Instead of creating joyful experiences
Doing the things we love and appreciate most
At our own pace; without stress and pressure
Savoring those unique moments
Embracing the wonderful things of our world
Don’t forget: we have a choice,
And life, while precious, is pretty short!
Irie in peaceful Taravai, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia
This is the second 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.
House sitters can mostly stick to their own schedule while taking care of somebody’s home while the owners are on holiday, a sabbatical or a business trip. As long as the owners’ pets have a happy life, while they are away. The pets – two dogs and two parrots here in Kent– are our priority. Of course, we also watch the house, run a few errands and communicate with the owners about anything that comes up or needs attention. Most of the time, we live our own lives in our “borrowed” home and enjoy the company of our “borrowed” pets. In our current situation, we also appreciate the inspiring vibe created by the home owners, who are accomplished and well-known artists. I will get to that in a future blog… Continue reading
Why am I having so much trouble finding a focused book idea or common thread for my book? Why is this so important?
As I mentioned in a previous post, I have written a lot of useful material over the years, I did a month-long outline course online in November, collecting another tens of thousands of words, and I started writing a couple of “real” chapters the previous weeks. All without that needed theme to tie it all together. Why don’t I keep plowing through all the content and forget about that supposedly important theme? Continue reading
Cooking asparagus and shrimp
The answer: marry Mark. But, since Mark is already taken – sorry ladies – try marrying someone who loves to cook, someone who cares about healthy food, someone who is as frugal as you and someone who is creative in the kitchen. Ideally, all these someones are one and the same! In appreciation, you can do the dishes and, to keep the scrumptious meals coming, take care of the shopping as well. 🙂 Continue reading
When Mark and I talk about our current lifestyle of house and pet sitting, people always ask how we find all these places. Unbeknownst to many, there is a whole community out there of people who house sit, are looking for house sitters or make money with the house and pet sitting concept. There are Facebook pages, forums and blogs about house sitting and the model has been introduced all over the world. Continue reading
I have always been a frugal person, to be able to travel. As a school teacher my wage was nothing to write home about and after leaving Belgium indefinitely in the summer of 2003, well…let’s just say that I would be ecstatic if I could earn minimum wage. But, selling a few articles a year, just doesn’t cut it.
The Villages. It is a weird name for a town, when you first hear it or talk about it. But, you get used to that quickly, just like to living in it. Or, is it in them? The Villages in Central Florida is the biggest retirement community in the world and the fastest growing “city” in the United States. Why is it so popular?
A friendly collection of villages
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