The Part Time Pets LOVE to Help Out at the Puter

The one thing my part time pets seem to have in common, particularly for the smaller ones, is their need to put their IT skills into action and help with the puter.  Its a shame they are not so willing at filing!

"Marcel the Parcel" as I called him was a master at supervising anything going on in the office in the last few days of the sit.  He had surgery before I arrived and was meant to be out of his cone by the time I got there, but he figured out how to get around his first smaller cone, and chewed out all his stitches.  So he was very quiet the first week of the sit, but once he started to feel better - he was right into everything.  Not bad for a three legged rescue cat :-)

The Clean Underwear Dilemma SOLVED!

Any travelling adventurer knows the burden of getting your clothes clean whilst on the road.

Well this clever Australian company has come up with a great invention that is going to make turning your undies inside out a thing of the past.

It's a bag with little nodules on the inside to help the cleaning process, it uses minimal water and is very light so it won't take up those valuable ounces on the airline scales.

Incredibly simple, it takes away the stress of trying to keep things clean, and when most hotel sinks don't hold water without leaving the tap running, this clever little bag will really help save water too.  

You can see it in action here - not sure if the bloke in the ute comes with :-)

Find out how to get yours at their website here

Will Technology Replace HouseSitters?

I was amused to read about a new service in cat shelters which allows the shelters site visitors to play remotely with cats in cages.  Its a great scheme and is showing greater number of adoptions and donations to the sites.

But of course this technology will be easily applied to other areas including housesitting.

Sylvie loved to climb up on my knees and have a snooze
while I worked on my iPad - she made a great stand

But will there ever be a replacement for a pat and hug, being walked all over and sat on and really just to have human contact while an owner is away?

You can visit the website here

Misacapades of Clean Underwear

One must never be traveling down life’s highway with a suitcase full of dirty underwear - its just one of those universal laws that must not be broken.

Last night saw me ensconced in the Marriott at Santa Clara California.  So many hotels only offer the highly priced “send out” option that sees a load of washing costing more than the price to buy it new.  So the gift of an in-house guest laundry where you can soothe your wash day blues for $2 was beckoning.  So off I choofed to the gift shop to get soap powder and quarters for the machines.  

I have attended three conferences at this hotel and they are really good at making it easy for the masses to get things in a hurry.  Their pricing reflects that.  Small items are rounded off to a dollar incl tax, meaning the transaction happens quickly in the lunch line.  So if you want a banana - its a dollar - you want a yoghurt - its a dollar - you want a bag of crisps, yep its a dollar.  So I have a thing in my head that says most small things at this Marriott are a dollar .. because pretty much they are!  

I got this great laundry bag in Aspen many
years ago - its one of the things that
ALWAYS travels with me

So down I went to the lobby with three $1 notes in hand only to find that the soap powder was $1.35 - what the?  This kind of threw a spanner in the workings of my brain because the washer and dryer, funnily enough were one dollar a piece so I needed 8 quarters, but now I’ve only got 6.  But I’d looked in my purse before hitting the lift and I could see several quarters lurking in the bottom, so I figured I didn’t need to come back.  

So I went back to my room and took ALL my dirty clothes off and donned “big red” - my big ole fluffy red comfort dressing gown, not elegant, but is like being wrapped in a hug.  I wandered down to the laundry, put my load of washing in, inserted four shiny quarters and got back to my room without anyone seeing me.

Then it was time to go back and put the now clean, but wet clothes in the dryer.

Now if you’ve done your maths, I have two quarters (.25c) left from the gift shop and I’ll need the two other quarters I THOUGHT I had in my purse.  Half correct - I had one quarter and one nickel!  They look very similar in the bottom of a change purse - DAM!

So now I’m standing in my room, butt naked under the big dressing gown looking less than glamorous, all my clothes now wet in the washing machine and I’m one quarter short.

I turned my bags upside down seeking another quarter but alas, not one to be found.

The thought of wandering through the plush lobby in “big red” to get more change didn’t inspire.

So I phoned up guest services to see if they would bring me up a quarter.  After a long discussion ....... imagine my strong Australian accent trying to relay this to the young woman on the other end line, who kept rationally telling me I had to come to the desk and get change.  

