TAMMILEHTO LEGACY:

Interlude – Independence day

Welcome to read about my legacy family’s independence day celebration! I had this idea already for a while but then abandoned it as I’m having problems with my game but when the topic was announced in the events I decided to risk it with the game and give it a try.

In this interlude the family will be celebrating the independence day in usual Finnish manner: with eating and drinking with the family and/or friends and watching the main event of the year, the independence day party at the president’s castle. The family will discuss the things that I’m pretty sure are going to be discussed tomorrow, 6th of December which is our real independence day so this interlude comes just in time.

I tried to find some different candles but couldn’t find anything and since my downloads folder is doomed anyway I didn’t want to use too much time for looking those and just used the candles that came with Ikea stuffpack (shown above). Luckily we aren’t usually that much into decoration and the independence day here is quite serious day so I didn’t really need that much anything. Here you won’t find any big parties (except the one at the president’s castle of course), fireworks or hilarious celebration. We are just boring that way and also the way we got our independence is part of it.

The things that the family is talking over are based on real happenings, real history and the reference to a certain politician also is based in real life. However, I tried to write it so that you find it nice to read even though you don’t know anything about any of that.

But before I bore or scare you away completely, let’s start. I will first introduce the family in case you aren’t familiar to them already in a form of couple photographs and after that the real thing starts with the birthday of the youngest kids of this household.

The main household family with second generation heir Pyry with his wife Gunnel sitting on the couch, their son Tuisku, third generation heir with his wife Titta and their kids Pilvi (green dress), Tuuli (pink dress), Usva (left on the floor) and Myrsky next to her. The kids are two sets of natural twins, something that made me grit my teeth when they were born, Pilvi and Tuuli are the older ones and it is Usva’s and Myrsky’s birthday we will also celebrate in this interlude. With Myrsky I probably could say ’recessive genes FTW’ as he is the first red head since ever in this family. When I realised he was red head I went to check it and it turned out that the founder’s husband, his great-grandpa was a red head even though I always thought he had black hair and the gene only popped up in the fourth generation.

Some stats: Tuisku 4/10/7/2/8 and Titta 4/4/4/7/6, both family sims, Pyry 4/10/9/4/1 and Gunnel 5/5/3/8/4, both romance sims, Pilvi 5/10/4/7/6, Tuuli 7/10/4/7/6, Usva 8/6/10/2/9 and Myrsky 2/7/7/2/8.

Then their only guests for this party: Sade Tammilehto-Palosuo, Tuisku’s older sister (4/5/9/8/5) with her husband Risto Palosuo (4/10/4/4/3), both popularity sims, a three bolts couple that I adore almost above anyone else.

Sade and Risto also have a son who was too small to come to the party.

”Take a good look around Usva, this is going to be our new home now”, Tuisku was telling his youngest daughter. They had just arrived to their new home and as sad as it had been to leave the old home behind with all its memories they didn’t have time to dwell in the past. And if this meant that they would stay alive rather than get blown up, they just had to deal with it. The whole family almost got blown up during the last birthday celebration and they had decided it would be safest to move.

Usva was looking curiously around and asked, ”gwampa?”

Tuisku looked at where she was looking at and noticed the portrait of his dad hanging on the wall, ”yes, that’s indeed grandpa. Now be a nice girl and go to play with your grandpa, daddy has to go to work.”

Usva only nodded, there was nothing new to this, they were used to be taken care by their grandparents.

Usva and Myrsky quickly found their own room with the drawing table and as their dog, Maks, came to see them they were already at home. After all, they had all they needed, the people they knew, the toys they had had and then the dog too, what else would they need?

After Tuisku and Titta came from work they quickly went to take the twins who had been napping and changed their clothes.

”Do you know if Sade and Risto already arrived?”, Tuisku asked Titta as he was tickling Myrsky.

”I don’t know, I didn’t see them yet.”

But then Tuisku heard the door, the guest were here too, just on time and then he let out a sigh.

”You two just arrived and already you have to be all over each other.”

”We aren’t all over each other, bro”, Sade commented wryly while caressing Risto’s cheek, ”I think we are behaving quite well actually.”

Sade grinned as he heard Tuisku sigh and say, ”that’s true, compared to what you two usually do.”

”Really, you should relax a bit every now and then. I think I’m perfectly allowed to touch my husband if I so wish, thank you very much.”

Everyone finally on the place it was time for the twins to blow the candles.

As soon as that was done both of the birthday heros grabbed slices of cake and ran to the kitchen to eat it and they were so fast at it that they had both finished their cakes before the adults or their older siblings had even had the time to get their own slices.

Of course being fast might mean some disgusting eating habits.

”Yeow, you are eating your fingers too”, Usva couldn’t help commenting.

”What’s wwong with that”, Myrsky mumbled his mouth full of cake.

”It is just yak!”

”Is not. Is handy.”

”Yak!”

”Can you see me grandpa? Look what I can do! Are you watching me dad?”, Usva was yelling, she had too finished her cake and was now eager to show everyone what she could do now that she was a child.

