Grant & Sharlene

More information about this house sitter

Hey, we are Grant and Sharlene Russell and we look forward to taking care of your pets and home while you are off exploring the state/country/world.
We are based in Townsville and available for sits only in this area.

We are a couple of youngsters in our 50's who like meeting new people, enjoy discovering new places and having memorable experiences.

We've spent the past 3 years in NZ on the family farm with 4 marauding hens, a naughty mini foxy/jack russell called Bessie and a small herd of the neighbours grazing Fresian cows. We conquered sourdough bread (and taught workshops), created soaps, candles and body products, grew our own organic vegetables, made sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha and preserves, generally living the good (but very hard) life. The farm is under control and ticking along so...

We are now back in Aussie, specifically QLD where our eldest child, his wife and our 2 grand-children have re-located from Nowra NSW. We are missing them and want to spend the next couple of years in Townsville enjoying their company (before they outgrow us - the grandkids that is!).

Our background is in shipping and logistics (Grant) and previously owning small businesses such as a home based colour consultancy and retail florist (Sharlene).

Together for 37 years (married for 33), we have 4 grown children, 1 in Townsville, 1 in Sydney and 1 in Wollongong. Currently we have our 29 year old son living with us who is 4 years into recovering from a brain injury, it's a long slow journey but it's going well. He spends a lot of time sleeping and resting plus some physical rehab and it's very rewarding to see his progress.

Exercise is something we enjoy, starting with a walk most days and strength training (gotta keep supple). Plant based eating is something that inspires us and we like to keep busy with projects, gardening and getting out and about to explore our environment. The environment is important to us so we like to live as sustainably as we possibly can by recycling, up-cycling, composting, buying pre-loved and being mindful of the use of toxins on our food and in the home.

We are very house proud so you can be sure we will look after your castle as though it were our own. Our family home is located in the seaside town of Kiama in NSW (where we resided for 17 years) and currently rented to a lovely young family.

Our experience with pets includes a foxy/jack russell called Chester who was part of our family for 15 years while our children grew up in Kiama and more recently a mini foxy/jack russell called Bessie whom we reluctantly re-homed before we left NZ.

We have recently completed a house sit in Alligator Creek (4 cows, 2 horses), Annandale (2 very spoilt pooches, we miss them!) and currently Kirwin (a shy 2 yo mini-foxy although very vocal) and have more house sits set up in Mount Louisa, Bushlands Beach and Kirwin again.

Our home skills include house maintenance - both inside and out (y'know like changing those pesky led light bulbs, cleaning windows, getting rid of the dishwasher grime, unglugging sinks etc) and gardening/cleaning paths/removing cobwebs and the like. Having owned our own homes since we were in our 20's we've had a lot of experience with the usual quirks of older homes and how to remedy them.

We find a lot of satisfaction in a well kept home and garden. Read more...