Three Years On... We're Finally Doing It!

Can you believe it, this journey of ours started three years ago! I’m not sure if I’m shocked it’s been that long, or only that long. Certainly some days it feels like we’ve been house-sitting for ever and yet other days it just feels like a tiny blip in the ocean of life. Strange isn’t it, how life and memories can play tricks on you?

To add to that, last weekend we went up to search for something we’d left in one of the boxes we stored when downsizing from the house. But, of course, when you find yourself faced with a stack of boxes (any one of which could hold the tiny item you’re looking for) there is the temptation to peek and peruse. In someways it even felt a little like staring at the presents under the tree on Christmas morning, since I had no idea what most of those boxes hold.

I certainly had a range of memories triggered, though, by the things I did find during the search.

For example, I might not remember the actual action of downsizing, but I do recall the emotion. Of being so drained after weeks of sorting that I boxed and stored many things because I simply couldn’t decide which of the piles (Rubbish, Sell, Store or the Must-Keep-And-Take-With-Us) to put the items in. Consequently when I was peeking and perusing over the weekend, I came across some interesting collections - like a suitcase full of the decorative cardboard boxes that I may never have a use for, and a selection of greetings cards, books and notepads that I bought when they were on Special. Things too nice to pass on or throw out, but that I may never use. Especially, of course, since Steve or I have absolutely no idea when we might settle, where we might settle or in what size domicile we might settle in - if we choose to settle…

All we do know for sure is that we’re enjoying travelling, enabling home-owners to feel relaxed when they choose to go away, and look forward to more adapting and exploring. For this reason, there are a few changes afoot.

Firstly, we've bought a car and are selling the bikes. Yes, we actually did it! Not because we didn’t like the bikes (we did) it’s just that we want to venture further afield and a car is a better option for that - and the bikes are too big to go on the back of a car. So if all things go according to plan, this August we will be heading east. There’s always the chance that we might get temporarily distracted by rural house-sits on the way, but in theory we are actually heading over to Tassie. We’re not sure (at this point) when we’ll arrive - although that, of course, could be swayed by bookings to sit. We’re not even sure when we’ll return. We just thought we’d wing it and see how things go. But then you’re probably used to us doing that by now…

The other main thing is that (for those who haven’t discovered it yet) I’ve started a weekly podcast where I talk about my life as a house-sitter (reflections, insights, updates, challenges, delights, and so on). It seemed like a fun thing to try. It’s similar to this blog (but not), and it covers similar things to this blog (but not quite), which is why… this is going to be our last blog post here for a while, or maybe longer. No point in doubling up…

I’ve had a great time creating and putting up blog posts here and I’ve really appreciated your support and interaction, but once again it feels like time for a change. So why not come and listen to my weekly podcasts on the House-sitting Life site (or one of the usual broadcasting sites and apps), and keep in touch with what we’re doing that way… Here’s the link. 

(Although, if you’re visiting this blog because you’re more interested in house-sitting than our adventures, you might prefer to visit my site: www.housesittinginAustralia.com. You’ll find no end of articles and courses there.)

One Word, Two Words, or Couldn't Give a ...?

Most people who know me, know that I’m one of those annoyingly pedantic people who has to work really, really, hard NOT to point out every misused or absent apostrophe, misplaced hyphen, misspelt word, and...

Well, enough to say that I’m particular about punctuation and, after so many years in the writing world, I believe that it’s possible to tell the age and nationality of most people simply by the way they use it, especially commas and hyphens. Which is why I’m in such a quandary about the word - or words - house-sitting.

I can remember three years ago when we started out on this journey that I was stuck with the same dilemma. Is it house-sitting, housesitting or house sitting?

Obviously, way back then, I decided to opt for the hyphenated version. A choice most likely due to my traditional English education. Plus the fact that housesitting was too long and new to be acceptable without a hyphen, while house sitting was too new a word to be split in half, risking the chance that readers didn’t know that the words were invisibly joined.

But now, things seem to have changed. Not so much with my logic, but with technology, keyword searches, and laziness, I expect. After all, if you have the choice of typing the word into your phone with or without a space against having to click to another screen to find the necessary hyphen, which are you going to pick?

I can see the reason for and against each spelling. But what really concerns me is, is my original, hyphenated spelling old-fashioned and due to become dated? Should I be ready for it to threaten the chances of my house-sitting courses, sites, articles, and such, being found online, because search engines won’t pick up the spelling? Perhaps I should even consider taking the hyphen out of everything I've created before there’s too big a pile of things to alter.

So I’m genuinely interested, what’s your thought? 

One word? 

Two words? 

One word with hyphen? 

Or couldn’t give a …?

I’d love to know.

Cars, Bikes and Junctions!

Sorry, I know this is a vent, but could you please indulge me and let me know if I’m being totally illogical? (Discussions, as always, welcome.)

There will always be dangers when cars and bikes share the same roads. This I don’t dispute. Nor do I have a problem with the one metre rule forcing cars to keep their distance from us (bike riders), and I’m grateful that a lot of drivers choose to give us an even wider berth - especially when they’re nervous, driving a truck, it’s raining, and so on.

No, my problem is with drivers who stop to let us (bike riders) cross the road. I know that sounds daft and irrational! After all, aren’t they just being helpful?

(Also, before I start, please understand this vent is not aimed at all drivers - just the ones that annoy me.)

So, imagine you’re riding a pushbike on a bike path (off of the road) and you come to a junction where you need to cross a road. You look at the traffic and decide that stopping and waiting is the best option, primarily because there’s a car about to hurtle past you and across the junction. But then the driver decides, for their own reason, that they're going to stop several metres before the junction and wave you across the road.

Of course, I understand that the driver might have stopped to be considerate - which I do appreciate, but (as usual)… I’ve already stopped a metre or two back from the kerb, I’ve put my feet down on the ground and I’m intentionally not looking at the driver. In fact, in my mind, I am in no way implying that I’m even vaguely eager to cross the road - other than, of course, for the fact that I’m in the vicinity of it.

So why would a driver stop? Do they think they’re making it safer for me? Do they think that the extra minutes will significantly impact on my day? Do they have no concept of how unsteady a bike can be to get going? Is their daily tally of considerate actions in need of a boost?

