This is the second time that Mark and I did a “repeat sit”, the only other time being in Sebastopol, CA with one of our favorite dogs, Lola. We are often asked back by owners to take care of their homes and pets again, but it rarely fits in our plans or weather tolerance, or we’d rather explore new areas of the country.
Visit from Karmen and Tom, boating friends from back in the day.
Visit to Pecos National Historical Park with our friends
Down into a restored kiva
Inside a kiva
Restored kiva
Mission church
Part of the church and the pueblo ruins
Since we house sat (no pets) at this location in Eldorado, Santa Fe from mid-August to mid-September 2017, it felt like coming home. Continue reading
A few years ago, I would have never thought to dedicate a blog post to friendship. After all, we had many friends we stayed in touch with over email, fellow cruisers we ran into again, and new people we met in different harbors. As I have alluded to in previous blogs, the one fallback about house and pet sitting – and being on the move from one more or less isolated home to the next – is that Mark and I lack social interaction. It was an important fact I pointed out in my recent interview with Kristin of Wayward Home. Sure, we sometimes meet neighbors and might nod our heads at one another. Recently, we were even invited to dinner at the house across the street in Albuquerque. A first! It was a nice surprise and evening. But, all our current friendships are treasured via the internet. Outlook, Facebook, blog comments, Skype calls; that’s where my social life happens. Mark, who isn’t on social media, has even less interactions.
BFFs on my bachelorette party in SXM
Luckily, most of our friends are travelers. This means they might find themselves in the same area where we secured a house sit. When that happens, good times are had. New life directions are exchanged in person and wonderful memories are shared! Those are the best times, and I’m grateful for them. Continue reading
Some readers might remember that when Mark and I did a one-month house sit in Santa Fe last summer, every Saturday morning, we would jump in Zesty for a weekend away. We visited a national park or interesting attraction in the area. It was our first prolonged time in New Mexico, and the state has a lot to offer. Due to the windy weather, among other things, we haven’t been able to go on weekend trips this time around. Luckily, we are here for two months, so stay tuned!
Mark and I passed by Galisteo – and its cute church – to cut off part of the trail and pick it up closer to home
A few days ago, we went for a Sunday drive, to follow the Turquoise Trail, a scenic byway between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The route is named after the turquoise gemstones that used to be mined in this area, and is 54 miles long. While we’ve seen more impressive landscapes on road trips, the stops along the trail were worthwhile.
A little while ago, Kristin from The Wayward Home (Home is where you sail it, park it, or build it. I love that tagline!) sent me an email. She was curious about how long-term house sitting worked, and asked whether I’d be interested in answering a few questions about the topic. I replied “Yes!” This past weekend, she posted the complete interview on her popular website. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for the opportunity of sharing our lifestyle with the world, Kristin!
Why did you and Mark decide to start house sitting full-time?
When Mark and I decided to abandon our previous lifestyle – which involved eight years of sailing, working and traveling on our 35ft catamaran Irie in the Caribbean and the South Pacific – we knew we didn’t want to settle. After selling our boat in Tahiti, we took a little break visiting with family and friends in the U.S. and Belgium, before creating a new plan.Continue reading
Every house sit is different – the house, the owners, the area, the pets, the tasks, the climate – and provides us with new experiences and routines. I always enjoy arriving at the next place and settling in.
Cuddles with Beck and Gunner
As mentioned in an earlier post, our most recent house sit was a last-minute decision. Mark and I had nothing lined up after our 3.5-month house sit in San Diego, CA (with a three-week visit back East), because we wanted to be flexible. We faced six weeks in Zesty, until our current 2-month house sit in Santa Fe started. Without jobs, the prospect of exploring the American West in our camper van and soaking up the sun in Arizona (with the idea of meeting up with my brother on a business trip in Phoenix, and RV blogging friends in that area) sounds perfect. But, since we need decent internet and two offices, our preference goes out to more comfortable and reliable quarters. So, when this house sit in Albuquerque, New Mexico, appeared, we jumped on it.
