01-13. Taking in Boarders

With Dudley now becoming an elder, the family decided to take in a couple of boarders. The roommates could help with the housework and bring in extra money too. 

The rent would quickly pay for any upgrades needed to improve the manor. The main renovation would be relocating the dog's sleeping area and turning their current room into a bedroom again. 

 The result was a pleasant room, much more inviting than the makeshift bedroom in the attic. 

The second floor TV room would be a perfect place for the guests to relax in too. 

Digging into their savings, Dudley and Di replaced the outdoor parking spots with an enclosed kennel area.

An elevator gave access to a basement containing more pet furniture as well as space for vehicle parking.

Di was pleased with how the "kennel" turned out. The small building fit right in with the manor's decor. And Dudley certainly couldn't complain, no matter what the cost. He'd been living in the swamp before moving in with Di!

Di knew just who her boarders should be. Anna Liza Riddle, a relative of hers, had just settled back into the family home. But Di was sure Anna would love to move into the manor instead. And Poirot the cat would come along.

And why not invite Watson to move in too? He'd be a wonderful roommate. Clean and efficient, he'd make the perfect substitute butler. 

And so, that very day, Anna Liza marched into the manor as if she'd been born there.

And Watson felt at home as well since he was old friends with Di from when they'd lived together. I decided to tone down his coloring a little, and he checked himself out in the mirror as he left for his medical job, level 5. 

Anna also still worked, level 10 in journalism. Anna liked to cook too, though she wasn't very good at cleaning.

But Watson made up for that. He was eager to make the manor house neat and tidy, being a competent cleaner. 

But things weren't all smooth sailing with the arrival of the new boarders. Spade didn't seem too happy with having the cat Poirot back on the premises. He started acting out.

Dudley had to take a firm stand. Spade was one tough customer, but he had to learn to make nice.

He'd been living on the streets as a stray before Di had adopted him. Spade sometimes still saw life in terms of dog-eat-dog.

Not that Spade was the only pet misbehaving. Poirot wasn't always ready to please either. He could be independent and even haughty. 

Then there was the Incident in the Graveyard. Poirot, upon first seeing the chattering squirrel who lived in the fenced area, went into stalking mode. Then he pounced!

Poirot caught the squirrel in his mouth, and after a final sad flick of its tail, the little critter was never seen again. 

01-12. Adjustments at the Manor

When the Riddle-Racket family moved into their new home, there were a few adjustments that needed to be made.

First of all, money was low, so I sent Di over to the festival grounds to pick a few exotic flowers. In no time at all, she'd earned over 1000 simoleons. 

Then, after feeling a bit lost out in the world (she's a Loner), Di began talking to herself. Well, she started arguing with her self, and her self wasn't having any of that! Di is quite Insane and often shows it.

After returning home, I had her work out her frustrations. She may be Insane, but she's healthy. 

Dudley hasn't lived long in the household, so I wasn't surprised that he didn't have any athletic skill whatsoever. And he a policeman too. Well, time to get cracking!

It only took Dudley a short while to buff up and lose some of his pot belly. Too bad it isn't that easy to get in shape in real life! Sims are lucky, at least when it comes to exercise.

This was the first time I'd seen Dudley without a shirt. He has a large eagle tattoo on his back! I was also shocked to see his choice of swimwear. 

The next morning, Di decided to make a chocolate pie. I have no idea where she got this ugly nightie. It's not the one I gave her. Poor dear! She still looks a bit dead even after her resurrection.

Despite losing his fairy wings, Dudley was feeling pretty good about himself, what with his promotion at work, the new house, and a good friend. Could he talk Di into some "benefits?"

Unfortunately for Dudley, things took a bad turn for him. Somehow his adulthood was coming to an end. Must have been because of me clipping his fairy wings. 

Suddenly, it was his birthday. And wouldn't I like to buy him a cake to celebrate? Uh, ok. 