But even more so, why do many drivers appear decidedly put out when I choose not to take up their offer to cross the road?

After all, being waved across doesn’t guarantee anything is safer - personally I’d rather wait for an emptier road, than race across it in front of an unknown driver. Especially if there’s the risk of me obstructing other drivers, or (even worse) unobservant drivers! To say nothing of the occasions when I'm waiting to cross a two or three lanes of traffic and it’s a truck driver who insists he stop to wave me across. Doesn’t he realise my vision of how clear the other lanes are is obscured by his truck? And, if I should have to stop for other cars, how do I know he’ll actually see me in front of his bonnet?

I know it might seem like I’m being overly pedantic, and like I say, I understand that drivers may just be trying to be considerate. But we all know who comes off worse when a car and bike collide, so shouldn’t it be my choice when I cross the road?

The Life Of A Digital Nomad

Ever since I heard of it, I’ve always loved the idea of being a Digital Nomad. The phrase inspired in me a sense of limitless freedom, creativity and unique outlook on the world. Of course, I hadn’t heard of the phrase until a few years ago. In fact not until somebody had already introduced me to the phrase ‘house-sitter.’ And no doubt if you’d mentioned either of them to me the year before I’d have laughed in your face. 

Yet here I am, three years on, comfortably living the life of house-sitting Digital Nomad, and still loving the concept. Who’d have guessed? 

So why am I rabbiting on about this? Well… I’m hoping it will kind of explain what I’ve been up to - and more to the point, why there haven’t been any posts for a while. Truth is, I’ve been working on my digital nomadicness. 

As most of you will know I’ve been having fun creating online courses for years now - mostly on writing up until this point. But as the months have passed it’s become more apparent that there’s something else I had to do, but… typically… I just didn’t know what it was. But now I do (YAY!) and that’s what’s been distracting me from writing the blog posts (for which I’m sorry, by the way). 

In the past month I’ve working on supporting, informing and inspiring house-sitters coming to Australia. (Yes, I know it’s a pretty obvious shift in direction, but somehow I’d missed it. DER!) Steve and I have, after all, had an overwhelming success with house-sitting so it seems only fair to share what we’ve learned. 

Of course it doesn’t mean that we won’t keep doing all we’ve been doing up until now, it just means there will be more! So now, along with everything House-sitting Life, there’s also a House-sitting in Australia website, blog, Facebook page, online courses, even house-sitting TShirts, stickers, notebooks in my Quirky Bees store… and that’s just for starters. I’m even hosting an All About House-sitting discussion at the Bodhi Tree Bookstore Cafe in Mt Hawthorn, on Friday 14th December (at 2pm if you’re interested). 

So… if you’re wondering about becoming a house-sitter (or know somebody who is) check out everything House-sitting in Australia and stay tuned for more. 

Well, I hope that explains my absence, apologies again, and here’s hoping the next blog post won’t take so long to eventuate. Now I’m off now to go create something Digitally Nomadic. What do you reckon, should I go work in the colourful lush garden or whilst lounging on a comfy sofa? 

Watch Out Perth!

I’ve got rather a strange feeling as I sit in the sheltered sun today. The canal’s lapping near my feet, with the ducks, cormorants and pelicans not much further away and I’m preparing for our move tomorrow.

All moves feel different, because each house and community is different - especially when you’re moving from the outskirts of Perth back to the suburbs again. Plus we’ve been here for close on 10 weeks, in three different houses in one street, all with the same view but from a different angle. We even know which dogs bark when we walk past them, in fact we know several of them (and their owner’s) by name, locals wave to us as they drive past as if we’ve always lived here, and I even think that the girl at the local coffee shop is beginning to remember which of us has the cappucino and which has the chai latte.

Not that I’m complaining about the move. Next week we’ll have more than one supermarket to choose from, a train station less than an hour’s ride away, friends within cycling distance, and all kinds of other metro things. Who knows I might even go buy some new clothes and find a hairdressers…

Every house-sit can be so different from another, and that’s before you even consider the homes and pets. You’d think that after almost two and half years I’d be used to it, but sometimes it still catches me off guard. Just like people’s generosity and respect for the service we provide. When we started out I never in a million years thought our lives would be so diverse or that we would be so sought-after and appreciated. 

Thanks, everyone!

Well, enough of this relaxing and reflecting, time to go bring in the laundry, recharge the bike batteries and start sorting for packing. 

Watch out Perth, here we come!

Gale Force Winds And Torrential Downpours!

Yes, I know it’s been a while since I put my last blog post up. Sorry. I guess things just got a bit busy here. Although I suspect the real truth is… I’ve just been making the most of this year’s wonderful winter weather and, in the time when I wasn’t, I was working on some of the projects that enable us to live the amazing life that allows us to be able to enjoy it so much.

People often complain about having to go to work, to be there at set times and having specific things that have to be done. Well, I’ll tell you one thing, it’s a lot easier to get work done when there are expectations on you than when you aren’t. Fair enough when I was writing and running Writing to Inspire staying up-to-date with the workload didn’t seem too challenging, but now, when it’s a choice between working on the computer or going for a bike ride by the river…

It’s now that I sit down and appreciate gale-force winds and torrential downpours, because they don’t give me any choice. Or how about the pets that insist that sunrise is the best time of the day for you to wake up and give them their breakfast?

So basically, what I’m saying is the main reason this blog post is late is because I’ve been out enjoying winter too much, and when I haven’t been doing that I’ve been catching up on my work.

I am planning on writing the next post sooner but… well… can I get away with saying it has nothing to do with me, it all depends on the weather.

Would You or Not?

Despite us being in the middle of a stormy few days, when Steve checked the computer this morning it said the ‘chance of rain’ was only 10% - which I didn’t really believe, but our washing did need washing. Besides it was sunny outside…

But… by the time I’d put everything in the tub and pressed Start, the computer said the chance of rain was now 80%! Plus, when I looked out of the window it appeared the sun had decided to play Hide and Seek behind the huge grey clouds.

What the…? Was it watching me? Had it seen me press Start on the machine?

Still, by the time I was unloading all our soggy clothes the sun had reappeared. So I decided, what the heck, and put it all out. Besides good British training has taught me that thirty minutes on the line was better than none.

