Saturday Thoughts: 6 Things on my Mind Today

Hello friends! And thanks for stopping by to read Saturday Thoughts: 6 Things on my Mind Today.

This is the first time I’ve done a Saturday post. Though not specfically planned that way, every time I do a “Thoughts” post, it seems to always come up on Wednesday. And the number of thoughts varies.

Let’s dive into my Saturday! Here are 6 things that are currently occupying my mind.

Cajun

My horse, Cajun, is always on my mind. I didn’t think I’d miss him as much as I do. He will be 21 years old in May! Go baby!

In 2024 he had health issues which made me miss him even more.

He’s had a nagging cough that comes and go but never goes away entirely. Could be allergies. He’s cost me a lot of money in veterinary fees this past year.

Cajun is always on my mind. He’s in a very good boarding stable and is well taken care of. I’m not worried about him being neglected. It’s me. I miss my little guy.

Because of Cajun I reevaluated my retirement goals. I am still a nomad, but I bought a car and now I’m a nomad on 4 wheels so I can be closer to him.

Vancouver Island

At the end of April I will be housesitting on Vancouver Island for 5 months. For those of you unfamiliar with the location, it’s the big island in the Pacific Ocean that is off British Columbia, Canada’s coast. Getting there means taking a ferry (one and a half hours) between the mainland and the island. I managed to buy a super saver fare that is offered on less popular sailings – in my case Sunday morning at 9am – for $49. That’s one car and one passenger. If I took the 10am sailing, it would be an extra $20. And if I went in the afternoon – $100!!!

I’m all about frugal living and saving money where I can.

I’ve always liked Vancouver Island, but it’s been years since I last visited.

The housesits are on different places around the island. I will be discovering new places and mostly taking care of dogs, so lots of walkies!

Stock markets

Yuck! Who else is sickened watching the prices of their stocks plummet just because some buffoon wants to throw countries into recessions?

When it comes to stocks, I’m a set it and forget it investor.

Right now I can’t forget them! I’m not looking but I know the prices of stocks are dropping everywhere around the world.

I bought most of my stocks with the idea of earning dividends so I’d get income each month. Hopefully they’ll be good. The last time stocks crashed in 2020 due to Covid, some of my dividend paying stocks slashed the amount paid.

And that sucks!

At that time most of my stocks lost about 25% of their value and most have come back.

Only to drop again now apparently.

Billionaires don’t need to worry about their stocks dropping. But us little guys – it’s traumatic. I’m not selling my stocks, and have not been selling my stocks. Set it and forget investor.

Then the idiotic advice that now is the time to get rich by buying these stocks when their prices have dropped! Who can afford that? Rich people! It’s looking like a carefully thought out plan so the rich can get richer.

Us little guys, low income single women, don’t have cash sitting around to buy stocks when they’re “on sale”. We scrimp and save and maybe we can buy a few shares at a time.

This will hit a lot of people hard. But let’s look ahead. Eventually most of these stocks will regain their losses.

We just have to wait another 4 years when hopefully someone else will reverse all these bad decisions hurting low income people and perhaps our finances will get back on track.

Housesitting

As I write this blog, I’m winding up a housesit in the Greater Vancouver Area.

In a few days I will be heading to a housesit in cowboy country, very close to where I board Cajun. It will be a short housesit, but I’ll take it to be closer to my little guy and be able to see him a few times.

And then I’ll be housesitting for different people on Vancouver Island until late September.

I’m holding October open for the homeowner of my current housesit because she may need to return to Europe. If she doesn’t go, I can always find another housesit.

I’ve chatted with a homeowner on Vancouver Island who has a house in Mexico and wants to head there in November and stay until March, 2026. I’ve not committed to anything yet, but I am open to doing this sit.

If you’re interested in housesitting, see my post on how I arrange housesitting positions.

Peru

Before I decided to volunteer on Mayreau Island last year, my plans were to head to South America.

Getting myself to Peru has definitely been on my mind. Earlier today I watched a video on Arequipa, one of the places I plan to visit.

I’ve been researching places to stay and visit and things to do.

My basic plan has always been to spend a month in Cusco. This is a town in the Andes Mountains, about 3,400 meters or 11,000 feet above sea level. It is known as the jumping off spot to reach Machu Picchu, the lost Incan city. Due to the popularity of this historic site, visitors purchase tickets for specific entry times and routes. There is always the concern that Machu Picchu will be closed one day for tourism, so I feel like I should see it while I still can.

A month in Cusco, and then I plan the rest of my time there before and after. The before will be 2 weeks, maybe less. The after will be 4 to 6 weeks. I can stay in Peru for 90 days on a tourist visa and then I must move along.

Depending on whether or not I take the housesit for the snowbirds heading to Mexico, I will head to Peru in November, 2025 or April, 2026.

Car camping

I’ve got the car, a small SUV where the back seats fold flat. I put some blankets in there and bought bins for my clothes and food. A friend has donated a sleeping bag. I bought a hot water bottle for cold nights.

I’ve ever made covers for my windows!

It appears I am all set for car camping, except I’m pretty much fully booked with housesits! The car is there if I have gaps between housesits, I will have a place to stay instead of shelling out big bucks for a hotel room for a few nights.