Housesitting was something that came into our lives by pure coincidence! Before we left the land Down Under in 2017, a friend asked us to housesit for them. In fact, she wanted to know if I knew someone who would be willing to house sit their house and dogs. I looked at her and said: ‘We could do it’. And she said: ‘I hoped you would say that’!
That housesit in Brisbane was the spark that ignited a new exciting lifestyle. Since then we have done over a dozen house sits in The Netherlands, Spain and France. We only use one housesit website and nowadays get many direct requests to housesit.
Housesitting as a lifestyle
So, what is so good about housesitting, you may ask? I bet there are people who consider it their worst nightmare as you may have to work for the privilege. Homeowners may ask you to walk their dogs and cuddle their cats. Other chores are mowing the lawns, maintaining the pool, watering the garden and more.
Sometimes there are 3 – 6 dogs and a few cats. Some dogs apparently need up to 4 walks per day and cannot be left for more than 5 hours. Others may require daily medicines and leave dog poo everywhere which you are required to clean up.
If you don’t like the idea of this, you may not be suitable for a pet housesitting life as it ain’t a holiday. You are stepping into someone else’s life and are required to continue the pet routine that the homeowner established. In other words, the chores are the reason why you are there!
Your benefits are that it is free, most of the time as there are some homeowners who charge a small amount for utilities. And you get opportunity to see different parts of the world.
How to make your housesit successful
For us a successful housesit is a win-win situation and nor home owner and sitter should feel that it is not. In the past I have applied for housesits that required us to do change overs for a whole summer and be available 24/7. The owners would give us a small renumeration. But reality was that they wanted someone to run their business while they went on a trip with their teenage boys.
I could be interesting taking on a housesit that is partly a paid job but only for the right reward. As I said it must be a win-win situation – a barter that feels in balance. Not one that fills the pockets of the owner while the house sitter does the work.
Some homeowner consider you living in their home a privilege and ask you to perform more tasks than the home, pet and garden care. If they ask you to take care of their business as well, we feel there should be an additional monetary exchange.
When housesitting becomes a job
I know that some people take on sits like that for no extra pay, but I would not. It is important to discuss such matters before taking on a housesit. I have heard about disastrous mismatches where sitters left after only having been a few hours in the house.
The best example was a young, groomed couple that thought that an off-the-grid remote sit with 6 animals would be charming. They literally left right after having had dinner with the homeowners. They left them stranded with no sitters, 6 animals and a ferry to catch the day after. Not good for your house sit profile!
If the idea of housesitting appeals to you but you are unsure how to start, reach out and chat with me.
Ever thought about what would be your perfect lifestyle? I certainly have. In fact it started in my late teens when I wanted a summer job abroad. One of my high school friend’s worked a summer season in Switzerland and that seemed the ultimate dream to me. So I found a summer job in Zurich and returned for five summers while I studied in The Netherlands.
Working in Zurich created a hunger in me for exotic and foreign. Switzerland seemed to have better summer weather, the scenery was more appealing and it was foreign. A long story short, I had planted the seeds that caused me to change my lifestyle several times.
What is my perfect lifestyle
Without realising it before, I discovered that nature was important to me and so were sunny days. Growing up in The Netherlands, grey skies, drizzle and wind is part of life. I was no fan.
Jumping ahead several decades, I have moved abroad a handful of times. I have lived in Switzerland, UK, Australia and had some shorter stints in Greece and Norway. Nowadays I live in southwest France. The reasons for moving vary but work, opportunity, relationship and lifestyle choice have been some of them.
Lake of Zurich – one of my favourite places. Picture taken by IG friend @123_just_lucy_you_see
I grew up in the Netherlands and went for summer jobs to Switzerland. I joined a man in London and with him I created a new life in Australia. 25 years later we moved to France for lifestyle purposes. And believe me, I don’t think we are not done yet!
Still searching
I feel we are still on the search for the perfect lifestyle – one that would suit us. I say ‘us’ as not everyone will have the same idea about ‘perfect’. Admittedly we are still searching but are finding more answers with every adventure we have.
Some of our recent adventures have been housesits in different countries. We have added working online, managing a holiday rental and a guardian role for a large French property . While doing such things we discovered what we like and don’t like. Above all we learned new things about ourselves.
We love France and have been here since 2017. Being Dutch, I can live in France while my British husband qualifies for residency because of being married to me. Understandably Brexit caused a little stir for the Brits that live abroad in Europe.
Although we love France we are still looking at other options. Unfortunately, if we stay in France we cannot receive a retirement pension from Australia. Yet, we can if we move to Spain or Portugal. For some reason France and Australia have decided to cut strings when it comes to pensions.
There are a few disgruntled Aussies in France who may not have been aware of that. We knew but as it was so many years ahead we still bought a house in France and settled there. After living here for 5 years we realised that the sun is not always shining in this part of France. The winters can be quite nasty and do really not differ that much from those in Northern Europe.
Climate change seems to be for real. Many places in the South of Spain have become unbearable during the summer months. Even in France where we are, the temperatures rise to high thirties for days on end.
What we have discovered….
While doing housesits and jobs in different locations we slowly find what our perfect lifestyle should and should not have. We have discovered the aspects that are important to us. Consequently we are now researching locations in Spain and Portugal on increasingly more factors. Examples are weather, unpleasant winds, sun aspects, proximity to medical services, public transport, work and costs.
There is obviously no perfect fit for everyone and people differ in needs, likes and dislikes. However after seeing ourselves and others make mistakes, we learned a few lessons. So start with considering the following.
