Granna's Apartment

Beacon Hill witnesses the Royal Wedding!

2011-04-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

Would you believe? I was invited to witness the Royal Wedding! Well, not exactly in London, but on the telly in Beacon Hill at Eastgate. Nola Watherbee, a self acknowledged follower of English Royals, invited all the women from Beacon Hill to a wedding breakfast, followed by a delayed viewing of the BBC filming of the event.

So, I tied a scarf on my summer straw hat, put on the pearls that Stan gave me for our wedding, and went to the party this morning. Here I am with the wedding cake which our chef created for the event. We are hoping that he will serve it to us as dessert at this evening's dinner.

Another WZZM 13 video

2011-02-23T17:28:00.001-08:00

Here's another video that was seen on WZZM 13 in the Grand Rapids area. I'm actually going to try embedding it into my blog on my own!!!! Peggy is sitting next to me in case I need help (and I did).

WZZM Interviews Beacon Hill's Chef

2011-02-23T17:28:00.000-08:00

I'm out in Seattle visiting my daughter, who found this video about our chef and she's teaching me how to embed it in my blog. Better enjoy it when you read my blog today, because I may not remember how to do this when I return to Grand Rapids.

Keeping Up With the News of the World

2011-02-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

Is it just our age, or have we always been interested in the news of the world? As we age, we worry about the future for our children and grandchildren. Life seems to be more complex and full of dangers.

At any rate, 23 residents of Beacon Hill gathered last Saturday morning for an informal discussion of current events. Of course we wanted to talk about Egypt, but other issues came up as well. There was a lot of energy for what was an honest and open conversation.

Everyone was appreciative of the opportunity to get together for discussion of serious issues and we decided to meet every Saturday morning to do this. Life at Beacon Hill at Eastgate is full of opportunities. We're happy we made the decision to live here.

Overnight at Beacon Hill

2011-02-11T13:08:00.001-08:00

Our son came down to visit us last weekend and check out our new "digs". We reserved the guest suite for him and these photos tell a partial story of the two bedroom, two bath apartment that is currently used for guests of residents at Beacon Hill. The apartment layout is identical to ours and just two floors below us. Others in our family better get their reservations in early, because this place is a really great place to visit.

Stan and Jim played golf on the golf simulator in the Club Room. Jim was able to figure out how to program the computer so that the balls went where they were supposed to. Must have been fun because they spent several hours on it!

Super Bowl Widow - At Last!

2011-02-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the long awaited 2011 Super Bowl game was played. Residents of Beacon Hill were invited to watch it on a big screen TV in the Club Room. Not being big football fans, we didn't attend the event, but I did over hear a comment this morning from one of the women whose husband was part of the group watching the game in the Club Room. She said that for the first time in her married life she was able to spend the evening doing what she wanted to do, which did not include watching the game! I suspect there may have been other Super Bowl Widows enjoying their evenings alone as well.

By the way, those folks in the Grand Rapids metro viewing area saw a commercial featuring Beacon Hill at Eastgate during the game. Next year, national advertising anyone?

Shall We Dance?

2011-02-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

We were entertained yesterday by a line dancing group from another Retirement Community in our city. They looked like they were having fun as they danced to a variety of songs, changing their "looks" to fit the music. Here they are dancing to a Hawaiian tune.

The question we asked ourselves was, "Would we like to do line dancing at Beacon Hill?" Many thought they would like to try it. You know, it just might help with the balance issues that many of us have.

Execising in the Community Room

2011-01-27T13:37:00.000-08:00

We had our first exercise class this morning. Nikki, the Wellness Coordinator, put us through a series of stretches which we all agreed felt good. At least, many of the stretches were challenging, and I guess that was good for us!

We sat in chairs to do the stretches today, but next week, we'll do some while lying on the floor, also. My old yoga mat will come in handy for those exercises. I must remember to bring my water bottle next time.

Getting Acquainted

2011-01-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

A group of residents thought it would be fun to meet in the library at Beacon Hill with our needlework projects. We did this today and pictured here are some of the women who showed up with needles and threads of various sorts.

We got acquainted as we visited while "needling". Everyone enjoyed the time together, so we decided to make it a weekly event, every Tuesday afternoon from 2-4 pm. It will be a casual gathering, just bring your needle work and prepare to make new friends as we get acquainted here at Beacon Hill.

I guess we need a name for the group. How about "The Beacon Hill Needlers"? If you have a suggestion for a better name, please leave a comment on this blog post. Maybe we'll actually get organized next Tuesday and take a vote on a name for the group!