Finally , after some negotiation and a slight hissy fit I convinced her that the lobby was probably not a place for big red to make its catwalk debut and a lovely lady from housekeeping bought me up a quarter to trade for my nickel and two dimes.

My life looks awfully exotic to so many but it took over an hour to get that load of laundry in the dryer - its the small every day things on the road that drive you the most nuts!

Always Talk With Strangers

It was so indoctrinated in me from childhood "don't talk to strangers" that I still have to force myself into conversation with outlanders while I am on the road.

An encounter in Canada bought home just how much I miss out on when I don't engage with the magnificent souls who walk this earth.

Getting on the Ferry at Horseshoe Bay BC

Now I am not condoning a chat with a shady character in a dark alley or asking you to break into conversation with anyone who gives you a bad vibe.  But it's my belief that there is a lot more good people than bad in this world and we shouldn't let our fear overwhelm us and lock out experiences with awesome people.

I was coming back to the mainland after spending five lovely weeks in Sechelt, a holiday destination on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Already I had encountered one horror cab driver who seemed to be living in his own reality, most certainly not in mine. So I felt blessed that I had made the ferry terminal in one piece, after living through a real life episode of the keystone cops with the cab driver. You know you are in trouble when you are sitting in the back of a cab shouting "follow that bus!"

Its a spectacular ferry ride

By some miracle I made it to the ferry terminal ON the bus, but my luggage was heavy and I had too much of it and I was already feeling harrowed.

The walk down to the ferry was a LONG haul and I knew from the journey in that I still had a LONG way to drag those three suitcases onto the boat.

A human in discomfort will do just about anything to get out of it!

So what did the damsel in distress do?  I sought out the first knight in shining armor I could eyeball.

This happened to be a well dressed, trendy looking young man, who had just arrived at the "get on barrier".

I had my line ready, and out it came.

"I'll give you ten dollars if you roll this suitcase on board for me - it's not heavy, I just don't have enough hands".

Good grief, if my mother could have heard that!

A little taken a back, he agreed to the task but wouldn't take the cash.

He was generous enough to just want to be of service and he did duly get me on board and seated.  He also offered to come back and help me off at the other end.

Sure enough he did.

Turns out he was also going on the same bus into downtown Vancouver and as he helped me on board the bus, a drumstick fell out of his bag and clattered down the aisle.

What's the chances?

I had chosen the one person out of several hundred on board the ferry that day who I could have a slightly intelligent conversation with.

So it was time to take the coach approach and ask a question.  I asked the first one that came into my head.

"So, are you some famous rock and roll band drummer I should recognize?"

I figured I was pretty safe because I knew he probably wouldn't be riding the bus if he was, but he took it as a compliment that I thought he could be.

It's a long time since I have played in a rock n roll band, but that DNA never dies and very quickly he was telling me his dreams of playing professionally. In fact he had an audition to go to that week, hence why he had his practice sticks with him.

But I knew there was something more because he was a little too well dressed for your standard rock drummer, so I got more questions rolling.  Sure enough, he was studying archeology, hence why he was spending so much time in South Africa.   He had mentioned several trips there in a previous conversation and I figured he had a beau there, but no, he worked at a "dig".  He was the guy that cataloged everything the diggers found.

WOW - this was your not so classic "digs and gigs" guy!   I might not have been on the bus with Nirvana's drummer but I was with a real life Indiana Jones! 

I was very moved when he commented that he felt very humbled to be the very first person to handle and catalog these precious artifacts after fate had placed them in that spot all those centuries ago. He described the amazing energy they carried.  I was able to share my theory that it was probably him in another incarnation that put them there in the first place. For an academic, he was surprisingly ok with my "out there" totally unsubstantiated theory.  You could tell he was deeply connected with his work, not just at "books" level, but also at a very deep heart level as well.

We then went onto a discussion on all the great bands his parents had dragged him along to see when he was little and they were living in England.  All my favs - Queen, Rolling Stones, in fact there was a strong chance we had both been in the crowd for the Stones at Wembley, if only I could remember the year.

It amazes me how in even the most unlikely situations likes will attract.

All too soon he had to get off at his stop, but he made sure I knew where I was getting off and bade me farewell. I thanked those gawd awful heavy suitcases, because without them, I wouldn't have had my life enriched by this encounter with a total stranger, whose name I forgot to ask.