Twenty minutes later though, I looked out the window and the sky was tinged with grey.

‘Do you reckon we should bring the laundry in?’ I asked the man.

But, believe it or not, in the two minutes it took us to get from our chairs to the washing line, the weather had gone from greyish to torrential rain. Meaning, of course, that not only were our newly laundered, semi dried, clothes soaked again… but we were too!

Now, all I can say is… the garden is looking great, the wild birds are enjoying the overflowing birdbaths and good job we’re not moving house-sits this afternoon. Why? Well, because the only dry clothes we’d get to choose between wearing are our shorts, tee shirt or pyjamas!

(Oh yes! And just in case you’re interested, as I write this ten minutes later the rain has stopped and the sun is peeking out from behind the clouds. No… I take that back, it’s bucketing again!)

Why I'm Not Answering Your Calls

 



Has anybody had any problems contacting me by phone recently? I have to ask because I know I haven’t been quite as contactable as usual. Not that it’s out of choice, and I’m still reachable by text, email, through the website and other computer based ways - thankfully. Why not by phone though you might ask, well… primarily because for months now I’ve been inundated with phone calls from all kinds of foreigners eager to tell me how they can improve my life if only I sign up with them! I rarely hang up on people, lie or even avoid calls (especially since much of our business is done over the phone) but it seems like it’s become the only way to go.

The funny thing is though that these generous, friendly people are all trying to inform me about the same thing – the federal government’s new offer on solar energy. Of course, I agree with solar energy (especially in a country with so much sun) but don’t you agree, it’s a bit difficult to collect any when you don’t have a roof or even anywhere to put a panel? I find it all rather ironic really – considering our lifestyle and our effort to be gentler on the world.

On top of all this, ‘nomadic’ doesn’t seem to be a word in everyone’s vocabulary - not even in the form of ‘Digital Nomad’! (I don’t like to say we’re ‘homeless’ because that has so many other inferences.) I’ve tried saying ‘we are renting,’ even ‘we have no roof,’ and, in fact, just about everything between, but I’m still getting numerous calls a week from unknown mobile phones and locations all over the world. Some hang up on me, of course, but others just keep pushing unable to understand what I’m trying to say.

Isn’t it a shame that some things in the world can be so desperate?

Anyway, that’s not really the point of this post… unless by chance you have the perfect solution for me in the form of what to say or do.