Meeting our Neighbors at Beacon Hill

2011-01-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

Shortly after we moved into Beacon Hill at Eastgate, Dave and Judy Carpenter moved into the apartment next door to us. I recently sat down with them to get acquainted and learned that they have two kids who must have gone to East Grand Schools at the time that our kids were there. While they have lived in the Grand Rapids area since 1965, they actually met in kindergarten in the Upper Peninsula town of Iron Mountain. When I asked Judy if Dave used to pull her pigtails, Dave said Judy chased him. I didn’t ask if she kept chasing him through the years, but evidently she caught him!
Dave started out as an attorney in the trust department of a bank and soon established a law office with a partner. Together they had a general law practice, and Dave says he did a lot of estate planning.
Judy told me that she worked as a nurse at Blodgett Hospital. Having experienced the loss of a baby before its birth, she wanted to help others through that loss. So, she founded the Resolve Through Sharing program which still exists at Blodgett Hospital. Judy is also a Master Gardener. It was perhaps Judy’s interest in gardening that led the two of them to volunteer at Meijer Gardens where Dave learned to love sculpture as well as the gardens.
Dave and Judy say they played bridge “long ago” and are hoping to take up the game again with a group of casual, forgiving bridge players. While they looked at many Retirement Communities, they chose Beacon Hill because they felt it was the most welcoming. Now that they are here, it feels like family to them.

Meeting our Neighbors at Beacon Hill

2011-01-19T17:18:00.000-08:00

When I sat down to dinner with George Anne and Dick recently, she told me that they had moved to Beacon Hill from Greensboro, North Carolina. Since they lived so far away they were not able to attend any of the seminars and social gatherings that were held during the time that this community was being built. They had decided to move here because they have a daughter in the area. I happened to meet their daughter at one of the Beacon Hill seminars. She told her mother about my blog. George Anne said that reading this Blog helped her feel connected to Beacon Hill.

Dick retired after a 35 year career as an engineer with Dow Corning. That job took him all over the world and I imagine he has lots of stories to share. Incidentally, he is looking for a partner to play the golf simulator here at Beacon Hill. George Anne is a seamstress who used to make all of her own clothes. She came by this skill naturally as her grandfather was a tailor. She and Dick are looking forward to having the Beacon Hill bus take them to cultural events in this city.

George Anne and Dick will spend May through September at their cottage on Bass Lake near Traverse City where Dick will be on the water most of the time, fishing. I imagine that is when George Anne will enjoy reading and being Up North.

Keeping Fit at Beacon Hill

2011-01-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

It may be cold and wintry outside, but inside Beacon Hill at Eastgate we can keep fit while using the exercise machines. Stan and I have never used fitness machines, so we met with the wellness director who showed us how to use the various machines and made a note of the settings that were right for each of us. I'm using the machines three days a week and taking 25 minute walks in the hallways on alternate days.

Here's a photo of Carol Garey, one of the residents, on the treadmill. Beyond the windows in front of her is the swimming pool. The other photo shows Stan putting in some time on a machine.

Each time that we exercise we record how many "reps" we did and the time spent on the cardio machines. After a few weeks of this, we'll be increasing the weights on the strengthening machines as well as the time spent.

Have I mentioned that the food here is really good? I justified eating tonight's yummy brownie because I did my walking this morning!

Happy Holidays from Beacon Hill at Eastgate

2010-12-29T06:47:00.001-08:00

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

2010-12-15T07:12:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-11-20T14:15:00.000-08:00

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

2010-10-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-10T06:29:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-06-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-06-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-04-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-03-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-03-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-11T11:35:00.001-08:00

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!

2010-01-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

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!

Roofiing on a Snowy Day

2009-12-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

With one more week left, it appears that the workers will come close to reaching the announced goal of having the structure "closed in" by the end of 2009. The photo above is of the East wing and you can see that trusses have been placed at one end and roofing boards nailed onto them. While this is taking place, the remaining trusses are being lifted up by a huge crane and put into position. Our apartment on the third floor corner will be among the last to receive its roof. Meanwhile, the West wing is fully covered and almost completely shingled.

So, the race to the finish is taking place. And it's happening while we continue to receive a fine dusting of snow each day, with temperatures ranging right around the freezing mark.

Dusty Hands!

2009-12-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that we have had the wall paper torn off the kitchen and lavatory walls? It needed to be done, having been on those walls for the past 27 years!! The area is a mess now with fine dust everywhere, but once the painter has finished, I'll go through the cabinets and sort out the stuff that I won't be taking to Beacon Hill.

