ln:  Madeline came close to winning the cooking contest but had to settle for second place.  She didn't have long to bemoan her loss though, as she passed away at the age of 68, just hours before Gabrielle gave birth to another son, Asher.  Madeline leaves behind seven children and eleven grandchildren.  Lucille is set to marry Oliver Jefferson in summer and Gabrielle will miss having another female in the house that is quickly filling up with males.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/9/24

 200 Old Mill Ln:  The money Daniel's Aunt Cadence left him was a lifesaver.  He was able to expand his crop field and fully plant it.  He was able to bring in an early harvest of cucumbers which, combined with Lucy's potholders, will bring in enough cash to keep them afloat in summer.  That's a very good thing, considering Lucy gave birth to twins Dean and Diana, and is expecting another already.  Daniel's youngest sister, Holly, is leaving home to marry Joseph Ford.  Iris, of course, will remain here, as she has no marriage match.  Lucy really doesn't mind the extra help in caring for all these babies.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/8/24

 100 Old Mill Ln:  Henry decided to take a risk this season and spend every last dollar he had to plant pole beans.  It left the family with very little food and no money to buy more, but the gamble paid off because the beans came in just before the end of spring, allowing Henry to secure a decent payment for summer.  If he can keep harvesting this quickly, he might be able to get an extra crop in before winter.  In other news, Leah gave birth to another baby boy, Edmund, and is expecting the couple's fifth child in summer.  Dorothy is set to marry Tyler Ford, which should also take place in summer.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/7/24

 300 Main St:  Rachel was approached by a grocer from the city with a proposition.  He offered her a contract to sell some of her overstock of fresh produce to him.  It's a good deal for Rachel and the extra income allowed her to get all of her vendors caught up, so it's a good deal for them as well.  She's looking forward to summer when Seth will officially take over the store; it's been a long road, but she's handled it with strength and persistence.  Her youngest daughter, Amanda, will be marrying Ethan Ford (the headmaster) in summer, so that should help her get a teaching position in the fall.  Things are looking up.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/5/24

 200 Creek Dr:  Lee and Fiona added two new members to the family, first Stuart, and then Patricia.  Lee brought in a good catch, while Fiona was able to complete several sewing projects to sell.  They're in a good financial place as well; they were able to pay to renew the fishing license and pay their tax balance in full, so they won't have to worry much come summer.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 7/3/24

 1500 Main St (Spring Valley Inn):  Victoria was selected as the winner of the Winter Festival cooking contest!  First prize was a blue ribbon and $500.  A short time later, however, she passed away at the age of 77.  She leaves behind three children and eleven grandchildren, though #11 (Trevor), was not born until after she died.  As Victoria was the town healer, that role will be passed on to her oldest daughter, Nora Ford.  In her mother's absence, Glenda has decided to take up baking to bring in extra cash for the inn.  Mercy remains ever grateful for her sister-in-law, especially with a new little one to care for, because without her she'd be doing it all on her own.  The twins, Helen and Oliver, have reached adulthood and are ready to get married and start their own families.  

Happy Simming!