No, basically I just wanted to say, if you should phone me and not get through on the first call, please call back immediately or try a different form of communication – I promise you we are still here and I’m not really trying to ignore you.

~~~

We would really love to know your thoughts on this blog post. So if you'd like to leave a comment please click on the word 'Comment' below, type what you have to say in the box that appears and then click on the 'Publish' button. 

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Pin, Prickle Or Glass (part two)

Back in January I wrote a blog post mumbling on about the challenges we were going through with the ridiculous number of punctures we’d been attracting. Something that isn’t particularly appealing when the bike is your primary source of transport!

Well, a couple of months on, I have to say our new inner tubes have made a truly tremendous difference. (Here’s hoping that talking about them isn’t going to trigger a hole.)

It seems we often as a universe discuss how technology and various aspects of lifestyles have changed over the decades, but I never really considered that to include the advances in bicycle inner tubes. Did you? But truth is, when it came to researching our options, there were many more choices than I’d ever considered.

Did you know for example that there are inner tubes that come completely filled with sludge. So much sludge, in fact, that any incurred hole is instantly filled with this solidifying gunk negating any chances of a flat tyre.

Or how about a tyre that doesn’t need an inner tube! A tyre that you can see through because it’s made of something resembling a large holed mesh - plus to make it even more appealing it comes in a variety of popular colours!

But whilst both of these might do a great job, the more acceptable (and proven in our case) are the inner tube which is less likely to get punctured because it’s made of extra thick rubber. A rubber that’s simply harder for a prickle to get through Or better still… how about an inner tube that’s made of this thick rubber plus lined with a layer of gunk to instantly plug the rare hole?

After much research the latter of these options is the one we (or rather Steve) eventually chose, and they’ve done a great job… not one puncture in months!

So if you’re riding around at all I would strongly recommend them. They might be a bit of pain to replace if you’ve got gears on the back wheel (in which case you might want to consider a trip to a bike shop), but we found the effort and extra expense definitely worth while. Thought I’d share the update just in case it’s of any use…

The Paths We Travel

The road wasn’t too busy as we cycled down the bike lane. Most semis, vans and cars giving us the newly regulated one metre clearance as they drove past us on Burns Beach Road. Not that I was paying particular attention to them, I was focusing more on staying well to the right of the white line and casting the occasional eye over the native bushland three metres or so to the left of us.

The highlight of our day was going to visit some long-time friends for morning tea. There’s no doubt that one of the advantages of house-sitting around WA is that we get to (temporarily) live close to all kinds of friends. In fact, at our previous stay we’d been only a stone’s throw from our daughter... which had led to more than the occasional morning tea!

This time round we are only a few minutes away from a gorgeous couple who became dear friends over twenty years ago when Steve and I physically built a kit home next door to them in Beverley (a rural town, just outside York in WA’s wheatbelt). And yes, I did say ‘physically built’! We put up the exposed beams, attached the Western Red cedar cladding, put down the slate floors, and everything in between… we did the lot! It still amazes me what we achieved… and the fact that the house is still standing!

Living in the country (on four acres), surrounded by wildlife, was so different from the life we have now. We haven’t been back though, not since we left twenty odd years ago, and I have little idea of how our house is fairing. Part of the reason we love catching up and reminiscing with old friends I guess.

These were the thoughts flowing through my mind as we cycled down the semi-main road.

Thoughts, suddenly interrupted as a wild kangaroo appeared from the nearby bushland, and hopped beside us for about half a kilometre before heading back into the bushland.

And, funnily enough, thoughts that were starting to resurface an hour or so later when an unexpected friend (a stranger to us, but friend of our friends) called in and interrupted our morning tea. Who was she? Believe it or not… the current owner of the house we built in Beverley! The person who is currently living under our exposed beams! On our uneven slate and behind our Western Red cedar!

Who’d have guessed? 

Certainly not me.

What Are The Chances?

I guess no business exists without cancellations. Although, for us, they can be a little bit more awkward than they are for other businesses - primarily because we can end up homeless!

In our time we’ve had a few (especially this year), but more recently I have to admit to being unsure as to whether I’m more amazed with the final outcomes or amazed that I’m amazed. After all, I’ve had enough synchronistic events in my life to know that they happen. But (during our time as house-sitters) getting a cancellation then all of a sudden finding out that somebody down the road needs a house-sitter for the exact dates that we’re free? What do you think the chances are of that happening? Once off would be a surprise. Twice might be too, but three times or more? What do you think the chances are? That has to be synchronistic, right?

Last month we suddenly found ourselves with a free ten days. So I went to the promotional house-sitting website we belong to and… believe it or not… just a few hours earlier somebody less than twenty minutes away had put up an ad saying they needed somebody for the exact same days! What’s more, they liked us and booked us almost immediately.

Then a few days later we got a cancellation for the majority of February! One that we still hadn’t been able to rebook by late January - primarily because nobody seemed to be going away for the same days. Chances are I could have covered the three weeks with a collection of bookings, but it would have meant a lot of moving and short stays. Not ideal and not particularly relaxing. Then when we only had a few days left, I decided a decision had to be made, and… all of a sudden, when I looked at the website… there was a new ad. Not only was it not that far away, for days that suited perfectly, but they liked us as well!

That’s just this year, too.

We did have a few cancellations last year (rebooked equally as smoothly! Thankfully!) but not two in two months. This is why we’re not taking bookings more than six months in advance. Whilst it’s reassuring to have homes booked a long way in advance, it does seem to increase the chances of cancellations and changed plans. Something we accept, but not something we’re keen on... for obvious reasons!

Pin, Prickle Or Glass?

There’s no doubt about it… when we decided to sell the car and travel primarily by electric bike I knew (without a doubt) that punctures would become part of our lives. Thankfully I’ve always felt quite comfortable fixing them and even grew up with a family story about my father once getting caught out and having to fix a puncture with a postage stamp. But I ask you… SEVEN punctures in just three months? That’s definitely more than I expected!

Mind you, I’m not surprised. Have you looked at a bike lane or bike path recently? Whilst I really appreciate their introduction around the state they do seem to be cluttered with a whole stack of spiky things (broken glass, prickles, burrs and who knows what else). I don't doubt some of it is discarded rubbish but I also assume a fair stack of it is simply thrown up by cars tyres or thrown down from trees and bushes.

The first day we got punctures Steve and I were cycling along a footpath which had just had the hedge next to it trimmed. Believe it or not within the distance of ONE block we both got a flat tyre! Then once we’d fixed both of those beside the road we each had a slow one appear, caused I think from another spike picked up on the same section of footpath. That was even without spikes being visually obvious.

Then Steve got another one last week (while we were in Carramar). That unfortunately appeared while we were nipping down to the shops and had forgotten to taken a repair kit with us! Thankfully we did have a pump though, and the tyre was kind enough not go down entirely before we got home.