In the meantime, we are still going through the crawl space. Today Stan brought out three boxes with my name on them containing old scrapbooks from my childhood, boarding school and college days. There also is a collection of letters my parents wrote to me while I was in college, as well as documents from my trip to France the summer of 1952. I'll look through them after we have moved to Beacon Hill. It's original source material for my memoirs!

We drove by the construction site this morning and were pleased to see roof trusses going up on the East wing. Meanwhile, the roof on the West wing is being completed and shingled. I hope to have a photo to post for you soon of our corner apartment with its roof trusses.

The Realtor Decision

2009-12-18T07:46:00.000-08:00

In my last post, I mentioned that the two Realtors whom we are interviewing were coming back for a second visit with us. We sat down with each of them earlier this week. We asked each of them how they would market our house and got a better feel of how it would work to have them as our realtor. While we were certain that either of them would do a good job for us, we had to make a choice.

One of them had personal knowledge of the community in which we live and could probably do a better job of selling the community. We are in an urban area, with sidewalks, neighborhood schools that kids can walk to, with shops and a good library nearby. Buyers who are looking for open spaces and rural settings would not be interested in our house. For buyers who want a good school system and don't want to have to transport their kids every day, our location is perfect.

The marketing plan was the deciding factor for me. One realtor, in addition to advertising on the Internet, would do the more traditional approach of monthly open houses and news print ads. The other realtor doesn't do open houses, relying instead on professional staging of the home and a professional photographer to market the house on the Internet. These days most people start their search for a home on the Internet. Gone are the days of driving through neighborhoods on a Sunday afternoon to visit Realtors' open houses.

I think that once we get the house ready for the photographer, with all the clutter and personal stuff put away, I will be able to keep it neat and tidy for the times when the realtor has a potential buyer who wants to see the house. As you have by now surmised, we decided to accept the services of the Internet savvy realtor who also has an excellent track record of sales.

I must close now and get back to cleaning out the basement!

News Briefs

2009-12-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

Forgive me for just giving brief comments in this post, but there is so much going on. Here's a drawing of our kitchen. Note the top mounted refrigerator, which I have chosen over the double door refrigerator with ice and water in the door. Beacon Hill offered it as standard but we don't need such an expensive appliance and we'll save on energy with this one.

Today is Saturday, and the workers are up on the roof of Beacon Hill at Eastgate installing roof panels, in spite of very cold weather and over 10 inches of snow having fallen. It's sunny, so I did some errands and drove past the place to see how it was coming along.

I took some old books to a used book store and the dealer bought all of them! I didn't get a lot of money, but it's better than nothing. I'll go back with more books another day His shop is right on the way to downtown.

The Salvation Army received most of our Christmas decorations - pine cone wreaths which I made years ago, our old tree stand, artificial garlands and miscellaneous other stuff.

My last errand was to pick up a floor lamp that I had rewired to make it safe to take to Beacon Hill.

Our television console arrived yesterday. It will be perfect in our apartment. I selected it at our town's oldest furniture company. A gift certificate that I won in a raffle helped pay for it.

The two real estate agents have called and made appointments to see us next week for further conversation about selling our house. I'll let you know how those visits went next week.

When to Sell the House?

2009-12-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

The market analysis done by each of the two real estate brokers who have visited us arrived this week. Both agree with our Personal Relocation Manager that housing values are going to continue to decline through next year. Why? One reason is that there are still foreclosures occurring. Also, folks who don't have to sell right now are waiting for the slightest sign of improvement in the housing market before they put their homes up for sale. Finally, Michigan has been hit especially hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs. Our unemployment rate is among the highest in the country. People have been leaving the state for places where there are jobs. In other words, there will be more supply than demand for some time.

When we spoke with our Personal Relocation Manager (provided to us by Beacon Hill), she suggested we might want to get ahead of the falling prices by putting our house up for sale this coming February or March. We might get more for our house than we would almost a year later, but we would have to store our furniture and move to a temporary location until our apartment is ready. Fortunately we both agree that having the house ready to sell in early spring of 2010 is not a possibility. So, we'll take our chances with the housing market and put the house up for sale in early 2011. This will give us much needed time to clear out the basement and do the necessary sprucing up where needed.

