Refrigerator Discoveries

One of the most interesting aspects to housesitting is to discover what other people have in their refrigerators. In one of our homes, which had a distinctly European flair to it, I found these tubes. One is anchovy paste, two are tomato paste and the other is chestnut paste (not sure what this is).

To me it makes so much sense to have these foods in paste form. How many tomato cans have I thrown out half empty? I also discovered seven types of mustard in one fridge.

Our gastronomic horizons are constantly widened by the influence of the people we meet.

Garbage Exploration

Well somehow this week we missed putting the garbage out for the pickup. So last night I think a bear got into the garbage can and we woke up to old mouldy food and plastic bags around the yard. So we packed it all up and headed off to find the landfill. Having paid our $3.00 to dump off the bag of garbage we found ourselves right by a beautiful lake.

Our 3 dogs were in the back of the suv so we popped out on a trail and went partly round the lake. What a gorgeous area. Now I grew up on this very big island near Victoria (you know Butchart Gardens), but I had never seen this part of the island.

So because we neglected our garbage duties we ended up on a lovely ramble and an exploration of a wonderful area.

Sea Lions

Took the three dogs walking on the beaches of Metchosin and saw a whole big batch of seals and sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks. Some of them looked to be truly huge and we could hear the barks for miles around.

The beaches here are on the west coast of Vancouver Island, which tends to be wild and wavy.

We went back the next day with binoculars to spot the animals. We couldn't see any until we had looked really closely at the brown log and the black and white speckled rock which turned out to be seals.

Fumble and Recovery

Due to some unforeseen circumstances our next housesit in Roberts Creek had to cancel. Oh oh.
There was nothing they could have done and of course, we go with the flow. So we change plans.
I had been speaking earlier to one of our other housesit friends and she was lamenting the fact that she wasn't finding anyone to petsit for her over Christmas.

So I fired off an email and within one hour booked into a different home for the second half of December into January. So we will be in Powell River instead of Roberts Creek.

Many people ask how we do the scheduling, and this is a good example. Having done this nearly a year we have a big list of people who might need us to come to their homes again. Christmas has to be the easiest time to find a petsit anyhow.

So problem solved.. Here is the best part. I did all this on the hotel computer while working a few days in Fort St. John, in British Columbia's frozen northland.

Wagons Hoh!

Time to leave the Sunshine Coast after nearly a month. We are heading over to Vancouver Island for another house and petsit of over three weeks, but this time it is a convuluted route.
We are taking an afternoon ferry to Vancouver tomorrow evening and camping out one night with friends. Then Paul is driving me to the airport where I get on a plane for the North of BC to do a few days work. Then he gets on another bigger ferry and heads to the island.

Paul will set up at our new place and I will fly back to the island the next day. Sometimes the plans get a bit convuluted, but it all works out in the end.

It always takes us about a day to pack up and put the place right.

When we leave we:

Wash all bedding and towels
Clean the fridge
Take out the garbage and recycling
Leave milk and bread for the owners
Set the pets up with lots of food and water
Pack all our stuff up
Put everything back where it came from
Leave a note telling about the time we were here
Give the plants a last water and mist
Collect the last post
Take all our books and videos back to the library
Stock up fresh firewood for the owners
Sweep off the leaves or clean up snow

We nearly always forget something, but we pick it up later.
So farewell Roberts Creek and hello Metchosin on Vancouver Island.

Pressured By Possesions

343 days of housesitting now

I read recently about a woman who loved staying in other people's homes because she was never pressured by their possesions. I know exactly what that means. When we are surrounded by our own things we see what needs to be cleaned, fixed, tossed, redone, used up, started on or renewed. We can feel the pressure to use the things we have as well as keep them in good condition, not to mention replacing old things, like china, vacuum cleaners etc.

When we live with other people's stuff we don't have any emotional investment in it. We look after what needs to be looked after, clean the dishes, scrub the pots, water the plants etc., but that is about it. We are free from the pressure of possesions; or better yet are not possessed by our possessions.

Haven't You Bought a House Yet??

We sold our Vancouver condo last December and were going to housesit for 2 months and then buy a small house on the coast. Trouble is, we wanted to see all the small towns for ourselves and experience them first hand. This has been an amazing adventure.

We recently saw a few houses we were interested in. But they still cost too much. With the real estate market falling everywhere, including Calgary and Edmonton, we have waited too long not to be around when Vancouver heads down a bit. Now there are all kinds of opinions about if and when it will cycle down, but I guess we are just waiting. We sure don't have a crystal ball, but in the meantime there is a lot of research that we do.

There are several blogs I check every day to watch numbers, trends and sale prices. So when we see the right place at the right time we will act. Until then, tick tock, tick tock.

Vacancy Coming Up

Anyone want to plan a getaway and have us come into their home to look after the pets, the mail, the plants and whatnot.

Paul and I are booked through the spring but we have one opening:

March 20/21 until early April, probably the 3rd or 4th.

If you know anyone who wants this spot let us know.

Of course our service is completely free as we are trading the home for the housesit.

We are happy with dogs, cats, donkeys, ducks, racoons, fish, birds and bunnies so far.

Bake Sale

Today we went to the lovely town of Gibsons to a church fall fair and bake sale. Now you might know Gibsons because that is where Molly's Reach is located, that place featured in the popular television show, The Beachcombers.

Paul put a bid on the silent auction for an electronic device of some kind and I bought an inexpensive pair of earrings.

As the day wore on the organizers decided to sell off the bakery goodies so we bought a small plate of delicious treats for $2. We got a buttertart, a lemon square and some cake and fudge. That with a 75cent cup of coffee made the day. In fact the pastries were so good we had to take a plate to go so that we could have another inexpensive treat at home this weekend.

It's all good and sometimes it doesn't even cost much.