Insurance and all that jazz

Today we purchased insurance in Florida for our car and tomorrow we will go register said car in Manatee County.  It costs more to have a vehicle in Florida than it did in Illinois.  Maybe that is why there are so many motorcycles and scooters going down the road.  Traffic is pretty bad and people drive like they are going to a fire or running away from one.  Accidents and injuries are pretty much a daily occurrence, so we see ambulances going up and down the street quite a bit.

And, while getting insurance on the car, I checked on insuring the house we just bought.  Well, was I surprised to learn that first, I must complete the remodel before the inspector can come out and access the total replacement cost and second, we will be living in a flood plane.  Those kinds of surprises don't make for good times.  My wife and I discussed what to do since, to our knowledge, there has never been a damaging flood since the house was built.  We still have the original cabinets and all the original woodwork.  So, we may forego the flood insurance and just get a catastrophic loss policy to cover hurricanes and the like.

There has never been a hurricane here for years either. The homefolks say that the Seminoles used to retreat to this area during hurricane season because the storms seemed to pass it by.  So, they knew something that the white settlers have used.  So, if the bad weather wants to keep up the good work, that would be fine with me.

Work on the house is proceeding slowly for now because we are watching some of our grandchildren while their parents are away.  We will proceed full speed next week for sure.

Update After So Long

Probably no one reads this anymore if they ever did, (well, a few have) but I see I have not done anything for years.  I suppose I am old school and therefore have not considered writing a blog to be the most important thing in my life.  That, or I really don't have a life worth telling about.  You decide.

So, we have moved to Bradenton, Florida.  My wife made the suggestion last year and I went with it.  Hey, after being a pastor for 45 years or so, I have lived in so many places that home has pretty much been determined by where I hang my hat.  So, we put the house in Illinois on the market and moved into the one-bedroom condo we had bought a couple of years ago.  That lasted a few months and my wife told me she just wasn't an apartment kind of person after all.  What to do?  I really wanted a bit of a yard myself and would be happier if I didn't have to take the dog down two flights of stairs several times a day so she could water and fertilize the building's yard.  Well, the water stayed.  The solid stuff had to be bagged and thrown in the trash.   Anyway, we have purchased a double-wide mobile home and started the renovation on it to make it the way we, er, my wife, wants it.  More later on that one.

It is nice being in Bradenton because one of our sons and his family are here and we have not lived in the same town as any family for a long time.  The down side is that we know hardly anyone yet except a few folk we have met at the church.  I wouldn't count them as close friends, but I certainly would count them as fine people to know.  Making friends with whom we have things in common will come, I am sure.  In the meantime, I have work to do...