Putting Our Marks on the Designer's Plan

2009-12-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

We had our meeting with Kevin, the project designer, yesterday. I took Stan along because I thought we would be asked to write a check to pay for our special requests. I want Stan to understand what the "upgrades" are and not be shocked by the additional expense. As it turned out, we won't know the total payment required until after Kevin has had time to price out everything. What do I mean by "everything"? Just those extras beyond the standard offered by Beacon Hill such as Berber carpeting in the guest bedroom/office, corner cabinets and a pull-out wastebasket in the kitchen, a roll-out clothes hamper in one linen closet, and a built in the wall ironing board which I discovered in the Internet. The latter fits between the studs and is electrified so that the iron plugs into the unit and turns off automatically when the board is raised and the door is closed. Neat and safe!

By the time we had gone through all our requests, Kevin had red marks all over a fresh copy of our apartment plan. One surprise for me was that the light fixtures have all been chosen for us. The chandelier over our dining table is not one which I would have chosen, but I'm willing to go with it as I know how difficult it is to chose those things. Besides, I didn't want to add another sum to the total that we will have to pay for our preferred "upgrades" and additions.

At the end of our time with Kevin, Laurie, our Beacon Hill Marketing Consultant, displayed my flooring, cabinet, and counter top samples for Stan's information. I'm so glad my husband is willing to turn those decisions over to me and trust that I will do a good job of planning an apartment that will be attractive and comfortable.

I'm glad to have all those decisions finalized. There is just one more construction related task remaining for me, and that is to think about the master closet. But, I'll wait to post a discussion of the closet plan another day.

Design Details

2009-12-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

There is so much going on right now that I find myself thinking about apartment details frequently during the day. Each time I come up with a new idea, and often it's a good one that changes the previous plan. That happened with my choices of flooring, cabinet finishes and counter tops. I went over to the display at the sales office three times, well maybe four times! I'm very thankful my husband is willing to turn this responsibility over to me as he would become very impatient with the process. I'm finally ready to meet with the building design staff next week and give him my list of decorating choices.

The kitchen plan needed quite a few changes. I was confronted with blind corner cabinets and I couldn't imagine myself on my knees with a flashlight peering into the inaccessible lower cabinet to see what I had stored there! I have changed that to a corner lazy susan with a corner wall cabinet over it.

Another major issue for me was the placement of the dishwasher at the end of the kitchen as far removed from the dish cabinet as possible. I have asked for it to be moved to the other side of the sink and a pull-out wastebasket to be put in its place. There was one other blind corner base cabinet at the end of the kitchen near the dining table. I will have a base cabinet there that will open into the main room which will give me an easily accessible drawer for place mats and pull out shelves for my Christmas dishes.

When I told my daughter that I was enjoying figuring out these details and that maybe I should have been an interior designer, she said "It's not too late to do that, Mom." Isn't it great that our kids have such confidence in us!

I did go over to see the construction in the snow yesterday, but it wasn't worth a photo. It was a dark day and there was no contrast between eight inches of snow on the roof of the West wing and the grey sky. I'll wait to put up a new photo until there is something dramatic to see on the East wing.

2009-12-04T07:43:00.000-08:00

Beacon Hill at Eastgate had its annual Christmas party for incoming residents last night. It was another opportunity to get acquainted with future residents. Much of the discussion centered around individual requests for changes to the kitchen plans and contacts with real estate people. One woman has learned that they recommend she remove wallpaper and paint certain areas. She has already hired someone to do that for her. I know that needs to be done in our kitchen and dinette also and have a handyman who will do that work later this month. Since we spend several months at our summer home, we need to do as much as possible during these winter months to get our house ready for the real estate market.

Speaking of winter, we found six inches of snow on the ground this morning, our first snowfall of the season. The photo above shows the roof on the West wing, partially completed. I'll trudge over in the snow later today to take a picture of our wing, with six of snow on the floor of our apartment!

2009-12-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

The building is going up so fast, I'll have to post a new photo every day so that you can keep up with it. When I was out in the car this morning, traffic was blocked in both directions while a huge flatbed trailer turned into the construction site, loaded with roof trusses. Here's a photo of one of the guys up on the roof. Their goal is to get the roof on by the end of December. It will be tight, but at the rate they are working, I think they will do it.

While the builders are working hard, I've been working too, modifying the kitchen plan, adding some special touches, and choosing carpet, counter tops, cabinet finishes, etc. We have an appointment next Monday to share our choices and make our special requests for changes and/or upgrades to the basic apartment plan. Actually, I enjoy doing this sort of thing. Maybe I should have gone into interior design instead of sociology/social work!

Downsizing Details

2009-12-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

Some time ago I set a goal of getting something out of the house every day in preparation for moving to Beacon Hill at Eastgate. I admit I haven't been very good at meeting this goal, but over Thanksgiving weekend I had a bit of help. The kids were here and took a small freezer, a three drawer file cabinet, bird feeding polls, their dad's old Flexible Flyer sled and other small items. In addition to this help from the family, I contributed some Christmas decorations to the Salvation Army.