I have always been a fan of homemade. Not only homemade foods but also clothes, home decor and much more. I even had a stint at making Christmas cards. I can remember watching a tennis final with Roger Federer while making dozens of Christmas cards for family and friends. It was enjoyable and exciting, probably because of the tennis yet I never did it again. Maybe it is because there are no more Federer finals to watch!
Homemade food have been a passion for a long time now. Whether it is for health reasons, being frugal, using the best ingredients and enjoy doing it, it has been a huge part of my life.
The collection of such foods is growing. As I love sharing good things, I have started to blog about it. Not all recipes are mine and my husband Keith is doing his fair share. He loves fermented foods and started making apple cider vinegar and sour dough bread years ago.
Apple cider vinegar prep
In fact my daughter started a sourdough culture while we were still living in Australia and we loved making fruit and nut breads. Making your own sourdough bread is easy and fun albeit there are a few rules. Keith has perfected his starter culture and we always have the luxury of crispy fresh sourdough. He trials different flours and sometimes adds ingredients such roasted garlic, rosemary and olives.
Homemade foods on offer
We have now added fire cider, red and white sour kraut, pickles, chutneys, jams and olives to our list of homemade foods. We were so lucky to spend almost a year on a large property in the Ariège. There were plenty of fruit trees including apple, plums, mirabelle, blackberries, mulberries, figs and crab apples. Consequently the production of chutneys, pickles and jams resembled a professional kitchen.
I hope to inspire you to have a go at ‘homemade’. My perfect ‘cook up’ is singing along to my favourite tunes on a weekend day while having the kitchen to myself. Then miracles happen………..
As we are heading for winter, consequently it will be time for fire cider! My previous post showed you how to make organic apple cider vinegar and that will give you the perfect base for fire cider.
So what is fire cider?
Simply said, it is a spicy concoction that combines different taste sensations in one drink. It is a combo of sour, spicy hot, pungent and sweet and it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. We take it during the winter months as a daily tonic to help fight off colds and flues.
Ingredients
fresh horse radish, onion, garlic, freshly grated turmeric, grated ginger, chillies, a sprig of rosemary, 1 cinnamon stick, apple cider vinegar, honey to taste and a large glass jar.
The list of ingredients is not set in stone and we use what we can get hold off. For instance it is hard to find fresh horse radish in Southern France where we live.
The quantities are rather flexible because it depends on how much you would like to make. Nevertheless if you want specifics feel free to let me know in the comments.
Some of the main ingredients for fire cider
Here’s how to make it
Chop up all ingredients in tiny pieces and no need to say – the tinier, the better.
Place them in the jar and cover with apple cider vinegar
Close the jar and shake it up!
Place in a cool dark place for at least 4 weeks
Strain so you are just left with the liquid
Warm up honey and flavour to taste
Store in the fridge or a cool cellar
Finely chopped ingredients for fire cider
How to use fire cider?
Take a shot everyday, neat or dilute with water. If you find it hard to drink it, you could use it as an ingredient in soups, marinades, sauces and dressings.
Does it work? Who knows! It is full with ingredients that are good for you. Scientifically its potential may not have a leg to stand on as scientist usually don’t spend their time on testing the efficacy of natural remedies. I am a firm believer of taking daily a large diversity of organic natural ingredients. This fire cider is a combination of such ingredients.
As a matter of fact I am not here to debate the pros and the cons of taking fire cider. Above all I am here to show those who are interested how to make it.
All things considered, let me know if you have a go!
Apple cider vinegar seems to be one of the latest trends in the forever growing list of super foods. Apparently, it is a cure for many ailments, although it is not very well documented scientifically.
Despite that and like many people before me, I have started taking it on a daily base. I take 1-2 tablespoons in a glass of warm water first thing in the morning and I have done that now for several years.
As apple cider vinegar is cheap and easy to make, you can be sure there won’t be much scientific research to support the benefits. I personally have not experienced any side effects and I actually love the taste. As a result, I am hanging out for that glass first thing in the morning. An additional advantage is that bloating seems to be a thing from the past. Needless to say that I will keep on taking it.
There are many types of apple cider vinegar available in the shops but we prefer to make our own. And in this case I have to credit my husband who has been making the vinegar for a few years now. It is cheap and easy to make as long as you can get hold of organic apples.
Basically making apple cider vinegar is a process of fermentation where yeast converts the sugars in apples into alcohol. Then a bacteria called acetobacter turns the alcohol into an acid. The result is a fluid with a sediment called the ‘mother’ and apparently it is this mother that offers substantial health benefits.
How to make apple cider vinegar?
Pouring water dissolved with sugar over the organic pieces of apple
Ingredients for home made apple cider vinegar
organic apples
filtered water
sugar such as honey, cane sugar, agave or maple syrup
a sterilised jar
a good dose of effort and time
Method:
Sterilise the jar
Remove the stalks from the apples
Cut the unpeeled apples in pieces
Use 1 apple for 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of a sugar
Put apple pieces, water and sugar in the jar
Stir and cover with paper towel and an elastic band
First 14 days – place in a warm place and stir daily to prevent the apple pieces on the top going mouldy
After 14 days – remove the apple pieces and leave the liquid to rest in the dark for at least a month
After a month the apple cider vinegar should be ready to drink. We like to pour it in a nice decorative glass bottle and enjoy 1-2 tablespoons daily. Don’t drink it neat as the acidity may damage your teeth enamel and avoid storing it in plastic bottles!
The picture below shows a quantity of 5 cups of water, 5 medium apples and 5 tablespoons of raw cane sugar. Put a label with a date when you made it and you’e done!
Quantity of 5 cups of water, 5 medium apples and 5 tablespoons of raw cane sugar
Why don’t you give it a try? By the way, I am not an expert and suggest you do your own research before making and taking the vinegar.
