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Description
We (Kathleen and Mike) are empty-nesters with four grown kiddos, ages 25, 23, 21, and 19 all living mostly away at post-secondary or on work terms. To our delight, one or some are here with us for stints when they are in transition stages.
We live in Ottawa, (Barrhaven) and we own a driving school. Mike does most and almost all of the running of the business. I (Kathleen) am in the process of retiring from a government job and figuring out what I can do next, now that our kiddos are grown up.
Also to our delight, we have our dog, Shadow, living with us. She has the run of the house and enjoys taking as much space as she likes on any bed or couch in the house. Only a dog lover would like to live with her.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Interests
Self development
Pets
Charity work
Writing
Plant care
History
Gardening
Cooking & food
Adventure sports
Beach
Sailing / Boating
Team sports
Winter sports
Animals
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are a dog-loving, hockey-loving family of proud Canadians. We have shared our home in years past with international students and home care helpers.
We are English speaking at home and I (Kathleen) and the grown-up kiddos are all proficient in French as well. Mike has done a lot of international travel in a decades long career in marketing and sales, before we started the driving school, and finds ways to communicate regardless of language barriers. We are glad to help with English and some French and to embrace the opportunity to learn as much as we can of other languages.
Help
We have a spare bedroom for a Workawayer who could help us with some handy tasks, pet care, meal preparation, yard tasks, and possibly other odd jobs as they come up.
If anyone/couple might like to Workaway in Ottawa, we would be glad to be in touch if living in our still-pretty-busy empty nest might work for you.
What we would like in exchange for a bedroom and sharing our living space and lifestyle is help, mostly in home improvement projects. We have diy ideas that we don’t get around to and would love to have someone to take on some handy-person work. It would be fine with us if it could be for a few hours a day, for someone who would like to be doing something else full time while in Ottawa. Also, Shadow loves long walks in the off-leash park a couple of times a day. We don’t get around to it everyday and she sure lets us know if night falls and she still has energy to burn.
If you might be that handy person and would like to be another one of Shadow’s people and maybe share with meal preparations, we would love to hear from you.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
We have a fully furnished spare bedroom with a double bed that we can dedicate to Workawayers who stay with us. We are happy to share our kitchen and living area. We have two living rooms with tvs and one has a desk/workspace. There is also a tv and gaming console in the den in the basement. We are flexible with how much to share living space, depending on preferences and interests.
We are glad to share meals or for workawayers to use the kitchen to prepare meals separately if preferred. We tend to have a scattered schedule as our routine. We sometimes eat together or sometimes just when it fits in our day. We are pretty flexible and easy-going. We sometimes enjoy hosting family and friends, especially for holidays or occasions for celebration. Workawayer(s) would be welcome at our gatherings.
What else ...
Public transit is nearby for getting around the city. We also can drive Workawayers to where they need to be on occasion. We would not likely be able to commit to helping with a daily commute though.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
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