Our last lot were only a few days back while cycling from Mandurah train station to South Yunderup. Holes caused again, I think, by prickles from plants! Steve’s puncture insisted on being changed mid-trip (thankfully we were able to find a shady tree), whilst mine was patient enough to wait until we were going out the next day.

Does Australia have more spiky plants than the UK or is it because we often cycle on paths as well as roads?

Either way - as readers of this blog post are no doubt telling us to do - Steve has just ordered a couple of sets of puncture-resistant inner tubes (something I was never aware of before now). They even come with a two year guarantee, so here’s hoping… 

Either way, I can see my repair kit growing and quickly improving. Who knows, maybe I should put some postage stamps in it... just for good luck.

What A Surprise!

There’s no doubt that I was expecting a bit of a reaction to my last blog post (you know, the one about selling the car and buying ourselves electric bikes). But the actual response… well, it did take me a little by surprise!

There were off-hand comments and surprised faces, there were concerned phone calls, chats and emails, there were even people totally lost for words and at a complete loss of understanding to our logic. I have to admit, I found it all quite an eye-opener and inspiration - especially when it came to the unexpected, ‘Oh, what a great idea. I wish I could do that too’ comments.

So, first of all, thank you to everyone who read the post and took the time to voice their thoughts and concerns.

Secondly, in response to the main topic that’s continually coming up in conversations…

Yes, believe it or not, everything we need for our day-to-day life as house-sitters DOES fit on the bikes!

We do have a fair amount of stuff in storage. (You know, family me memorabilia and household bits we’ll need when/if we choose to settle down again.) So that cuts down our luggage dramatically, plus, we’ve done an astounding job at downsizing, and, of course, much of what we use televisions, saucepans, etc, is kindly provided by the owners of the houses we stay in.

Besides if you really think about it, we need (please note I wrote ‘need’ here, not ‘use’) exceptionally little for our daily life.

Yes, I expect there are some women out there who could never even think of existing on as few clothes and shoes as I have now. But there is a certain amount of freedom in waking up in the morning and thinking, ‘shorts or jeans?’ ‘tee-shirt or jumper?’ That’s not saying it didn’t take me a while to get used to the concept, and to having no dresses and heels! But it’s true… a girl can manage on one (or two) pairs of shoes and the occasional visit to a good Op (Thrift) shop!

The advancement of technology has also been an advantage. After all, let’s face it - computers can hold just about all the factual stuff and other bits we need, and they seem to be getting smaller by the day. Even if our eyesight isn’t allowing us to use the tinier ones!

On the topic of food - we can now gauge the exact amount of food we need for a stay. Which means we carry very little with us. This includes using up items going out of date in the fridge when we arrive and leaving our few leftovers when we go. Of course, that doesn’t also mean we haven’t been seen to have creative ‘last day’ meals or bought the odd pizza.

So, there you go… as you can see, we’ve got it all down to a routine (or pretty close). Besides packing is all part of the fun of it (except when I’m down to my last pannier and for some reason it doesn’t all fit, meaning I have to start from scratch again!)

Hope that helps and reassures.

Anybody got any more questions or concerns they'd like answered?

OK! The Secret Is Out!

Yes! The secret is out!

Over the years people have used all kinds of generous words to describe us… reliable, responsible, caring, capable, adaptable… the list goes on. But one word I rarely (if ever) hear used to describe us as conventional. (I can almost hear friends laughing at the thought of it!)

I mean, how many conventional people do you know who wait until their children leave home then say, ‘Hey, let’s sell the house and everything else we own, and go travel the world house-sitting’?

Not many I bet.

We’ve even been blessed with many complimentary testimonials, again using words like: reliable, responsible, caring, capable, adaptable. But never… conventional.

So if this is the case, why then is anybody surprised to hear that… Steve and I just sold our car and replaced it with two electric bicycles and panniers!

Yes, that’s right! We decided it would be more fun, adventurous and, of course, more environmental if we used bikes instead of a car! And so far it’s proven to be all of those - even when we’re doing our familiar ricocheting from a house-sit at one end of the freeway to our next house-sit at the other end of it!

Of course, that’s when we truly appreciate the bike path that runs either side of the freeway and the trains that run right down the middle of it (and happily carries bikes).

I know to some people this choice might sound a ‘little’ crazy, but I promise you it was a logical decision. One we made, well, purely… because it sounded like it might be fun It has absolutely no impact on our reliability or service! Although, it may have an impact on our fitness and agility. Plus I can guarantee we’re smiling a lot, primarily due to the extra fresh air and being forced (totally against our will of course) to cycle past Perth’s more frequent, ridiculous and annoying traffic jams!

So, if you see Steve and me cycling around Perth on our electric white bikes (with panniers) please feel free to hoot and wave.

Christmas Traditions

Everyone has Christmas traditions, right?

When I was growing up we had so many… the whole family would get together, including my Grandma and grand-aunt who would spend their Senior’s bonus’ on a 113km taxi ride from their place to ours, which would then mean me moving out of my bedroom so they had somewhere to sleep. Later we’d go singing Christmas carols in the snow, and I’d have fun making Christmas crackers, helping trim the tree, icing the cake (the list goes on and on)…

Of course, that all changed when I was 23, got married and emigrated! For starters there was no snow… plus there was no way on earth a Government Senior’s Christmas bonus would cover the cost of a taxi from Southampton to Perth!

But Steve’s family had their own traditions, the main one being everyone going out to a restaurant on the 25th for lunch. Something we enjoyed for many years. Then as years passed those traditions became more Santa focused (as they often do).

But what now? Life has changed so much and I have to admit it’s been a while since Santa has had children here to visit. Besides how would he even find us with all our moving around.

Nothing is predictable! Not even seeing all our grown-up family now that they’ve started their own, continually changing, and exciting lives in a variety of places across Australia and the world.

Still, I was coming back from the shops last night (having bought a trolley-load of veggies to feed our family of vegitarian, vegan and traditional roast eaters who we’re lucky enough to have here this Christmas Day) and what did i see… carol singers! There might not have been any snow, woollen scarves or even cold feet, but I did have to pause as I saw the group all standing in the dark under a street lamp!

(No, don’t be silly, of course that wasn’t a tear in my eye as I joined in ‘Deck the Halls’!)

So what are our traditions now - now that we have no family living at home (or home come to that) or even a box of Christmas deckies to dig out from the back of the cupboard? Simple really, our new tradition is… believe it or not… that every Christmas will be different (with family if possible, and if not them, then with Skype).

Because let’s face it, no matter where we are, who we’re with or what our traditions are, one thing can always be the same… the emotions and generosity of Christmas! In most cases that’s just a choice.

(This she says having just made a huge batch of mince pies in an unfamiliar oven, shadowed by somebody else’ pets, in an unknown location, while singing along to an endless playlist of carols.)

So… 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

We hope you all have a wonderful festive season too, full of lots of smiles, new traditions and new memories (and maybe the odd Christmas carol)!

Coffee?