Then, it was time to get those dam suitcases off the bus!

Is It a BIG limo or a 'lil Ute?

In Australia your standard "aussie bloke" has a ute.  Its short for utility truck, in many ways it's like a smaller version of a pickup truck.  It still has the ability to carry passengers comfortably, but has the ability to move a whole household of furniture if a mate were in need.   

So when I saw this parked outside the Parcel 104 restaurant at the Marriott Santa Clara - I was a little unsure if it was a big limo or a small ute.  

The concierge told me it has gull wing doors which made my head spin even more because then potentially it could also be a small plane given the right set of circumstances.

I never approached the driver to find out if the "ute" part was a jaccuzzi - that would just totally do my head in!

Part Time Pet Hall of Fame

Over time I've had the pleasure to make the acquaintance of some wonderful part time pets - they all end up with a special nickname from me - you can meet some of them here:

The Ozzies

Katie and Sophie - Daylesford

  

This is "Katie the Matie" and "Sophie the Lophie" collectively
known as "The Tailwaggers".  Katie has a heart the size of
Texas and well Sophie would just loaf off as soon as your
back was turned and go find dead kangaroos bones to bring home

 

One needs one's futon for lying in the sunshine

 

They would beg their way in promising to keep me company, 

then all I would hear is snoring by the fire

 -oOo-

Jelly Bean - Hepburn Springs

 

This is "The Bean" - she is a hugger girl that likes to help with the computer

 

Every princess needs her beauty sleep

Funny thing was, this sofa was empty the day she arrived,

by the time she left she had more blankets and pillows than I did! 

 -oOo-

Ellie - Bermagui

-oOo-

Thunder and Jadore - Gold Coast

Their folks had gone off to Bali to get married so we 

decided we'd get our fascinators on and have a special 

wedding dinner and send them a wedding message with photos

 Thunder the Wonder took to the whole
fascinator thing well and posed beautifully and 

seemed a little disappointed when he had take his off

Jadore the Princess seemed a little less impressed with

hers and it disappeared as fast as her dinner

There was also Freddie the exotic blue fish but he

refused to have anything to do with fascinators and was

content to just go round and round and round his bowl

-oOo-

Dunolly, VIC, Australia

Madge and Max were my only buddies 

in Country Victoria - they didn't say much 

but hopped in morning and night
and did a good job of keeping 

the lawns mowed.

-oOo-

Izzy and Blackie - Adelaide

 

I called her "Izzy Whizzy Lets Gets Busy" - but her favourite thing (well apart from walks) was sneaking onto MY blanket and leaving HER Snoopy blanket for me!

Her third most favourite thing was tummy rubs!

Blackie liked to lie in the sun and was happiest when left alone.
Funny thing was Blackie wasn't black.

The Americans

Sylvie - San Jose

 

"Sylvie McGilvy" - the "let me find the best and sunniest 

spot in the house and lie in it" gal

 

She was such a loving gal - she had to be in on everything.

She made a great iPad stand - she would sit a top my knees

and help write newsletters (yeah right - sleep more like!)

 

I had trouble convincing her she wasn't leaving with me!

~oOo~

Sophie and Marcel
San Francisco

 

Marcel the Par-cel - such a gift

He'd had surgery but outsmarted his

first smaller cone and ripped open the stitches,

which meant he was cone-head for the whole time

with me - don't you just love his ballet feet.

 

Sophie the Yoda Master

Straight out of Glamour Salon

 

Office Pals .... eventually

Read their story here

 Here's Marcel helping me set up the video for recording

~oOo~
 
Duke & Daisy
Washington DC

Daisy Di - very regal!

Dookie Doodle - the "Ma Num a Nah" cat

The Canadians

Donus - Sechelt BC

 

"Donus the Bonus" - that ear was always lop sided - so cute!

 

I even had to mind a Hamster called Hammy 

he loved his hamster ball I got him

-oOo-

Batman- Vancouver BC

 

This is "Batman the Catman" - he lives in Vancouver 

but he's from France originally, so he only speaks French

 I used to call him "Oui Oui" and "Bon Oui" when he was 

especially good because that's the only French I know!

