postcards from Copper County

September 2086.


Even though Stephanie has only been on maternity leave for two months, Sharon is itching to get her back to work again. Slow to start, she promised. "Can I just borrow you for a couple of meetings?"

Sharon renovated part of the second floor to make a dedicated meeting room so that she wouldn't need to clutter the dining room with magazines and calendars every time she meets with a new client.

Today, they entertain Adam Thompson from the Great Lakes Historical Preservation Society.

(He's Justin's boss, Stephanie notes—or soon to be ex-boss, as the story goes—and feels a bit awkward about it. They have never met before, but she recognizes his name and title right away. Justin talks about him all the time! She decides not to put him or Justin or Sharon on the spot by making that connection right now. Instead, she just sits there quietly until asked a question about the butternut squash bisque, feeling nervous and weird—about the meeting, not the soup. The bisque is excellent!)

Adam hopes to contract Sharon and her fine kitchen staff to supply food for the gift shop cafe he plans to open in Ironwood Bay. Sharon is excited about the deal. This would be the first time she supplied catering to a retail setting. Adam promised that her business would be well advertised in the store.


After the deals are signed on the dotted line, Sharon casually drops the news that she'll be running for office this fall. State Councilwoman for District #4: Copper County. They all celebrate with a fine glass of scotch—lemonade for Stephanie, since she has to go home to nurse her baby after this meeting—and everyone is excited to support Sharon's first political campaign.



But that wouldn't be Sharon's only catering contract this fall. They have also been hired by the local school to prepare a simple lunch menu for the kids after a disappointing first meal in the school cafeteria. The school decided to use Sharon's staff to cook a few simple meals for the kids since they're just down the road, rather than employing a cook of their own. Sharon and her girls are happy to whip up some healthy and tasty things for the kids to eat.


Maria Boone is the one who's been picking up the slack while Stephanie was on maternity leave, and this little potato is not happy about it. Johanna doesn't like the nights when her mommy comes home late from working, but Maria is a single mom who lost her husband two years ago, and they do what they have to do.

(Johanna's dad is Dead Joseph. Not to be confused with Alive Joseph the brain surgeon.)


At least she was home in time for a good night kiss and a tuck-in.


Here is a shot of cutie Johanna in better spirits.


Sharon took her $1000 entry fee to the Treasury, so she can now announce her official candidacy for State Council of District #4: Copper County.

There's nobody else running for the spot, as far as she knows, so it should be a pretty easy campaign. She plans to secure lots of votes anyway, just in case, and she has speeches planned for her political interests, which include education, the arts, and literacy. Sharon is very well known and liked in Copper County, so she's confident that she'll win. And her hotel will make the perfect home base for fundraising events and meetings. She couldn't be more perfect for the job, if she might say so herself.


Head shots are a necessity, of course.


Toby Harris has gathered his children back home this weekend to make a big announcement. After 15 years on State Council, he will throw his name in the hat for Governor of the Lakes District, setting his sights on Madison Riley's old position. After a move to the east coast, Madison is no longer eligible to represent the Lakes District, but rumor has it that she's considering a run for Governor of the Mid-Atlantic District this year to be closer to her daughter. That leave the Lakes District spot wide open.


The Nova elders sold their family home over the summer, and they finally moved into the new downsized townhome in Old Town Ironwood, just a short drive from Copper Hill.


They moved their old furniture out of storage and Jeremy is thrilled to be reunited with his piano. Although Alice appreciated Stephanie's attempts at bright yellow walls in their old home, this time, they went with a modest and sensible beige.

Alice feels great having the comforts of their old home again, their comfortable couch, Jeremy's favorite blue jazz painting, the perfect blue rug that pulls the whole room together. Stephanie begged and begged to take that rug with her, but Alice just didn't want to part with it.

"Please," Stephanie implored, "I have such nice memories of that rug."

"Why on earth would you have nice memories of a rug?" Alice asked. "It's not even that old. It's not like you grew up with it."

In the end, Stephanie never said why and she finally gave up on the rug with the promise that she would inherit it some day. Alice said, "Sure, when we die, your siblings will get all of our money and you can have the rug. I'll make sure it's noted in our wills."

Alice chuckled. All this fuss over a rug. What a silly girl.


Patrick and Lara came to visit from California with their girls. Pat has always been close to his father, and he was disappointed that they decided to stay in Michigan when nearly everyone else in the Nova/Phoenix family was talking about moving out west. But he expected that Alice would want to stay near Stephanie. He and Lara are enjoying California with no plans to move back, so they'll have to make the effort to visit a little more often when they can.


Because Jeremy and Alice sure do miss these sweet little faces!


Jeremy finally snagged some pictures of Raine and Skye for the wall so that people wouldn't think that Willow and Lily were their only grandchildren. There are still three grandchildren missing from this wall—Benji, who has somehow managed to evade his grandfather's camera in his six short weeks of life, and Liza and Shaun, whose mother has always been the most distant and anti-social member of this family.



The house is very small, but it's just what they need for their retirement years. Drawings from the kids and pictures on the wall are already making the place feel more homey.


After only one term as Education Minister, Alice has decided not to run for a second term. Her four years in office were swamped with war and uncertainty and then family trauma on top of everything. No one blames her for her lack of accomplishments in this time, but she feels that someone else would do a better and more focused job. Instead she would like to join her husband in retirement and spend time with her family.

Although, anticipating that she will likely get bored, she would consider a smaller role if someone were to offer such a position. Perhaps she might lend her experience as a lobbyist for the arts and education or serve as a guest lecturer at a local college.

—

gameplay notes: co-op houses

notes on sim-politics, population control, and elections: 

Truth be told, I’ll be lucky to even find enough qualified sims to fill each of my official positions this time around, so I’m not sure if you guys will have anything to vote on. Maybe I have too many positions planned, lol! But I wanted one governor for each of the three districts, then representatives for each town, as well as heads for my five major departments. That makes for 14 high-ranking positions! And the problem with making too many new YA sims (which is a trap I always fall into, wanting dating fodder for my born-in-game YAs) is that they're not yet qualified for those kind of jobs, and they don't have existing parents in the world who are, either. 

I admire some of you guys who run a strict policy of not letting your townies become "playable" until they marry someone. I always fall in love with them and can't resist letting them stay, lol! But then I have too many YAs and the hood is unbalanced. Not to mention we are so limited in lots where they could live!

Anyway. There might be a possibility of the Potomac Heights council spot being contested, and I could see perhaps the Education Minister position being fought over. We’ll see by the time sim-November comes around. 

Election day is November 5th, 2086