”You know, I’m glad that we only have one”, Risto told Titta while sitting down.

Titta sighed, ”sometimes I wish that too… Not that I wouldn’t love all of them and would never give them away but I wonder what peaceful, quiet life would be like.”

”Why are you upside down?”, Pilvi asked curiously as she happened to walk to the kitchen at the same time.

”I think this is cool, have you tried it?”

”Why should I?”, Pilvi said dismissively.

”That’s one big piece of cake you have got there”, Titta said to Pilvi, ”you sure you can finish all of that.”

Pilvi grinned, ”mum, it is cake, of course I can!”

”Is it true that Usva’s and Myrsky’s birthday will always be a flag day?”, Pilvi asked her father.

”As it happens to fall on the independence day, it will be.”

”Why do we have to have the flags anyway?”

”It is just to remind people about the importance of the day, about everything that we went through to achieve our independence back at 1917. The independence we have, came as a result of very complicated circumstances. There were many countries in a war and even though we were side from the main events, our east neighbour wasn’t and as their empire broke because of those events, we managed to get our independence. But the whole country didn’t agree about that and then 1918…

”Dad, I only asked about the flag day, not full lecture!”

”But it is important to know these things”, Titta told Pilvi, ”we can learn from them and hopefully won’t make mistakes again.”

”Yeah, but I get enough of that at school already, I don’t need it at home!”

Titta smiled, ”that’s what you get when your father is the next candidate for being an education minister, I’m afraid.

Pilvi sighed, ”but the history is only full of wars, they are so boring. All those years that we have to remember and who was fighting who…”

”But there are much more interesting things in the history”, Sade started talking from the other end of the table, ”as a woman I find it very interesting that over 10 years before getting our independence the women here got the right to vote and also the right to join the parliament at the same time. As a matter of fact we were the first country in the whole world to give that right. I just don’t get it how it took this long to get our first female president though.”

”I think those right could have been postponed a bit longer”, Pyry said mocking serious.

Sade rolled his eyes, ”dad, please…”

Pyry grinned, ”maybe it would keep you women under control a bit more. Don’t you think Risto?”

”Dad!!!”

Tuisku on his usual manner ignored these comments, ”you are right sis, we should have had a woman as a president for a long time by now but it seems that there hasn’t been that many interested about it and seeing that we get to vote the president, we can only blame ourselves.”

”Can’t deny that”, Sade admitted, ”I just think that the media is awful on women, whenever there is a woman in high position, she is under such a high pressure that it is a wonder anyone wants to do that actually”, Sade said with a significant look at his father.

”Watch who you are talking to”, Pyry as a retired media magnate commented, ”my newspaper never did anything as such but then again I could never control the tabloid magazines.”

”You were running the biggest media house and there was nothing you could do for it?”

”Like I said, I didn’t have any control over the papers that weren’t owned by the institute I was leading.”

”You could have bought them.”

”Do you ever get a feeling that nothing you say makes any difference?”, Pyry turned to face Risto who sighed and while looking rather fondly at his wife said,

”only about everyday. I have found out that the best way to deal with her is to just nod and agree with everything she says – at least if you don’t want to continue discussion like that for the rest of the evening.”

Sade laughed, ”I’m not that bad! I can give up.”

”No, you can’t.”

”I can if I want to.”

”See what I mean?”, Risto asked Pyry.

”Anyway”, Titta interrupted before Sade and Risto could continue, ”the party is about to start, are you going to watch it?”

”I’m not that interested in dresses or what hair style is now in”, Pyry commented, ”not exactly my program. It is just waste of tax income if you ask me.”

”But dad, we need some glamour here too, I like to see the dresses at least. There are always some very funny ones and some that are complete fiascos, can always laugh for those”, Sade said, ”and be lucky that I could skip the celebration this year”, she added.

”Oh yes, that’s true, you were supposed to be there too”, Titta said.

”Luckily the fear of epidemic flu came to our help, I just had to hint that I have been coughing lately and we were excused immediately”, Risto said as they certainly were among the invitees, not only did he work as a city mayor but Sade also worked as a head of the SCIA, both people who were about to be invited every year.

”So something good of that too”, Pyry commented.

”Who do you think has the best dress this year?”, Tuuli asked eagerly.

”I don’t know, the dresses are usually very secret until the last moment but there is this member of parliament that I would give my vote to, I don’t know if you know her name but she used to work as a culture minister in previous government.”

Tuuli looked thoughtful for a while, then remembered, ”the same one who was Miss Simland ages ago? Our teacher told about her, is it a bit weird but you can first be Miss Simland and then you are culture minister? I thought you need some education for that.”

”You do and I believe she has that too. I don’t know if she was the best choice but I think she has done her work quite well ever since.”

”I don’t understand how the media makes this the biggest event there is. The politics is so much more than wearing fashionable dress in a party”, Tuisku said grumpily.

”It is like your father said, waste of tax income”, Risto told equally grumpy, ”just think about the amount of money spent for one evening and then think where else it could be spent.”

