Casa de las Campanas

Ed Mueller

My wife and I moved into Casa 4 years ago. We compared the offerings at Casa to several other places. We chose Casa because the apartment was larger than we could afford in the other places, and all the people we met were friendly. But there were other benefits; Casa is rated Class A. That means they have the whole range of accommodations, from independent living, assisted living. memory care, and a skilled nursing facility. We like that it is a non-profit corporation with no stockholders. It simply owns itself. And a non-profit foundation is associated with Casa. It raises funds to support activities and can help if I should have financial problems. We have a lot of resident participation in our community. I am on two management advisory committees, and president of the computer club. We have about 90 members in the computer club and a lab with Windows and Apple computers used for classes and available to our residents. We made friends quickly and enjoy the social life that living here affords us. I hope you will visit us and see what we have. Ed Mueller

Valerie Murphy

My daughters researched retirement communities before I sold my home of 30 years. They preferred Casa de las Campanas above all others and brought me to take a tour. They also told me how good the food was at Casa (the three of us like to cook) and tried to convince me to leave most of my kitchen items behind. “No way,” I said. I’ve enjoyed cooking for 60 years and I’m not stopping now. Fast forward. I have a beautiful kitchen at Casa and a West facing balcony with an unobstructed view of the sunsets beyond the hills. And guess what? My girls were right. I so enjoy the food at Casa, especially in the Bistro, that I seldom cook anymore. The upside is that I can now cook only when the spirit moves me. As I never learned to cook for just one or two persons, I still use my family favorite recipes and freeze meal size portions for later or to share with friends. And I still read my cookbooks and watch PBS cooking shows. Why? Because you can teach an old dog new tricks! Try the sous vide method next time you want a truly juicy steak or chicken breast.

Gretchen Estergren

I moved to Casa almost 8 years ago. Since music has been a huge part of my life, I was so happy to realize that music was alive and well here at Casa. We have a wonderful chorale, which I joined the first week we moved in. For those who like to sing, this is a wonderful group to join. We also have a Combo, featuring musicians who live here and also musicians who come from outside Casa to join our group. The Chorale and Combo give concerts for our residents throughout the year. Both groups perform together for Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Christmas/Holiday concerts. The Chorale has a concert in June and the Combo has a concert in July. Six years ago a friend and I started a very successful Performing Arts Company (PAC). We are a group of residents who love to perform. We put on 1-2 big productions each year and sometimes other shows like Comedy Night. Casa also has small singing groups -- Swing Singers and Casa Belles -- and the CASA dancers. These groups perform for the big shows, and also for smaller quarterly performances in the memory care, assisted living and health center. I love being a part of these creative groups.

Ray Ramach

We have been at Casa for 3 years now. What attracted us to this facility other than the food, atmosphere, people, etc., were a couple of things. One for me was the hobby shop that is primarily a woodworking shop. Having spent much of my life involved with woodworking as a hobby, I was glad to see the spacious workshop area we have here. Another feature was the park across the street…we have our dog, an Aussie, who gets me out for walks every day, and the trails around Lake Hodges are great. The peaceful feeling walking those trails, plus the wildlife we see on the lake and the surrounding hills are a great start to every day.