Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Lifestyle (page 43 of 46)

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

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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My Most Cherished Object; My Daily Companion

As a frugal, down-to-the-basics kind of girl, I don’t own much and I don’t value material goods like most people do. This has been a trend my whole life and allows me to be free. I love downsizing – from not much to even less – to keep things organized and manageable. I enjoy making my life as simple (and cheap) as possible. Decent health, love from (and for) my husband, enough money to put food on the table and live a relatively comfortable life, and the right dose of excitement and adventure is all I need. Of course, I have some clothes as well, even though most of them are 10+ years old. At the moment, we have a car which holds everything we need, and we each have a computer, which is required to make money (and post blogs :-)). My camera is my most important gadget, with my iPad coming in second. Oh, and I do have a Fitbit, but don’t tell anyone! When asked about my most cherished object, however, the answer is the one thing I have held onto and used every single day for over 25 years. It is my most intimate and valuable companion, the only one that knows me through and through, contains all my secrets and has been by my side from the age of 14 forward, for better or for worse, for richer, but mostly for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I am talking about my diary.

Diary old and new

Diary old and new

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Do I have a Condition or Do I Waste Away?

I hate waste. I hate wasting. And, most of all, I hate wastefulness. Is it just me?

When I walk in nature (or in town) and I see garbage lingering in the woods or along the curbs, I am appalled. What is so hard about throwing trash in a provided bin – even if it is placed a few steps away – or carrying it back out of a park or forest and dispose of it at home? Why does anyone have the need to throw empty cans, wrappers or plastic bottles through open car windows, while any gas station (or your own house) has a trash can? Do these ignorant soilers really prefer to drive or walk in a littered environment instead of a pristine one? Do they not care that their neighbors or fellow citizens have to roam amongst trash?

Some people do not care where they dump trash... This photo was taken near the Western Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel

Some people do not care where they dump trash… This photo was taken near the Western Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel

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Z is for Zzzzonked out

Day 26 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

Today is the last day of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge! We are finishing with a very appropriate zzzzzz…

Our bed on Irie, in which we slept for eight years

Our bed on Irie, in which we slept for eight years

When a nomad gets tired, she finds a bed for the night. More than likely, the long-term traveler does not have the funds to splurge on a hotel room, B&B or resort, so she looks into her guidebook – or refers to recommendations from peers – and picks a hostel, guesthouse or backpackers place to get some rest. Or, she cuddles up next to her partner, in her own bed; a bed that is part of her sailboat or camper in which she is exploring the world. There is nothing as convenient, cozy and familiar as having your home with you when you roam about. Continue reading

Y is for Yearning

Day 25 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

Yearning to be in the tropics again - yoga under the palm trees in Kuna Yala, Panama

Yearning to be in the tropics again (yoga under the palm trees in Kuna Yala)

Everyone has an addiction (or two, or three), a yearning for something. An attraction that rarely, if ever, fades. As a nomad, mine is travel. One look at a world map or globe and my eyes are fixed, my heart beats faster and my thoughts wander to all the places I would like to visit and experience. I think “There is so much to see in this world!” and I immediately wish to pack my bags and jump on a plane. Every. Single. Time. Continue reading

X is for Xenophilia

Day 24 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

X… the most difficult letter of the alphabet. If my A-Z Blogging theme would have been “amazing places I visited as a nomad”, a couple of favorites come to mind, like Xcalak and Xpu-Ha in the Yucatan province of Mexico. That would have been too easy, though… Maybe next year?

Instead, I am talking about a new (to me) word: xenophilia. It means being attracted to foreign cultures, places, people… a positive syndrome to have when you are a world traveler. Continue reading

W is for Writing

Day 23 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

My two hobbies (they are more like full-time occupations) are traveling and writing. And, since my topic for this A-Z Blogging Challenge covers the first one, the least I can do in regards to the second one is write a blog about it.

Writing this blog in our "new house" in Heath, MA

Writing this blog post in our “new house” in Heath, MA

Although I have never gotten far with my writing “ambitions” (they weren’t ambitions until I recently moved ashore to focus on them a bit more), I have always enjoyed the act of writing. Continue reading

V is for Variety

Day 22 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

One of the biggest attractions to living as a nomad is the endless variety it offers. All the possible means to get around, any level of accommodation imaginable and many spots on our globe are yours to explore. When the world is your oyster, literally, you never run out of options to entertain yourself as a traveler. Is there anything more exciting?

Playing with dolphins in Moorea

Playing with dolphins in Moorea

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U is for Unique

Day 21 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

The nomad lifestyle is not only adventurous and an embodiment of freedom, it is unique as well. In the United States, where usually only two weeks of vacation time is granted, people are not used to traveling far or frequent. Most Americans don’t have a passport (and, as I learned recently, millions don’t even have any form of ID!). So, while few people travel abroad, even fewer do this long-term. I can’t blame them, the US is huge and there are a lot of amazing places to visit. They are missing out, however.

The early days of Mark and I...

The early days of Mark and I… above the Grand Canyon

In Europe, the travel bug (and vacation time) is a bit more prominent and some graduates celebrate earning their degree with a year of backpacking. Continue reading

T is for Time

Day 20 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

There is one thing every long-term traveler has: time. It is the commodity – together with memories – that makes us rich, in a non-monetary way. What people on shore, living their super busy lives, grasp for in vain, always wishing they had more, nomads have plenty of. Time is at your fingertips when you travel indefinitely. But, keep in mind that much of what you want to achieve will require a big chunk of that seemingly imperishable time!

Time... it always goes fast, except at the dentist.

Time… it always goes fast, except at the dentist.

Since our sailing adventure is the one freshest in my mind, I am thinking back about what having time meant to us those eight years. Time allowed us to … Continue reading

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