I hear ya, loud and clear Metro. I really don't care if I'm a perfectionist. I like me just the way I am, thank you very much.
I also don't mind small errors. I really believe only the creator makes perfection so if I mess up it's ok. Doesn't mean I'm not going to be annoyed with myself for awhile and it surely doesn't mean I won't start over, but if I didn't make some sort of small mistake accidentally I will make one deliberately.
I think the missing painting happened because I really had invested my heart in that particular family and when Marc died I was pretty upset. My poor husband actually consoled me. I'm sure he really doesn't understand, but I said, it's rather like crying over a really good, but sad movie. (I bawled for hours, and still do each time I see the elves die in the Two Towers. ) You see, when Winter sat down to eat that first ambrosia, she paused, slowly ate it, and then, as the magic started, she turned and looked at the place Marc had died with the saddest look on her face. I can't bear to look at the screenies because I start tearing up all over again.
Pam, Jon does make gorgeous babies. I've played him before in a legacy I never finished. He didn't make a particularly good father as he was so wrapped up in his music. He wasn't a BAD father, just not as good as Marc was. BTW, Marc's nooboo was adorable but turned into a homely kid and even worse teenager. I gave him different hair, (how did two people with black and blue hair wind up with a red headed kid?), so it's more like his dad and that helped a bit.
Right now Winter and Jon live in a very nice, compact, dual mushroom house. They only just bought a sofa and a tv as I got tired of waiting for the junkyard to spawn them. I'm not getting much of a harvest from that junkyard but it's good enough. Besides, Jon makes a decent living at his job and in between gigs he is painting up a storm and playing for tips when needed.
Here's a tip if someone decides to play him. Have your female be a klepto. Spend the night at his house for like three nights and each night steal three items. You can spend more nights if you like, of course. Otherwise you might not get all those cool cars and decent furnishings and yard stuff. I didn't do it long enough but I DID get the cars. It's like having a savings account! So he and I have cool and FAST cars to run around in which cuts travel time a bit, or anyway seems to. It made for a very tired Sim but it was worth it.
I tried having her stay at the fire station for a few nights but the game kept trying to send her home. It was pretty hard to get her to stay there. Of course, once she was asleep it was fine. It was good that there was an easel there so she could begin her painting practice. This is just a minor thing she's doing for the future. Not to max or supermax.
Once they were married, (they married at the fire station), there was no way Jon was going to stay there. So I used the money he brought in to build the adorable mushie house. I'm about ready to start looking over properties. Wish there was a cool park right across the street like in SV.