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lorinsv60
Hello and welcome back to Mesa Vista and the debut of Tiffany Zarubin's household. Yes, that Tiffany Zarubin of Garden Club fame and, we also discovered in Part 21, Nora Gainsborough's intrepid Aunt Tiffany, which is mainly how I refer to her.
Aunt Tiffany lived in a lovely little cottage in St Hubert, Mesa Vista's rural farm district.
I made a wrong assumption about Aunt Tiffany, that because she was in the Garden Club, she would have a gold flower arranging badge, bringing instant snapdragons along with her.
Alas, her gold gardening badge was not the same as flower arranging, although it still could be put to good use with a juicer. But, in the meantime, she built up her Creativity skill, which she was happy to do, being a Knowledge Sim and all...
Yes, the week was chugging along nicely ;)
The hobby lot got her still further along.
I was amazed how well she did considering her elder status. Go Aunt Tiffany!
Creativity maxed and a bagful of cash. Why, what could it mean? :D
This is Tiffany's Tasty Fresh Garden, based on The Community Garden created by aixlachaise on MTS:
http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=303911
My purpose for Tiffany, though, was not the lovely harvestable plants on the lot, but finally getting some snapdragons in Mesa Vista already.
Meanwhile, those Mesa Vistans were being their contrary selves in an idyllic setting.
La Shawn Cameron had been a thorn in Steve Burns' side since spurning him during his quest for 50 First Dates.
A mother's dilemma: cheer on your son's Simself on or chastise him for beating up a girl?
You decide, I can't!
Jade Green (Part 13) brought her brand of wisdom to the garden: "What the world needs is more inspiration. There's plenty at my house if anyone wants to come along."
During several days of customer shenanigans, Tiffany powered through to her gold flower arranging badge, with the help of the fall season and thinking cap. I was super impressed!
Lola Ortega from the La Belle Adobe retirement home: "Mmm, there's nothing like sweet pink fumes from a snapdragon ..."
"No, I will not come work for you, Miss Zarubin, I want no part of this scheme of yours."
"What scheme? I just need some help with the garden, all these plants need more attention than one person can give."
"The snapdragons, Miss Zarubin, are you daft?" Matthew snapped.
"Mr. Smith! What's the harm in snapdragons? It's high time Mesa Vista had some."
"They're too powerful. They... they can be used!"
"Of course they're powerful, otherwise why go to the effort? And used? That's the point, Sims use them."
"Not that kind of use!" Matthew snapped again.
"Then what do you mean?!"
"I... I don't know exactly, but I don't like it."
"Bah, you don't like anything. You're just a grumpy old wet blanket, Mr. Smith."
"Fine! Don't listen to me!"
"Fine!"
Tiffany returned home, feeling a mix of elation at single-handedly bringing snapdragons to Mesa Vista in a single week(!), and vexation by Matthew Smith being... well, Matthew Smith. 
She tried calling her niece for a celebratory outing, but got Nora's voice mail stating she was at work.
Tiffany started when she heard a racket outside.
"What was that? Who is there?" she asked nervously, peering into the darkness.
Lordy, she hoped Nora's burglar wasn't lurking around St. Hubert now...
"Did you do this? You must've."
It must have been the wolf, Tiffany repeated in an attempt to reassure herself.
"Oh dear, not a good idea leaving this out in the open," she murmured, stuffing the bag of cash in her inventory. Now Tiffany really wished Nora was available for a visit or an outing. She didn't want to be home alone tonight, that's for sure.
She patted her pockets reassuringly. There was more than enough money, no reason she couldn't buy a burglar alarm and then go out for the evening, so that's what she did...
She saw that a new business had popped up across from the town park, and it looked quiet and classy. Tiffany was certainly in no rush to go home, so she bought a ticket.
Inside, the Crystal Card Club definitely looked nice. A bit posh, even.
"Welcome! You're my first customer. Can I deal you a hand?"
Boy, had she hit the jackpot or what? Tiffany loved St. Hubert's new card club, and thanks to the genie, she could stay as long as she wanted!
The stakes steadily increased as the evening wore on, but Tiffany wasn't worried. Her bag of cash was monstrous.
Joyce Todd from the retirement home and inspired Jade Green joined the game, and it quickly became apparent that their luck wasn't much better than hers.
After several hands, Tiffany wondered where they got their money. Perhaps the genie had given them a stash of money like hers, she thought as she again dug into her bag to buy more chips.
Tiffany's luck began to sour at an alarming clip, her bag of Simoleons rapidly depleting along the way. She finally managed to stifle the "Just one more hand" that had played like a broken record in her head all night, because suddenly her busy week had caught up with her and she wanted to go home, wanted desperately go to bed. It would be light by the time she got home, and taking a long daytime snooze sounded really, really good...
"It's almost closing time, what do you say to just one more hand? This is a side hustle for me, I have to get ready to attend to my primary business. And please, don't ask what it is, it's top secret."
Just one more hand, was all Tiffany could grasp through her exhausted haze. She began rooting around in her bag and found... nothing.
"No, don't worry about the money, honey, I have to get this show on the road! Besides, I know you're good for it - you have been all night," the proprietor of Crystal Card Club said with a rapacious smile.
"But I don't..." Tiffany began.
"I insist! It's too late to bow out now..." And after a minute or two, "Oh dear, again? Too bad."
"I tried to tell you I was out of money."
"Tiffany, Tiffany of Mesa Vista's freshest and most valuable commodity, and it isn't money. Let's make a deal: you give me exclusive use of your snapdragons for my primary business, and I'll forget all about your little gambling debt."
"O-Okay."
"I have to warn you, it will be a lot of work. My primary business is going to be very... ambitious."
"I don't have a choice, do I?"
"Take heart! I'm letting you keep you house and your business."
"Then... I agree," Tiffany sighed resignedly, but relieved too.
"Excellent!"
Dear readers, meet Agatha Crystalbotham, aka Urban Creep beginning in Week 6, which means more playing and strategizing, and less pictures and writing... I'm not thrilled that it has to be this way, but it does if I want to finish the challenge.
*Drumroll*
That's it for Week 5 and Nora's Aunt Tiffany Zarubin of Garden Club fame!
ENDING WEEK 5 STATS:
STILL LOCKED: Adventure, Law, Paranormal and Show Business
Thanks for reading and Happy Simming!
