Happy Holidays from Beacon Hill at Eastgate

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR from the residents of the B Wing at Beacon Hill at Eastgate. Here are some photos of our front doors.

Getting Some Exercise

We've been residents of Beacon Hill at Eastgate for four weeks now and we are enjoying it. Our apartment is very comfortable, everyone is very friendly, and the dinners each evening are very good. Stan has gained a couple of pounds, which is a good thing as he was weighing less than I in recent months!

For my part, I've been walking the building for exercise. The Wellness Center staff gave each of us a pedometer. This morning, I walked each of the three floors in the B wing where we live and crossed over to the A wing and walked each of the three floors there. I took the stairs between floors, both going up as well as going down. In all, my walk took 25 minutes and counted 2999 steps on my pedometer.

To date, I've not gained any weight here, even though I'm enjoying the desserts we are served at dinner. Can't resist those!

Settling into Beacon Hill at Eastgate

We've been living at Beacon Hill at Eastgate for just over a week now, and both of us are liking it! Our spacious apartment is fairly well settled and even decorated for Christmas. The tiny tree that used to sit on top of the old Magnovox TV looks rather small standing on the floor by the door to the balcony, but it is a bright spot in that corner.
I'm posting a photo of the two of us, taken in the dining room on Thanksgiving day. We've been able to meet many of the new residents at dinner as everyone seems happy to sit with folks they don't know. One of the first couples that we met were George Anne and Dick Awe. They are from North Carolina and have a daughter who lives here. I met the daughter at a Beacon Hill seminar and shared with her this blog address. George Anne told me that she had enjoyed reading the blog from her home in N.C. and that it helped her feel connected to the progress on the construction of Beacon Hill as well as the progress that I was making in getting ready to move.
If you are reading this blog, I'd love to know what you think of it.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Beacon Hill

Having just moved in to Beacon Hill at Eastgate, we decide that we would have our Thanksgiving dinner with some of the other newly arrived residents. The chef prepared a sumptuous dinner of all the traditional dishes and set out a buffet line for us in the kitchen. After filling our plates, some of us over filling them, we went into the formal dining room to eat. Of course, there was plenty for those who wanted seconds, another tradition at Thanksgiving, right?

The photo below on the right is of Polly and David McCoy with their guest. Way in the background you may be able to see the chef, in the traditional chef's hat, and the cook staff in white jackets and black caps who were eating their dinners, also. Many residents brought their families, including at least two babies who made their presence known. That just made it all the more a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

The photo on the left is of Rosemary, one of the wait staff, at the buffet line.

The photo above shows Chef Tim cutting the pies. Would you like pumpkin, apple, pecan, or banana cream? I had a sliver of pecan pie and a slice of pumpkin with whipped topping? Yum, yum.

Moving Day

After months of waiting, sorting through stuff, selling the house (yes, we sold if finally!), we have moved into Beacon Hill at Eastgate. We had a professional organizer pack everything on Monday. Her staff came to supervise the loading of everything on to the mover's truck Tuesday morning, and they unpacked us on Tuesday afternoon.

We were told to wait until they had the kitchen things, linens, books, and clothing unpacked and put away before we could get into the apartment. Until that time, it was full of workers, boxes, and packing materials.

The photo above shows the front door of Beacon Hill, taken from the central hallway. Below is a picture of Stan in the library at Beacon Hill, waiting to get into our apartment. I'll be posting more photos in the next few days, so watch for future postings.

Getting Acquainted at Beacon Hill at Eastgate

Sometimes the fingers move faster than the brain! I meant to tell you who those three women are in the previous post's photo. Patty, Brenda, and Lindsey are staff at Beacon Hill at Eastgate. When you enter the building, Lindsey's smile if the first to greet you. She has the title "Concierge". When we are resident there (in three days!!!), she will be able to let me know that you have arrived, and I will be happy to show you our apartment. In fact, as soon as we are settled, I will take some photos of our place, so that even if you are not able to come in person, you can get an idea of what it is like. The common areas are beautiful. In fact, I have heard that at least one person has said it looks like a four star hotel.