In the meantime, Stan is making progress, going through old files and getting rid of papers. Our recycle bin is overflowing every week. We are thankful it gets collected every week.

But, there is still more to do...........

Our Apartment is Taking Shape!

2009-11-29T16:53:00.000-08:00

I remembered to take my camera with me the day after Thanksgiving when the Northern Michigan part of our family was with us for the holiday. We were walking around the neighborhood and stopped in front of Beacon Hill at Eastgate for this photo. Those of you who have been following my blog will notice that the third floor is taking shape. That spot right on the corner is ours. You can see that the interior walls are going up at the same time. I'll post another picture when the roof is being added.

My Saturday Walk

2009-11-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

It's a lovely fall day today and I decided to take a walk. As usual, I walked over to Beacon Hill and was surprised to find the construction going on, even on a Saturday! It's exciting to see Tyvek (I call that "gortex for a building") going up on the West wing and roof trusses starting to go up as well. There are stacks and stacks of walls on the ground, ready to be lifted up and become the third floor of the West wing. Forgive me for not having my camera with me on this walk. I'll be sure to take it the next time.

Construction Continues Apace

2009-11-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

So, what does that rather old fashioned word "apace" mean exactly? I'm assuming in this case that it means rapidly, because that is what is happening with the facility construction. As you can see, the second floor of the East Wing is going up and the third floor will soon follow. If you've been reading earlier posts, you may notice that the office building which is behind the facility is starting to disappear.

We've been told that the goal is to have the roof on by the end of December. At this rate, they just may make it!

First Contact With a Realtor

2009-11-16T12:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I've met with a realtor and taken her through the house. She lives in the neighborhood, so she is familiar with the schools, etc. The house next door sold last spring and is similar to ours, so she offered that as a "market survey". I'm not sure that one house is enough as that house sat empty for a year before it sold and ours has some nicer features, but I'm prejudiced, as you can imagine.

Anyway, she went through the house taking pictures of everything, the mess in the basement included! How embarrassing. Oh well, if we chose her to be our realtor, won't she be pleasantly surprised when we get this place ready to sell?

I'm waiting for the other possible realtor to come to meet us and see the house, then I'll decide which one to work with. All of us who are planning to move into Beacon Hill at Eastgate are being assisted in the move by a Chicago company called Moving Station. I have a contact there who can advise us and will keep the realtor on his or her toes. This a complimentary service offered by Beacon Hill. The realtors will make their reports to my contact at Moving Station and she will advise me of what we need to do to get the house ready to sell. Clean out and paint the basement and the garage are the two biggest projects. If we are wise, we'll do the basement this winter and the garage next spring.

Getting Serious About Downsizing

2009-11-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

Now that our new home is being built and we can see daily advances in the construction process, it is time to get serious about downsizing. After 47 years in our home where we raised three children, we have accumulated a lot of stuff and nearly all of it is ours! Our adult children all have homes of their own and have long ago taken their stuff with them. Sometimes I hear folks our age tell me that they still have their kids stuff, closets and even rooms full of it! I tell them, just have the kids come and tell them it's time to grow up and take care of their own stuff.

I've set a goal of getting something out of this house every day. Setting out the trash and recyclables on Thursdays counts, as does taking things to the Goodwill, and giving some books to a friend who has a used book sale business. For Mothers' Day two years ago I gave rings that had belonged to my grandmother and Stan's mother to our daughter and daughter-in-law. Those were tiny items to get rid of in the bigger scheme of things, but nevertheless, I counted them toward my goal of getting rid of something every day.

It's not easy. I will share my efforts at sorting through the memories at another time.

A Solid Foundation Has Been Laid

2009-10-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have fallen behind in showing photos of the construction. I took this photo of our Southeast corner three weeks ago. I'll be posting more photos from now on as the construction process is proceeding rapidly.

I drove by on a really rainy day recently and was surprised to see a crew at work on the West end of the building, in the rain! We were told at a recent gathering of future residents that there is a crew of about 60 working on the construction with another 60 or 70 to be added in the near future. It's a local construction company doing the job and all materials are being purchased locally. That's helping our local economy. We like that feature of Beacon Hill at Eastgate!

See Betsy on Her Balcony!

2009-10-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

This is the closeup of the southeast corner of Beacon Hill at Eastgate model that I promised to post in my last blog. That's me, standing on our balcony. Well, not really me, but it's pretty cool to have the figure there, identifying our spot. The window behind her will let the winter sun shine into our dining area and the window to the left is where our master bedroom will be.

