Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Author: Liesbet (page 53 of 66)

Monthly Expenses – August 2016

September 17, 2016 / / 8 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting and relatively adventurous life without being rich. Or even without owning/earning a lot of money. That being said, Mark and I seem to manage one big expense a month for some reason, whether it is car, plane, travel or computer-related. Luckily, we live totally rent-free and in comfort, wherever we end up. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce and non-alcoholic drinks (100% orange juice, oat milk for Mark and organic 2% milk for me) predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. I read somewhere that "dining out" is meant to happen in fancy places. Not in this list! But, I do like the term "dining out" better than "eating out", so I'm keeping it. The health category covers medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements. Utilities are always Skype-related, now that our internet is free and our phone costs are business-deductible.  You don't see health care costs, because Mark and I are eligible for free health care in the state of Massachusetts, since our income is  in the lowest bracket (for now). I still pay a small three-monthly fee in Belgium for health care (required to keep my citizenship), which I will report on at the end of the year.

Here is an overview of our expenses in August, which is long overdue. It appears that September is a month of "running out of time" and "trying to catch up". It is, indeed, super busy due to our trip to Acadia NP (more about that next week) and being back in Newburyport - our home base - for only a couple of weeks.  In August, we managed to stay under $1000 again. Unfortunately, in September and on-wards this is and will not be the case anymore. Without further ado, here is the break-down of my latest report:

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Wordless Wednesday – On the Edge of Acadia NP

September 14, 2016 / / 16 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them. Also, I can’t manage completely “wordless”, but I try my best at “almost wordless”. 🙂

This week’s photo prompt of the Daily Post couldn’t have come at a better time! The theme is “edge“, while Mark and I hiked the Precipice Trail to the top of Champlain Mountain in Acadia NP yesterday. Precipice means “very steep and tall rock face or cliff”.  We were literally walking and climbing on the edge of these vertical cliffs for an hour. Strenuous, exciting, and for some, a bit scary. You will have to wait for an in-dept Acadia report starting next week, but here is a little preview of our last morning in Maine’s National Park.

Hold on to the rocks, and your pants…

The trail is certainly wide enough here!

The trail is certainly wide enough here!

A bit scary... it is a long way down from the edge

A bit scary… it is a long way down from the edge

Nobody has to convince us to stay on the marked trails!

On the edge of Frenchman Bay, Maine

On the edge of Frenchman Bay, Maine

View from the top of Champlain Mountain, Acadia NP - the edge offers front row seats

View from the top of Champlain Mountain, Acadia NP – the edge offers front row seats

Have you been on (the) edge lately?

Six Word Saturday – Scenic Drive to the Grocery Store

September 10, 2016 / / 18 Comments

During our  recent four and a half month house and pet sitting assignment in Western Massachusetts, we basically lived in the middle of the woods, in one of the hill towns of Pioneer Valley. The town center of Heath does not have a store and the closest settlement of Charlemont has a small and expensive general store, that we rarely visited. The ten minute drive there – or anywhere further on – offered a couple of picturesque photo opportunities.

The Dell, about a mile from our temporary home (in spring – it was mostly dry over the summer)
Cute barn on the way down to Charlemont
Covered bridge on the way down to Charlemont
Avery’s general store in Charlemont
Covered bridge, driving towards “our” maple farm
Covered bridge and accompanying waterfall (in spring)

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IWSG Monthly Writing Update – Lots of Time, but Little Progress

September 7, 2016 / / 38 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August, the IWSG would like to see a particular question answered in each blog post. This month that question is “How do you find the time to write in your busy day?”

When Mark and I were cruising full-time on our sailing catamaran Irie for eight years, there was not much time (or electricity or internet availability) to write. I focused mainly on cranking out a sailing article once in a while, making notes about our travels and experiences, and creating about one blog a week on It’s Irie. One of the main reasons we left that boating lifestyle was to focus on our “careers”. The extra time, comfort and amenities a more settled life offers would certainly help with that. Continue reading

Weekly Photo Blog – Mirror

September 5, 2016 / / 12 Comments

This week, I am breaking my blogging routine. Instead of posting photos for Wordless Wednesday, I am sharing them today. This week’s Daily Post photo challenge theme is “mirror“.

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Wordless Wednesday – Frame

August 31, 2016 / / 12 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them. Also, I can’t manage completely “wordless”, but I try my best at “almost wordless”. 🙂

Since I have archived thousands of photos over the years and can’t easily pick what to post, I use the weekly prompt of the Daily Post to inspire my Wordless Wednesdays. This week’s Daily Post photography theme is “frame“.  And, no, I couldn’t just pick one photo! 🙂

Framed in Shakespear Regional Park, Gulf Harbor, North Island, New Zealand

Framed in Shakespear Regional Park, Gulf Harbor, North Island, New Zealand

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Feeling the Bern in Burlington, VT – A Mid-Week “Weekend Away”

August 29, 2016 / / 13 Comments

Our plan did come with some serious considerations, but we took the risk anyway. It is not our fault that most weekends in August had contained rain! Who likes camping in the rain? And, we really wanted to visit Vermont again while in this area. One weekend had not been enough. So, all we could do was go on a two-night camping trip during the week. The weather predictions were perfect. The campground we had set our minds upon had most of their eight spots available, so no reservation and extra cost was required. Maybe we would be lucky with a quiet few days in regards to our Wirie business?