Enough posting for today. I promise not to let so much time go by before I post again.

I realize I haven't posted to my blog for almost a month. During that time we've both been busy going through the many details related to moving out of our home of 48 years. I haven't even told you that the house has been sold! Yes, the "Sale Pending" sign is up in front of the house, the surveyors flags are flying at the corners of our lot, we've passed the radon test and the bank appraiser has been through the house. How did all this happen so fast?

Over the Halloween weekend we had an offer on the house. We spent the weekend negotiating with the buyers and came to an agreement on Monday morning. Later that day we had a second offer. So, we knew that if the first offer did not go through, we had a back-up offer.

Now it was time to get serious about the move, especially as moving day is next Tuesday! My husband is a real trooper about this, patient with my requests for help, and dilligent about getting his stuff ready to move (at last!).

The Excitement is Building

Today was our "commencement day" at Beacon Hill at Eastgate. That's what the staff calls the time when the future residents visit the facility to take a tour and view progress on completion of their apartment. Oh, and lest I forget, write the check to pay for the life lease of that apartment.


Since we live in the neighborhood, I've been driving by to see how things are coming along, and the progress taking place every day is amazing. Landscapers are busy installing shrubs, flowers, and grass seed. Carpet is being laid in apartments. Electricians are at work everywhere. Dishwashers sit in boxes in the halls, waiting to be installed in apartments. At night, the place sparkles with the light from the chandeliers in the common areas. The new carpeting, which the interior designer chose, has been put down. Here she is in the left photo above, cleaning it, as there was a lot of heavy traffic on it this rainy morning. The facility librarian is busy also, as you can see in the other photo, opening boxes of books that have been contributed by some of the future residents. We delivered our box of books which included some classic fiction, some local history, and some health related books.

The central area at Beacon Hill is going to be beautiful. I have more photos which I am saving for the next blog posting. When I go to sleep tonight, I'll be dreaming of beautiful, comforatble spaces in our soon to be new home.

Toting the Beacon Hill at Eastgate Bag

We are now just a little over six weeks from our moving date. The tote bag pictured above was a recent gift from the staff at Beacon Hill at Eastgate. I'll use it on moving day to carry those last personal items that I won't give to the movers to pack and that I will be sure to need right away in our new home. I may also use it when I'm going to the grocery for a few items, thus saving myself several of those ubiquitous plastic bags.

Our house is still for sale, but the last folks who came to see it stayed a long time. As you may know, when you are selling your house, you are to stay out of it while the buyers and their realtor are looking at it. Well, I came home after the allotted time and they were still in the house. So, I parked a few houses away and sat in my car, waiting for them to leave. When they came out of the house, they stood on the walk talking to the realtor, then they went to their car, had another thought, and stood in the road talking some more. A neighbor came out and stood with them, presumably telling them about our quiet street, the nice kids who live in nearby houses, etc. At least, I hope he was giving them a positive picture of our neighborhood. Finally, after 1 3/4 hours, they left and I went back into the house which is still ours.

Regardless of when it sells, we are moving out in November. In the meantime, if you see me or someone else carrying one of these Beacon Hill bags, do stop and say hello. We'll tell you how happy we are that moving day is almost here!

Dining at Beacon Hill at Eastgate

Last week I attended a focus group for those of us who will soon be moving into Beacon Hill at Eastgate. With 13 of us seated around tables, we were asked to share our eating habits... what do we usually eat for breakfast, for lunch, how often do we go out for dinner and what is our favorite restaurant? It was an opportunity for each person to share what is most important for them in the dining experience at our new home.

Those are the words that were used: your home. We heard from Victor, the Director of Dining Services (pictured above on the left) his desire to make the dining experiences responsive to our wishes. "It's your kitchen", he said. Tim, the chef (pictured above on the right) echoed that intention, adding that he plans a community garden behind the building where some of the vegetables and flowers that will be used on the dining tables will be grown.

