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Gulf Coast - Galveston
Michelle
What am I looking for in a house sitter?
We are looking for people who see cats as people! AND we are looking for intelligence, honesty, reliability, thoughtfulness, cleanliness, plant awareness... & the willingness, creativity & ability to deal with older house "stuff" if necessary ... not afraid of, & able to handle possible emergency situations (life is unpredictable).
What responsibilities will my house sitter have?
As far as kitties, it won't take up too terribly much of your visit to the island, so hopefully it will be fun for you!
We currently have 1, 3yr. young very large siamese indoor/outdoor cat, TigerLily. She is loving, friendly, agile & healthy! Also: bit of a velcro at times...a bit of a tiger at times (ie: occasional foot attacks) Her cat related things = cat door, litter box, water changes, feeding & attention.
PLUS 1, 7 1/2 yr. adult porch pirate, Daffy, who is still 1/2 feral for us, probably completely for a sitter. She has been with us since kittenhood, 7 yrs. now. Her routine is 2 feedings/day, getting her in at nite & releasing her in the morning. We take care of her as we would would any beloved housecat & i love her - she such a sweet girl!. But there are some caveats: TigerLily is new-ish, but has claimed the household & property, & is not friendly to Daffy (understatement). I've worked something out in the realm of separation, which we can discuss if you land here :) Also the fact that you may not get her to come in at all & will feed her on the porch! :(
Our property has lots of plantlife as you see in photos, which are older so it may look different, but still lush.
The housesit is short-ish so maybe only potted plant watering... if no rain in sight before & during, maybe a bit more.
The rest is about the house / mail - trash - empty dehumidifiers, other housey things (to be discussed).
What are the good features of my property and location?
Galveston Island is a tourist destination for beaches, art, antiques, surfing, boating, kayaking, fishing, seafood (& other great restaurants) etc. There is Art Walk every 5 wks. + many art related & other events & many festivals. Also, you will find really good breweries, bars & unique cafes. The historic district has a map to the 20+ post-Ike hurricane tree carvings...etc etc! It boasts Moody Gardens Pyramids w/such things as Imax, an aquarium, penguins, snakes, a butterfly house etc. (look it up). There's a major waterpark across from it, a State Park w/a bird watch/preserve up the road from it, a number of very unique museums, the Artist Boat Kayaking trips, diving, golf courses, horseback riding (i think) & much more. We live abt. a 7 minute walk from the gulf & beaches. Nasa is 30 mins. up the road & offers a stellar tour! Houston is an hour (or so) up the road & I cannot list even a fragment of what's available there!
We have a friendly front porch w/a slight sea breeze (when there is one) to hang out on & have a glass of ... yard also has a table to sit at & everywhere is very green.. inside, an interesting artsy/ethnic environment to hang out in, with many 1000's of books! Roku streaming plus Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Max/HBO etc etc (if you're a watcher tons to watch!) + all the hundreds of free streaming Roku stations. WiFi for your laptop/phone, espresso machine, microwave, dishwasher, (should you need it), several bathrooms (in case you are two) etc. Did I mention a short walk to the gulf & beaches?
What do potential house sitters need to consider before applying for this assignment?
The dates listed for sitters are two days earlier than we leave, so you can familiarize yourselves with cat routines, & for them to get a bit familiar with you... & for you to get a bit familiar the house, & the whole situation.
This old house needs more attention & awareness than a newer one. It is "Art & Craft" style, early 1900's, so there is a little more to know, a little more to do, than perhaps if you were housesitting a condo.
We are a Vegetarian/Pescatarian household & prefer land animals not be cooked in our kitchen.. tho it's ok to bring in 'ready to eat' from a restaurant.
If you like reading we have an amazing eclectic library, all over the house!
As for the idea of bringing your pet along, depends on the pet! a rabbit? a bird? a small dog? this MAY be possible... we can discuss.
This is gulf coast winter weather, which may be mild & beautiful, OR it may be rainy, &/OR chilly or even cold. I can't divine the future :)
I think that's it..best I can do to give potential sitters an idea. If you are interested, we can talk. Thanks for taking time to read.
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