Our home for six weeks
Gunner and Beck hanging out with us in the kitchen
Snuggling with Mark
Gunner hoarding a toy
The pups after their bath. Yes, they have their own spa towels. 🙂
This weekend, I am a guest of Donna at Retirement Reflections, where I explain a bit more about the house sitting process and lifestyle. Would it be something you consider?
Thank you, Donna, for inviting me back to the stage of Retirement Reflections. I enjoyed my performance last time, and today is no different.
Far from retired
My husband, Mark, and I are not settled and not retired. And, we never will be. At least not in the conventional way of owning a house debt-free, concluding a 40+ year career, having a home full of stuff, and receiving a reliable social security check. Why? Well, for starters, we are ‘only’ in our forties. Also, we don’t have a house, haven’t held a ‘normal’ job for 15 years (me) and 13 years (Mark), have no rooms, closets, attics or basements to store anything, and, even though we file taxes in the US (Mark and I) and Belgium (me), we barely make more than minimum wage. We do put some money aside for the future, but expect we will have to keep generating an income, creatively, for many years to come.
Sailing adventure with Darwin and Kali in Annapolis, MD
Part of the retirement environment
All that being said, we have found ourselves surrounded by 60-plussers everywhere we roamed, no matter the lifestyle we adopted this past decade. Retirees are becoming more adventurous. They enjoy being mobile and switching up their surroundings. Some full-time, once the house is sold or rented out, others in stints. We met many matured RVers when we lived in a truck camper and traveled throughout North and Central America, made plenty of retired friends during our eight years of cruising aboard Irie, our 35’catamaran, in the Caribbean and South Pacific, and are in touch with retirees who house and pet sit just like us. The only difference between them and us is that we differentiate between workdays and weekends.
Liesbet and Mark San Blas Islands, Panama
Ever considered house sitting?
While my first two examples might be a tad too adventurous and risky of a lifestyle for many, the idea of house and pet sitting does have a lot of sensible merits. Continue reading here…
(If you would like to leave a comment, please do so at Donna’s site. Thank you!)
After every house sit, I post an overview of it on my blog. Here’s the one about our time in San Diego.
When Mark and I were selected for this recent fall/winter house and pet sit in San Diego (this was the ad), we were very excited. We love San Diego – the climate, the sights, the activities, the friends we have there – and looked forward to a healthy balance of restful, exciting, social and productive times. For three full months (later extended by two weeks)! It seemed like a nice, long time to settle in and get things done. Suddenly, it was all over. 3.5 months… gone in a jiffy.
Christmas with Alex and Dave
Visit from Johnny Coconut and his brother
Unexpected visit from our cruising friend Patti and her rescued Mexican puppy
With Kathy and Thom on New Year’s Day
Visit from Amy and Skylos
This house sit was unusual in many ways. We arrived four days earlier, as Mark was scheduled to fly back east for health check-ups the end of October. I became a roommate of Diana, the owner, for a few days before she left. It was a perfect transition for both of us, and for the two sweet Italian Greyhounds, Frida (12) and Elvis (10). The following ten days, I took care of them, the house, the yard and the mail by myself, while working on my book and exploring the area by bike on weekends.
Things weren’t looking great for my mother-in-law by the time I arrived in Boston, the first week of the year. My husband Mark jumped on a plane a few days earlier, because listening to her ordeal from afar without being able to help was frustrating. When it comes to health care (and many other things), one needs to stay on top of everything, following up on procedures, discussions, plans, and promises. When the person who usually is in charge of that ends up hospitalized, someone else has to step in and be present to advocate. Full-time. We already lost a precious week over the Christmas period, because of misconceptions, wrong actions and holiday (non-)schedules. All out of the family’s control.