Our focus group was one of several that were held over a two day period last week. All of the comments will be summarized and will help inform the staff as to what to include in the "dining experience" at Beacon Hill. Cheryl Lucas, the consultant who has been assisting with the plan, said, "We can design a building, but you can design your own food service......We work in your home."

From the very beginning of our relationship with Beacon Hill, my husband and I have been impressed with how responsive the staff has been to our questions, comments, and needs. After last week's meeting, I'm looking forward to being served meals in our new home!

Now We're Getting Serious!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, I'll bet you thought I had fallen off the earth. Not quite, but I did get sidetracked by an extremely hot summer. I took a vacation from thinking about moving and selling the house.

My big news is that we have a move-in date. We will settle in to our new apartment in Beacon Hill at Eastgate just before Thanksgiving. In the meantime, we have had to lower the price on our house in order to attract what few buyers are out there these days. It's clearly a matter of supply and demand and right now there is an oversupply of houses for sale in our community.

I'm sorting through stuff in the house and moving some of it out. A company called Pak Mail came today to ship some art work, furniture and dishes to our daughter on the West Coast. Pak Mail is a national franchise and they did a professional job of packing the fine china in bubble wrap and sturdy cartons. While the timing is not right, I'm going to make this our Christmas gift to her this year. If she wants a package to unwrap on that special day, she can open one of the boxes of china on December 25!

Having Doubts

We've had no action on the house since we lowered the price a week ago. I'm starting to wonder if it was wise to put our house up for sale during the summer. Maybe we should have waited to sell it after we move into Beacon Hill in December. At that time the house would have been emptied of all our stuff and we could have all the wallpaper removed and the old carpet taken up. Then the original oak floors would be revealed and the walls would be ready for the buyers to paint.

Today, however, is another beautiful summer day. The peaches that we picked yesterday are ripening on the kitchen counter and the cicadas are buzzing. It's time to get outside.

A Lovely Day for a Swim

We're having another absolutely gorgeous day. I'm watching the chickadees and woodpeckers come to the suet at our bird feeder. Three pileated woodpeckers have stopped by to peck at the aging birch logs that line our woodland paths.

In the back of my mind there is always the house. We're still waiting for the buyer who falls in love with the house. One of my new friends, another future resident of Beacon Hill at Eastgate, told me that a 70 year old woman fell in love with her two story house and was ready to buy it with CASH! The woman's family talked her out of the deal, and advised her to get a ranch house, as she wasn't getting any younger. Well, none of us are getting younger and that is why this 70-something woman and her 80-something husband decided to move to Beacon Hill.

The lake is "flat" today. Time to go for a swim.

Waiting for the Sale

It's been a hot summer in Michigan, a good time to go barefoot and just put on your shorts and a tee shirt every morning. I'm thankful we can be at our summer home, where we enjoy time with grandchildren and their parents.

Meanwhile, emails from our realtor keep us up to date on showings of our house. We have had quite a few showings, but none have come back for a second showing and no offers have been made. The house has been listed for six weeks. Should we lower the price? That is the recommendation we are getting, and perhaps we should do that this week.

The recent issue of Grand Rapids Magazine published its annual listing of area school systems and East Grand Rapids rated number one. If we want to sell the house to a family that wants their kids to get into that school system, we probably need to have the sale happen sooner rather than later.

I'll keep you posted (pun intended!).

Is There a Buyer Out There for Our House?

Our house is ready and waiting for just the right buyer to see it. All the surfaces in the house are neat and tidy. The dining table even has two place settings on display to welcome visitors. The boy next door is keeping the lawn looking good and a friend is dead-heading the perennials and "harvesting" the mushrooms that keep coming up, due to all the rain in recent weeks. We've now had five "showings" in the three weeks since the for sale sign went up.

