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After a Half Year of Housesitting…

November 15th snuck up on us so quickly and it is hard to believe that half of our time house sitting is already up. With each month passing, we feel more and more grateful to have this experience and to be able to live with such ease.

October brought an early record breaking snowfall  and we hosted another family guest. I was amazed that it took my 76 year old mother visiting for me to finally set up the miniPong table inside.

We had some fun!

This 2 minute video captures some of the October snow, a little miniPong and some action at our neighbourhood pub, The Last Straw. The wonderfully talented Tim Tamashiro sings as he hosted an annual fundraiser for the Calgary Food Bank.

November provided warm weather and travel for us. Although we were out of the house for half of the month, it made coming home to this sanctuary that much more special. Travelling gave us a refresher and put new perspective into our day to day.

December has brought snow, play, family, friends, and food! Now that January is just around the corner, we are finally actually starting to think about “what’s next” when people ask us. But it is still too soon to know for sure!

We are excited to see what the new year will bring!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

renee & tony

 

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Summer Has Come And Gone

And just like that, the summer is gone. Already September and a third through our time here. But boy did we take advantage of it! So many hikes were had and mountains touched. We did a bunch of camping in the forest and along lakes. There was a bountiful harvest of vegetables to be picked (and counting) and hot, sunny BBQ days enjoyed on the balcony with friends. Everything you could ask for in a summer. Not a moment to spare.

Bill and Keoma even joined us for some of it! It was wonderful to reunite once again and hear in person the stories and experiences they have had. Tony and I laugh with glee in excitement of how traveling is changing their perspectives of the world and of themselves! What an adventure! Tony remembers fondly offering to Bill, “Make yourself at home, in your own home.”

As Fall approaches here in Calgary (a bit too soon) we look forward to cozying up in front of the fireplace and enjoying the house in ways we haven’t yet.

The above video chronicles a few months of house-sitting in Tuscany, Calgary. As you will see, the garden is the star of the show and we even got a couple visits from the home owners, Keoma and Bill.

renee & tony

 

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The Little Things Like…

Mowing the lawn!

Nothing says suburbia like a freshly cut lawn. Now Tony and I don’t mind cutting the lawn, but gasoline mowers really put me off. It’s hot, the fumes are blowing in your face, and it’s noisy. Not to mention, this property is on a hill and we have to maneuver the mower up and around the house to the front yard.

Therefore, we invested in a push mower! Yes! It is perfect for the little grass that is here. As you can see we were pretty excited to try it out.

renee

 

Indeed the little things in life can either make or break your day. We are finding that living in this situation is both comfortable and interesting.

It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to live in someone else’s fully furnished, beautiful home so why not make the most of it?

A summer BBQ

I feel that Renee and I are enjoying ourselves to the fullest and making the place our own. We’ve greatly enjoyed seeing the garden grow and being in this part of the city has been a new type of adventure for us.

A very quite adventure…

No kidding. Many times we have questioned if we are actually in some kind of TV set. This is because we almost never see neighbours in the yards behind this home. And that’s so hard to understand because this area is so beautiful. I mean, mountains! The view of the mountains is enough to get me outside every morning – even if it’s raining! Not to mention this neighbourhood of Tuscany has so many walking / cycling paths to enjoy the scenery with.

The garden after 6 weeks

So this new, but quiet adventure in suburbia is developing quite nicely and we are taking good care of the lawn and the garden. There have been many laughs and BBQ’s thus far and I have no doubt that many more will come.

Until next time, carpe diem!

Tony

The silent neighbourhood

 

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After One Month of House-sitting…

Keoma, remember back in January when you were trying to convince us to house-sit for you? You teased and inserted thoughts about having a garden and access to the mountains. So enticing. Well…you were right! The house is beautiful and more than comfortable. The vegetable garden is wonderful! We planted zucchini, squash, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, kale, cucumber, peppers, onion and beets! (I know you said the mice have gotten the beets in the past but we wanted to go for it and see what happens). I love seeing the plants progress! They are looking great. And, the mountains! I love having the mountains so accessible to me. Due to this, I have made a goal to get out to the mountains every week for this summer. So far I am succeeding! So in saying this, we have been house-sitting for a month now. With the routine of work, play, and rest, it has gone by quickly.

But! Dare I say, I have noticed this all too familiar feeling once again inside of me. A yearning, a pull, a desire to be free and on the road once again. Well…I lasted for about a month. There really is nothing quite like being on the road, living day to day, and seeing new places. So, alas, we headed out camping for the weekend to celebrate our one month anniversary, house-sitting! Away from our home, all the people (or lack their of, where are all the people in this neighbourhood), the city, and out into the wilderness. Ahhh, sweet escape. But it sure is nice to come home to this house at the end of day. I wonder if you two have already begun missing your home yet.

renee

This has been such a wonderful adventure so far. It’s hard for me to believe that the first month of 12 is already gone. It is true that time flies when you are having fun.

Everything has been even better than we could have imagined. The neighbourhood is quiet (the small barking dog when we moved in has either moved or gone mute); The neighbours are friendly as we’ve met them on both sides; and the kitchen is amazing. That seems to be where we have been spending most of our time as we both eat about our body weight in meals together each evening.