Eighteen months or so ago when Steve and I decided to sell our house, officially retire and become professional, full-time house-sitters we knew we’d be living off of our savings and the bits we earned as digital nomads (since, believe it or not, we’re not yet old enough for pensions). But we also knew we wouldn’t have the stress of running a business or owning a house, and that we’d have the freedom to do whatever we wanted and help people everywhere. Not a bad outlook?

Especially after the few eventful years we’d had before that. The idea of such freedom was truly appealing (even if unpredictable, risky and the cause of a few raised eyebrows amongst friends).

Still we discovered something insightful this weekend when a friend came to visit (as well as eating some very yummy homemade biscuits she brought). She told us about a house-sitting stall she’d just seen at a local shire fete, so I have a question for you…

Did you know that some house-sitters and house-sitting agencies charged? And not just a pittance either! Upwards of a hundred a week depending on the pets being looked after!

And there we are doing it for free!

I mean, yes we knew that we could be saving homeowners a fair bit on kennel fees for their pups and pets, but we were also aware that we were getting free accommodation, power, water, internet and odd bits and pieces. Still… so much! I guess it explains why some homeowners are so generous with gifts, gift cards, and food.

It’s okay, don’t panic, we’re not going to start charging! We still think that house and pet-sitting is a more than fair exchange for our accommodation and bits.

Still, in response to so many queries… Steve has just put a link at the bottom of each page on our House Sitting Life site that links directly to my Paypal account. It’s perfect for anybody who cares to buy us a coffee (or even a pizza) as a thank you.

Such generosity is not essential or expected though, but to anybody who feels inclined, THANK YOU!

Anyone Up For A Cute Animal Pic?

Have you visited our Facebook page yet? 

It’s a great way to stay in touch with what we’re up to, where we are, what’s happening, plus last minute surprises and all kinds of things… BUT, to be honest… none of those are the real reason we (or should that be ‘I’) work so hard to try and put up regular posts.

The main reason is because when you’re out there travelling the world, I’m told it’s usually cheaper to log on to Facebook than it is to email or phone somebody.

A simple statement, but it has quite a big impact on house-sitting.

What's that? Put simply… it make’s it cheaper for you to stay in touch with us (if you feel the need to). You can either Message me through Facebook or log-on and keep up-to-date with photos of your pets, garden or home. Of course not everybody wants to stay in touch with us whilst their away - for some reason people just want to go off and have a wonderful time elsewhere, imagine that! But occasionally there are urgent matters we need to solve or have solved. Other times just leaving precious and endearing animals in the hands of complete strangers can be challenging and require regular reassurance, and why not when you consider that most of the pets we care for are rescued or exceptionally young and being left for the first time.

And you thought all those cute animal pics were on the HouseSittingLife Facebook page just to make you smile and because we knew you all liked looking at cute animal pics! Fancy that!

Well maybe they are, but it’s also all part of the service, something to help you enjoy your trip away even more.

Still the response we’re getting to all the cute pics is wonderful - thank you. We’re so glad you like them. And if you haven’t found them or our Facebook page yet it’s under HouseSittingLife. Definitely worth a trip - who knows what you’ll find posted on that page…

One Bruise Or Two?

Well, if you’re in Western Australia like us you’d have to admit that we are now entering short-wearing weather… not consistently, but I’m pretty sure we will be any week now. For us (and our lifestyle) it’s brought all kinds of predictable seasonal adjustments, but this year it’s also brought an expected realisation. 

Well, maybe not for Steve, but definitely for me… So what was it?

Simply put, how many bruises I have on my legs and the fact that I don’t really have the vaguest idea where the majority of them came from! Let’s face it there are over a dozen, large, rainbow-coloured ones all over my legs and I had hardly any idea how they got there!

Yes, I know there are those I got almost a fortnight back when I went bike riding and lost my balance turning a corner. Not that I was really aware of how badly I landed at the time - funnily enough the stack of biting ants who attacked me for landing on their nest kind of distracted me from that at the time.

Then there were the bruises I got on my shins a few days later whilst running up the stairs all because I was too impatient to wait for the lift.

All those I accept, it’s the others that confused me. I mean how could I get so many hefty bruises and not know where they came from? It’s not like I’m overly athletic or lead a boisterous life. But this many bruises in short-wearing weather was definitely something I would rather avoid for various reasons.

The first step though was to discover what was causing them and that, my friends, is something I’ve spent many days trying to figure out. Yet only finally figured out this morning!

There I was snuggled up in bed, drifting back and forth between consciousness, a selection of thoughts in my mind (including the quandary about the bruises) when one of the large and endearing pups we’re currently caring for jumped on the bed and, as usual, landed on me! I can’t believe it took me so long to figure it out! After all, let’s face it, two large puppies landing on you numerous times every morning is bound to leave some impression, isn’t it?

All I can say is… good job they’re so cute. And… hey, I can’t help it if they prefer to jump on my side of the bed rather than Steve’s, can I?

Car, Shed or Wheelbarrow?

Isn’t it amazing how many things we hold on to just in case ‘they might be useful’? I guess most of us would only have to go for a quick rummage through our shed, spare room, back cupboard or attic to find a few ‘possibly useful’ things.

We certainly have over the years, but wouldn’t you think that when we carry just about everything we actively need with us that we’d have nothing that falls into that category, but… believe it or not… you’d be wrong!

After 14 months on the road Steve and I decided to do another downsize and I have to admit to being somewhat surprised by exactly how much we’ve been holding on to simply because it ‘might be useful’. Some for a possible business idea, others for possible events or situations, and some purely because we hadn’t thought about parting with it, but either way we’ve been carrying a whole load of stuff we didn’t need! And let’s face it, with so little space why cart around so much (packing and unpacking it every few weeks) simply because it might be useful?

Besides wouldn’t it be better to pass the unused things on to people who need them now, confident in the knowledge that IF we truly did need the item we’d come up with the perfect (but maybe alternative) solution like Macgyver, find exactly what we wanted on Special at Good Sammy’s or Target, or simply… what the heck… make do with what we have.

Truth is, I guess, that most of us have (or have had at some time) more than we really need to live our life, yet it’s not until we have to pare down everything to fit (or have it pared down for us) that we realise what’s a true essential and what’s simply excess baggage.

Life on so many levels seems full of items, possibilities and essentials, yet many of them are simply cluttering and obscuring what it is we really want or need.

A thought that was only backed up recently when a friend related a story to me about one of her past relatives who had happily worked in the Australian outback, walking from one job to another with her husband whilst pushing a wheelbarrow that held all their belongings.

Imagine that, everything that was important to you in a wheelbarrow? How our priorities and expectations have changed over the years…

Crossing The Strait

At first we decided it would be best to go and house-sit in Tasmania next January (2018). It seemed like the perfect time.

The logic was quite simple - by then there was a greater chance that I’d have got used to being apart from our girls. After all let’s face it, I’ve only just got used to them both having grown up and gone off into the world to be adults - let alone adjusted to them living in different states!

But, as is often the case with plans, the universe seems to having had a different idea on how things should go.

