We are a couple happily retired from careers as an attorney and a university professor (entomology). For the last nine years, we have split our time between Normal, Illinois, USA and elsewhere in the world. We’ve lived overseas for long periods, and enjoy getting to know and learn about an area rather than spending just a few days. Thus far, we have made homes in Spain, Japan, China, Argentina, and Australia.
We lead an active lifestyle and have been blessed with good health. Our family is important to us (two daughters in their 30s), and we enjoy keeping in touch while adventuring by sharing via social media.
Why we want to house sit: A perfect life for us would be purely nomadic, staying in a location long enough to absorb local life and meet new friends (both human and furry).
Our Experience:
We have the experience to care for your pets, home and garden.
We are currently without a pet as we recently lost our 14-year-old Miniature Poodle. We now only have a dog when visited by our daughters and our grand-puppy. We both grew up with dogs and cats and miss the daily affection and entertainment. We have chosen to leave our home pet-free for the moment, until we slow down our travels. We understand the difficulty of traveling with pets and the equally difficult choice to leave a pet at home. We hope to ease your mind a bit by leaving your family member with people who are empathetic to their needs.
Our house in Normal has a large garden and small orchard (which Doug affectionately calls “Fruitopia”). We’ve gardened for more than thirty years. Doug trained at Berkeley in agricultural and horticultural entomology, and biological control. He is a bug expert, with an interest in plant diseases. Kathy has had both a flower and vegetable garden her entire life, even planting tomatoes against the dumpster in her student apartments. Kathy was in charge of landscaping on our property (at least until Doug dug up a substantial portion of it for Fruitopia!) We have all the interests and skills you will need to maintain your garden for you.
We can care for your home in your absence, emergencies included. Doug is mechanically knowledgeable, having paid for college by fixing cars and working as the Maintenance Manager for a 180-student residence. Likewise, Kathy is very familiar with maintenance issues, once having owned a small rental apartment building. We currently do most of our home maintenance ourselves and many of the improvements and repairs needed. Hence, we can handle simple electrical, plumbing, window, door, lock, roof, etc. repairs. You can rest easy knowing that you have left your house and garden in good hands.
We are looking forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Doug and Kathy Whitman