No time for Mickey as I visit Molly in Orlando, Florida

I recently travelled to Orlando Florida to visit Molly. That’s not a misprint; I did say Molly, not Mickey. I’m currently here on a three-week housesit, until early January. Ironically, I’ve never been to Disney World but I’m not one to enjoy rides so I doubt I ever will. Mickey is sure to have many other visitors this holiday season so my absence won’t be missed.

Molly enjoying her owners’ present last week, on her 14th birthday

I’m in the downtown area of Orlando, in what is described by the City of Orlando as a ‘trendy and friendly neighbourhood’. I can certainly attest to the friendliness of passersby. Having recently finished a sit in Los Angeles, the warmth and friendliness of people here is a surprising and welcome change.

An augmented area of outstanding natural beauty

For those who watch the British TV show, Escape to the Country, you may be familiar with the term ‘an area of outstanding natural beauty’. I sometimes wonder why I only hear that phrase being used for the British countryside, as there are certainly many places in the world where it would apply. I am currently living in such a place.

I am on a TrustedHousesitters house sit, in an area I would say has both natural and fabricated beauty. Natural in that the town is on the Niagara river, with the remains of the forts of both Canada and the USA facing each other at the mouth of the river, and the Toronto skyline visible on a clear day across Lake Ontario. It is a town that has been featured in many major movies because of its quaint charm, manicured homes and gardens, and picture-postcard beauty.

The homeowners for this sit described their home as small, but I quickly assured them that it was twice the size of my one-bedroom condominium. However, having walked the immediate neighbourhood today, it certainly is amongst some giant properties.

When I’m in the back yard of the home I’m currently in, I can see the back of this neighbouring home in the distance, through the trees on that home’s property. What I originally thought was a street is actually the driveway of this house.

The benefits of doing a house sit close to home

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting a home for a possible house and pet sit with TrustedHousesitters. It was a mere 30-minute drive through beautiful countryside. I had already connected well with the owners, having a few chatty emails, and we’d developed a comfort level. However, they wanted to be sure that one feature of their home wouldn’t be an issue for me, which I thought was both considerate and wise; it’s important that a sit be a good fit for everyone.

As an experienced sitter, why take a sit so close to home? There are so many reasons, but I’ll touch on a few for this particular sit.

Wings of change

In April of 2020, I wrote a post about ‘The only constant in life is change’. This month I’ve experienced a heightened awareness of the meaning of change. I’ve been asking myself how my approach to life has changed over the past few months, and in what areas. And also how it should change, going forward.

Although we’re enjoying a particularly warm October in Niagara, the falling leaves are a clear indicator that the Canadian winter season is approaching. As one who enjoys being a snowbird, my wings have been clipped for the past two winters. However, things are about to change.

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  Photo by Håkon Grimstad on Unsplash

As many of you know, over the years I have travelled to many countries as a volunteer house and pet sitter with TrustedHousesitters. Understandably, however, I have not travelled outside of Canada since December of 2019. Last month I decided to change my approach to house sitting, and instead aimed to discover and appreciate some rural areas within a two-hour drive from home. I have enjoyed two sits with lovely four-legged companions. Yesterday I received a text from my most recent housemate, Sheldon. Yep, he’s a smart cat with an iPhone. Only two weeks ago he was out running around all day, annoying the local squirrels. Yesterday, when his ‘owner’ (who can really own cats?) turned on the fire, he apparently happily stretched out to enjoy the warmth. A little too rainy for squirrel chasing maybe? After all, he might mess up his beautiful coat. Thanks for the selfie, Sheldon.

Repurposing the home of the Spruce Goose

I’m currently on a house sit in Playa Vista, a neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California. The land for this neighbourhood was formerly owned by the successful but eccentric business magnate, Howard Hughes. In the photo below you can see the runway of the Howard Hughes airport, which operated until as late as 1985. The hangars, to the left of the runway, housed the infamous Spruce Goose, the WWII aircraft made entirely of wood (birch, not spruce). The aircraft was six times larger than any other of its time, and was known to have only flown once. It is now housed in the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in Oregon, USA.

https://urbanland.uli.org/development-business/playa-vista-spruce-goose-google/

Thousands and thousands of words

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Today my focus will be pictures, not words. This blog is on WordPress, which makes available extensive statistical information. Just recently I came across my average number of words per post: 2017 was 538, 2018 was 660, and 2019 to date is 978. Enough said, in more ways than one! Today, I’ll take you on a walk around San Miguel de Allende in photos, to see some of the interesting streets and architecture.

Seen in an earlier post, I must start with the city’s central landmark, the Parroquia. Yesterday I went inside for the first time. In fact, I played tourist and visited a few churches in the same day. There’s one around every corner, it seems. The interiors were all as elaborate as I had expected.

I’ve moved in with Bart

I’m currently volunteering as a house sitter in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. This sit came from a referral from homeowners I’ve done multiple sits for, but only once in their Victoria home. It’s been two years since that first visit to Victoria, and so I was happy to agree to return as I do think it’s a beautiful area.

I don’t take shelter for granted

The problem of homelessness in its varying forms has been playing on my mind lately. I’ve been repeatedly seeing a man walking our city streets, striding so purposefully while carrying the trappings of someone who walks the streets all day, every day. At the public library this week, I stood next to a dishevelled man who wreaked of hard alcohol and body odour. Holding my breath and forcing myself not to move away, I wondered about his life story.

Come from away

The past few days, in the latter part of our coach tour of Newfoundland, we’ve been covering the east side of the island. I was looking forward to visiting Lewisporte and Gander, anticipating tales of 9/11; I gave little thought to our final destination of the capital, St. John’s. I prefer small-town life to city life, so I didn’t feel St. John’s would be of particular interest to me.

Intrusive development

I came across this sign while house sitting in Hawaii. It had a profound impact on me.

Having lived in Niagara Falls, Canada for more than 40 years, I’ve seen the impact of development. Commercialization of such a beautiful part of the world is said to be development, but often it’s at the expense of the natural surroundings. At the first home I owned in Niagara Falls in the 1970s, located near the brink of the falls, checking the wind direction was an essential part of doing laundry. There was no point hanging clothes out to dry if the wind was blowing towards us as the spray from the falls would just soak them again.