I told Dudley he'd better call in to work to take a personal day off ... without pay. 

So we had an impromptu birthday party.

But while Dudley was going through the change ... 

... Spade was once again terrorizing the mailman. 

Not being content with just growling, Spade went in hot pursuit of the guy. Letters were flying, and so were the mailman's feet!

Spade chased him to the end of the property. 

Meanwhile, Dudley was feeling the first stirrings of stiff joints, grey hair, and slumped shoulders. At least his recent weight loss lessened the agony of his transition. 

And though the idea of retirement and "basking in his accomplishments" was tempting, the reality was that Dudley had not achieved his Lifetime Wish to reach level 10 in Law Enforcement as a DNA Profiler.

He would have to carry on. The thought of it was enough to depress anyone. 

I did what I could. I gave him some new clothes and a pair of glasses. At least he still had his hair. I also let him keep his mustache, trimmed down just a bit to lessen the effects of the grey. 

Di told him he looked distinguished. Dudley wasn't so sure he believed her, but appreciated the kind words.

Dudley tried not to think too much about his condition that day. He puttered around the house, spending most of his time with Piper. Good old Piper. She knew how he felt, being an elder herself.

But the truth was, Dudley hadn't been prepared for this sudden aging. He hoped he'd be able to finish his work at the police station. Too bad he'd wasted so much of his life before meeting Di.

01-11. Di and Dudley Make a Move

I placed a copy of the Now and Then Century Manor in Twinbrook. This is the version I renovated in Riverview and saved to bin. I had decided to move my Riddle household into the manor to give the pets more room. My original concept for this household was to concentrate on pets rather than humans, but that proved more difficult to do than I had anticipated. As often happens with Sims, things got complicated. So the Twinbrook household has already been through a lot of changes, with members coming and going. There would soon be more changes!

The Riddle family originally lived in the yellow house on the right. It's a good sized home, but the yard was too small for the three dogs. Its lot is 20X30. The renovated Manor house lot is 30X40. There was a vacant house where the manor sits now (on the left). I bulldozed that and replaced it with the new home. 

Here's a closer look at what the manor looked like when I first placed it in Twinbrook.

This family is probably the oddest one I play! Di L Emma Riddle used to be the ghost who haunted Anna Liza Riddle. I resurrected her. The household also had a plumbot, two dogs and a cat. I eventually moved Anna, Watson the plumbot, and the cat Poirot out. Two puppies were born, but they left to live in Rinn Fada with Lord Piers Wimsel. 

Later Dudley Racket moved in with another dog.  The game made Dudley a fairy, but I couldn't live with that.  I soon returned him to his human state.

More strangeness. Di's friend Milly was visiting when I went back into the game to add the manor house. She'd been hanging around for quite a while. When I moved the family out, I first had to make Di ask Milly to leave. 

Here's the family just after moving into the new manor house. Piper, the black dog on the left, was Dudley's pet. Spade and Miss Marple are the parents of Mulder and Clouseau, the dogs who are now living in Rinn Fada.

I made some further renovations to the home for this family, then later, made still more changes. First of all, I revamped the back yard a little. There was a willow tree beside the new lot that now hangs over the fountain, which I left. I thought it looked nice.

I discovered that the large dogs couldn't get through this side door. Not enough room for them to twist around. I guess big dogs need two squares to maneuver. I just locked the side door for pets so they wouldn't keep trying to go through it.

I also had to enlarge this room for the big pet beds. But later, I changed this to another bedroom and moved the pet beds elsewhere.

I then decided to add a washer and dryer to the screened porch area.

And I switched the exercise room and the bedroom around in the attic. Dudley and Di both like to go up to these rooms, but the dogs can't get up the ladder. 

Piper is a sweet old dog. She's an elder. Spade and Marple are still getting to know her.

The three dogs found the squirrel that lives under the tree in the graveyard. They all go out to watch it. I hope they don't kill it.