He is the master at hide and seek

Pomegranate Power

House sitting carries the most delightful surprises.

At my sit in San Jose, the owners emails kept telling me to "enjoy the pomegranates".

I'd never tried them, although I had heard they were delicious.  Pomegranates are not widely available in Australia, well Melbourne anyway.

Sure enough on investigating the backyard the pomegranate tree was loaded.

As instructed I managed to pull a perfectly formed, big round red one off the tree and headed inside to try this treat I had seen selling for a dollar a pop at the supermarket.

Luckily I started to chop it open in the sink because first cut with the knife and bright crimson juice sprayed everywhere!

This was obviously not a first date food.

By the end of getting all those seeds out of the pod and all the white and reportedly sour white pith off, the sink looked like a massacre zone.

It also took a very LONG time to eat all those seeds one by one, and if you ate them with a spoon, little spurts of juice went everywhere.  Quite frankly it seemed a lot of work and mess for something that was nice but EXHAUSTING.

I had earlier observed there were many empty pods under the tree, which I guessed were consumed by the delightful little squirrels who raced up and down the fence.

So I figured nature makes it easy for them, maybe I should pick the already split ones. Sure did, but still the massacre in the sink to clean up. I'd keep finding spots of pomegranate juice all over the kitchen and me!

When in doubt ..... Google

But I persevered and I googled for tips and tricks on peeling them. So many tips!

The most common solution seemed to be to peel them under water, but this seemed an even messier option to me. I also didn't like the concept of losing the juice into the water.

Finally it dawned on me to peel them inside a clean plastic bag and just keep washing it out.

Worked a treat if I quartered them first - tapped out as many of the luscious seeds as would fall out naturally and then just scrap out the remainder.

The bag collected all the seeds and juice, so nothing got wasted and the pith floated on the juice.

My cunning plan to become a domestic goddess was not dead yet!

Then I got the bright idea to tip the contents of the plastic bag into my morning smoothies - YUMMO!  Taste Explosion!

I'd been switched onto Vega Powder in Canada and combined with their berry shake powder, a few spinach and kale leaves plus chia and hemp seeds........ I was rockin'

Give the Goddess of Domestication's Pommegranate Vega shakes a go!

Earning Carrot Dollars Couldn't Be Easier

Sometimes people just get stuff right.

I was delighted when Karen, my back up if something went wrong at my San Jose sit, swung in to take me to the San Jose Downtown Farmers’ Market in San Pedro Square the first week I arrived. People you meet while sitting can be so very kind and I was most grateful for this introduction to a local ritual.

The market was lovely and I decided to take myself off there on my own steam the following week. That included walking and the bus. I was very excited because I had read on the Farmers Market website that you get "carrot dollars" if you take public transport, if you walk or bike in. Well I had two ticks to my name.

But to be honest getting buses does my head in and I was so busy trying to explain where I needed to get off and discern if I was actually on the right bus to do that, I completely forgot to ask for a receipt. On the San Jose buses you generally just throw our money in the slot, keep your head down and keep walking.

Despite proof of purchase, I decided to have a chat to the lady at the "carrot money" stand anyway and I let her know I'd bused in but didn't have any proof. She heard my accent and instantly believed me and handed over my well earned "carrot money".

I love when people don't nit pick and make it hard for you to get the advertised rewards. This is an amazing initiative to get people out of their cars and coming to the market using less carbon emissions. To know they are so generous in their thinking really does make a big difference to why I would want to keep returning.

I went in the morning because the market is slap in the middle of the San Jose CBD so I guessed it would get quite busy as the office workers come out at lunchtime to gather their weekend food supplies.

But before noon, the market is laid back and has a really great vibe, along with a really good busker and a mixed variety of stalls.

I had no trouble spending my "carrot dollars" on homemade hommus.

Image that, you don't even have to buy carrots! I reckon I may have tried just about all the 22 flavours of hommus on sale, settling on the hot chilli version. Hot was the operative word, but it made the tub last longer!

There is also an excellent Sunday farmers market at Japantown and although it doesn't carry the vibrant vibe of the Friday market, the smallholders are authentic and the food is fresh and yummy ..... No carrot dollars on Sunday either :-(

I really loved the cities attitude to fresh organic food. I could easily live in a place that cared as much.

