Building a mansion

1. Makers and Finders
A Cursed Baby Boom Challenge
Chapter 18
OK, first, I have to apologize. Matt told me after last chapter that I am far too judgemental,
and I shouldn't be saying people are too stupid to live. Everyone's intellect falls on a spectrum,
and some people are wise, but not book-smart, and vice versa, and I just shouldn't call people
stupid, even if they are going to freeze to death while they give birth. Anyway, I'm sorry. I hope
none of my readers were hurt by my insensitivity.
You know, I'm kind of glad that I have Matt to call me out. I mean, I don't mean to be mean,
you know? He's just wiser and better at this sort of thing than I am. Why do you think we
decided he should be the one to max charisma?
As the day dawned on Saturday, we both knew: Today was the day. Nothing would stop us
from building our home, and furnishing it with a sculpting station and an all-in-one bathroom.
Plus, we could place all the stuff we had managed to find and/or redeem tickets for, and/or make.
In fact, I decided that after I maxed my glassblowing skill, I'd get back to dumpster diving to
get some more furniture. Who knew what I might find?

2. Matt started off his day by conjuring up a poisoned apple. “I wonder if that would help me
sleep, whenever I have insomnia. Or would it just kill me? Hmmm, I'd better research this
before I try it.”
He finished getting our day's rations, but not before noticing that he had a good forty plus of
these poisoned apples. He hadn't really noticed before, but now it got him thinking. Poisoned
apple pie? Could we use it on the kids, if they got cranky and refused to go down for their naps?
As I started my day, I could just see success, hovering over me. Almost there!

3. “OK, Betsy. It's my day off, so there won't be any alarms, because that's how emergencies
work in Moonlight Falls. That means you'll start Monday at full power, right? You and Marie,
the alarm bell?”
Matt might have been a bit silly, anthropomorphizing the equipment, but whatever saw him
through. Less than one point away.
For what might possibly be my last glassblowing project, I decided to make a Menus de
Vilo. After all, nicely decorated is a nice moodlet, right?

4. Aaah! So close. Well, one more project would do it; maybe I could make a matching pair,
for symmetry. Or just to sell.
In the end, it happened so quickly, I almost missed it! But there it was: My maxed
glassblowing skill. We could build walls, floors, a roof, doors, windows, stairs, the works! It
was too late in the day to do any flipping, but I could do some more dumpster diving until
curfew, and then surprise Matt with our new “mansion.”
So exciting!

5. Matt was right on my tail, with an alarm bell that needed fixing, and less than a quarter of a
point left to earn!
When the sun went down, Matt decided not to take any chances. I had given him the last of
my skill-boosting potions, and he drank one, hoping for the best.

6. It didn't quite do the trick, but so close! He took the Wish Enhancement serum, then,
because he had two big wishes lined up. Then downed another skill booster. And another.
“So, I saved four sims in the big fire. Surely four potions should do it, right?”

7. Funnily enough, no. But he was sooooo close!
Back to the grind. He'd just have to do it the old fashioned way, and before curfew set in.

8. Meanwhile, I found a table lamp and an end table to put it on, so we wouldn't be living in
the dark.
“Now, look, Betsy! I just fixed you this morning, and you haven't done a thing all day. How
can you be completely broken AGAIN?!” Well, Matt still needed something to fix, so he smiled
and got to it. Almost there.

9. “That's it! I did it! And just in time, too, because it's almost curfew.”
Yes, My Man Matt, my big hero, maxed out his handiness with just enough time to get
home, so we could buy that all-in-one bathroom we both wanted.
“Well, Matt? What do you think? I made it big enough for us to grow into it, and in our
favorite colors, pink and grey. I put down all the furniture I found in the dumpsters, except for a
TV we couldn't place until one of us maxes logic. But with the furniture I found, and the
furniture I made, plus our two purchases for the week, I think you'll be well pleased.

10. You saw the ice rink out front, and the fenced yard on the side, for when the curse is gone
and we can start gardening. Gotta protect the plants from zombies!
Inside, we have the bathroom and the sculpting station, where I hope to make a variety of
good furniture out of clay and wood. There's also a sofa, a bed, some chairs, lamps, the time
machine I made (I need to get back to the invention bench and build a miner, too!), a variety of
decorative objects I made or found, as well as a couple of gifts. We have a grill, so I'll be able to
cook fish for us, once I've learned the skill. And my favorite thing: The chess set. I made it out
of glass, and we can both study logic in comfort, day or night.
All in all, we were thrilled with the way the house wound up. Not bad at all for two weeks'
work. Somehow, now, everything seems less urgent.
Well, readers? What do you think of our new home? Let me know in the comments.
See you tomorrow!