Now I'm thinking of giving the Scientist career another go; maybe I'll build a small house with a greenhouse in back for the plants (or maybe a basement gardening room -- I could put Patchy down there to take care of the gardening after I befriend him). Been a while since I've done it sans mods and I could use a new challenge for my next save.
If you have CL the Flea Market can be a great resource for crystals -- I actually was able to finish the crystals and metals collections in one save thanks to the market. I've noticed the Sim Ray in the Purchase Gifts menu, so I could at least give a Sim that and have them transform stuff. B)