Photograph Your Bags

House sitters frequently rack up a lot of travel and spend way too much time on trains, boats and planes. 

 Fingers crossed it all goes well. But even the most hardened travelers have something go wrong from time to time.

I had an incident with my bag coming off a flight out of San Fran into Vancouver.

My bag is quite distinct and has all the required bows and big identifying labels showing it is my bag. But still I found myself at Vancouver airport, in a hurry to catch a connecting ferry, in the unenviable position of watching a bag identical to mine go around and around the luggage carousel.

I have never seen anyone with a bag like mine. I got it in Sydney years ago and I bought it because it was different.

Even though identical in every way, I knew this interloper doing the airport equivalent of a session on a hamster wheel wasn't mine because I had checked the bag tag. Yep it was an Australian address, probably purchased in the same shop as mine. This wasn't a good sign.

As soon as it became obvious no new bags were entering the system I headed over to the the very friendly and super helpful man at the lost baggage counter. He swung into action as he stated his annoyance with people who couldn't or wouldn't obey the airport's constant pleas to check they had the right bag before leaving the concourse.

He rightly pointed out that people think they are too busy and important to take a few seconds to check.

Your Bag Carries Important Things Like Clean Underwear
- its not good when it goes missing

He tried all the obvious things like phoning the number on the imposter bag, putting a message over the airport intercom system. As time ticked away it was becoming increasingly obvious I wasn't going to get that ferry.

Then the paper work started and the questions.

So many questions related to one little common blue bag.

This is why I recommend you take photos of all your luggage so you can show the person at lost and found exactly what it looks like. Despite the amount of time spent lugging that bag through airports and hotel lobbies, you would be surprised how hard it is to remember the more intricate details.

As I reached for my phone to start showing the guy my photos, we noticed two women, red faced and puffing running toward us .... with my blue bag in tow. I've never been so pleased to see that bag.

However the woman who had lifted my bag was more concerned how this had held HER up and how could we hurry this up because they had tight connections that were being messed with.

Then, as a dispossessed afterthought, she added "oh well ......... these things happen".

Until now I was happy to just glare and get on with my day but the last comment raised my heckles. and my brain disengaged as my mouth flew open.  I pointed out that "perhaps if she had checked she had the right bag then maybe she wouldn't be in this position".

Now I was fuming mad and off I went into a rant ....... "and ignorant, unthinking people like her who couldn't spend five seconds to check the label on the bag were the reason this sort of thing happened. It had nothing to do with fate or some off-chance divine intervention".

Then she poured salt into the wound and offered in a very off hand way to give me money for my loss.

How do you recompense the fact that the sit I was going to included an 86 year old woman who was petrified of the dark? The ferry at 5pm would have got me in before dark, the later ferry wouldn't.

Unthinking Actions Often Hurt the Innocent  

So here we have a situation where someone elderly and afraid is sitting alone in a big house, the sun is going down and she is wondering if this total stranger all the way from Australia is even going to show up. How do you recompense that?

 

Luckily the customs lady who had to bring the bag napper back into the secure area, read my body language, stepped in and suggested we just agree to differ and get on our way.

I did miss the ferry but luckily BC Ferries provide free Internet for their passengers so I was able to log into Skype and phone ahead to let my elderly charge know what had happened.  I was able to assure her that although I wouldn't be there before dark, I would be there.

If I'd known it was going to cost me $80 to get a cab from the ferry to the house instead of taking the bus for $2.50 I might have considered taking that horrible woman's guilt money. But in hindsight I wouldn't have wanted the energy of that women's money anywhere near me, even for a short period of time.

As the very wise and observant man at the lost baggage pointed out, as I was thanking him for his outstanding service, "people like her would never understand that their actions caused so much distress for others and what's more she wasn't the type of person who was ever likely to change her behavior because people like her could never own her part in what went wrong".

Crikey, you find the most extraordinary everyday sages in the most unlikely places when you travel!

My day was much enriched by meeting the wise airport workers at YVR.

What Do I Miss?

A question I get asked quite a lot ……. What do I miss most as I live the reality of a portable lifestyle?

