State Farm Refused to Renew our Homeowners Insurance.

We have been customers of State Farm for a very long time and have had automatic withdrawal, so were never late with a payment.  

Gene started with them when he was 19 and is 66 now - that is 53 years.  I started with them in 1962 until 1998 when I met Gene and that is 32 years.  So combined we have been insured by State Farm for 75 years. That is alot of premiums for house, cars, RV, trailers besides extra riders for stuff.  Like really - how dare them!!!

Hail in our back yard!

                             
We were notified they would not renew our homeowners policy due to renew on June10th.  

Our history with them here in Colorado has been :-
2011 - A fence repair because a huge branch fell and destroyed the vinyl fence. Pay out = less than $2000.
2012 - after a horrible hail storm in June we had to have the roof replaced = $6500.
and last (this is the clincher) in 2010 we thought there was roof damage.  Adjustor came out, no roof problem and they did not pay anything, BUT that is considered a claim.  

3 claims in 8 years = Cancelled.  Does not matter how long and loyal we have been. 

There were 350 homes that burned plus who knows how many damaged last year because of the Waldo Canyon Fire, so a comment was made they are looking to cancel folks in Colorado Springs because of all the Fire claims. Our agent said clients are dropping like flies and taking all policies with them.

No matter what their reasoning, it sucks.  So be on notice.  If you have State Farm insurance - don't make any claims or you too can get launched like we did.

But when a door closes another opens and we now have a fantastic agent, with American Family Insurance with more coverage for less money each month. 

Spiral Lace Sun Visors = No Headaches

  "No Headache Sun Visors" use a spiral lace to secure it to the head.  No clamps to put pressure on the skull. 

Kittens! Perfect for RV'ers, travelers and everyone else because they store absolutely flat and weigh next to nothing.

Chile Peppers - Most are washable on the top rack of the dishwasher (just remove before the dry cycle!)

Fuchsia Glitzy - Alot of ladies like this for cruise wear , at the pool or the country club. 

Firefighter. Some photos show the lace which is color co-ordinated to the fabric.

Ruffled Iris.  Perfect for the gardener. They are made with two holes on each side so the lace can be re-threaded to the back so it doesn't stick out.  But I like to leave one just in the one hole so if it gets windy, I can pull it alittle snugger!  

Volleyball / Beach Volleyball.  For players and fans.

All these visors and many more can be seen in our eBay Store.  

Thanks for visiting and if you liked this blog please leave a comment.  Thanks.

Gene's Knee Replacement Surgery 4/10/13

Gene had his 3rd knee surgery done finally.  The right knee was replaced in 2000 and the glue did not stick so it was redone in 2008. We knew the left one was going to have to be done eventually.  Well eventually arrived this year. 

Because of an accident Gene has had over 20 orthopedic surgeries in the last 20 years.  We trusted Dr. Jepson but it does not hurt to be safe!!

The morning after surgery at, Penrose Main Hospital, he was up and walking and getting good range of motion.  He decided he did not want to use the continuous motion machine this time.  It seems he did better and got results faster. 

He was home 2 days after surgery.  This is the 1st morning home packing items for eBay.  We moved his  "shipping department" upstairs to the kitchen table until he was able to go down the stairs again.

Complete Home Healthcare sent an Occupational therapy gal, a nurse and a Physical therapy coach several times - Dr. Jay (last name??) .  The 1st PT guy - Tom - hurt Gene really bad.  He pushed down on his leg to straighten it and pulled a muscle in the back of his knee.  Poor thing was in agony for a full week.  Dr Jay was fantastic and after only 3 weeks Gene was at 120° extension and -2° flex.  The therapist couldn't believe it.  Dr. Jay said he never saw anybody do so well, so fast.  Yay Gene!!

Gene in the garden 7 weeks after surgery.  Before he would have never been able to bend that left knee like that. 

He is doing very well now 8 weeks after surgery that we have to remind ourselves that he will still have some stiffness and swelling, but overall he is doing things he wasn't able to do before. 

If you enjoyed this blog, please leave a comment.  Thanks. 

How we hollowed out a stump

One of our beautiful 70' Colorado spruce trees was hit by lightening several years ago.  It took 2 years to die and last summer we had to cut it down. 

We kept a tall stump. That circle is how far the branches extended and is 60 feet around!! 

Drilling holes to get a place to chisel out the stump. We couldn't just put a pot of flowers on top for fear it would get stolen.

Next was a thin saw blade to make cuts.

Chain saw!!

Then the chiseling started. The stump is not dead and the wood is still wet inside and wouldn't release hunks of wood very easily.

Gene got down 2 " but we needed to go deeper so my son brought his heavy duty 3/4" drill.

And tried using the big crow bar to get hunks out (that did not work), Gene had to use the small chisel and chain saw for the next 2" down.

Only took 2 1/2 days to get this done.  Yellow - because Gene sealed it with a water repellant.

2 short tubes for water drainage and 2 bolts screwed into the pot. 

Finished project. Next will be to plant a trumpet vine to wind itself around the stump and the big circle planted with wild flower seeds. 

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