Whidbey the dog and Whidbey the island

Whidbey, me and Bo, and Happy

Whidbey Island is big! And it has lots of nice off leash dog parks. The problem was the rain in the beginning: lots of rain, but non-Seattlites probably think it is always like this so why complain? Well, we are used to drizzle but hard rain, not so much. It did get sunny or cloudy for the rest of my stay.

Keeping track of three dogs is quite an effort and on my second day the large (80 lb?) dog started running to greet another dog when I was trying to get them into a dog park and my finger got hurt, the leash wound around it, and I was afraid it might have been broken.  Left hand, middle finger, but I am not totally disabled: I can still "give the finger" to MAGA supporters and bad drivers! Fortunately, I haven't yet encountered either of those here on "the island" though I was lectured by a woman when I was in the peak of agonizing pain at the dog park about the dogs having to be on leash before you enter the dog park. Great timing, lady! Later I visited the Whidbey Clinic and they took x-rays and said it was a sprain and might take 6 months to feel normal again!

Whidbey and Happy, with Bo on top

The house is another House Beautiful kind of house but it is surprisingly affordable (my house hunt continues). Lots of room, lots of decoration because the homeowners are realtors and the woman's specialty is staging. Whoever heard of a top sheet that is sewn at the foot of the bed to the fitted sheet? Not me! And as one who likes to pull the top sheet from being tucked in at the foot so my feet are free, it is not a benefit!  Then there are the Trumpian flourishes of gold gilt this and that, the 10 foot gold mirror, the huge clocks, the abundance of lights and pillows, the framed pictures of "meaningful" phrases or thoughts, such as "If I am not for myself who will I be for me? If I am only for myself, who am I?" ( Hillel) and "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." (Helen Keller) which was in the guest bathroom.

There is the large Goldendoodle, the medium sized Labradoodle and the tiny Biewer (pronounced beaver) terrier (like a Yorkie), about 6 lbs. I learned last night that even tiny dogs snore; at first I thought it was a distant dog barking. Bo is so adorable that a woman at the park said it should be illegal to have a dog that cute! He never slows down at the dog park and keeps up with the big dog all the time.

Dogs on Double Bluff beach

The clear night in the hot tub with the stars abundant and visible has been the highlight of this housesit so far. Finding stains of poop from the big dog, cleverly named Whidbey, because I had failed to check under his very abundant tail when he entered the house from their highly decorated yard, has been one of the low points. The same dog woke me up vomiting some dark brown abundant stuff in my bedroom and on the light tan rug; that took numerous tries to clean and it was still noticeable.

And then there was my battery dying in line for the ferry so I had to get pushed after the ferry employee could not jump start my car. I wait over an hour for AAA (I was told I had no membership even though I have been a member since 1989). Two days later and before the power outage I went and got a new battery installed. The third day I got called about fraud on my credit card on my first full day here so I had no credit card with me. A week later after listening to Frank Abagnale on the podcast, The Perfect Scam, I was convinced I had been scammed. At midnight I called my bank. It was legit. Phew!

The worst was losing power after a big windstorm. The whole island was out for a day; Langley was out for 36 hours. We even lost all the cell phone towers for the first evening. The hot tub stopped working even before the outage. I had to figure out how to get my car out of the garage so I could drive to shop or take the dogs to a park; I was grateful for the propane fireplace which made the main living room nice and warm. The gas range had to be lit and I was feeling desperate for a shower so I boiled water on the range and tried to wash my face without burning myself!

Then the remote control for one of the 3 TVs stopped working so I had to find batteries. There were so many things power related that failed on this trip that I asked my astrologer friend what the hell was going on!  She said my sun was opposite Uranus and Uranus rules electricity and the unexpected. And I had Mercury square Saturn which means obstacles and challenges. Too many "adventures," as the homeowner put it!

It is all too much work and feels like I should be getting paid at least $30 a day. Now that I have good reviews, I am more resolved not to apply for any more housesits until I can go traveling. The homeowners mentioned me staying after they arrived home so they could give me a gift. I guessed it would be macadamia nuts or chocolate covered macadamia nuts: I was right! Dark chocolate macadamia nuts. But then they gave me $120 in cash. When I said that was great and that it would pay for the gas driving up to Greenbank Farms 5 or 6 times they gave me another $80. Not bad!

I had to find a new foster home for the adorable Chihuahua, Toby, before I went to the island. That was so hard. I struggled with wanting to adopt him. But if/when I travel, what would I do with him? Finding a wonderful person or family to adopt your foster dog makes it so much easier, but because I was doing this housesitting job I didn't get that help. I can't even text the new owner and ask how he is doing or if I can visit him once in his new home. This makes it the hardest of the dogs, but with the cats I never got to meet the adopters either. Not with COVID!

Christmas ornament given to homeowners by a neighbor