I think it was around March this year that the bookings for 2018 started to come in and… to be honest… each one sounded fun and I simply couldn’t say ‘No.’ Then in the last few weeks there have been a few more… and, well, now… we’re basically booked up until then end of July!

Can you believe that, we’re so popular, we only have a handful of weeks within the next 12 months that aren’t booked? I remember looking at the bookings of other house-sitters before we started this adventure and being impressed if they were booked out for the next three months, and here we are with a year! The wonderful thing to is that most of our bookings are ‘rebooks’ or referrals. But, although we know we’re putting out lots of households, we still want to go to Tassie - sorry.

Our plan now though is to go house-sitting across the Bass Strait in late July/August 2018, not January.

As to how long we intend to stay there, well, we don’t really know. In other words, if we have fun and get lots of bookings (and I don’t get too cold) we could stay for ages, or we might travel on and sit somewhere else, or we might even come back to WA, who knows. Either way I just wanted to give you a heads up on the changes - even though they’re a fair way off.

The weeks that we’re free next year - and in WA - aren’t definite yet but you can find out when they are by checking the regularly updated calendar on the ‘Where We Are Now’ page of our website.

As to bookings in Tassie… we’re not yet in a position to take any but we would love to hear from anybody over there who thinks we might be able to assist them in having a restful holiday.

What's That Sound?

How well do you know the night-time noises of your home? The water heater that turns on at six? The slamming of the neighbour’s car door half an hour later as she leaves for work? The individual snoring patterns of your home’s inhabitants?

I recently woke up in the middle of the night unsettled by the sounds around me. Lying there silently, surrounded by the darkness, I tried to define one from another.

(Of course, before I did that I really needed to be sure of which house I was sleeping in, the pets we were sharing it with, where they were sleeping, what surrounded the house… You know the stuff that gets a little confusing and befuddled when you can’t see it and it changes from one month to the next!)

The main thing that confused me, though, was the fact that I was listening to three different kinds of snoring - even though I knew it was only Steve and me in the house! And let’s face it, I knew I wasn’t snoring! After all, I’m way too gentile and ladylike for that - besides I’ve never heard it so how could one of them be me! Which left two unaccounted for…

At this point I did consider getting up and sneaking around the house trying to find the cause of the extra sound, but what if it was somebody who’d snuck into the house… maybe a big burly burglar who’d fallen asleep, or a relative of the homeowner who had a front door key, or even the homeowners returning early?

Hmmm? No, it seemed wiser to stay, silent and still, in bed trying to remember where I was.

But then, without warning, the three snoring became one. Instantly followed by a scuffle in the hallway, hurried feet racing towards me and a sudden kerflumpf that vibrated through the room, announcing extra weight on the bed. A second later I felt the familiar series of pressure points as two small animals walked up and over my body, rotated a couple of times then snuggled against my body. A little while on, the one snoring became three again and the world returned to normal.

I never knew dogs snored. Did you?

Ahoy, There Me Hearty!

As you’ve probably noticed (or assumed, or taken for granted), Steve and I consider ourselves Digital Nomads. Which means that while we’re having fun travelling around helping people out with their holidays, we’re also having fun with our websites.

Now I know people across the world have all kinds of websites for all kinds of reasons - some of them logical, some illogical, and some just plain, well, strange. But a friend’s question last week got me wondering… why do we have a site about pirates? Do you know? I mean the house-sitting, writing and photography ones are obvious considering our career choices, but pirates? We’ve had it for years too and had a great time with it, but what started us off in that direction I haven’t the darnedest idea. Literally, no idea!

It’s not as if we’d had boys who loved pretending to sail the high seas, or a house full of swashbuckling toys, or even enjoyed sailing. Looking back we can find no possible reason, other than (perhaps) this humorous play Steve and girls concocted (I guess, maybe) ten years ago. And having just rewatched it, I had to share it with you.

Go on… I dare you to watch it without laughing!

The website itself (www.the-pirate-ship.com) has been through a variety of transitions. The latest one of which has included a selection of additions - including a Facebook page (AllAboardMeHearty just on the off chance ye want to come and join in the fun, me hearty.)

You could even come and join us just to find out who’s who and what’s what, or discover some jokes, or what about improving your pirate lingo all in time for the Talk Like A Pirate Day on 19th September!

So go on, have another chuckle at the addled sea dogs in the video above, or share it with your mates so ye can all have a snigger. Then come and follow The Pirate Ship Facebook page as we grow, expand and go on an adventure together.

The Animals I Hadn't Allowed For

There’s no doubt that when we started house-sitting we knew that we’d be seeing lots of animals. The statistics do, after all, say 92% of sits require caring for animals, and let’s face only one sit in our last year has been pet free.

But one thing I hadn’t allowed for before starting out was the amount of wildlife we would see, or even the diversity. If we were travelling the world - yes - but not considering that (as yet) we haven’t even left the state of Western Australia!

Why only yesterday I was sitting in the back garden having my morning tea when the Westie we’re presently caring for decided to join me, sitting on my feet. Minutes later our current cat came down and started sniffing my cuppa, but I have to admit I wasn’t really watching. I’d become totally distracted by a passing dolphin. It had decided to start playing only metres away, in the canal I was sitting next to!

Then as if that wasn’t enough, within minutes we were also watching the pelicans gliding and intermittently dive-bombing, the cormorants drying and, of course, the occasional seagull and magpie.

All kind of strange, considering I’d taken my cuppa outside because it was so quiet, still and peaceful!

The impact of being so close to native dolphins and pelicans hits relatively hard for me - as anyone might have realised by my amount of recent comments on Facebook. Why? Well basically because all my early life was spent in a British village where the only place you saw them was in zoos, books and on tv. So they became rare, exotic and spiritual animals, entwined with and indicators of fairytales, holidays, princesses and all things special!

(Hmm, maybe it’s a girl thing…)

Not that it makes me immune to all the other wildlife that varies so much from house to house. Especially those creatures found in our really rural spots, places that come complete with mobs of roos, regular visits from owls, and curious eagles and kestrels.

It does, however, make me currently wear more of my waterproof, winter clothing so that I can spend more of my writing time outside on the off chance I might also watch dolphins.

Celebrating The Life Of A Digital Nomad!

Now, there’s no doubt that Steve and I are living the life of Digital Nomads (and having a great time at it), but sometimes there’s no denying it’s more Digital than others. This a last week, for example, was definitely a more so than others week - and a bit more exciting too.

Why? You might ask. Hmmmm? Let me think… should I really tell you? Oh, what the heck, why not?

Well… as of a week or so ago… I launched my own Online Writing School - exciting, huh? 

Of course I’ve been doing online courses for a stack of years, mainly through emails or touring. Then in the last few years I did Powerpoint style ones (‘Writing Skills: Go from average to great writer overnight!’ and ‘Write and Publish Short Stories Based on Life Experiences’). While just this month I released my third online course (Effective Goal Setting for Writers) which is entirely video, and simply me rabbiting on about all kinds of important and helpful insights that make a difference. Such is the advancement of technology. But regardless of the presentation, the courses have (thankfully) all proven to be popular and valuable.

