Greetings homeowners! We are two friends who are Canadian citizens living part of the year in Sweden and part of the year in Australia (and sometimes home to Canada). Our Covid year also took us on housesits in the US, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica!
One of us is a university professor (science) and the other is a retired teacher. Aly travels quite a bit for work, mostly for extended periods while conducting research in different laboratories around the world or when working remotely on manuscripts. As a retired educator, Karen has been enjoying having time off for travel and adventures. We have been housesitting for more than 15 years, with more than 100 completed sits between us, and we find it a wonderful way to connect with people and furry friends while away from home. We're so much happier having a dog to walk or cat to cuddle. It gives us a sense of place, a chance to explore locally and a way to be of service. We often housesit solo, so your pets will have the pleasure of one or the other of us for companionship.
As homeowners ourselves, we understand what it is to keep up a property and leave it in wonderful condition. We have each owned and lived in suburban homes, rural houses and urban flats, where we've done all the upkeep, renovations and repairs on our properties. In addition, Karen has an off-grid acreage in Canada with a house and cabins in the mountains that she has maintained for over twenty years, so she is familiar with generators and mechanical systems, as well as plumbing, electrical, woodstoves, etc. We have been housesitting now for more than fifteen years (100 sits, many of them repeat sits) and have taken care of many beautiful homes and pets in Australia, Canada, US, Norway, Sweden, Aruba, Indonesia, France, Spain, Cyprus, Austria, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, and New Zealand, so we're comfortable in just about any setting. We're familiar with many of maintenance and repair issues that may arise. From swimming pool pump failures, broken appliances, floods, and veterinary emergencies - we've dealt with lots of different problems and have always had to the skills to resolve them. In addition to cats and dogs, we have cared for goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, llamas, various lizards, hamsters, guinea pigs, fish and birds of all kinds. We both love gardening and will happily take care of your plants and grounds.
We do not smoke or drink, and prefer a quiet evening sharing the peace of your home with your pets. We are very security conscious and will always ensure that your property is protected. Our motto is to 'treat it like our own,' so you know you will come home to a clean, well-cared for house.
Mostly when we are housesitting, we like quiet time for writing and working on manuscripts, so our only requirement is good internet. We are energetic, outdoor-loving people, who like to walk, swim, or cycle, but aside from daily exercise, we are generally home most of the day.
Please check out our profile here, as we have quite a few excellent reviews from former sits arranged on this platform, and we're happy to provide you with many other references as well. You couldn't ask for more conscientious, responsible, tidy mature women to care for your house, so look forward to hearing from you if we can be of assistance.