Month: January 2023

Jackpot Update

I finally got to the point where I had time to run down where the DNA dog testing on Jackpot went missing–for me, anyway. Sure enough, the Maine vet had the report and emailed it to me.

I sent it on to the amazing foster person–who is Irish–as I thought the new owners might like to have it. And I sent it to Glenna Tucker at Sweet Pups Nation Rescue and Sanctuary as Jackpot had two litter mates.

The DNA is NOTHING like I expected. I thought Jackpot a hound/terrier mixture–a “Feist” dog. Nope. There is a pointer bird dog, but no outright hound in the mix. No beagle or Basset hound. And no terrier either.

The foster person who took Jackpot from me and helped get him to a happy home has kept in touch with me, and she sends me current pictures from time to time–as she did this time after my email as Jackpot recently spent a long weekend with her. She is happy that she helped me get to South Carolina and to land on my feet here–and she was so much a part of making the move happen so that I could handle it as it was so, so hard for me to give up this adorable little dog.

Jackpot is about 7-8 months old now. She wrote the following:

“The little love bug has landed on his four feet too, smothered in love. He was back for a long weekend; it was so good to see him. He hasn’t gotten a whole lot taller. I think he’s stretched though; he seemed longer; his coat is so soft, a little thicker; he has grown into his funny ears. He’s still the same cautious, mad, fun, snuggly, adorable little dog, maybe slightly more mature, and his itching has completely disappeared. He is still a baby. He’s in heaven. The last photo, his ears were up, pointy, makes him look so different.”

Look at this trickster look. And note the snuggly blanket and the toys.

You can see the depth of his soft winter coat here. I want to leap through the frame and love on him.

The pointy ears. LOL. He’s such a sweet, sweet boy.

I’m delighted that his itching has stopped. He had a lot of detoxing to do, but he got and is getting what he needs.

Here is the DNA profile. Note the strong Akita on one side. There is a “mixed breed” marker, so maybe there is some hound/terrier there.

Anyway, I was so happy to get this Jackpot update.

The New Home: Getting Settled

It’s been two weeks since my last post.

Where does the time go?

I’ll tell you. It’s been going to getting settled in my new home, spending time with my families, and learning my way around.

It’s all good. I’m good. I’m happy!

Here’s one angle of The Big Room:

The dining room table went out this week to get refinished–so I have a work table in its place for the 4 to 6-weeks it will take.

The Plantation Shutters will come eventually, and they will cover all the big double windows. The sliding door will remain uncovered. It faces to the back screened porch. The road curves around to the mailbox kiosk–which is a whole new experience for me.

My box is 16B. The narrow dark space is where one can post a letter.

The big boxes below are for packages. One gets a key to the big box in one’s mailbox. Once inserted, the door can be opened, and the key stays in the lock–by design.

Our normal post person was away a few days, and apparently the substitute got keys and packages mixed up. I opened the box with the key in my box, and the package wasn’t mine, which, LOL, I didn’t realize until I sliced open the box at home and found bubble bath and a child’s toy. I tracked down the address and delivered the package to the correct owner as the big box was now open. What else could I do with someone else’s package?

Meanwhile, the package I had been expecting was said to have been delivered. Ummm. No. It was a potpourri mixture for the guest bathroom–so after several more days, I put in a request to Amazon to send a replacement as the package had “gone missing,” and they agreed to send a new package without charge.

When the normal post person returned, I met her, and we had a nice chat. She had BOTH packages for me. Now what to do? I loved the potpourri, so I asked Amazon to charge me for the replacement box.

After a few tries, I gave up. The system just does not allow for one to pay for a replacement box. So now I have this luscious potpourri in my bathroom as well.

Here’s my main meal today–meatloaf. a medley of roasted veggies cooked Tuesday, and fresh roasted cauliflower. And, yes, that’s fresh raw milk!!!

I am working upstairs bringing the sewing areas to rights and hanging pictures and quilts around the house.

AND, attending a series of wrestling matches where a grandson is participating.

HELLO EVERYONE!

It’s been a wild time for me since I left Maine in mid December. For sure. The time seems much longer than a month. But this time has also been filled with joy and laughter and FAMILY and the sale of a beloved Maine home and the purchase of what will be a beloved new home in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

I am still pinching myself that I am actually here and not just visiting. And there is so much to enjoy and to learn. There is also a lot to do to settle in here.

I have loved live oaks with their mossy draping since I was a child and went with family to St. Simons, Georgia, for a treasured week at the beach. Here’s a pretty live oak on Isle of Palms (IOP) where both of my sons live.

The IOP beaches are so lovely. Here is a picture just north of the inlet between Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island. That channel is deep and the current is very strong; it’s a place where dolphins in deep water will drive schools of fish right up on the sand banks in order to eat them. Locals call this area “Breach Inlet.” The low-tide pools just above the breach provide endless investigation for children and adults.

Here’s a live star fish.

The sand dollar below is still alive. They die in a few minutes if they get out of the water. So, many get trapped by a retreating tide, even if they bury themselves in the sand.

I am looking forward to when I have more time to explore the beaches and the many parks and trails here. But as I said, there is a LOT of work to do with a major move. There is the packing and organizing what is coming, of course. And then there is the unpacking and realizing what is and isn’t going to work in the house. But there are mounds of paperwork and errands to do as well: setting up house utilities (power, gas, water), wi-fi, the ADT security for which the house is already wired, a local bank account, and switching to a medicare advantage plan that covers Charleston County. I had to organize the state taxes on the house, a SC driver’s license, SC plates for the car, and finding and making appointments with new medical people. I’m still working on getting all the house warranties in place. I’ve also had to learn my way around, which has been made easier by the WAZE app that pretty much takes me wherever I need to go–in traffic that is much heavier than what I was used to in rural Maine.

The HUGE moving van (90+ feet) came from New England last Saturday, and it held my possessions and the possessions of two other moves–one nearby and one in Florida. (The brown grass is Centipedegrass–it will be lush and apple green in a few months.)

Here’s my house–and it has all the spaces I need for my sewing/quilting passion. The upstairs has two rooms that will house my longarm, my sewing machines and serger, and all the fabric and sewing notions.

This floor plan mirrors my house, which has the garage on the right. And the internal organization of the rooms is slightly different, but all the rooms are there. That storage loft is, I think, where all the air-conditioning and heating equipment is located. I have 3 bedrooms (the upstairs one will be my sewing room) and the downstairs flex room will be a tv room. The smaller closet in the master bedroom is going to be a little office. There is awesome storage all over the house. I will put the longarm in the game room space.

My refrigerator, washer, and dryer come on Saturday, so Saturday night will be my last night with my older son’s family. I have so enjoyed my time with this family–and with visits to my younger son’s family. My bedroom is mostly ready for me to move into it–I still have a lot of pictures to hang or to store propped on the wall there, but there is no rush to decide where to hang pictures or which ones to store.

I’ll include some pictures of the inside of the house when things are more settled. The guest bedroom and the upstairs are a disaster at the moment. But I like bringing order to chaos. And I can’t wait to set up my sewing spaces.