Sure, there have been some small damages in the place, but hey, that’s normal right? A piece of the lawnmower came off, a toilet seat came unhinged and there are a couple other treasures to speak of but nothing major. Nothing to worry about.

So we did get out after a month, but we are back home now and very much looking forward to the adventures that the next 11 months bring.

Indeed the one month celebration in the mountains was stunning but as Renee mentioned above, it is so lovely to have a comfortable place to come back to.

Tony

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The Kegger

What better way to celebrate moving into a beautiful home for the next year, paying no rent, and indulging in the life of suburbia then by throwing a housewarming party! While it took some time to adjust, I can now say it feels like our home. Having our friends over was an important step in acknowledging the adventure we have taken on, and it was time to share it with the people we love. The little finishing touches are coming together around the house as well which is making it feel like home.

(Disclosure: This is an inside joke. No kegger was actually had. Though don’t kid yourself, alcohol was involved.)

However, there is one little (big) detail I cannot get past which has brought me more stress than needed. WHITE. CARPET. That’s right. Now I don’t know if this was part of the house when purchased – which I’m assuming it was – but who in their right mind puts in white carpet? I mean, you’re just asking for it. Everyday, I come home from work (landscaping) usually covered in dirt and I dread walking over that carpet to get to the shower. And, when throwing a party…let’s just say I was a bit paranoid during the evening.

But all was well and joyous. Friends left giddy (and maybe a bit jealous), carpets remained white, and two housesitters were content and happy.

renee

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Week 2 Housesitting and No Fire!

June 2, 2018

Our second week of housesitting was uneventful for the most part and also wonderful. This home is beautiful and the views of the mountains are inspiring.

As this video explains, there was a potentially dangerous situation that was avoided. Despite this, all is very well and we are settling in comfortably.

Until next time…

 

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We Are Housesitting For A Year

May 20, 2018

Well, the first week, to say the least, has felt surreal. I can’t believe we will be living in this beautiful home for the next year! We are going to be more than comfortable living in this three bedroom, three bathroom, two living room  (plus kitchen and office) – home with a garden and a yard. Not to mention the incredible view of the mountains that you can see from any west facing side of the house. What a tease as we lie there in bed.

As I unpacked my one duffle bag (which is my whole wardrobe) – that I’d been living out of for last three weeks – into the lovely spacious drawers, I felt more settled. After a couple of days, I felt more familiar with the space. Especially the kitchen. But the appliances! So many appliances (that I didn’t even know existed) live in this house! Bill, Keoma…How? Why? My minimalist brain questions their uses and purpose in life.

Overall, it feels so nice to be in one place. Knowing that we will be here, bunkering down for a year is relieving and comforting. After travelling this past year, it’s an incredible feeling to know you have a place to go where you can cook and store food in a fridge, or shower and wash your clothes whenever you want. These little things are much appreciated. Although Bill and Keoma are travelling more luxurious than I did on the road, I feel that they will come to appreciate the little things as well. Ahhh…yep. I think I could get used to this…for a while anyways!

renee

May 23, 2018

One week ago Renee and I moved into a house together. As mentioned above, we moved into this beautiful, modern, three bedroom home in Tuscany, Northwest Calgary. Why would we do this when neither of us have lived in suburbia except when with parents? We decided to do this because we were offered an opportunity…

Back in January of this year we were exploring how to do ‘housesitting’. As Renee and I share a passion for travel and random adventures, we were learning about this alternative way of living to see if it would fit for us.

I had set up a profile on housesitter.com and we begin to look at places. Interestingly, we were exploring this living arrangement while staying at the beautiful Bodega Ridge Resort on Galiano Island, British Columbia. Through a sequence of events – that are actually based on a network of friendships – we were doing some temporary work there as part of our holiday in BC. But that’s a different story.

By coincidence, randomness, serendipity or aligned energy, at the same time that we were looking into housesitting, a text message came through for Renee from a close friend of hers. It was Keoma. 

Knowing that we were looking for a place in Calgary, she asked, “How long are you looking to rent for? We were thinking of asking you to house-sit for us.”

We initially dismissed this idea as neither of us wanted to move to Tuscany, their place wouldn’t be available until May, and we needed a place in February. It didn’t make sense to us at the time. 

Even though we thought the timing was a little off the more we thought about this, as well as the more convincing and her convincing text messages that came from Keoma, we started to think that it might be a good option for us. 

So we said, “Yes”.

After all, who wouldn’t want to live rent free for a year? Pictured here in April, we enjoyed a meal together to confirm in all of our minds that we were actually going to do this. 

Week 1 has been so lovely. The house is very comfortable and was left museum-level clean for us. If there’s one complaint that I could share it’s that I feel perhaps I’m too dirty to live here! But I’m sure we’ll manage that. (They do have 2 waterfall showers after all). 

Gazing out at that mountain view is something that I cherish greatly already and I don’t expect a day will pass when I don’t enjoy it. This week we also planted the vegetable garden.

Dealing with the security system has been interesting as they can be intense over the loudspeaker when you set it off by accident. We were warned that this would likely happen within the first three days. I managed to last 4 days.

So we welcome this amazing opportunity to save a few bucks while living in comfort and out of our element.

Let’s see how this goes.

See you at the kegger… 

Tony