Blast:
Here are some of my ideas.
1. Your trustworthy friend should also have the code to your house alarm if you have one. Nothing annoys the neighbors or the police at 2:00 am than to have your alarm repeatedly go off because it could not be reset. Some police departments even charge for the response after the third false alarm to hopefully drive home the idea that you should maintain your system better.
2. Make sure you have "barricaded" the windows and non main doors. This reduces the chance of a thief finding an easy open window, or door.
3. Keep important papers, documents and valuables in a Safe Deposit box or something similar to one, but away from the main house.
4. If you live in extreme climatic areas then winterize your pipes.
5. Buy a small pocket calender and address book combination. Put the names, addresses and other emergency contact numbers and a recent 2" x 3" individual photo of all family members into this book. In the calender section clearly mark the date you expect to arrive back. Being creatures of habit it is wise to mark the calender in case someone forgets and sees you home and thinks someone else has broken in. Yes, this happens all too frequently. This book should stay with a neighbor in case identification needs to be made in the event of an emergency; hopefully not.
Take care,
Stargazer