24 IslandVibesIOP.com PEOPLE & PETS Meet Your Island Neighbors! By Laura Fogarty THE WONDERFUL WOODS If you don’t recognize the wonderfully talented Mimi Wood, you most assuredly recognize her masterpieces scattered about the island and throughout the Lowcountry. Mimi explained how her local works of art began. “My first piece, depicting a paddle boarding family of cats, is on Ben Sawyer, which led to a series of three paintings of family life, illustrated through cats. MUSC has them at Shawn Jenkins (Children's Hospital) and hangs copies in reception at their satellite facility in North Charleston. They are comical, and hopefully provide a moment of distraction and relief for a family who might be struggling.” Mimi continued, “At the marina, there’s a map of fun facts, and a collage reminiscent of earlier island days. Additionally, the IOP Garden Club commissioned the traffic signal box at the foot of the Connector. I did the flower boxes at Café’ Paname as well. I am genuinely honored, privileged and humbled to have my work around town.” Mimi and husband Tom came to Charleston for a long weekend in 2011 to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Having never heard of the IOP, they came to the island merely to drive around. They left that Monday with a contract in hand to purchase a home. Mimi recalled, “We told our youngest child, a high school freshman at the time, to pick a college in South Carolina because we were moving as soon as she graduated. Jamesy was dragged here kicking and screaming, but six weeks later, while having lunch on the marina deck, she remarked, ‘I can’t believe I didn’t want to move here!’ Our daughter Glenn and her husband Dan moved here during the pandemic and now they (we) have Christian, 3, and Cecelia, 6 months; our favorite son, Greg, lives in Orlando.” The Woods have happily embraced island living. Tom can be found at The Refuge nearly every morning except Saturday, when he’s working games at the rec center. He walks the beach most mornings with rescue dogs Rosita and Josefina. The Woods’ cat, Three, came to them via open adoption from Danica at The Refuge. Mimi started as a cashier at the IOP Marina soon after moving to the island. Mimi stated, “I absolutely loved it! My strategy was two-fold: avoid a ‘real’ job while putting some structure into my week and meeting the locals.” Mimi radiates pure joy when describing her family’s experience as islanders. “The best part about living here is living here. We apologize to the real locals,” she said. “Rest assured, we came to assimilate, not to change. We are in awe of all y’all’s Southernness.” Thanks for that, Mimi. Welcome home. Glenn, Mimi, Greg, Tom and Jamesy Wood in Teletubby costumes handmade by Mimi Rosie and Jojo Wood, aka “the babies.” Tom Wood with his pride and joy, Jojo and Rosie Pet of the Month Baker: The sweetest treat on four legs By Allyah Harrar Meet Baker, Isle of Palms’ fluffiest new resident! He is a 4-month-old golden retriever puppy who has been very busy making his humans laugh and eating anything he can get his paws on. His family says he’s always looking for his next treat and will do just about anything for one. Plus, the rest of his personality is just as adorable as he is. Baker’s full of curiosity, especially when it comes to new adventures. His family takes him on boat rides, where he wears a shark life jacket (equipped with a fin, of course). He’s not really sure about swimming yet, but they’re working on it. They even bought him a kiddie pool, but he wasn’t impressed. Baker spends the majority of his days exploring and playing, but he has the perfect balance of energy and calm. After a tiring day, he’s just as happy snuggling up with his ‘paw-rents’ as he is running around. His family says he’s quickly made himself at home, adding a lot of joy to the everyday routine. Baker’s human mom, Kennedy, said coming home to him is one of her simple pleasures. "I have no idea about what I did before him," she said. He brings joy everywhere he goes and is the kind of pup who can turn every day into a good one. Although Baker has just started out in the world, every day he learns a little bit more and takes his family along for the ride. This handsome boy is always ready for an adventure — unless the adventure involves a kiddie pool.
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