But (believe it or not) this month didn’t just see the release of my Online Writing School and new course, it also saw the release of my newly updated writing website (writing-information-and-tips.com).

In fact, there were so many things crossed off my To Do list in the last few weeks I decided ‘What the heck!’ and am currently celebrating by offering a huge discount on the price of all three of my online courses.

What’s more, now that I have the school and website up and running I have the freedom and base to get started on a whole stack of other things! YAY! Long live the life of Digital Nomads! (We’ll just ignore the fact it took a year, okay?)


P.S. 

Just in case you’re interested in finding out more about the courses, or know somebody who might be, you’ll find out all you need to know at www.writing-information-and-tips.com. Enjoy! 

OOPS!

We’ve had a bit of challenge in the last few days... believe it or not - somebody (no names mentioned… What Steve? No never!) accidentally wiped ALL of our house-sitting emails. Not just some, but every single one of them, which in our current lifestyle equates to just about burning down the entire contents of our filing cabinet!

And not deleted as in, ‘OOPS! Good job deleted only means the emails have been transferred from the email programme to the Deleted folder so I can get them back.’ But deleted as in, ‘Oh darn! I wish I hadn’t pressed that button because now I remember that Gmail’s deleted means they have very kindly just wiped all our emails off the face of this world! Oh drat!’

So how did it happen?

Steve was busy tidying up all the files on his computer, as we have to do every so often. But this time the process of tidying also included sorting and clearing his emails because he knew all the important ones were safely stored on my computer as well. Then, well, he just got kind of… carried away, I guess. His logic being that if I’m the one writing and answering emails what’s the point of him having copies of them filling up the space on his hard drive. Sounds logical, right? Of course. Until you remember that his email address and mine are linked!

Something that I didn’t realise until later when I logged on to my computer to check my emails and guess what… they had all disappeared. I mean they had ALL disappeared! All the emails discussing individual house-sitting bookings! All the emails discussing arrival and departure times and dates! All the forms and details on bookings! Everything I had put to one side so it was always available and on hand! It had all gone!

Needless to say I was a little peeved… and the man, well he was a little flustered.

But thankfully, despite having been told numerous times over the last year things would be more streamlined if I kept all my notes on the computer the writer in me had rebelled. Consequently I keep a few handwritten notes with almost all the information I need - not quite enough - but almost.

So, therefore, if we seem to be asking you the same questions as before, please forgive us. We hope the recent changes to our paperwork system will negate the risk of this slight hiccup happening again - but no promises.

Just Waiting For Us...

It had to happen sooner or later… two weeks ago we got our first cancellation - four weeks in August.

Now while this might not have been a big deal to many other house-sitters - those that have somewhere else to live - for us no booking can mean nowhere to live. So it can be a little bit of a concern. It hasn’t as yet (thankfully), and hopefully never will, but we all knew that was a real risk when we took up house-sitting and opted to sell our house.

So one day shortly after the cancellation, there I was, sitting with my mug of coffee, staring at the house-sitting website we’re listed with, thinking the chances of a replacement sit were highly unlikely. After all, it’s one thing to find somewhere for August, but something totally different to find something to match our exact free days.

Still, guess what? There I was scanning the screen, when my eyes came to rest on an ad for a house-sitter needed for the first half of the month - starting on exactly the right day. What’s more the house was in the same same suburb we were currently in, and - if I figured things correctly - from the description given, the house was probably within a stone’s throw of where I was currently sitting, if not even one of the houses we passed whilst walking our current dog.

I sipped my coffee for a quiet moment. I’d only just been saying how much I liked living in this area, and here I was thinking of organising to come back and stay longer. My only concern was that I thought I'd seen the ad before. If I had that would mean it was probably a little old, which meant that others must have applied for the sit, which in turn meant that it was probably filled and the ad just not taken off the site. Still, considering it was the perfect starting date and just across the main road, it seemed worth emailing an application just in case. After all, there was really nothing to loose…

Imagine my surprise when minutes later I received an expression of interest back! It only took another five minutes before we’d arranged a time to pop around for a visit that afternoon.

Apparently, there had been other enquiries, but we fitted the bill better!

So much to our delight we almost instantly rebooked the first part of our gap in August, leaving us with only a week and a bit to book - not that I could see anything that fitted as I kept on scanning the websites. Not that I had to find anything there as it turns out.

Why not?

Because a couple we previously sat for took it upon themselves to tell their friends that we were free, so they should make the most of it and go on holiday! Let’s face it, if there’s an easier way of getting a house-sit than looking on the website, it’s looking on the internet and simply seeing a message saying that a couple wanted to book us. Not only that but their home is just down the road from another one we’re doing… and there was me concerned we wouldn’t find anything to cover the gap.

Thanks everyone.

So What Have You Got... 50, 100, or 200GB?

Well, what do you know… over the last few months we’ve come across another fun aspect of this lifestyle. I suppose some people might consider it a problem and a pain, but I genuinely think it adds an interesting aspect to our daily routine - or at least it does at the moment since it usually only lasts a few days.

So what is it?

Well… believe it or not, we keep running out of internet!

Funnily enough, before we started house-sitting, it never occurred to me that there might be people out there in this big wide world who only had limited internet access - let alone none! But there are you know! Yes! Really! Still!

Therefore, to overcome the risk of us getting caught out and staying in a house with limited access, we actually made being online a requirement of any house we look after. We are, after all, Digital Nomads not Grey Nomads.

The crazy thing is we don’t really use up THAT much internet, or at least I didn’t think we did. Yes, we’re online everyday, but there’s no regular and huge uploading or downloading. Yet towards the end of many months we’re still finding ourselves having to get up during the starlit hours to use the off-peak allowance, or (oh darn!) having to go out to one of these many wonderful local cafes and buying a coffee whilst using their free wi-fi.

Of course, it also makes it harder for me to find reasons for putting off doing my actual writing, which gets so overlooked most of the time (and of course doesn’t need the internet).

So what are the drawbacks, you might ask? Well, no really major ones, in many ways it’s all part of the fun and unpredictability offered by this lifestyle. The main challenge it causes is simple really - I Skype my UK family less. After all, Skyping from a cafe really doesn’t work (even if it’s to Mum!) Does it?

But it does make me wonder… are we actually attracting people with lower internet access divided between peak/off peak times? Alternatively, is it possible that these are the main people looking for house-sitters? Or is it all purely a fluke that we end up together? Who knows? But with the changes in life and the growing popularity of Stan and Netflix, I’m pretty sure I’m not being naive in thinking that the number of small internet plans will be lessening…

(FYI, for those that are curious - I don’t think we’ve ever used more than 100GB of data in a month.)