What's a CCC?

After a week of on and off showers, it is hot and steamy today, upper 80s and climbing. Keeping fans blowing throughout the house to help reduce the hu-u-umidity.

Today's the focus group meeting at Carolina Meadows. What's a CCC? A Continuing Care Community, as in retirement home, old-age home or 'the old farm' before you actually 'buy' the farm. This afternoon we will attend a meeting at the Meadows with others on the waiting list to hear about the development and construction of Phase IV, a planned section adding 22 villas to the community. Half of those villas are one-bedroom and half will be two-bedroom and naturally we are waiting for a two-bedroom. As a mid-western I believe you cannot have too much space although my New Yorker DH thinks otherwise. DH is more concerned about the cost per square foot and selling our current house.

About the proposed floor plans and installations I have spent much time looking at kitchen and bath plans. The only plan suggested was a tiny print with a tiny kitchen, not that I plan to be cooking a lot; why else would you move to a community with a common dining hall? But the interior designer in me will not give it up.

Topping the list of my concerns is the standard stove-stack of appliances as sold by the vendors to the builders. The stove stack is that big chunk of space composed by the oven/broiler, cooktop, vent/light and microwave, all vertical and mostly inconvenient. Consider this, what appliance will I need the most? The microwave of course, who bakes and who broils inside when you can grill outside? And for the cooktop - most of that usage has been replaced by the microwave - so....why place the microwave on top, higher than my line-of-sight making it impossible for me to see the contents of a hot dish before pulling it out? Dangerous and risky as best. Considering that I am 5'2" on a good day when my hair is fluffly - and the fact that as one ages I doubt I will be getting any taller (?), I want a microwave at counter level.

DH reminds me that the plans are still in development and likely to be revised several time before ground breaks but I remain adamant that I will not spend my old age reaching UP to get hot containers! To that end I made a giant leap forward yesterday. Fortunately Staples is not far away and a convenient stop; meaning that I bought a House&Garden Home Design Software program and spent much of the afternoon trying out the tutorials. This is a learning curve that will not be mastered quickly but learning my way around the commands and tools is nothing but cool. To think: where was this program when I was an undergraduate with a T-square and Triangle trying to alter floor plans and pull up a perspective? This program will allow that and more to be done and in minutes (not weeks!). Of course DH had to install the program for me; I'm not that advanced.

Another thought I've added to my kitchen list. Friend Robbie has an under-the-cabinet-mounted television in her kitchen. Perfect for watching the news in the morning or Oprah while you are making dinner. Like those back-seat car monitors for kids, this is just like an appliance with a small (9"?) screen that displays over the coffee maker and then folds under when you no longer need it. Cool, huh? We actually installed a cable outlet on the island in our current kitchen so I could use a tiny kitchen-TV - but when we upgraded to a large-screen digital TV I can see from the island, never needed a tiny one. Are we spoiled or what?

Also asked DH if he wanted a coffee maker with a water-feed line to automatically fill the brew pot. He declined on the basis the coffee maker is right next to the sink. So? Guess we won't be getting that.

Back to the current house. Little by little my sewing studio is closing down. Cutting strips and squares as fast as I can to eliminate bulk and store useable goods for after the move, disposing continues weekly. Not sewing is like not breathing to me, but sewing for long periods is no longer possible either. Each time I overdo the machine work I have a backache for hours. Got to keep the working time alternating with standing, cutting or pressing time. Bummer.

So the question of the day is: can two older adults find a floor plan, afford the upgrades, sell the house, move into a CCC and find happiness in their later years? Stay tuned, this story has a long way to go. bb