I feel like the train is moving toward its destination, but still don't know when we'll get there. In the meantime, we're enjoying summer in Michigan which is always too short a season.

From the Window of the Train

In my last post, I wrote that I felt like I had gotten onto a train whose destination was sale of the house. The train has left the station and I'm looking out the window, as I did many years ago when I traveled by train between school in MA and home in OH. The towns and cities that I'm seeing rush past my window are the house showings (we've had three so far) and the decisions being made about the actual move.

I'm considering hiring a "Personal Organizer." I know! You always thought I was well organized, so why would I need one of those? I met with one this week and was impressed with the services offered. I'm thinking of using her company to pack everything that we will take to Beacon Hill at Eastgate, supervise the movers, and unpack all the boxes at the apartment on moving day. At the end of the day, our kitchen cabinets will be settled, our clothing hung in closets, the bed made, and our pictures hung and all the boxes and packing materials will have been removed.

With those jobs out of the way, we'll be able to concentrate on settling into our new home. I'm looking forward to that!

All Aboard!

Our home for the past 47 years is on the market!

The for sale sign went up last week, we've had the first showing of the house, and all the rooms in our house have been measured and photographed from various angles. I feel like I've boarded a train and it's already moving down the track. I know what the destination is, but I don't know how slowly the train will move or when it will reach its destination (sale of the house). I've never been on this ride before, so it's exciting and a bit scary at the same time. The photographs will be up on the Internet in two days, should you want to take a look.

A Very Busy Day

I'm feeling guilty for not having posted to my blog for quite a while. Now, there is more to say than you may want to spend time reading. I'll just give you the highlights and get to the details later.

This morning I attended another of the Moving Made Easy seminars that Beacon Hill at Eastgate is offering to its future residents. The presenter asked me if I thought these seminars were helpful. I replied that Moving Made EASY doesn't really describe the process of downsizing, preparing to sell the house, and planning the actual move. Perhaps, Moving Made POSSIBLE might be a better title. There is nothing easy about moving out of the house you have lived in for 47 years.

This afternoon our realtor came with papers for me, the owner of the house, to sign. Before he left, he put the for sale sign up in our front yard. Wow! Now it's really happening. For those of you who might like a peek at our house, you will be able to see some photos on line as early as Thursday of this week. In another week there will be photos of the rooms from various angles as well as a more complete description of the property. Note, it's no longer our home now. It's become "a property for sale."

This evening a young family is coming to look at my baby grand piano. They have been referred to me by their piano tuner who has already examined my Knabe while another of his customers was interested in it. I'd like the piano to go to a family who would enjoy it, and this may be the family! At least, that's my hope. I'll keep you posted. There's more to the piano story that I'll post later. This is enough for your to read today.

Thanks for reading this far!

First Visit to our Apartment

At last, the day that I had been waiting for arrived. Jeff Huegli, pictured here with two future residents of Beacon Hill at Eastgate, graciously took us through the building from top to bottom. Jeff,the President of Beacon Hill, has been overseeing every detail of the plan for our retirement community. I took lots of pictures, and will be posting more of them in the days to come.



Here's one of the dining area in our apartment. We'll have lots of light. From our third floor view, the birdwatching should be excellent next spring. It's exciting to think that a year from now we'll be living in that space, enjoying the view from those windows. But now I must get back to making our basement presentable! I'll share more photos in future blog posts.

Putting the Finishing Touches on Her Public Face

As you can see from the photo taken this morning, the facade on the front of the East Wing has been painted to give the appearance of half timbers. When the exterior of the entire building has been completed, it's going to be quite handsome. I'll feel like I'm living in a cottage in the English countryside -- except for the roof -- the builder just couldn't get a permit for thatching the roof!

I had hoped to be taken on a tour of the building this past week, but we had heavy rain for a couple of days which left the building site a muddy mess. As soon as I can, I'll get in and take some photos for a future blog post.

