There were three posts as part of this early part of my blogging.
Post 1.
There are several reasons, and to make it simple I'll do a
little list.
1. I needed to make it about house sitting, I think that is
obvious.
2. I wanted something that was a bit different and tales is
a bit boring.
3. You can bet that if you go house sitting you are going to
have lots of tales about tails.
4. Most house sitting jobs are there because the owners have
pets of some sort that need caring for.
When you scan through some of the posts of house sitting
jobs available you will realise that you might be asked to look after cats and
dogs. Well there you have a variety of tails to start with.
But there might be fish tails that need feeding very
precisely. There could be horse tails that need brushing, maybe cows tails or
goats tails, if you go to a farmy place.
There could easily be birds that need feeding and caring
for, they can have long colourful tails. Maybe the owners have tortoises with
tails, or rats and mice with tails. It's even possible you'll care for piggies
with curly tails.
In most cases, go house sitting, and you'll get tails. We've
already dealt with lots of tails so far and I'll tell you about them as we go
along.
Post 2.
House sitting! Anyone can do this, but to be successful you
need an adventurous heart and some number 8 wire.
The adventurous heart is to get you on the road in the first
place. You need commitment, to stick to an agreement. You need enough
confidence to go to strange places and live in someone elses home. You need a
love of animals, because you can bet your boots you will meet animals of all
shapes and sizes, and all with tails. And lets face it, the animals know that
once they have been bathed and smell a little less doggy, then the only thing
to do is roll in the sand and get filthy again.
The number 8 wire is to fix things. Generally something will
need fixing. The toilet will overflow, the washing machine will have a hissy
fit, the garage door will jam, and the dog will probably eat something he found
and chuck up on the carpet. The number 8 wire ensures you are a bit of a fixer upper and have the
confidence to face the unexpected.
However - once you have your adventurous heart and piece of
number 8 wire, you are in for a treat. You will meet some wonderful people,
(and one or two who are a bit odd), you will see parts of Australia you have
never seen before, and as you will probably house sit for several weeks or
months in the one place, you will have the opportunity to get in some serious
sightseeing at your own pace and with free accommodation thrown in.
We have been house sitting for quite a while now, and this
blog is to give you a rundown on the good, the bad and the ugly (of which there
is little) aspects of house sitting.
Post 3.
My Australian friends tell me they don't understand the term
'No. 8 wire'. As I am originally a New Zealander, this was part of our cultural
background.
According to Wikepedia, No 8 wire means this:
Number 8 wire is a gauge of wire on the British Standard
wire gauge that has entered into the cultural lexicon of New Zealand.
Number 8 wire is often used inventively and practically for
applications other than for fencing.[1] It is also used as a term that
epitomises the "kiwi bloke" as someone who can turn their hand to
anything.
The Waikato Museum runs an art award named after the
wire.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_8_wire
There has even been a book written about this, showing that
it meant that a person was ingenious, had good thinking abilities, able to fix
anything up.
No 8 Wire - The Best of Kiwi Ingenuity
by Jon Bridges & David Downs
Hodder Moa Beckett 2000
http://www.techhistory.co.nz/Articles/No8Wire%20Review.html
So it's application to house sitting? As I said in my first blog, it means that
anyone house sitting has a 'can-do' attitude, can fix things if necesary, has
a bit of nouse, can use their noggin and work things out.
And this is a huge advantage. Of course it's possible to
call an electrician to change a light bulb you can call a plumber to stop the
water running down the back of the loo, (all it really takes is to unhook the
top of the cistern and flick the levers inside), and it's also possible to call
in a builder to replace a nail or screw.
On the other hand, these little jobs are the sort of thing
most people can do themselves, and if you've never done them, just a little
thought will soon have the problem fixed.
If you can fix these sorts of problems, then you can use a bit of number
8 wire.
By all means post a comment.
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