Sierra

 

This is my middle daughter, Sierra Myst Plumb Cheesman.  She insists that I had to be drunk off of the stuff when I decided to name her that.  After all, I handed my Aunt Margaret's name to her older sister, Sage, my first-born daughter.  So when it came to naming her, well, I was fresh out of options.  I actually wanted to name her Siobhan, which I actually think I should have.  But Siobhan is such a beautiful Irish name, not sure it would have fit my little spitfire.  I have to admit I have a soft spot for Sierra.  Not just because she looks exactly like me save for the fact that she has blue eyes and she has my husband's complexion.  It's the fact that she's so much like I was when I was younger I'm actually scared.

Sierra was never the girliest of girls, unlike her older sister.  Instead of ballet, Sierra insisted on scouting lessons.  She hated dolls and dresses and didn't like dressing up.  She thought nothing of playing cops and robbers and pirates in the tree house and going fishing with Andy.  She also thought nothing of throwing the football outside with our butler, Max.



 
So when Sierra made her birthday and became a teen, I thought I was going to have it somewhat easy, since I hadn't had to bring the police with Sage like I had with her brothers.  I was wrong.  The day after her birthday, Sierra was caught throwing eggs at an elderly woman's house.  The police came, and poor AJ was rushed to the hospital because he passed out.  Sage pretty much blames Sierra for AJ going to the hospital. 

We don't know what's going on with Sierra.  She didn't even bother showing up to the hospital with AJ until the last day, and no one knows where she was until then.  Meanwhile the rest of us -- even Satis and Imsety -- stayed there round the clock watching AJ's progress.  It was like, you know, she didn't even care.



 

 

She and Sage argue constantly.  I don't know what it's like to have a sister, since all I had were brothers, and my closest brothers were either significantly older or significantly younger than me, so I'm not exactly an expert on this.  I think Sage was upset with her for not showing up to the hospital till the last day. 

 

And we have YET to figure out what on earth Sierra did to our computer.  Whatever she did to it, we had to buy another one, because when we turned it on, it started smoking and spitting out gobbledygook.  If she put that kind of effort into her schoolwork she'd be a straight-A student.

Poor Andy is at his wit's end with her. He is absolutely beside himself. The shouting matches between them go on constantly after Sierra comes in at all hours, and who knows where she is. I know, though, that the first night we got to Moonlight Falls, she was at the catacombs. That script is awfully familiar, and I know how that movie ends. That's why we need to nip this in the bud. NOW. 

Absolutely no one was prepared for Sierra's latest metamorphosis, for her dyeing her hair green and sporting goth clothes.  Certainly I wasn't.  Frankly I'm not sure what on earth has gotten into her.   

And it's not just the hair.  Sierra is spending an inordinate amount of time at the gypsy wagon and the gypsy area.  I've heard she may be experimenting with wiccanism. 
I've spoken about this on the phone with Dr. Bill, and he thinks that teens do a lot of experimenting with this kind of thing, but he thinks there's something she's looking for. 

Sometimes Sierra is capable of surprising us, like the time she gave Skylar her old bakery stand.   I'm definitely concerned about how this is looking to Sky, though.  The optics of all this are horrible as she is watching every move her sisters make and hanging on every word they utter. 

That is why I remain convinced that underneath the green hair and the attitude is the little girl I knew.  She's in there somewhere.  And I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to bring her back. 

 

 



Odds and ends

 

Oh my goodness.

This new job I got in Moonlight Falls is amazing and incredible.  I can't really say enough about it. I would have been kicking myself if I didn't take it. 

 

I'm now the chief archivist and paranormal researcher at the Library of Lore and Antiquity.  Basically I spend all day cataloging old books.  Very old books.  I also coordinate supernatural trivia contests and occasionally share stories from when I was an active ghost hunter. 

I no longer actively hunt ghosts.  I don't have the desire to do that anymore.  I find this work (studying paranormal phenomena and alchemy) a lot more fulfilling and mentally stimulating than just going from house to house stamping out specters and poltergeists.  Another plus is that, since I'm no longer working nights, I'm not coming in at 3 in the morning, so I have more time to spend with my kids.

One of my favorite books that I've found so far is a manual on alchemy that was co-authored in the medieval times (!) that I've been able to authenticate.  The listed authors are Balin, who was a master wizard in the court of Queen Alys, and the queen herself, who had dabbled in alchemy and magic and had been a student of his. 

I decided that I was going to make a deal with my kids, who were against me taking the job and uprooting them from their school and their lives.  It was going to be difficult but we were going to find a way to make it work.  They were going to continue to attend school in Hidden Springs, but we were going to live in this new house we're building in Moonlight Falls.  Besides, we were outgrowing our place in HS.  My youngest son, Sawyer, was sleeping in the hallway. That couldn't happen anymore. 

I delayed the release of my book Alys in Wonderland, but it is coming out this year.  I'm going to address the supernatural convention in Moonlight Falls and promote the book heavily there.  Alys in Wonderland is a historical biography on Alys de Montfort, the Queen of Arkovia, and details my own encounter with her ghost.
 

 

Alys de Montfort was a fascinating woman.  Of Tredonian descent, she took over as queen of Arkovia upon reaching her age of majority, because her father, King Edward, was killed with his own sword by his ambitious nephew in a sword fight.  She'd been educated at the foot of the wizard Balin, who taught her alchemy and magic.  She'd learned government with Lord Jonas Darron, her father's steward, and she'd learned 'womanly' manners with her great-aunt Cordelia.  She never married.  She skillfully held off her suitors using guile and the occasional sword point. 