”But it is not biggest event for the year for nothing, here we are sitting too and watching it”, Titta said, ”I like seeing something glamorous like that at least.”

”Who is invited?” Pilvi asked, ”can anyone get an invitation?”

”First of course all the politicians, ministers, members of parliament, the former presidents – if still alive”, Tuisku started explaining, ”meaning that I will probably get an invitation next year too if I get to become minister of education. If we aren’t lucky next year to get some life saver flu.”

Sade laughed, ”bro, you actually made a joke.”

Tuisku grinned, ”sorry about that. Anyway, after that heads of various instances and offices are invited like police force, military, church, things like that. Those people always get the invitation and then there is the list that changes every year, sporters, singers, authors, artists and so on, people who have done something remarkably during that year.”

Pilvi thought for a moment, ”you are saying that everyone who is important is there, right?”

”Right.”

”So… what if someone decides to blow up the castle?”

Tuisku looked quickly at Pilvi, they had tried to keep it away from children what had almost happened for their family and seeing her quite relaxed expression felt relieved, she didn’t know, she had just reached the same conclusion as so many other people.

”While the leaders of those instances are invited”, Risto explained on turn, ”the leaders of the operative side in army and police have a full working day and have probably been working round the clock during past days and weeks too to make sure that doesn’t happen. For example Sade can have today off because she has got other people in charge making sure that everyone is safe.”

”But… what if it doesn’t work?”, Pilvi insisted.

Risto looked seriously at her, ”well… then we have a problem so to say. But I’m pretty sure there is a back up plan.”

With that Sade got up, ”you are quite right. I can quarantee that there isn’t any single thing that we haven’t thought.”

”So what will you do if that happens?”, Tuuli had become curious.

”Now, that’s not something I could tell to anyone, you understand that right?” Tuuli nodded and Sade continued, ”anyway my dad looks quite lonely over there, how about if we join him, we can watch the party from there too?”

Tuuli glanced over her shoulder and saw Pyry playing the llama-game, ”cool!”

The party continued at the president’s castle, Gunnel had joined watching it too and Tuisku and Risto were discussing the usage of tax income and how it would be done best.

”Ok everyone, don’t breath”, Sade said as she placed the latest stick.

Usva sighed, ”I don’t think I can place anything on top of that anymore.”

”Me neither”, Tuuli said and Pyry nodded too.

”I’m out as well.

”I think that is enough for my old shaky hands”, he said as he got up, ”does anyone want to drink mulled wine? I can make some. Without wine for the kids though”, he grinned.

”I will come”, Tuuli told him, ”and I don’t like the wine anyway.”

”How do you know what wine tastes like, young lady?”, Pyry asked her, puzzled.

”I don’t”, she sighed, ”mum doesn’t let me taste but I have smelled it and it doesn’t smell nice.”

-- - -

*mulled wine, or known as glögi here is very popular drink during christmas time. You can buy a berry juice with spice mix which can be drank like that once heated (for the kids), or mixed and heated with red wine for adults.

Myrsky wasn’t the least interested about the party at the castle and since the llama-table was full anyway he did what he liked the most anyway and played piano almost through the whole evening.

”I’m getting good at this!”, Sade laughed, ”this is fun, maybe we should get one too.”

”I don’t think it is very fun”, Usva told her seriously, ”all you have to do is to try and place a stick above everything else. Grandpa promised to teach me chess, that sounds much more interesting.”

”Whatever you do, don’t fall into the trap when he points out something that he wants you to see. Once you look away, he swaps couple pieces on the board”, Sade adviced her.

”Why would he do that?”, Usva asked, puzzled.

”Because my grandkids are much smarter than I’m and I need to do something not to lose them every time!”, came Pyry’s yell from the kitchen.

”Anyway, I think it is time for us to go home. Petteri has been alone the whole evening with just a nanny and I don’t trust her. Isn’t it bed time for you too? School tomorrow and everything.”

”Yeah, I guess”, Usva sighed, ”I’m not…”, she yawned widely, ”tired yet.”

”When I get big I will get this most awesome dress and go to that party and then I will taste everything that they had on the buffet and then I will dance the whole evening and it will be the most awesome evening ever!”, Tuuli explained enthusiastically.

”And how were you going to get an invitation?”, Pyry asked, ”they don’t come for nothing you know.”

Tuuli shrugged, ”I don’t know yet, I will think about it later.”

”Later is definately the word”, Titta intervened, ”bed time for you now.”

”I think it is bed time for me too. I think I will fall asleep here if I don’t go to the bed right now”, Gunnel said, ”the wine didn’t help with that.”

”I will just see the kids to their beds and then try and see how I sleep in our new home but I guess that after this evening that won’t be a problem.”

The sleeping wasn’t a problem for Maks either, he just seemed to have forgotten that the same rules applied here than at their old house.

- - -

That’s all for now, just a small interlude that was quite fun to write, hope you liked it too! Tomorrow I will be doing the same as my sims did here, I will go and visit my friend and while drinking glögi and eating too much we will be laughing and criticizing the dresses people wear for the party. Happy simming and holidays and everything like that!