It’s a bit anticlimactic. Some of you have surely happened upon our new Schipperhaven site by now. It became public in June, 2013, basically still a “beta,” but numerous things have stood in the way of a proper and consistent update. I hope this is the time to reconcile that!
What’s it all about?
The New Site contains the same basic categories as the previous site – Schipperke Rescue, Travels and Nantucket Lightship Baskets. To that, we’ve added an active Lifestyle category, included under the title About Us, which will contain some facts, some stories and some philosophy.
So much for same old…same old. There are many new features that we believe will make it more interesting and more informative for you, as well as easier to use.
Easier to use . . . that’s a key phrase. The New Site has been developed in Word Press. As such, it will be much easier and quicker for me personally to update it and keep subject matter timely. On the Old Site, the only work I could do myself was to add chapters to the Travelogue. Any information involving other subjects had to be prepared and forwarded periodically to our developer, Anna Amendolare, for incorporation. Now all of the posting capability is in my hands.
And it now has a theme. As the headline suggests, we have characterized the past decade as a turning point in our lives, a Lifestyle Evolution. It helps both you — and us — understand why we’re doing what we’re doing – and how rewarding it is!
A roadmap.
The black menu bar below the heading allows simple navigation of the site.
Home: Returns you to the front page
About: Puts you on the page that tells you about us and our goals, as well as covering events that don’t fall under the three site subjects.
Schip Rescue: Puts you on the page that provides background on our Schipperke activity and fund-raising efforts
Travels: A page providing details about the extent and documentation of our RV travels
Baskets: Background and description, as well as availability and teaching of Nantucket Lightship Baskets
All Posts: Accumulation page for all posts – more details below
The Journey: A link to the separate website that contains the story of our three year Odyssey (2009-12)
Every page is divided into two parts.
Home Page:
The wider, left-side part of the home page, titled Chronicles, introduces each category and gives you an opportunity to understand it in greater depth by clicking on the individual elements.
The narrower, right side part, labeled What’s New, is a dynamic series of posts about ongoing events and happenings about any and all of the four categories. The three most recent posts, regardless of category, will be introduced and briefed in this column. By clicking on their headlines, you’ll be passed on to the full story.
Subject Pages:
The left side of each subject page contains the core information about that subject. Here you’ll find the general rap – the static copy, if you will. Unlike in the past, however, it will be less static — updated more frequently. Those of you familiar with the Old Site will find a lot of the same subject matter you’ve already been through. But the layout and writing are better!
The right side contains all of the “What’s New” posts about that subject. Click on the headline of each story to open it up.
The right side may also contain additional features. For example, on the Schipperke page, you’ll find a rotating picture show for each of our dogs.
One final note. The New Site begins on December 27, 2012. We arrived home from our three year journey on October 1, 2012 and spent the next 85 days moving back into our house, buying a car, visiting with our children and grands, and preparing the rig for the next phase in our travels. We left Churchton on December 27 and took a leisurely six days to arrive in Beverly Hills, Florida on January 2. This trip was different; having just purchased a new car, we opted not to leave it behind. So Dot followed me all the way down.
