Where was I?
It's been a while. The kids were all enrolled in the local 900 API schools. They are responsible for getting themselves there and back by foot. We shop at the local Sunday Farmers Market, eat in the village restaurants and generally don't leave the area in a vehicle more than once a week. In all, we are happy here. About our purchase, we were able to refinance our 2008 mortgage to a 30 year fixed 5.75% in 2011. The process was long, painful and fraught with missing or lost documents, multiple employees, 3 mergers and finally a brilliant loan officer at Surety Financial who managed to close in 45 days.