Elaine Crettenden loves spending her evenings sitting on the patio in her garden, a glass of Muscato at hand, smelling the fragrance of the jasmine blossoms and hoping that a plane will fly overhead.
“I’m crazy about planes – I love watching them,” the 86-year-old laughs. “The bigger, the better!”
Elaine thoroughly enjoys her little garden attached to her one-bedroom apartment at Uniting AgeWell’s Amarco Retirement Living Apartments in Kingsville. She’s even hung fairy lights along the side fence so she can sit out at night and watch the stars and the lights twinkle!
The retired teacher and nurse aide has a special sparkle all her own. She laughs frequently and her conversation is peppered with humorous one-liners and observations. You know, without being told, that Elaine is always the life of any party.
So, it stands to reason that when Elaine moved from Adelaide to Melbourne nine months ago to be with her daughter, Shani and her son-in-law Collin who live in Sunshine, she was determined to make friends.
She chose Amarco Apartments because it ticked all the boxes. It’s very secure with a concierge on duty; is close to the shops and public transport and is joined to Uniting AgeWell Kingsville Community, should she need full time aged care one day.
Then there’s the social aspect of Amarco which ticked a huge box.
For starters, it’s geared up to facilitate making friends. There are shared communal areas – a lounge with a cosy fireplace, TV and billiards table; a well-stocked library; a reading room with newspapers; a club room leading out to the BBQ area; a gymnasium with equipment with an exercise physiologist holding weekly sessions, a communal dining room for functions and the use of the hair salon at Kingsville to mention but a few.
Elaine enjoys keeping her fitness levels up on the exercise bicycle.
Then there are all the activities on offer. “If something is going on, I join in!” says Elaine. There’s bingo, happy hour with up to 25 residents normally turning up, pizza night, scrabble … you name it, I’m there!” She also enjoys catching up for afternoon tea and biscuits provided by Amarco in the club room with like-minded residents she now calls friends.
One of the good mates she’s made is Ann, who is in a similar situation. Both are new to Melbourne, both came to be with their only child – their daughters, neither have grandchildren and both are widowed.
Elaine has a statue on her patio table that she calls ‘RG’ after her late husband, Ronald George. “This statue reminds me of Ron, he was a deep thinker. He was a director of an aged care facility in Adelaide, and I feel pretty sure he’d approve of Amarco Apartments.”
She is also enjoying getting to know Melbourne, thanks to the Uniting AgeWell Social Connections program. Elaine has visited the Melbourne Zoo, gone to the Mornington Peninsula, to art galleries and to the chocolate factory in the Yarra Valley.
Over the years Elaine has volunteered at hospitals and at community centres. Now she’s put up her hand to be ‘the egg lady’ at Amarco, working with the concierge to organise and distribute the delivery of farm-fresh eggs every two weeks to the residents.
“I like it here,” she says. “Moving in was a good decision!”
Egg-xactly!
Find out more about Amarco and arrange to go on a tour of the apartments which include a private basement car space and start from just $365,000. Phone 1300 783 435.
Find out more about Amarco Apartments