 

 

I'm going to be heavily promoting Alys in Wonderland in Moonlight Falls.  As the keynote speaker at the supernatural convention, I'm having to write the keynote address -- and also keep an eye out for my daughters, who I'm afraid have inherited my tendencies. 

 

 



 

I'd be remiss without introducing the newest member of our staff.  This is Bonehilda, our skeletal maid.  Hear me out.  Poor Max in Hidden Springs was completely overwhelmed by the size and activity of our household, so after talking it over with Andy, we got him some help.   Bonehilda is great with our youngest son, Sawyer...

 

...and with Sage's dog, Bitsy!  Poor Sage hasn't had much time to deal with the animals as she'd like, preoccupied as she is with school and extracurriculars.  So Bonehilda has stepped in the breach.

And this of course is our youngest son, Sawyer Nathan Cheesman.

Moonlight Falls Part 2

My second day in Moonlight Falls was as eventful as the first one.  I went back to the alchemy store and picked up some supplies. 
Then, when I went to find a quiet place to thumb through the alchemy manual, I heard the whirr of a camera.  I knew it had to be a paparazzo.  Sigh. 
You'd think, given who I am and how I was raised, that I'd be used to this by now.  My brother and I were raised for careers in show business, as both of our parents were in show business.  Except, that's not the choice I made.  When I married Andy, I wanted a quiet suburban life for my kids, out of the spotlight.  In doing so, I've tried to give them the freedom to do whatever they want to do with their lives.  He chose Hidden Springs to get away from everything.  It worked, and except for the issues I've had with Sierra, my kids are normal and well adjusted. 

"Savannah Plumb Cheesman?" began the paparazzo, extending her hand.  "Hi, Ashley Edskar, Moonlight Times.  I'm a great fan of your work.  I've read everything you've ever written about a thousand times.  And that's not an exaggeration.  I follow your blog and I've bookmarked your Simbook page.  Would you mind coming into the office for an interview tomorrow?  Exclusive scoop!"

"Um," I hesitated, "my kids and I just got here, and we don't intend to be in town long, we're just here --"

"You're the keynote speaker at the upcoming supernatural convention.  I know, I read the program.  Well, whenever you feel like it.  You know where the office is, on Merchant Way, whenever you're ready." 

 

Ashley took a deep breath. "I'll be covering the convention, so I'll be available to talk whenever." 

"There are rumors that all the supernatural life in Simland originated here. Is that true?"
"Well, as a lifelong resident of Moonlight Falls, I'd have to say yes.  There are more supernatural Sims here than anywhere else, and we tend to get along -- most of the time.  There are, however, two feuding families, the Van Goulds and the Wolffs, who both claim to have founded Moonlight Falls. If you want more information on the history of the town (and, indeed, anything else), you might want to check the Library of Lore and the Vault of Antiquity."

Finally Ashley asked me for an autograph and I obliged, even though autographs are my least favorite part of the job.  I hadn't met anyone here and the only person I knew in Hidden Springs, really, was the queen, so if I was on my way to making a new friend here, it was going to be a good start. 

Moonlight Falls

Every once in awhile, my job as a paranormal expert affords me an opportunity to do something grand, to do something that would actually mean something.  Recently, I was granted that opportunity, and despite protests from my two oldest daughters, who were in agreement about something for the first time EVER, I went ahead and accepted that opportunity.

I arrived in Moonlight Falls at about 8 am on Tuesday after catching a red eye from the Riverview Airport.  (Hidden Springs doesn't have an airport, I learned this when I was seeing my oldest son, AJ, off to Shang Simla.)  Moonlight Falls reminded me a lot of Hidden Springs, actually, especially with the mountains. 

My first stop was Aleister's, a consignment store.  But it was unlike any other consignment store I'd ever been in.  For starters, the place was covered head to feet in old books, tomes, alchemical manuals, and tools to aid in the quest for knowledge.  Now, this intrigued me, given my lifetime passion for history and everything old.  My assignment here in Moonlight Falls was to investigate the source of new paranormal activity and to interview members of two families, the Van Goulds and the Wolffs.  The Van Goulds were supposedly vampires and the Wolffs were werewolves.  Now, I'd only encountered vampires on a couple of occasions in Hidden Springs, myself, and most of them were green tinged. 
The reason I was sent here and the reason I asked to come, was because I'm hard at work at yet another book. 
That's what I do for a living, I write books, and the money from my books pays for my adventures both in Simland and overseas.  People are shocked when they find out what I do.  Even my oldest daughter, when she found out, recoiled in horror.  My middle daughter thinks it's the coolest thing on earth.  My plan is to make a return trip to China, and probably with my kids in tow. 

I came across an ancient tome, with texts dating back to the medieval period.  The texts mentioned an arboretum where fairies were plentiful.  Fairies, eh?  Hmm. 

The author of the text was Balin, a super-powerful wizard who lived in medieval times.  He had been the mentor and second father-figure to Alys de Montfort, Queen Alys of Arkovia.

The second author listed in the text, was, surprisingly enough, Queen Alys herself, who studied under Balin and dabbled in alchemy and magic.  Queen Alys' mother died during childbirth, and her father, King Edward, had been killed with his own sword by his ambitious nephew, Prince Michael, who had designs on the throne.  This left Alys parentless, and she was raised by her great-aunt Cordelia and by this wizard, Balin. 

Balin and Alys mentioned an arboretum in their texts.  The arboretum was surprisingly well preserved over the simcenturies.  After hours of searching for fairies in there... all I found was some fairy dust.  Oh well.  I suppose that's something.  I'll go back to the texts and try again later.