Finally back home!

 I am back home from my housesit in Albany.  I thought it would never end!  I enjoyed myself for the most part, except Charlie the cat was very demanding.  He would become quite aggressive if I wouldn't get up and feed him when he wanted me too.  Two or three times in the middle of the night.  I must have needed sleep because for the last two days in a row I've had a nap and slept soundly both nights.  

I'm already looking for more house sit opportunities however!  I have one booked for June during Father's day week for my friends Laur and Judy in Lake Luzerne.  I don't know if I want to advertise for paid sits locally or just do the housesitting.  I could use the money of course!  I just don't want to watch dogs.

Spring has come in fast and furious!  The trees are already leafing out and flowers are blooming all over.  I need to hurry and get into the woods and find the spring ephemerals before they are done.  I also need to get my quarterly apartment inspection done.  So I need to vacuum and tidy up.  

Albany house sit with Charlie

 I've been in Albany for a month now.  One more month to go!  Charlie and I have a good routine.  He has an unfortunate habit of wanting to be fed wet cat food in the middle of the night.  I get up a couple times to feed him.  Then he likes me to get up early in the morning.  The last few mornings have been a battle because I don't want to get up and he doesn't like to be told no.  He is a funny cat with a very friendly purrsonality.  He likes me and gives me baths.  He is particularly fond of licking my forehead, but that hurts!  

Rich the sort of ex all of a sudden went on a crusade to get a divorce and was insisting on having me sign the papers immediately.  I went into panic mode because I don't trust him.  I told him to send me the paper and I'll look it over and sign it and mail it back.  Now he refuses to talk to me.  So I don't know if he has sent the papers or not.  I guess I will have to drive up to the house to check on things.  I've been trying to get hold of neighbor Dave and see if he has stopped by but he doesn't like to answer his phone and Niko has been swamped at work.  He is going to Boston tomorrow for dance practice for Anime Boston.  

I helped him get another car.  I ended up co-signing on a loan.  I hope he makes his payments!  I don't want to have to pay for it.  It's not that much, but still!  I already bought him one car.  

Anyway, the place I am sitting at is a senior independent living facility.  I am in a cottage which is separate from the main building.  There are meal points available, so I am able to get lunches or dinners.  I have been getting a dinner every other day.  My problem is that it comes with dessert!  I have been eating pie, cake and cheesecake frequently.  I need to cut back because I am starting to get even fluffier.  I also was initiated into the joy of Pistachio ice cream.  The first kind I tried was Ben and Jerry's and it is a mouthful of joy in each bite.  I bought HagenDaz also and while it is ok, they use ground up nuts instead of whole nuts like Ben and Jerry's.  I prefer the whole nuts.  I need to just stop buying it because I can eat an entire pint in one go!

The retirement community is near the Albany Pine bush and wild turkeys come over here and walk around the neighborhood.  It's funny to see them.  

We are expecting a Nor'easter tonight.  If I can't get hold of anyone, I will have to drive up to Burnt Hills before it hits and check on things.  I have prescriptions at CVS to pick up.  I guess they can wait a couple more days, but I want to see if Rich sent those papers.  

2023

 Happy New Year!  I haven't posted in a few months.  This past year has been very isolating for me due to my agoraphobia.  I did manage to take two trips to housesit however.  I went to Virginia and to Rhode Island.  This winter I am going to do a two month house sit in Albany.  It's not far but it is in a very nice cottage in a senior living community.  It is for one cat.  The owner Richard, invited me to have Thanksgiving dinner with him and his friends and it was very nice. I have been thinking about the possibility of moving out of my apartment and doing house/pet sitting full time.  If that fails, I could always just move to Louisiana.  I don't really own a lot of things that I would want to keep and could downsize to just a few boxes that I could put in storage.  It's not anything I want to rush into however.  I will see how this winter/spring goes and then decide if I really want to give up my apartment.  I don't particularly care for living here due to problems with the neighbor upstairs continuing.  I was shocked when he actually came down and jump started my car for me the other day.  It hasn't stopped him from being noisy, but instead of rudely pounding on the wall, he just knocks gently if my snoring is out of control.  Car is going into the garage on Friday and I plan on getting a new battery.  I'm going to find out first how much they plan on charging me, because if I can get a battery with free installation somewhere else, I will do that.  Turns out the battery is actually under the rear seat of the car!

After looking back on my posts, it's been nearly a year since my last entry!  I guess I should write a little about about my two trips.  The first one to Virginia was good for the most part.  It was in a home in Reston, VA.  I was able to take the train into DC, but it was very hot and I found that I tired very quickly.  I only went to one museum which I had been to before.  I did go to a couple local attractions including the Great Falls National Park in Virginia.  I was pleasantly surprised by it.  I also went to Antietam National battlefield and drove through Gettysburg (town).  I didn't tour Gettysburg.  That will be for another day.  Antietam was beautiful and very moving.  My empathic side really kicked in while viewing and walking through a couple different spots.  I could feel the residual energy left behind from the battles.  I took care of two cats while in Reston.

The second housesit was in South Kingston, RI.  It was in a lovely apartment that was situated in a historic old mill.  It was close to the water and had options to a lot of attractions.  The weather was nice and I did get to see a few things while I was out.  A hurricane was moving by far off the coast but did provide some really nice surf for me to experience.  Something about the ocean and high surf really speaks to me on a soul deep level.  I feel so exhilarated.  The downside to this sit was that it was for four cats and the litter the owners used tracked like sand all over the apartment.  There was also a litterbox in the room assigned for me.  The bed was very small and hard. The owners had indicated in the beginning that I might be asked back for June, but I kind of have my doubts about that now.  They seemed displeased that I washed my bedding but didn't dry it and I ran the dishwasher but didn't empty it.  I got a 4 out of 5 for tidiness.  Oh well!  I don't think I want to do that sit again anyway unless some concessions are made regarding the litterbox and sleeping arrangements!

Anyway, I am going to try to break free of this agoraphobia this year and go on more adventures.  Wish me luck!