Making Progress on the Stuff

I do hope my readers haven't been worried about me since my last post about feeling panicky. In the past two weeks, the panic has subsided as we begin to see progress in getting the house ready to sell. Here is what we have accomplished recently:

1. We've decided to list the house for sale on June first.
2. The realtor's photographer has photographed all the rooms. [It took me three days to get all the surfaces cleared off, dusted, and stuff tucked away.]
3. We put out a LOT of paper to be recycled this week as well as an extra huge box of trash.
4. Our handyman has spruced up the exterior of our house and painted the garage walls which REALLY needed painting.
5. I've shipped some "treasures" to my daughter as birthday gifts. UPS did the packing for me.
6. I've chosen two other "treasures" to give to a fund raising auction at Olivet College.
7. After my husband spent considerable time sorting through old family papers, we've taken several boxes of them to our summer home. [Will the kids ever be interested in looking at these? If you keep documents long enough, they become historic and worthy of archiving.]

That's an impressive list, if I do say so myself. Even the basement is beginning to look slightly less cluttered. With June first as our deadline, we'll have to keep at the task of downsizing.

That Panicky Feeling Strikes Again

It seems as if every time I participate in a session for people who will be moving into Beacon Hill at Eastgate, I start feeling panicky. Two days ago we attended a seminar on the actual moving process. This morning I woke up at 5:45am thinking about all the stuff I can't take and won't want to take to our new apartment home.

I've spent the day cleaning house and putting away stuff, getting ready for the real estate agent's photographer who will come next week to photograph the rooms in our house. That activity only served to make me aware of how much stuff I have yet to deal with. Around three this afternoon I was feeling overwhelmed when my cell phone pulsed out its special ring, notifying me that our daughter was calling. She cheered me up with lots of suggestions of how I could deal with our stuff, some of which she was able to tell me she would like herself.

After talking with her I realized that I shouldn't spend the whole day working. I needed to take a break. Tonight I'm going to a symphony orchestra concert, so I'll listen to wonderful music and forget about stuff for the evening! Then, maybe I'll be able to sleep later tomorrow morning.

The Lady Is Putting On Her Face!

Just like a woman who wouldn't dream of being seen without her full makeup, our building is in the process of having her facade applied. When all the outside panels have been applied and painted, and when the balconies and doors have been installed, she is going to look really grand.

Spring is coming on fast with daffodils in full bloom and trees flowering and leafing out. As soon as the facade is complete, the landscapers will be at work.

The pressure is mounting to get our house ready to sell! I took three boxes of old books and sold them to an antiquarian book store this week. Counting the four boxes of books that I took to the used book sale at our neighborhood library, and one given to a friend who sells books on the Internet, that makes 8 boxes of books out of the house. There will be a library at Beacon Hill and we have been asked if we have books we would like to contribute. It's hard to know which books to save for Beacon Hill. At some point we'll have to share our list with others so that duplicates can be sorted out.

The Commons Area

While I've been focused on the progress being made on the East Wing, the commons area that connects the East and West wings has been under construction. This is where all the activity of the Beacon Hill community will take place -- in the exercise room, the swimming pool, library, activities room, restaurants, kitchen, and offices.

Perhaps you may think I made an error when I typed "restaurants". I assure you, I did not! There are to be three restaurants, including the Great Lakes Room (more formal dining), the Club Room (more casual dining), and the Bistro (the spot for a yummy mid morning bakery items and coffee, or a light lunch).

Just a few days ago the future residents of Beacon Hill were treated to a grand luncheon at the Prince Conference Center of nearby Calvin College. The speaker was the woman who is in charge of food service. She proudly showed off the dishes, silver, and glassware that she has chosen for our use and discussed the quality of the food and the service which we residents will receive. Based upon the delicious food at the luncheon that day, I'm going to be sure to order a half portion of the entree! Otherwise, I'll be spending all my free time in the exercise room.