The driveway at the back of the building leads into the basement parking level where we will have a parking spot for our car. We think that's a really cool feature of this facility since we are already used to an attached garage and like not having to trek through the snow or rain to bring in the groceries.

Here is What is Being Built

2009-10-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

Architect's Model of Beacon Hill at Eastgate

Before I show you any more photos of the construction, I want you to know what the architect's vision for Beacon Hill at Eastgate looks like. This is the model that we saw in the sales office over a year ago when we first started thinking about moving to a CCRC. Remember, that acronym stand for Continuing Care Retirement Center.

The facility will sit on a 16 acre site where there formerly was a small hospital. You can see the two wings, each three stories tall. The center or common area is where the three restaurants, library, meeting room, swimming pool, exercize room, etc. etc. will be located. The plan includes supportive care and nursing facilities to be built behind the common area.

Our apartment will be in the West Wing which is on the right side of the photo. I'll show a closeup view of that wing in my next blog.

Making Choices

2009-10-08T14:45:00.001-07:00

Last week I attended a "Moving Made Easy" seminar for future Beacon Hill residents. Actually, it could have been called, "It's Your Choice!" We learned about the choices we will have for kitchen cabinets, flooring, wall colors, carpeting, etc. The plan is to make it easy for people like me, who like to look at all the possibilities that are out there before making my choice. I will get to chose from four or more choices in each category. In a couple of weeks I'll take my fabric samples to the sales office and see what will look best with our furniture.

Bridget, who showed us the sample choices, is an interior designer whose specialty is designing senior living centers. That's Bridget in the photo. I think it will be easy for me to chose the items that we will be happy with.

Now, it's getting seriously exciting to think about moving!!!

More Photos Taken Two Weeks Ago

2009-09-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Here are two more photos that I took a couple of weeks ago. On the left is a view of the corner where our apartment will be located. The building in the background is a medical office building unrelated to Beacon Hill. On the right is a view of the signage, warning would be trespassers that the area is under video surveillance.

Climbing the Blogging Learning Curve

2009-09-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

I've not been very faithful about writing in my blog lately. My daughter called today to remind me to keep writing, so here I am again. I guess I was discouraged by not being able to figure out how to add a photo of the construction of Beacon Hill at Eastgate. I'll try again today and take my camera to the site tomorrow to get the latest photos to you. I drove by it yesterday and real progress has been made since I took this photo.

I made a little progress on the clearing out stuff process today. Sent an antique item to an auction house in Delaware, Ohio that had been referred to me by my college friend, Alex Heingartner. Later today, the Director of an arts organization stopped by to make a pitch for support and I gave her a book for their library. So, that's two out the door today.

Okay, now I have posted a photo. It actually shows the corner where our apartment will be. That's the curb for the driveway leading to the underground parking. I'll try posting this blog and add newer photos tomorrow.

My first photo of the construction

2009-09-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

At last we can see the construction taking place, although it seems like it is taking forever to get the foundation in place. I was able to take some photos last week and will see if I can post some on this blog. Our corner apartment will be on the front of the building and the photo actually shows where our balcony will go. They are evidently getting all the cement work done at the same time, as I can see the curbs for the driveway to the underground parking garage. Water service must be in place, also, as there is a fire hydrant visible.

The next photo post will have to wait until later this month when we go back to town for meetings and appointments. I hope to see steel girders going into place by then.

Oh My! That learning curve was just too steep!! I'll have to consult with someone and learn how to post photos. Time to take a break.

Time to Get Serious About Moving

2009-09-08T06:51:00.000-07:00

Today is the day after Labor Day. Kids are back at school. The lake is quiet. Time to get serious about all those tasks we have been putting off until "we have time". Our youngest child says he could use our small freezer, so we'll have him take that when he comes to our house for Thanksgiving. The middle kid wants the huge old oak chest of drawers in our basement. He may want to get it at Thanksgiving time, also. It's full of "culch" and will have to be emptied. My husband wants to bring a lot of stuff that's in it up to the cottage, but I don't want to have all those odd pieces of hardware and tools hanging around this place, taking up space, for another 47 years. So, I'll try to argue in favor of sorting through stuff and putting much of it into a garage sale.

We're going home for a couple of days this week and I'm eager to see how the construction is coming along. I hope to see a lot of progress having been made in the five weeks that I have been away. I'll take some photos and learn how to post them on my blog. That will be another learning curve for Granna.

