The Self Sufficient Sim: What's that burning smell?

FIRE…. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. Quick, ring the fire bridge. No! Stop jumping about in panic and get your bloody phone out. Oh great now its spread to the counter too. Joe, I'm really not happy about this. Where the bloody hell is that fireman? I knew building a house out in the sticks was a bad idea, too far from everything. Oh no… not the fridge, please leave the fridge. Fire you can take the cooker but at least stay away from the precious fridge. Where the HELL is that fireman?

I think the pancakes are done now.

Aesthetically speaking it adds a nice warmth to the lighting

The fireman arrives and boldly tackles the fire, only Joe’s house is made exclusively of wood and the blaze quickly spreads to the wooden floor, exactly where the fireman is standing. He is engulfed by flames and for a moment a terrible thought crosses my mind, can firemen die in this game? I hope not, that’s a really awkward thing to explain to the police. 'I swear officer, he threw himself into the flames!'

Where the hell is the fire service, its
not like it's a hard place to find!

Finally! A hero arrives.

Oh god no!

Fortunately the Fireman is wearing his fire retardant gear and he soon brings the raging inferno under control and even extinguishes himself. He then very sternly tells Joe to be more careful in future, and I audibly add my own expletive filled agreement (talking at a computer game can not be good), before he grumpily leaves me and Joe to survey the damage.

The Cooker is a write off, and the cabinet next to it as well, the floor is also a little singed. Fortunately though the fridge is undamaged. You need to look for small mercies in times of tragedy. The stingy insurance only paid out 138s for the damage and that barely pays for a new cabinet. I can’t afford a new cooker as well! I really don't want to have to do more fishing! 

I make Joe clean the floor as punishment for his clumsiness but he stubbornly waves at me demanding food, insisting he is too hungry to clean. 'Well you should have thought about that before you tried to burn the friggin' house down' I actually say scornfully at the monitor (seriously I'm getting worried). But it's a real issue, I can't just give him a bowl of cereal because of the damn rules and the two breakfast menus I have ingredients for need a working, none flame grilled, cooker to make them. Desperate, I make him munch on a tomato and, probably because of a very real feeling of resentment on my part, I make him carry on with the day regardless of the recent fiasco. I'm fed up of solving problems so I'm going to let this one solve itself. I will find the money for a new cooker somewhere and until then he can just eat tomatoes!

Our first plant, this was moments before he set fire to it...
he's good at that. No I'm  not bitter!

So after four days, lots of fishing and a fire, I finally start what I originally set out to do and plant some vegetables. Joe digs multiple holes a shoves ripened fruit straight from the fridge into the ground. I do question the chances of success from such a strategy but trust to Joe's better gardening instinct. Soon a decent amount of vegetables are planted in neat rows and we look at our little garden with pride.

The pride quickly fades and a few minutes pass by in silence and we stare a bit more and we realise plants seem to grow really slowly and we wonder what to do now. My plan didn't extend past the planting stage...