Back to the real world

We are back to the real world after a great Christmas Break and wonderful cruise.  We are tan, rested, and ready for 2013. Well, I'm not so tan, but certainly rested. We came home to snow and cooler temperatures. We got home on a Friday and went to work and school the next Monday.  It's like we went from zero to 100 mph in no time. I feel like I have been going non-stop since the plane landed.  I am not complaining in the least.

Recently we met with the insurance adjustor and received a few checks to pay off our mortgage.  This is good for us so we don't have to make mortgage payments on a house that doesn't exist.  We have also met to see what the inventory company has listed as not salvageable. We got a 41 page long spreadsheet listing over 300 things they found to be ruined. On the spreadsheet was the item, how old it is, the replacement cost, and the amount of depreciation to make a final value for the claim.  It was overwhelming to see the detail in the report. It listed a Matchbox car that my Mom gave me as kind of a joke up to the dining room furniture and everything in between. Some things have not been inventoried yet and we are curious to see when the rest will be listed. A concern I have is that the inventory company got its replacement price for many or our things by looking at a Walmart or Target catalog. Those are both good stores, but you can't replace the antique furniture we lost at Target.  We are able to go over the list and add things we think about. The tough thing is remembering what we lost.

To remedy that Lori and I are going back to Knightstown on Saturday to look at the things that are ruined and add to or edit the list.  Lori is working on a list of things we would like Mike (our restoration guru) to try to find in the storage room.  Hopefully we will be able to make a more comprehensive list and also get some of the things we have been thinking about in the last two months.   

While on the cruise, the four of us toasted the new year at midnight on the deck of the ship.  We all agreed that 2013 will be a great year for us and could not think of a better way to bring it in.  We all hope your new year is the best ever, too.