Many of the general housesitting discussion groups on Facebook have regular features. In them, group members can join in discussions or post images or links about what they are up to.
Remembering what's going on where and when was proving a bit of a challenge for me. Facebook can also be rather fickle in what it chooses to show you from one week to the next.
So I created myself a list of all the Facebook Group regular features posting opportunities, and thought I would share it with you.
Monday
#CoffeeMondays - House Sitting World
Start your housesitting week with a cup of your favourite blend while you join in a discussion about this week's topic.
Louise Read at House Sitting World usually sees what's been going on around the housesitting community in the preceding week. Then she asks a topical question or seeks members' tips and advice on a particular topic.
Blog Callout - House Sitting World
Not always on a Monday, especially since the start...
Facebook Groups for Housesitters
I thought I would write a quick post to signpost Facebook groups so that housesitters could easily find the best groups to join depending on their needs and interests.
But it turned out there was nothing quick about this post at all! In fact when I started to look beyond the handful of groups that I'm a member of, I found so many that this quick post has turned into a series of posts!
The reason this not so little project of mine came about was because I was having coffee with a fellow housesitter the other day. I mentioned something I'd see in a certain Facebook group. I was taken aback that, despite being an almost fulltime housesitter, she hadn't heard of this group or its associated monthly publication (no prize for guessing which group I'm talking about!)
The Facebook groups about housesitting are great places where housesitters can interact with each other. You can get and give help and find useful tips and advise as well as special offers on housesitting platfor...
The 3000 Year History of the Hoodie
Many people may think of the Hoodie as a fairly modern piece of clothing, dating back perhaps only a few decades at most. However, as Paola Antonelli explains, its origins can be found as far back as ancient Greece.
Garments with a hood - which we can retrospectively define as hoodies - have been around almost since clothing became a thing in itself.
A hood attached to a cloak or robe is a practical solution to that problem of what to do with a hat when you don't want to wear it. With a hoodie, the hood is instantly accessible when needed, but neatly out of the way when not.
A hood offers the wearer protection from the elements, privacy and anonymity and a special comfort from feeling swaddled and nestled in your own shell.
Practical, comfortable, easy to care for, a cotton jersey hoodie is a perfect garment to include in your nomadic wardrobe. It bridges the gap between summer and winter when it may still be to...
In Case of Emergency
A recent incident on my current housesitting assignment got me thinking about how well prepared any of us are when we take responsibility for a client's home and pets.
Dogs Will Be Dogs
I'd been overseeing some renovations on the house and while the builders were bringing in tools and materials, the dogs (Mac - my client's dog and Eddie - my own dog) took the opportunity to sneak out and go for a wander in the nearby woods. I wasn't too worried as they'd done this a few times - both on my watch and when my client was at home. The routine was to periodically yell their names and eventually they would both turn up, usually filthy dirty but very pleased with themselves.
However on this particular day, things took an unexpected turn which resulted in me having to deal with the kind of situation every housesitter hopes they will never have to face.
Three hours after the escape to the woods, Mac returned - as usual caked in mud and ready for a lie down in a shady spot. B...
When It’s Time To Go
June 2017. I return to Cyprus after a blissful week visting my Italian part-time neighbours at their other home in the Veneto Region of Italy.
We have explored castles and towns, visited wineries and mountains, seen art in all its forms and indulged in some retail therapy Italian style.
Together we have shared so many wonderful meals - both home cooked and restaurant prepared and, with the exception of breakfasts, washed them down with delicious wines of every hue.
The sadness of our parting for the timebeing - at this point in time with the intention of seeing each other again in Cyprus in November - is only tempered by the warmth of the memories we have created and the excitement I always feel at the prospect of being reunited with my beloved Eddie.
Back On Too Familiar Territory
Arriving home I at once take in the view of the valley behind. The view that held me spellbound when I first came to view this place. The view I thought I would never tire of. And I real...
When You Meet Someone On The Road….
The town of Servigliano in the Le Marche region of Italy is unusual for the region. It is not built atop a hill with a commanding view of its surrounding domain. Instead it lies on one of the few flat areas of this undulating landscape.
The old part of town is enclosed within a fortress of sorts. Its high walls have small houses and shops built into them. Once through one of the three gateways, you pass along cobbled streets and emerge into a large central piazza. Three sides are taken up with the shops and houses of the external walls. The centre is a combination of marketplace and urban park with memorial statues. The centrepiece of the piazza completing the fourth side is, inevitably, a church.
Visit the town on market day and you will probably be so focused on the stalls you will not look up at the church. But come here on any other day and you will notice a large white plaque on the front of the church. The majority of the plaque is taken up with a vertic...