While the voice in my head was being positive (or naive), my gut knew better. We cannot and should not leave “the office” on weekdays. It does not bode well; sh*t happens. We know this from experience. Especially when it is the most inconvenient. When you run your own business, you do not get a break. Ever. We ignored my gut, ready for a couple of days away (You never know!), planning to be online and deal with customers and issues intermittently, whenever possible. That is the beauty of being able to work remotely, right? Anyway… As often, my gut was right, and Mark ended up spending many hours behind his computer and on his phone at the picnic table of our campsite or bent over on multiple patches of grass in the shade of Burlington’s parks. But, let’s focus on the stuff I should – and usually do – blog about!

Driving north in Vermont
One of the many ponds and lakes in the state
Jenny gets comfortable – she is such an easy dog to travel with
Hills and wildflowers
And cute farm houses
Grain silo at a farm
Most farms have one or more silos
Farms and grain silos everywhere!

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Six Word Saturday – Wrapping up with the Heath Fair

August 27, 2016 / / 18 Comments

Our four and a half month house sit in Heath, MA is coming to an end. From the moment Mark and I arrived here in April, there was a lot of talk about one event we should not miss: the annual Heath Fair in August. So, we marked the dates in our calendar and found out what all the fuss was about, last weekend. To fully experience the atmosphere, we volunteered at the gate for two hours on Friday evening and on Saturday. The Heath Fair turned out to be an extremely popular attraction (much busier than the Reggae Festival in Charlemont) and the weather was gorgeous. We went two of the three days and that was enough for us. On Sunday, we resumed our usual weekend hiking with dog Jenny.

The fairgrounds

The Heath Fair is a long-standing event
There were many stands to keep people fed and entertained
Tractor display
Advertised “The best fries”; they were pretty good (and addictive)!
The perfect treat on a hot day!
Who wants to win a trailer full of wood for the winter?

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Wordless Wednesday – Rare

August 24, 2016 / / 14 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them. Also, I can’t manage completely “wordless”, but I try my best at “almost wordless”. 🙂

Since I have archived thousands of photos over the years and can’t easily pick what to post, I use the weekly prompt of the Daily Post to inspire my Wordless Wednesdays. This week’s Daily Post photography theme is “rare“.

I talked this interesting but “tough” topic over with Mark in the car, not immediately thinking of something myself. The first thing that came to mind when brainstorming was “male breast cancer is extremely rare”, but that wouldn’t make for a cheerful photo, so we had to come up with something else to stay in the right spirit. Then, we drove past a sign for the cute town of Shelburne Falls. Their fame is their “Bridge of Flowers”,  the only one in the world. Pretty rare, but I already posted photos about that, so what to do?

We reminisced about our happiest times aboard, in the Bahamas, long before life started showing its ugly sides, and came up with the following photo: a rare moment of complete bliss, with our dogs, in a most amazing place! It is the only photo we have of me swimming with Kali and Darwin, in water as clear as gin…

Swimming from our sailboat Irie to the sandbank in Double Breasted Cays, the Abacos (Bahamas) - It is the only time that we swam together to shore

Swimming from our sailboat Irie to the sandbank in Double Breasted Cays, the Abacos (Bahamas) – It is the only time that we swam together to shore

What does “rare” mean to you?

A Day in the Life of a House Sitter – Heath, MA

August 22, 2016 / / 24 Comments

This is the third blog in my series “A Day in the Life of a House Sitter”. The first one described an average day during our two-week house sit in The Villages, FL last December and the second one reported on our days in Kent, CT for three winter months.

Every house sitting assignment is different and the tasks, requests and expectations depend on the house, the property, the owners and the pets. Some home owners require you to do some yard maintenance, water the house plants or collect the mail; all of them, naturally, expect you to keep the house tidy and “return” it as clean as you found it or better. Usually there is at least one pet to take care of, which means setting food out once or twice a day, making sure the water bowl is always filled with clean water, taking the dog(s) out for daily walks, and sometimes administering medicines or brushing the animal. Although not every pet owner expects it, Mark and I have the tendency to shower dogs with love, attention and company. It goes without saying that a responsible house sitter is prepared to take the pets to the vet or emergency room when necessary and reports general issues back to the owners, while trying to fix or solve problematic situations. And yes, sh*t happens.

Jenny loves the front porch

Jenny loves the front porch

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