Helen, You're right on track. It is never too soon to plan ,nor too late to dream. I am 17 turnings of the seasons ahead of you, twice retired, but still, and happily, facing at least 5 more years of full time work. Our cyberspace brainstorming has, indeed, brought forth some great ideas. More than that, it has shown that this is truly an idea of merit, and is of great interest to our Mudcat community. I have distilled several germane truths from this thread. They include: - We have, as you would expect, a wealth of creativity - There appears to be a potential core of business, planning, and financial expertise - There are, as you and Susan of DT pointed out, some serious "real world" issues that must be addressed by competent professionals, and - Although we, as true traditional music minstrels/ambassadors, view the world as our canvas and culture and tradition as our paint, we nevertheless have some very strong ties to our own individual locales. (I say this without judgement; it is a fact.)

Therefore, we may have several fruitful and attractive tracks the follow: - Let's see if there are existing retirement homes that are music, arts, and dance friendly, - Let's see if there others who've gone before and enjoy/ have enjoyed, and - Let's not loose sight of this idea.

Please don't think that I am trying to end this wonderful thread. I love it! I would be happy and honored to play music now, soon, or in retirement, and at any location, with any and all of the participating Mudcat threadees.

Happy chords, Phil in OK