Waterfront, Sort Of

   It's July and we're back home. Well, "home" is a relative term. We're back in Newmarket... in someone else's home. This is a bit of a novel concept for us since all our house sits, except for family, have been in far-flung locales. For the summer we'll be local and that engenders quite a different experience for us.

  For starters, we don't need to explore. We've lived in this area for most of our lives so there's nothing new and unusual to see. Toronto's not known for a preponderance of things on sticks or archaeological excavations. We speak the language. The exchange rate is 0%. They drive on the right, albeit with questionable skill. We already know where to buy groceries and what they cost (a lot). We know that receiving a parking ticket won't cause our license plates to disappear. Things are usually open here and Newmarket's waterfront is only a creek. No surprises.

  What is different here is our family and friends are around so we won't be missing anyone. Strange.

  We're in a very comfortable house here and the owners have had the foresight to install a pool and a hot tub in anticipation of our visit. Smart. They went on vacation in the summertime and invited us to watch the place for them. Also smart. They have a little Bichon Frise named Macey.

  Last night I would have said that was not so smart but, after sleeping on the bed with us,  she's toned down the incessant yapping and become a bit more sedate. Of course, she goes crazy when someone comes to the house so I'm sure things will be significantly less sedate once the fam discovers the pool. She also suffers from LDS. No, not LSD. Little Dog Syndrome. Hates all dogs. We'll see how this goes.

  This is the first in a series of house sits we've arranged so we can be around home for the summer. All of them have swimming pools so Gran and Granddad's place will be the "in" spot for the next few weeks. Our fall plans are slowly taking shape and will likely include a western jaunt to spend some time with our Yellowknife friends, Bryan and Sheila. Since son David seems ready for me to attack his basement renovation this fall it looks like we'll be around home for the rest of the year.

  As you know, all my blogs have focused on the travel aspect of house sitting. Since there's really nothing for us to explore around here I'll refocus on other stuff that comes up along the way. That means I won't be writing as often as there's less material from which to weave these tales but I may meander onto current affairs or other things that occupy my mind as we wile away the days living in OPH (Other Peoples' Homes).

  It promises to be different but always interesting. Stay tuned.