The luncheon was just another of the many opportunities which we have had to meet and get acquainted with some of the other future residents. By the time we move in, I'm sure we are going to know at least a few names, and many faces. As a group, we are all so eager to move in that I think we're going to like a group of kids at Disneyworld -- wanting to do everything and meet everyone at once!

Waxing Philosophical Instead of Just Waxing!

All of a sudden, life got really busy. It must be the fact that spring has arrived in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Two weeks ago, when I flew to New York City to visit a friend and go to the Metropolitan Opera (The Nose, by Shostakovitch) there were great piles of snow on the edges of driveways and parking lots. Upon my return, after three days, the snow was gone.

The spring sunshine coming in the windows of our house shows up all the tiny places where dust has accumulated as well as the finger marks on kitchen cupboard doors. So, I get a dust cloth or lightly damped sponge and take a swipe at the dirt, all the time thinking that the house will need to be perfectly clean when we put it up for sale later in the year. If I clean those marks on the front door today, do you think we can avoid messing it up again? I'd like to think the door will stay clean, but I'm probably naive.

It's pleasant to sit here in the family room and look out the window at the scilla which is coming into full bloom and the daffodils which are budding, but I must get back on track -- going through stuff, recycling stuff, throwing away stuff. I find myself recalling the Bible verse which I memorized so many years ago -- "Lay not up for yourself treasures on earth...." It's not that these things are true treasures, but it is just hard to do the work of sorting through so many things that bring back memories. But, there I go again, delaying the work of the day. I promise to not let so much time go by before my next blog.

Move In Day is Coming Closer!

The construction is coming along on schedule. That's our apartment on the corner of the third floor with the skeleton of a balcony attached. As you can see from the date, I took this photo a couple of weeks ago. Now that the windows are in, the interior work can go forward. In the next few weeks, they will also be putting up the brick and other exterior finishes. It's going to be a really beautiful building!

If you have been reading my blog, you know that we have picked out our carpeting, cabinets, paint color and other interior details. Earlier this week I confirmed those choices and wrote a check for the "upgrades" and extras that we plan to have added to our apartment. So, now we are really committed to this move.

And how are we coming on the "downsizing" you ask? Well, my husband is currently busy working on tax forms and I have been distracted with meetings and appointments. I must get back to it tomorrow.

Going Through Stuff Yields a Treasure!

When I was a little girl, my father was into photography in a serious way, taking 16 mm films as well as color slides. One of the films that I remember was of me at two years old. It was called "Betsy's Day" and followed a story line of my day, with a clock illustrating the hours as they ticked away. I loved this old film, but didn't know where it was and hadn't been able to find it in recent years.

This morning, I ventured into the area under the basement stairs and pulled out my mother's old suitcase. There, packed away by her many years ago, was "Betsy's Day"!! Mother always said that when you do some housework you often get rewarded by finding something that you thought was lost.

The film looks to be in good shape and I plan to have it converted to a DVD. If you, dear reader, have had experience with conversion of old films to DVD and know of a reputable firm that does this work, please send me a comment.

Today's post illustrates the value of going through your stuff in order to get ready to move -- finding long-lost treasures. This is an important benefit of moving to a CCRC. We're doing the work so that our children won't have to after we're "gone".

Trying to Remain Calm

In the past week, I have had two opportunities to meet with Beacon Hill at Eastgate staff to discuss issues relating to the construction and the moving process. I learned that the construction is proceeding according to schedule, in fact, some aspects of it are ahead of schedule. I also learned that the B wing (or East wing) where our apartment is located, should plan on moving in December, 2010. With that information, our realtor advises putting our house up for sale in September, or even August!

A mild state of panic can easily overcome both of us as we think about all the stuff that needs to be organized and disposed of before we can consider "showing" the house to a prospective buyer six months from now. It's not that we are messy people. We're not. We're just the usual pack rats living in a large house with lots of storage space for stuff.