Winter in New England
Snow fall after the blizzard of the century
Walking, and even driving, can be treacherous
After being bed-ridden and connected to a plethora of machines for a month, screens being monitored and tubes being adjusted every 20 minutes, the good news arrived. Continue reading
I wake with a start. Natural light enters the bedroom. Something is terribly wrong. I fumble to look for the time. “Oh no, it’s 7:45. My plane leaves in 30 minutes. There is no way I can make it!” This is my worst nightmare.
I wake with a start. It is pitch black in the room. We never close the shades. I relax the smallest bit. It is supposed to still be dark when I need to get up, but also when I need to leave. I fumble, grab my glasses and flip the lid of my iPad. It is 4am. I sigh. Plenty of time. The dogs stir against my body. I double-check the alarm setting: 5:30am. I double-check the volume: all the way up. I only have one alarm without Mark by my side. I asked him to call me on Skype at 9am EST (6am my time), in case I overslept. Of course, my iPad is on “sleep mode” whenever I am, so someone trying to reach me will be useless.
There is no way I can fall asleep again after that dream. Around 5am, I do doze off. Wait, was that a plane flying over the house? They usually don’t start until 6:30! Oh no. Maybe it was one landing? Or, a delayed departure from last night? I am wide awake now. 5:20am. I might as well get up. I send a quick email to Mark – I’m up! Don’t worry about calling me. – and to the home owner’s mother. She requested the contact info of the helpful guy – a friend of the owner – who will take over our house sitting duties for two weeks. Time to get ready! I have 45 minutes, so don’t have to rush. Sandwiches were made and put in the fridge last night; plenty of snacks are packed. After the “blizzard of the century” in New England yesterday, I am prepared for the worst. With record low temperatures, massive snowfall, and heavy wind gusts in Boston, I expect delays getting there.
My last shower without the heat on. I eat breakfast, do the dishes and call Elvis and Frida. They are not used to getting up this early and lay together, huddled under the bed covers. They have moved from their previous spot to where I slept. Warm and cozy. I wake them and feed them. “Come on, buddy.” I try not to lose my patience. Usually, Elvis gobbles his medicines up without any issues. The pill is covered with fresh, organic peanut butter. He manages to spit it out. I smear more peanut butter on it. Nope! I’m running out of time. The third attempt is the charm. Down goes the pill, with more peanut butter. Three servings of peanut butter. He gets away with it!
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 breaking the bank. "The less money you spend, the less you need to make" is my motto. 🙂 2016 was the first full year that Mark and I lived on land as house and pet sitters, which means there is no rent to pay, wherever we end up. You can find my yearly expense overview of 2016 here. What follows is the break-down of how we spent our money in 2017.
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 predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits.
Health insurance and costs are related to my health care as a permanent resident in the US. Mark is still eligible for free health care in the state of Massachusetts as of today. If a non-emergency were to happen outside of that state, it will be expensive! For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast. I still pay a small quarterly fee in Belgium for health care (required to retain citizenship), which I mention in my year report. The utility cost refers to fees we paid for Skype, until we changed over to Google voice as our main phone service.
To be quite honest, I am disappointed and somewhat surprised at how much Mark and I spent in 2017. It is similar to our years aboard our sailboatIrie (2007-2015), and we don't even have those expensive boat repairs anymore. But, we bought a camper van this year (its purchase price is the only cost NOT included in this post), and fixing-up, equipping and "feeding" Zesty is not cheap. The car category covers money used for our Prius, which we sold in July, and our camper.
All our plane rides from the West Coast to the East Coast and from Massachusetts to Belgium belong in the travel category.
We have been perpetual nomads since 2003 – sailing, camping, RVing, house and pet sitting – and are currently roaming about South America in a truck camper with our rescue dog, Maya. As lifetime adventurers, we are self-employed and maintain a tight budget. This blog is about all that – and more – to inspire a life less ordinary. Don’t dream but do! 🙂
