Month: February 2025

Yesterday, Bob and I arrived in Ankeny, Iowa, for the first of many short housesits and stays in Iowa to allow us to catch up on doctor’s visits and catch up with family and friends. To that end on Tuesday, Bob and I stopped at the Methodist Manor in Storm Lake, Iowa ( Bob’s home town) to visit with his mother, who is now living there.

We spent the night in Storm Lake, and then drove the 2 hours and 15 minutes to Ankeny, Iowa, to meet up with our homeowner about midday for a walk through before they left. We are currently caring for 2 pets, a dog, Flynn, and a cat, Sweet Pea.

We had a good visit with the homeowner and a manic intro to Flynn, who is a wild, energetic puppy. We were really worried last night, but have found that he behaves when we are in work or dinner mode, so sitting at the dining table on the computer or eating. If we are in the living room, he seems to feel it is full-on play time, so that has been more of a challenge. Sweet Pea, on the other hand, is well named, a sweet, docile kitty, who likes to rub against you but is wary of the boisterous Flynn.

We are only here until Sunday, but will have a longer sit here later in March.

On Sunday, Bob and I had a great short reunion with college friends when they returned from their son’s wedding in Florida. We then drove 3 hours to Omaha, Nebraska. Normally, we would stay in Plattsmouth, south of Omaha with Bob’s sister, however, she is currently in Arizona with her husband, so we’re staying in a Marriott Courtyard in downtown Omaha.

Omaha is a city of about 490,000 in the state of Nebraska. It is the most populous city in Nebraska. It lies along the Missouri River across from the state of Iowa. Bob and I loved walking around the downtown area today in 60 degree Fahrenheit weather. We saw some of the Old Market part of downtown as well as a number of parks and a great trail along the Missouri River.

Last Saturday, I completed my housesit in Austin, Texas, for our good friends and two of my favorite cats. I also was able to catch up with a number of friends, which is always nice.

My flight from Austin to Kansas City to reunite with Bob was luckily incident free, which unfortunately is becoming less common than I’d like. Bob met me at the airport and drove me to our current housesit, which he started on February 4th, in Prairie Village, Kansas, a lovely suburb of Kansas City. We are caring for the spunky, adorable Coco. She likes her walks and also being chased or playing with toys in the house.

Bob had already had snow since he’d been here, but in the past couple of days, we’ve received at least another 4 inches, and it’s also been accompanied by some bitter cold, as in subzero windchill. With the bitter cold and having our car in the shop for a bit, we’ve been pretty much homebound in our lovely borrowed home for the past few days, except for appropriately attired walks.

Bob and I flew to Austin last Friday to meet up with friends for whom I would be doing a housesit. We got in about 10am, so were able to have a great get-together with them in their new condo. They fled out Saturday morning for a ski trip to Lake Tahoe and then some fun in Utah. I am caring for Pancho and Lefty, two of my favorite cats.

On Sunday, Bob and I had brunch with one of our former fellow condo owner from our condominium. He and Bob served on the HOA board, and we’ve enjoyed keeping in touch with him, as he’s another smart person from Wisconsin, and he’s seen the world. He’s no longer traveling internationally, but he’s doing well, having visited over 130 countries. After brunch, Bob and I walked around downtown Austin to see the continued growth of our beloved former home.

Bob flew back Monday to start our concurrent housesit in Kansas City for former college friends. He is caring for a dog, Coco.