Celebration Life

More delays on getting the house. Of course, it’s a short sale, so that’s to be expected, but still… this will push us up against the Christmas holidays for move-in time.

In the meantime, the real estate inventory here in Celebration seems to have cooled some with respect to available inventory. That’s good for home owners, less good for home buyers. Of course, I can’t back this up with data, it’s just that the ‘New Listing’ or ‘Price Reduced’ emails we get from our agent have tapered off somewhat. Could be seasonal, too. Only the fancy people with the MLS access know for sure.

On a positive note, at least we’ll be moving when it’s cooler out!

We’ve been procrastinating on finding a car place down here, probably for the same reasons as many others: fear of being charged for unnecessary work, fear of being overcharged for legit work, don’t know anyone that can give recommendations, pick-up & drop-off logistics, etc.

Thankfully, we had a positive experience with Thompson’s Auto Clinic this week. Nick replaced worn pads & rotors on our BMW after the brake sensor light came on, did an oil change and checked the other fluids, and remedied a very annoying rattle we’ve been putting off getting looked at.

We’re delighted to have found an outfit that offers 1) car pickup, 2) very reasonable prices, 3) none of the condescension I’ve dealt with at other places, 4) accurate estimates, and 5) service with a smile.

Will definitely use again and recommend to others.

Thompson’s Auto Clinic
127 N. Lake Parker Ave
Lakeland, FL 33801
863-688-8975
Nick & Tracey Urgo, Owners

ps. Technically their business doesn’t fit the ‘Businesses In Celebration’ category, but they do service the Celebration community, and the owners live here in Celebration, so I’m being loose with the tags.

I forgot that Michael Petrovich (mikepetrovichmusic.com) plays Imperium on Thursday nights. Mike is a gifted musician as well as a nice guy, so it’s worth your visit. There’s a nice crowd here, too, so it’s busy but not packed.

Obviously I’ve been horrible about keeping this site updated. The main reason was covered in a previous entry: we had our first child on August 10. I can’t blame it ALL on that, though… there also hasn’t been much to write about. A lot of the good Celebration chatter is covered on the Front Porch forum, which I’m not comfortable recapping here since there’s a degree of confidentiality expected by those who post there, I imagine. Otherwise it’s hard to imagine people would post some of the crazy they post there…

Anyway, we’re as settled here in Celebration as we can be at this point. Our short sale purchase seems to be proceeding. Until then we are renters, and as such are excluded from elections, complaining about taxes and water, etc., though those things will likely become our problem in the next few months. In the meantime we do what everyone else seems to: go for walks, enjoy the restaurants on occassion, watch people blow through stop signs, and hit 192 for groceries.

Brian

ps. I’m typing this from the end of the bar at Shannon’s. You should stop by sometime.