business profile: Coolidge House, Country Inn and Dining

venue: residential/vacation lodging
location: Copper Hill, Michigan
owner: Sharon Coolidge


Located in the idyllic countryside of Copper Hill, Michigan, Coolidge House provides a restful sleep and decadent dining for tourists exploring the many wonders of Copper County and the Ironwood Bay region.

business profile: Iceberry Cafe

venue: cafe/bar
location: Potomac Waterfront, Potomac Heights, DC
owner: April Hutchins


Located on the bustling Potomac Waterfront strip, the Iceberry Cafe serves up sweet treats, toasty goodies, and tasty beverages year round.

happy new year, 2086!

Happy New Year, 2086! Stephanie is 26, Justin is 25, Jeremiah is 28, Willow and Lily are 3. Alice is 64, Jeremy is 69, Bryson is 64. 


It's New Year's Eve and Stephanie feels terrible. She won't be able to drink anything tonight and she doubts that she'll even make it to midnight before she passes out.

Does Justin feel a little bit guilty? Maybe. Proud, too? Probably.

Drown #9: the best laid plans, part 5.5

December 2085. Stephanie Nova is 26, Jeremiah Day is 28, Justin Kim is 25, Willow and Lily are 3. Cynthia Kim is 49, Robert is 52.  

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #9: the best laid plans, parts 1-5

A couple of days after Christmas, Jeremiah stopped by the house.

"I saw your car in the driveway," Jeremiah said. "Stephanie, I feel like we got off to a bad start. We're going to be co-parents now, right? That's what they call it? It's not what I wanted, but we'll just have to put aside our grievances and make the best of it."

Stephanie had the girls corralled behind her, her elderly father in front of her, and she didn't know what to do. Jeremiah wasn't supposed to show up like this, but she didn't want to tell him that there were rules now. Not like this, not today. He'd get the paperwork in days, but he didn't have it yet and she didn't want to be the one to break it to him.

"So, do you think I could chat with my daughter for a couple of hours?"

"If you stay here with her," Stephanie said.

"Great, we'll watch some cartoons or something."

Drown #9: the best laid plans, part 5

December 2085. Stephanie Nova is 26, Justin Kim is 25. George McCarthy is 31.  

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #9: the best laid plans, parts 1-5



Christmas morning, Alice wanted everyone home for the holidays. So Stephanie came home, leaving their things between several houses and cars. She felt displaced and homeless, even in her own childhood home. Stephanie had no idea where Jeremiah had to go. He didn’t say where he went, just that he’d be back to see Willow as soon as he got some things in order. He had no family here. Maybe Sheila and Ronnie took him in. They were nice people, Stephanie thought. She hoped that Jeremiah was good to them.

Jeremiah could have been anywhere. She didn't feel far enough away. It all felt like too little, too fragile, too temporary. Jeremiah was smarter than they gave him credit for. She couldn't wait for February first to come when he would be military bound to be in South Carolina.

Drown #9: the best laid plans, part 4

December 2085. Justin Kim is 25, Stephanie Nova is 26, Alice Nova is 64, Jeremiah Day is 28.  


In Stephanie's dream, she and Jeremiah stood in a mountain lodge in Three Lakes and he was trying to put a gift shop ring on her finger. It was neon green and made of plastic. Justin was about to fall off of the mountain, but he wasn't falling yet. He was suspended by nothing, just toppled back at forty-five degrees, his arms flailing. She was scared for him.

I need to help him, he's gonna die.  
You can't. We're getting married now. 
I don't want to. 
But you do want to, you said so. I heard you say it and you can't take it back.

The green plastic ring had jagged edges and hurt her finger. Once it was on, it melted into her skin and became part of her flesh. Inextricable.

Would you be scared if I fell off that mountain?
Yes. 
Don't lie to me, babe. 
I'm not lying. 
I want to see how scared you are. Show me your face.

But she was still watching Justin, afraid that if she glanced away for even a second the magic would break and he would start to fall.

I don't believe you. You're a liar. You weren't supposed to be a liar. You were the good one. 

then comes divorce... gameplay notes on marriage and divorce in TS4

We will call this a part two to my previous "first comes love... gameplay notes on love and marriage in TS4." Next comes divorce for an average 28% of my couples, who still happily reap a better chance of marital success than most real life couples do. Even so, I think I still let my couples throw in the towel much more frequently than most simmers do. What can I say? Relationship strife interests me? lol!

In TS4 in just a year of gameplay so far, I have had four married couples come to the brink of disaster, three of which are almost certainly going to make it through to their divorces. Bruce and Pamela, Keri and Justin, Stephanie and Jeremiah—I'm calling Bella and Cameron my fourth couple, even though they've decided to give counseling a try and not call it quits just yet, because they've given me enough chaos and fodder to be part of this study.