This morning, my dear husband and I had a serious conversation about how we can accomplish the task. As we talked, several creative ideas came to mind which we will explore. I felt a lot calmer and so did he after our heart to heart talk. I'll share some of those ideas in another blog.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Electrifying!

Slowly, we are getting our house ready to sell. At this point we have less than a year to go. I want to be ready for the most particular buyer who may hire an inspector who feels like he needs to find something wrong with the house. I've identified several electrical issues that must be addressed.

Perhaps the most important one, and certainly the most expensive to update, was replacement of the old circuit breaker box. When the electrician came to connect our new air conditioner, he told us that the breaker box couldn't handle the A/C and would have to be replaced. So, on a cold January day my husband endured six hours without power while the work was done. Imagine, no heat, no computer (after the battery dies), no CNBC or PBS, and of course no light except what comes in through the windows. The photo above is what our house looks like in winter. Brrrrrr.....

Today's repairs were less complicated -- installation of GFI outlets in all the kitchen wall outlets and repairs to two bathroom exhaust fans that had stopped working. Both fan motors will need to be replaced. One was original to the house 47years ago, but the other was a new fan in the main bath and had been installed just a few years back. The electrician will have to come back with the replacement motors to finish the job.

Now, we know that some people who are planning to sell their house might not go to the trouble and expense of upgrading the electrical system. We are doing these things because we want our house to say, "Buy me. Can't you see I'm ready for you to move in?"

Wow! These Guys Can Really Multitask!

I happened to call Laurie in the Beacon Hill office this morning and she said, "Have you seen the windows in the West Wing?" Well, of course I hadn't because when I was over there on Saturday I was just too excited to see the roof over our apartment.

It turns out, she's right. The windows have been installed on the first floor of the West Wing. I have posted above the photo that I took this afternoon. Meanwhile, work on the roof is still going on and men are also working on the area between the two wings where the common areas will be housed.

Not only that, but I noticed today that it looks like there are shower stalls sitting in corner apartment on the second floor of the East Wing. I was so busy concentrating on the roof that I did not see the shower stalls. But, there they are, as seen in the photo below.

At Last, We Get A Roof Over our Heads!

Today, being a beautiful sunny but cold winter day, I decided to see how the construction was coming along. I had some letters to mail, so I drove over to the mailbox across the street from Beacon Hill at Eastgate. After parking the car and putting the envelopes into the big blue box, I turned to look at our corner of the building and was so excited to see that men were up on the roof, nailing the boards onto the trusses. On a Saturday! In 23 degree weather! I felt like I wanted to personally thank them for being out there in the cold and I fantasized about having the crane lift me up with a thermos of cocoa and some cookies for them.

I recalled that the construction goal was to have the facility roofed by the end of December. Well, I thought, they are only a week behind. Not bad, considering we had some snowy days in December when no roofing work could be done.

Happy New Year!

It's interesting how time seems to drag when we are young, but when we are old, it just flies by. Another year has come and gone, leaving us once again with a sense of hope as we look forward to the year ahead.

Those of us who have signed up to move into Beacon Hill at Eastgate know we are faced with completing the job of getting the house ready to sell. While the many tasks involved in that preparation can seem overwhelming, we know that the excitement of moving into our new home will motivate us. We don't know when the move will happen, but I'm hoping sometime before the end of March, 2011. We've made some progress in clearing stuff out of the basement, but still have more to do. Stan keeps coming up with boxes of stuff that each of us put up in the crawl space under our family room many years ago. We've forgotten what was in them until we open the boxes and then we are faced once again with the question of what we do with the contents. If only we didn't feel compelled to open the boxes, we could probably throw them out and never miss their contents!

That last comment is not entirely true. Some of the boxes contain family heirlooms. Those require decisions - give to one of the children or sell? My mother had to move several times during her adult life, and each move was to a smaller home. In each of her moves she sold or gave away some family things and antiques, and as far as I know, never looked back. I'll try to follow her example.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!