South Carolina Summer and Still Here

Hello, everyone.  We are still in South Carolina and will remain here until late July when we take a cruise to Alaska.  By then we will need to get to a cooler climate because it is really getting hot, hot, hot here!

Much has been going on so I thought this would be a good time for an update.  No travel pictures but plenty of pictures from other events.  First on the event list is Captain Stumpy.

Now that he is the bionic man we are hoping he will soon be able to 'leap tall buildings in a single bound' or at least handle walking up and down a few trails this summer.  The doctor has discharged him and was very pleased with his handiwork.  All the screws and bolts will remain unless they someday bother him.  I can imagine he will set off a few alarms in the airport when we fly to Washington this summer.

In the meantime, our oldest granddaughter, Katelyn, graduated from Winthrop University with a Masters Degree in Education that followed a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics.  She has already found gainful employment at a high school in North Carolina that is on a college campus.  The students have to compete to be accepted at this school and take advanced classes in their freshman/sophomore years and then advance to full college classes in their last two years.  Katelyn will be teaching advance placement algebra classes.  Needless to say, she is so excited.

Katelyn and one of her room mates at her graduation ceremony.

A week after she graduated her fiancee, Cole, graduated with a BA degree in Pastoral Studies and will be continuing his Masters this fall.

One would think that would be enough excitement in one month but this young couple also decided to get married on May 27th so we got to attend a lovely wedding, too.

Katelyn being walked down the aisle by her brother, Lee.

The happy bride and groom at their reception.

Katelyn and her brother, Lee.

Our other two grandkids, Madeleine and Dane Matthew, had a great time at the reception.

Madeleine didn't care who she danced with especially when she got rid of the uncomfortable shoes. 

Dane especially enjoyed dancing with his older cousin and two of the bridesmaids.  He decided he was the most popular dancer at the reception.

Katelyn getting ready to throw the bouquet.

Cole fetching the garter.

When Cole tossed it all the eligible men ran the other way!

At the end of the reception everyone held sparklers as the bride and groom left.  Captain Stumpy, down to one crutch, is rooting them off in the background.

 We have also spent time this summer fostering some dogs who are making the long journey to their forever homes in Massachusetts.

One of the local fosters here had to move three adult dogs out of their home to make room for a litter of pups that had been abandoned in Virginia. The Captain and I fostered one dog while our daughter, Beth, took on two.

These pups were left abandoned in a home with seven grown dogs when the owner was hospitalized and it was determined she would not be coming back.  A neighbor started feeding all of them and asked for any rescue who would help.  A foster here drove up to Virginia over Memorial Day weekend and brought them back. Once they had all their shots, had been spay/neutered, tested for heartworm and given a clean bill of health,  they were loaded into the van with ten other pups for the overnight trip to Massachusetts and a no-kill shelter for permanent placement.

The adult dog that the Captain and I picked up was named Caleb.  What a sweetheart.

 Is that a face or what?  Since he loves riding in a car he just jumped right in and waited to leave for our house.   

He fit right in and loved being with people and being loved.

A wonderful, easy going dog, already housebroken, you could tell he was used to living inside a home.  Unfortunately, his owner did not have him chipped or fixed and when he was found no one claimed him.  Luckily, a rescue group in Alabama saved him from being destroyed.

Caleb left us after five days along with the two Beth had fostered, Sammie, a Pointer mix, and Remey, a mix of everything!

Sammie loved chasing squirrels in Beth's backyard and then trying to point at them.  

Remey and Sammie waiting to get into the van for their trip up north.

And then there's Caleb.  He was waiting to go into the van, too, but decided it was much more comfortable in the car.  Windows wide open and he wouldn't even think of jumping out.  He is going to be a wonderful pet for some lucky family.

A week later we had two hound dogs join us for a night (we call it our Board and Breakfast) on their journey to Massachusetts.  They were brought up from Florida where a rescue group saved them from euthanasia at a kill shelter.  Both young, 18 months and 8 months, what a dynamic duo they were.

Willie was the older of the two and could be a little aggressive towards the younger one especially over food and toys.

But Sammie was the instigator and always seemed to want what Willie had.  Sammie was my favorite.  What a sweet, gentle animal.  He never barked or howled and was quite the love bug.  

His ears were so full and the edges of them were light brown against the black.  Quite a beauty.

Exercise was running around one of the flower beds in the fenced yard.   

And around and around and around!

They weren't with us long but they sure were exhausting.

Lucy wasn't on her best behavior that day so she had to go into time-out for a little while.  

And now we have Charlie.  He has been in several foster homes and hasn't had the best start in life.  While at a foster home several neighbor dogs came over the fence into the yard and got in a fight with him.  A landscaper tried to break up the fight using a rake and Charlie was badly beaten and had several puncture wounds. After two weeks of being boarded so he could heal he went to another foster home but he was so timid and afraid that it didn't work well.  Our daughter took him for a week but realized he needed to be around other dogs for socialization so we took him.

He is a very gentle dog and we have seen a remarkable improvement with him just since being with our dogs.  He very badly wants to be part of a family and be loved but overcoming his fear of people and noises has really set him back.  The first day and night were a little tough but since then he has started to blossom.

The Captain has been working very hard to get his confidence.  A day ago he wouldn't get close to us while we sat on the couch.

Now I've had to move so Charlie can have one side all to himself.  What a guy!  It's amazing how forgiving dogs can be.

That's all for now from South Carolina.  The end of July we fly up to Washington and then take a train to Vancouver to board the ship that will take us on our Alaskan cruise.  There will be 16 adults and 5 children on the cruise and we are all related in one way or another.  It took two years to make sure everyone's schedule could accommodate the trip and a special thanks to the Captain's sister, Debra, who made it all possible.  We are going to call her Auntie Big Bucks now!

We'll be sure to write a blog to show all the pictures from the trip and I promise there won't be any dogs in it.  Well, maybe just one or two :)   Peace!