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!