Postponing Decisions

2009-08-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

It's so easy to postpone decisions when the deadline is way in the future. After having fun with furniture placement, I started to think about how to get rid of "stuff" and getting ready for the move. Originally, the planners of our retirement home were going to have it completed in the fall of 2009. Thank goodness, that didn't happen because they weren't able to get the loan from the bank until the spring of 2009. In addition, housing prices fell and mortgages money was harder to get. And we are definitely not ready to move out of house this fall!!!

At first, I was trying to "get something out of the house" each day. Taking used items of clothing to the Goodwill and giving things away to people who could use them was easy. Trash collection every Thursday counted, as we are compulsive recyclers. I took advantage of our city's once a year rubbish collection to discard those old awnings (not used for over 30 years) and the garden trellises that supported lovely climbing roses when we first moved into our then new house 47 years ago. I also made an appointment to recycle all the hazardous waste in our house - oil based paint cans, pesticides, and fluorescent light bulbs that contain mercury (and wear out so fast when you turn them on and off frequently).

But the daily discipline of getting stuff out of the house wore off. With construction finally taking place, and move in time tentatively set for winter of 2011, time is starting to run out. We'd better get serious about going through all those places that we have stored stuff over the years.

Apartment B319 is Ours!

2009-08-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

Those premiums for promptly making the decision were just too good to miss. After thinking it over carefully for a week, we met again with the sales staff, deposit check in hand, and changed the red pin for a blue pin in apartment B319. There were papers to sign proving our ability to manage the apartment deposit and monthly fees as well as proof of our good health and ability to manage our "Activities of Daily Living". We made it through those hurdles and were presented with our signed formal agreement and a residents' handbook detailing all the advantages of the facility.

I went home with the apartment plan and began to make a list of furniture which we would take and what we would leave behind. The antique desk that belonged to my Revolutionary War ancestor would have a place of honor in the living room, as would the antique tilt-top table that my father had purchased from a home in Connecticut. But would I have room for the antique revolving bookcase that I purchased from the estate of my parents' best friend, also in Connecticut? There was no question about taking the old Morris chair from my husband's family home in Portland, Maine. I thought it would fit nicely into the second bedroom which would serve as our office.

While my detailed plan has changed several times, I had a lot of fun measuring furniture, cutting out tiny pieces of paper and placing them on the apartment plan. I'm still thinking about furniture placement, over a year later as we await construction of our new home.

Visualizing our Apartment

2009-08-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

When I read over the last posting, I noted a typo in the location of our chosen apartment. Perhaps you wondered what was meant by the "SC" in the last paragraph. I should have typed SE for Southeast, as it was our choice to begin our days with the morning sun streaming into the many windows on that side of the building. In the winter, when the sun is lower on the horizon, the windows on the south side would bring that welcome warmth and cheer to the winter days that we spend in Grand Rapids.

That reminds me to tell you that since we spend four to five months of the year at our summer home in Northern Michigan, one of the great benefits of the apartment for us will be the ability to shut the door and depart for the summer, knowing that we won't have to plan for lawn and garden maintenance or pay a security service to "watch" our house. So, no more lawn mowing, weed pulling, grass watering, and snowshoveling for us! At least, after we have once moved into our apartment.

I'll tell you about my plans for the apartment in my next blog.

Getting into the Details

2009-08-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

A week or so after the "free lunch" we met with the marketing staff who explained all the aspects of the planned CCRC as well as the financial arrangements. We were able to ask and have answered all the questions that had come to mind in the interim. The more we heard, the more we liked the plan as well as the flexible financial arrangements.

A center common area would house the reception area, dining rooms, library, mail room, meeting room, etc. It would be located between the two apartment wings, each three stories tall. A swimming pool and craft room was planned for the lower floor, in addition to underground parking (one space for each apartment). Did you get that? UNDERGROUND PARKING! In Grand Rapids, where it snows all winter long.

There were several choices regarding financial arrangements. The deposit required for an apartment depended first upon the size of the apartment and then upon the percent of the deposit which we wanted to have returned to us or to our estate. When we made the decision to have a certain percentage of the deposit returned to us, then the cost of the apartment and the monthly maintenance fee were determined. In our case, we chose the plan with the lower monthly maintenance fee which would return a larger amount to our estate.

Now, I must say that the marketing staff was very highly skilled. She was also delightful and highly motivated to sell the plan. She told us that if we would return within one week with a check for 10% of the apartment deposit we would be given some special premiums which included $2,500 toward any "extras" that we would want in our apartment. In addition, while we were waiting for the facility to be built, our money would sit in an escrow account at the bank and could be returned to us plus interest, should we decide to cancel our plan.

