Last Updated July 2026
Where we are, what we're working on, and what's occupying our thoughts right now. What's a now page?
Albi, France
At first it seemed like we accidentally chose to chase heat waves, leaving the UK right as the weather was getting to a slightly more reasonable temperature and heading to France as a heat wave hit there to the point where people are dying. One result of this heat is that my motivation to sit in front of a computer to update this page. At the time of this writing, we've been in France for just over 3 weeks, almost all of which has been under a severe extreme heat warning. On the plus side, we are now on an orange heatwave alert, as opposed to a red heatwave alert according to Meteo France.
We are travelers, so we know that we must adapt. That means a couple of things. As far as this site and this page goes, I (Jordan) am not prioritizing updating it for the duration of our time in France, although I will update the map below with general information. We've got a few different stops coming up, moving from Southern France, to Central France for a few days, and then to Paris. It also means that our habits have to change. We wake up before the sun, as that is the coolest part of the day, close up the apartment when it starts getting hot, nap in the afternoons, and stay up long after the sun has set. This is excellent news for our current charge, a cat named Mimi, because her nocturnal habits means we get to play a lot with her and the laser pointer.
With the extensive and delicious supply of cured meats, cheeses, tapenades, and baguettes, lunch has evolved into amazingly delicious and varied charcuterie boards. Breakfast is often yogurt with fruit, a lot of which we just pick off of trees on our walks (apples, pears, plums, figs and cherries are everywhere, and the blackberries are just starting to come in), and we'll boil some noodles once a week to keep us in cold pasta salad for dinners when we don't go out.
France is amazing. The food, the architecture, the history, the art, the people, the public transportation...I cannot even put into words how enjoyable it makes our time here. There are some sayings along the lines of "be happy with where you are" and the like, which we've embraced everywhere we go (except Florida, US), but it's just feels so natural here. It was very easy to enjoy being in the UK, but it seems like France makes it extremely difficult to not absolutely fall in love with it.
One of us keeps the lights on with software engineering and technology consulting work. Remote-first, async-friendly, self-hosted ideally, and occasionally loud about it. After Google made the decision to enshitify to a morally unacceptable degree, he also has been working on automated methods to assist normal users in de-googling themselves. Open Source software doesn't necessarily bring in the dough, but it makes the world a better place so far. He will continue to support it.
The Admiral is carving, etching glass, and rocking it — designs slowly taking shape, some of which may be left behind. While she no longer makes digital art inspired by the sea, her designs still sell sometimes.
Researching the next chapter: whether it's another petsit, a longer rental, or something unexpected. The finca is always in the background; logistics are in the foreground.
There is a chance for a pet-sitting circumnavigation of the planet. How cool is that?
Local birds: a lot of collared doves, but there is a green parrot/parakeet we haven't gotten a picture of yet.
"Wild" life: Foxes!! We know they are here, we've seen the shadows at night. No good views of them yet. Wild is in quotes because they aren't quite that way. David Attenborough had a thing on it. He's also 100, and Lego had a fun tribute to him.
The finca — what grows in Ecuador's climate, what self-sufficiency looks like on a small scale, what kind of home and community we're actually building toward, and what we can do to prevent the destruction of it.
We depart Albi next week. After that: a meandering journey to Paris, with a stop in Limoges just to check out another town. After France, we have no idea, although we are getting quite close to being able to do a pet-sitting circumnavigation.
The beauty and terror of this life is that "next" is rarely locked in until it is.
Ecuador is always on the horizon. Always getting closer.