All Posts

After a full week here, my first Saturday sans jetlag took me to Bradford. Like all of Europe, the bus system here is easy to navigate, but the schedule isn't as frequent. I waited 45 minutes to get on a bus for a 26-min ride into the "city" of Bradford to check out shopping. The Broadway is near city center and pretty standard with a mix of department stores, the same card store chains you see in other parts of town, and a food court. Since I've paired down to capsule wardro

Travel is an education; mainly a reminder that we humans are more alike than different. The differences I like to notice and appreciate are from the people who "get it" when it comes to figuring out life. Here's an example of a few of my British chinwags (chats) that left an impression on me. A Simple Cup of Joy One morning after walking Ruby, I started down the steep leaf-covered path to explore more of Saltaire. An older gentleman just started talking to me as he approached

Park Runs Ruby's owners are both runners and told me to join their running group for the Tuesday morning runs. They even reached out to a neighbor and the group leader to let them know I'd be joining Baildon Runners. The group was so inviting, much like my running friends back home, and the workout was pretty hard for me! They are mostly retired, but fit! And they invited me to join them for coffee afterward, which was really wonderful. (With the exception of wanting to discu

I bid my family "cheerio" and flew across the pond to Bradford/Leeds in January. Rick and Gillian are a lovely recently-retired couple with a 9-year-old small black lab named Ruby. They picked me up at the airport and made dinner for me when I arrived the first night. They gave me the rundown of the house and Ruby's care, then left first thing the next day (before I woke up) for the Canary Islands. They live in Yorkshire, which is Northern England, in the Saltaire village of

Abby arrived just before Christmas and also got to enjoy a couple days at the cottage before our sit in Eagle (a Boise suburb) over the holidays. My office was closed, so I didn't have to work and we had a lot more quality time. We enjoyed another hot tub and time with two incredibly sweet dogs. Ruby is an 11-year-old Goldendoodle and Odie is a 6-year-old Shitzu. Both animals were well-behaved, had great personalities and were super affectionate. We took them for walks every

December in Boise was, in a word, AMAZING! Since Erin works at the Bellingham Airport, she's not able to take time off during the busy holiday season. She came to Boise the second week of December for an early Christmas with me. It was a lovely week with a mix of visits with friends and family, and we both enjoyed some downtime in the cottage. It had been a few years since Erin had been in Boise, so she wanted to eat at all her favorite restaurants and do some of our traditio

Between my kids visiting, I enjoyed my solo time in the cottage focusing on my new job and visiting with friends. The annual Boise holiday shenanigans were ongoing and did not disapoint... Tuba Christmas (exactly what it sounds like) included more than 100 tuba players from the area, including these two 10-year-old girls in the front in the photo. The Basque holiday market included some great crafts, and as always, the traditional music and dancing. The Xtreme Holiday Extrava

I rented a sweet little two-bedroom cottage on the Central Boise Rim to take a break from pets and have a quiet space to myself to host my girls when they came to visit. I didn't realize how much of a reprieve I would need until I returned from Driggs. The cottage was an adorable, quirky but cozy place I had from November 20th through Christmas Eve. I was able to fully unpack my suitcase for the first time in two months, and actually bought more than a week's worth of groceri

Buckle up for the flipside of Trusted Housesitters. Every app begs the question "Is this situation or person really as advertised?" Trusted Housesitters is no exception... My first day as Director of Project Management for Inizio Evoke was November 10 th , meaning I would start the job while finishing my sit with Nelson, and continue my first week while in Driggs, Idaho. My Driggs sit was sold as “Ski at Grand Targhee" in a nice cabin at the base in the resort town. I planned

Technically my dog sit with Nelson in the Boise foothills started just before Halloween, but it was three weeks (my longest sit yet) and stretched into the second week of November. Nelson's owners live right up the hill from my sister's house in Boise's North End. The couple also has ties to my friends - he's an OB/GYN who treated Kate and his wife was formerly married to a local marketing agency owner. Their home was spectacular, to say the least, with great views, a hot tub

I had another opportunity to visit Wayne when he went to port in Croatia since it coincided with a break between my house sits. With my new job about to start in mid-November, I was able to take a break from my contract as well but would work one late night while overseas. I booked my flight and flew to Split, Croatia. Thirty-seven hours of travel later, I checked into our hotel room and tried to see what it would be like to work US hours in Europe. My plan didn't go well at

I moved out of my home on September 26th and headed straight to Boise. The first weekend was spent joining the Boise Bike Project "bike bus" tour to Open Streets festival with my sister Cathy and brother-in-law James. The next day I felt comfortable enough on the bike to ride with them out to see my grand nieces and nephews play softball. It was so heartwarming to spend the first weekend seeing my sisters, their kids and grandkids. It was also great to be in town to celebrate

Part of my empty nester/digital nomad/potential ex-pat plan included remaining single and flying solo on my adventures. Um yeah, about that... A casual "dinner for fun" with Wayne (aka Batman), managed to evolve into something neither of us expected. He helped me study and supported me through my PMP test (he's also a certified Project Management Professional) in fall of '24, and I figured we'd probably hang out a bit and nothing more. As a Navy officer heading to retirement

Hi friends! My plan to become a digital nomad once my kids moved out of the house is well underway! This eventful summer helped me culminate my dream into reality. I was fortunate to be laid off at the end of June (I know, weird thing to say, but IYKYK re: my last agency.) I was elated to have an opportunity to take a break from work and immediately began tearing up the bathroom floor. Within a couple weeks, I refinished my bathroom and painted my bedroom. I cleared out my pe