How to know when you're old...

Sometimes it hits you right between the eyes. You can never anticipate what words will come from your childs mouth. Just laugh and take it in stride.

Last night I had an epiphany. At that moment I realized, I am old. Not old and "in the way" like some might think. Just a old in the sense of how my children look at me. To them I am the authority figure. The guy who says NO to another bowl of ice cream. The one that has to break the news that no one will be leaving the table until dinner is done. ( and turn off that TV too)

Just like generations before, adults are perceived as a drag by younger generations. Studies have shown that a 6 year old child will smile more than 300 times per day. An adult age 34 only smiles 150 times. Something is getting lost in between.

We can debate the reasons for that another day.

Right now I want to get on living, smiling, enjoying my childrens company. I love listening to their comments good, bad and ugly!

Our conversation revolved around motorcycles. I'm 42 now. I'm pretty sure they had motorcycles back then?

<a href="www.jmdins.com">www.jmdins.com</a> for down to earth insurance advice. For family advice see Lucy, Charlie Brown's advisor. $.05

Situation Narrowly Averted

This past Sunday my neighbor called to say that his microwave oven stopped working. I go by there to see what's up.

When I get there he has the stove pulled out from the wall. There are some parts to an electrical outlet on the table. I look at the pieces more closely and see that the outlet itself has burned nearly in half. The electrical wiring that connects the outlet to the wiring of the house is melted, and burnt. There is visible gray- black soot from electrical arcing around the electrical box that contains the outlet. Even the sheetrock had visible scorching.

I shook my head in disbelief. "This could have been a catastrophe" I said to my neighbor. He totally agreed!!

The electrical wiring from the circuit breaker box to the microwave was only 10 amps. The electrical draw was too much. The oven should be wired for 20 amps or greater to prevent overloading. That was the problem. The microwave oven was pulling so much power through the line that it burned and the wires, the outlet, and the box that contains the outlet. (Other household items that draw alot of power are space heaters, air conditioners, toaster ovens)

It could have burned the house down. One more cup of tea, one more bag of popcorn...Who know's???

This time we can talk about the situation that was averted by luck alone. "The machine just stopped working so I had to check" my neighbor says to me.

"That oven hasn't been away from that wall in 5 years. The only reason I had to look back there is because that's where the outlet is." NO kidding!!

Insurance is there in case disaster strikes. www.jmdins.com Your Massachusetts home owners insurance policy covers fire.

When insurance carriers want to know if you have updated wiring, this is why. The risk is real. The possibility of serious injury, even death can be the result of bad or improperly installed wiring. Hire a qualified, licensed electrician that knows the current codes. Get everything up to date.

Your safety, your families safety depends on it!

Thank you for reading.

http://www.jmdins.com/

That won't happen to me...

Recently I was offered an option to replace my Massachusetts Home Owners Insurance policy. My coverage was with Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association. MPIUA; The Fair Plan. www.mpiua.com The premium was high, in my opinion and I'm the agent.

We do shop coverage. We have access to many carriers. In this case my home insurance was renewing and I had a chance to save $500 a year. The only difference was I had to take a $5000 wind deductible instead of $2500. I figured that if I can go 5 years without a claim, then I would be even. What ever could happen, It wasn't going to happen to me, RIGHT???... WRONG!!!

Less than 3 months after I had changed carriers we had a bad "wind" storm. That storm took down a massive (dead) willow tree in my neighbors back yard. Yes, my neighbors tree. (It's my responsibility to insure my stuff, not my neighbors) That tree crushed two sheds, one uninsured convertible, a small boat, and a ton of camping, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, equipment. Tools, misc stuff...

It was a total loss. The insurance carrier (that shall remain nameless) took a couple of weeks to show up. The adjuster came by, shook his head and said..."It's a total, I can see that". He took some pictures and said send me a list of the damaged items.

The total claim I submitted was about $15000. Right off the top went $5000 for that " wind" deductible. They depreciated everything. I mean, what's a 10 year old snowboard worth, not much? We settled at $7300 = or -. That's alot less than $15000.

The insurance carrier treated me exactly in accordance with the policy that I purchased. I didn't make out on the savings of $500. The change of deductible cost me $2500.

What could happen I said..."It's not going to happen to me". Right? Before bad things happen to you, see us at www.jmdins.com for professional, honest insurance advice.

We've been down the road before. Please contact us today.

Thank you!!

Easy Seafood Newburg

Seafood Newburg: Serves 6

Ingredients: 1 pound fresh sea or bay scallops with chine removed. ( the chine is the tough, silvery white part of the scallop attached to the side of the scallop muscle )

1.5 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp (small)

1 pound fresh cod fish

1/2 pound lobster meat cooked and cleaned (buy the lazy mans lobster meat)

1 large shallot (diced fine)

2 tablespoons butter

5 ounces Sherry wine

1 pint lobster broth (you can buy lobster base in the jar. I found it at Market Basket)

1/2 pint heavy cream

1 teaspoon paprika

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Corn Starch and COLD water

Puff Pastry shells: Frozen; then bake until golden

Start by sauteing the shallots in the butter until soft and tender, add in the Sherry wine. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add in all raw shellfish and cod, and cook on low.

Add in lobster broth and heavy cream, paprika,(add salt and pepper to taste). Simmer on low 5-7 minutes, stirring gently (DON'T OVER COOK THE SEAFOOD)

To thicken: add 3 tablespoons of corn starch to 1/2 cup COLD water. Add 1/2 this mixture to the simmering sauce and let thicken. See if the sauce is thick enough for your liking, if not add more cornstarch and water until you reach your desired thickness.

Serve over warm puff pastry shells.

www.jmdins.com Yum!