House sitting

When we decided to go overseas for 81 days one of the things we needed to consider was our home and two cats.

At the same time we were considering our options to do some house sitting in England to extend our stay.

We found a website that suited,
https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/

There is a subscription fee and you need to be prepared to have a police check done so we did this and then posted about ourselves and started to follow postings about house sitting opportunities.

Others who were looking for house sitting opportunities soon spotted us and it wasn't long before we had quite a number of requests in our in box.

One couple stood out from all the rest and so we got in touch with Bill and Raewyn.  From their profile we could see  that they were very experienced in house sitting and, very much in our favour, they lived just a couple of hours drive away from us.

We were able to organise to meet them and the fact that they were available and willing to stay in our home for us through the winter months was just wonderful.

Departure day came and it was so reassuring to be able to leave our home in their capable hands.

Bill and Raewyn bonded with our two loveable pets and took great care of them.  Simba had to be taken to the vets for two separate incidents during our absence and this was all par for the course for our very capable house sitters.

Unexpected plumbing repairs were also required on a couple of occasions and Bill's plumbing background enabled these to be fixed without any great expense.

They took great care of our home as well as applying lots of loving tender care to our garden.  Bill got brassicas going for us so that spring vegetables were well on the way on our return and Raewyn planted out lots of lovely flowers in our pots so that there was a lovely touch of colour for us on our return.

The household pantry seemed to be very well stocked and we kept coming across lovely little surprises in the food department for quite some time.

Based on this experience we would certainly look at house sitting options again.

We still keep in touch with Raewyn and Bill.  They are in demand and have assignments going into next year.  Their assignments have taken them to various parts of the world as well as New Zealand and we would highly recommend them to others.

The things of home

As much as we loved our time away we did miss our cats, Simba (the light coloured one) and Hershey (the chocolate coloured one).

Linda thought they might have forgotten who we were but they were right there to welcome us home. 

We were very thankful that they had bonded well with our house sitters in our absence and they certainly looked very fit and healthy from their time together. 

We do enjoy having these special pets as part of our lives here in Taupo. 

Travel Worn and Weary

It has been more than a month since we returned from our travels.

Plenty of time to rest up and get back into some sort of home life routine.

Happy memories and a very travel worn itinerary to remind us of them.

Because we were being so frugal about carrying any excess weight I did not even take a notebook with me.

I did take this three page itinerary that I had compiled so that we could keep a check on where we next needed to be.  As it turned out it also became very useful for taking notes on the reverse of destinations and shopping lists, so our itinerary became a little travel worn and weary but a happy reminder or days gone by.

Was it worth it? Yes it was

Yes, in spite of some being dubious about being able travel around the world for 81 days with cabin baggage only we did it and it was so worthwhile. 

Great way to inhibit spending. 

 

So much easier to manage. I have decided I am never using a suitcase any bigger than this again. 

Another thing that helped us along the way was the ScotteVest, www.scottevest.com

Lightweight, shower proof with lots of storage pockets, these vests were great for storing travel documents, passports, cash, eftpos cards, smart phones, keys, and even a pocket big enough for an iPad.  Most days I could get away without having to take a handbag which I considered a bonus.

Not planning on going anywhere in the near future but these items will be essentials should travel plans arise. 

Baggage restrictions

When Linda and I were on our recent travels we set ourselves a restriction on having cabin baggage only. 

It turned out to be a very good discipline as it made us think twice before making purchases along the way. 

However, in our early wanderings in England, we ended up in the town of Leek and happened upon a traditional market where lots of vintage items were to be had. 

The above supper cloth was in a bargain bin and at the right price it seemed too precious to leave behind. 

Linda also spotted this tea towel in very good condition and so, in spite of our baggage restrictions, these two items became part of my luggage for the rest of our travels. 

 

Yesterday morning we used the table cloth at breakfast time. So pleased with this treasure that brings back happy memories of our time spent in England.