So, with nothing to lose, we went into the model room and put a red pin into our SC corner apartment on the third floor of the B Wing!

Who Says There's No Free Lunch?

2009-08-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

In the winter of 2008 we began to receive some mailings about a retirement community that was being built in our neighborhood. It intrigued us, as we couldn't think where there was space for such a facility in our fully developed city. Then an invitation came for a "free lunch" which we decided to attend in order to find out what it was all about.

While we were initially skeptical as to whether we would like the facility and also whether we would feel welcome there, we were pleasantly surprised. The facility was to be built just a half mile from our home, on a large piece of land that had previously been occupied by a hospital. The plans appeared to be well conceived and the people on the sales staff assured us that progressive people like us would be welcome, and were in fact already represented in the group who had made the decision to move in.

A scale model of the complex was set up on a large table, complete with tiny cars on the driveways and tiny people standing on some of the apartment balconies. By the end of the meeting, I had made not only my choice of apartments but also its location. My husband's comment in answer to my question was, "It looks pretty good." That was high praise from one who does not easily commit himself! We made an appointment to discuss the details and financial commitment the following week.

So, "No Free Lunch?" Well, if we decided it wasn't for us, then the lunch would have been free.

It's a Major Decision

2009-08-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

So, the question is, do we stay in our home or move into a CCRC? CCRC --- that's shorthand for retirement community where life care is guaranteed. The decision involves thinking about growing older and perhaps needing assistance with housework, medications, getting around, bathing (ugh, what an awful thought, needing help in and out of the tub/shower), or worse. Finally, there's the thought we all want to avoid, what if we need full time nursing care at the end of our lives?

If you are like most people, you want to avoid thinking about any of these things and assume that life will just go on as it has. If we're lucky, we'll just die in our sleep one night, a shock for our family to be sure, but the best way to "go".

So, let's just stay in the house we've lived in for over 40 years, says my husband. It's paid for and conviently located near a shopping center, library, pharmacy, grocery, etc. Many of our friends have long ago sold their family home and purchased condos. But, my husband says, we couldn't get nearly as nice a place for the money that we would get out of this house. That's true when you consider the in town location, which we enjoy.

Now, you need to know that our house is a traditional two story house with four bedrooms and two baths upstairs. In the event that one of us becomes unable to climb the stairs or bedridden, we would have to convert the dining room into a bedroom. Let's be realistic, say I, think about how inconvenient the tiny half-bath on the first floor would be for an invalid.

So, we delay the decision and the years go by. But I remain open to the possibility of moving to a retirement community, thinking about how it was a good thing for my mother. I know I'd like having someone else decide what to fix for dinner each day!

Our Mothers' Decisions

2009-08-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

Before I begin to tell about our decision to move to an apartment in a CCRC, I think I should share with you our mothers' experiences. My mother was ready at age 80 to give up housekeeping and moved into a retirement home. Even though she had only one small room with a half bath, she was happy with her new social contacts and loved having those "nice girls" serve her meals in the common dining room. My husband's mother, on the other hand, considered such a place to be anathema. When we dined with Mother as her guests, Stan's mother saw someone with a walker and asked if they issued those to all the "inmates." That is actually the word she used, inmates!

Then when Mother needed nursing care, it was right there for her and her new friends could visit her without leaving the building. Remaining in her apartment, Stan's mother required meals on wheels and a home aide to assist her during the day. Eventually it became obvious that more help was needed, and round the clock, so we had to find a nursing home for her. That was not an easy task and eventually meant a long drive for us to go and visit her.

I have always been thankful that my mother made the move to Pilgrim Manor, our UCC related CCRC in Grand Rapids. She did the tasks of sorting through her possessions and discarding those that she thought her children would not want. Then, she let me decide which pieces of furniture I would like for my home and we had a sale for all the rest. Perhaps that is the reason that it has been so easy for me to decide to move to a CCRC. But more on that, to come.

My First Attempt at Blogging

2009-08-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am, attempting to start a blog. My daughter, who is an expert in social media, thinks I have something worthwhile to talk about, and encouraged me to do this. I have great respect for her, and always try to live up to her expectations of me. so, I'll try to do this.

I'll be writing about our decision to move into a Continuing Care Retirement Community, or CCRC as they are known in the field. I hope it will be a good thing for both of us as well as for our children who won't have to worry about our care when we get to the point where we need assistance of (heaven forbid) nursing care. But, more about the reasons for the decision later. Today, its' enough just to get started and hope that someday someone may want to read these musings.