Well apart from the obvious friends and family …… I'm slightly embarrassed to admit ……. the thing I really miss the most is my 27" Big iMac.

Here's my lil mac taking the download from the big mac on my last full day in Daylesford.

Even though I've come away with the latest Mac Book Pro with retina screen in my KnoMo Stella backpack - the Pro, well its faster and smarter on many levels, but I really miss being able to see everything all at once.

Its never easy to step down and going from 27 to 15 inches …. well just proves the age old adage that size really does matter.

Sigh and then there's the magic of building sequences in the new Infusionsoft campaign builder - no longer can I see the whole campaign all at once.  I know people in the world are starving, but these are the things you miss on the road, particularly when your whole business lives in your computer.

Then the next thing I miss is my Herman Miller Mirra office chair with the amazing built in lumber support.

My back reminds me every day how amazing that chair really was.

I could sit there all day and not feel any worse for the wear and tear.

But I get to experience new cities and do nutty things like wake up in the morning and just decide to go to lunch in a city most only ever dream of visiting.

I really am very blessed, but Apple …. if you can figure out how to make a fold up 27" screen, that is lighter than an Air and packs down to my backpack - I'll love ya forever!!

And Herman if you can put a button on that chair that shrinks it so it fits in the backpack too - oh my, my back will love you forever!

Submit and Obey

The concept of submit and obey comes from my training as a Reiki Master.  The concept is prevalent in many of the eastern spiritual and martial arts teaching traditions.

It doesn't mean that we have to submit our power to someone else.  Instead the concept relates to submitting to a higher force and allowing yourself to be in the universal flow.

It relates to not questioning and being open and awake to the many opportunities for learning that exist outside our own knowledge and ego.

I had a great lesson in submit and obey recently while housesitting.

My charge, a delightful yet very inquisitive little cat, also a well known escape artist, went missing one evening.

It was quite a difficult feat because she was an indoor cat and all the doors were shut!  But in that hard moment of realisation, she was in fact offically missing in action.

Sunniest spot in the house - Sylvie found it and spent most of her time there.

I called and called and checked and I double checked everywhere in the house.  I rattled doors and shook windows wondering where she could have got to.

Considering she was usually in one of four places, asleep on the kitchen window sill, asleep on the bed, asleep on me or ripping around the house like a mad thing, this was most unusual.

She was definitely no where to be found.

This is a horror situation for a house sitter because of course your furry friends are a big responsibility.

Losing one is less than ideal.

Then standing at the kitchen window my blood ran cold.  There was a small gap where the bug screen on the window didn't quite close properly.  Oh dear, had she figured out the one escape route in the house?  The owners had left the window open, so I couldn't figure why they would do that if she could escape.

Plus I really couldn't see how she could have slipped through a gap that small, but now I was going to need to call for support because if she had, she was probably outside now and from past accounts could now be anywhere in the neighbourhood.

So up I went to the office to email the friend around the corner assigned for just this type of disaster.

As I pulled the office chair out from the desk and swung it around to sit down, who did I find on the chair but the cat sound asleep!  In fact she was quite indignant that I'd woken her.

Was she asleep or was she just ignoring me?  Who cares, I'd found her and that was all that was important.

Then something quite unrelated occurred to me.  Several of the windows in the house had little stickers on them that said "don't open - screen broker".  I thought the owners had been very kind in ensuring I wasn't going to get bitten by errant bugs, but what they had been saying was - don't open this window because the cat will be able to get out through the broken screen.

Until this incident that hadn't occurred to me.

Luckily without giving the situation to much thought I had read the signs and submitted and obeyed.  I could just have easily thought, no worries about the bugs, I can handle it and opened them anyway, but I didn't, I obeyed and kept them shut and only opened the windows without signs.  Submit and obey saved my bacon!

The tiny sticker that made all the difference

As a house sitter submit and obey can be our friend on so many levels.  This simple little story is a grand example of how communications can get crossed so easily.

I was just lucky to have such a diligent owner who knew all the tricks of the cat.

As I removed my heart from my mouth, I thanked my now instinctual connection to submit and obey ….. even if I didn't fully understand the full reason for the little sticky note at the time, both the sticky and submit and obey certainly served me well.

The cat just went back to sleep!