Community Everything Bulletin #8

Community Everything Bulletin #8 ---- June 8, 2010
( Ann’s highly biased, incomplete and personal view of our village)

Chuck Workshop/ Yarrow Days/Welcome New Folks Weekend was hectic fun, inspiringly connective, exhilarating hard work. I’m dying to tell you all about the grand progress we’re making, but first I have to share a special joy with you.
The folks of the Farm Team are mowing the field on this side of the creek in preparation for plowing and cover cropping. Next year there will be rows of vegetables there.
As I’m standing at my view window to look at the mown strip, I’m plunging my greedy fists into the box of veggies that Joel brought from his and Tam’s farm in the Okanagan ... and I’m coming up scarlet radishes to dangle over my ears. I’m draping the garlic scapes in garlands around my neck, rubbing my back and legs with Mizuna and filling my pockets and cheeks with salad greens. The bunched beets, with their luxuriant fleshy tops and solid round bottoms, I rock like a baby in my arms. I close my eyes, press my face into the spinach and breathe in the greenness.
Next year’s crops will be edible, I feel sure.

Progress with Chuck

Site plan
Our Cohousing Village will now accommodate 30 families and Chuck has shifted the configuration of the site plan to fit the extra households. These houses are important because they’ll reduce the overall cost of the all units. Their addition in no way compromises the integrity of the village. (I’m thinking in fact, that one of those units might hold you...and I’m glad you’re able to afford to move here) We no longer have such a concentration of front porches along a straight line towards the silo... they’re a little more spread out and more are oriented to face the sun. (yay!)

Floor Plans in the Houses
A variety of folks tweaked and jiggled floor plans for different sized units to more fit their needs. And then clusters of like-bedroomed folks agreed on common plans. These can be multiplicated in the village for many benefits. And now we can figure out how much they’ll cost. Yonas has that on the go.
I was an observer to this floor-planning process, and I have to say I saw folks coming and going from a wish to have the ‘perfect house they’ve been dreaming about because it has a double sink with the taps on the left’ to a realization that they’ll be happy here because they’re rubbing brains with other people who want taps on right ... and it’s the rubbing that’s more important.
Having said that, I know for sure that Chuck is a talented, experienced planner, who has a cohesive, brilliant staff of slaves :>) that manifest his vision into practical, beautiful homes. He’s good, they’re good... we are too, and we all deserve each other, so there!.

Mixed Use--- Yarrow Central ...shops, offices and seniors cohousing in the front. .
Chuck has made a glossy programme guide for a fantastic Village Square with a strong sense of place. Don’t worry ...we’re not dissipating our focus away from getting our cohousing village built ... but if you know seniors who are ready to make their own cohousing here, or entrepreneurs who know a splendid opportunity when they see it ...send them our way and we’ll link them together, bless them with garlic scapes and tell them to get cracking!

Garage sale --- RSVP, s’il vous plait!
I’m organizing a small garage sale on June 26 Saturday ...it’ll expand with those of you who want to join me. I’d like your help with selling the barn crap treasures and you’re welcome to have your own table beside mine, too. The proceeds from my efforts will go to Hope International for our Cambodian village. I’m planning the sale to coincide with....

Consuelo Clarke’s - Grand Opening of the retail part of her on-line cosmetics business here... in the building to the west of the big barn. She’ll offer refreshments and organic face-painting to promote her line of natural artisan cosmetics. More details to follow.

Barn Mural –
I’m thinking I’d like to put a mural on the barn lean-to ( behind where the scarecrow is now) that freshens that side up and alludes to Consuelo’s shop. Blue sky, clouds, flowers and a Mexican butterfly. Let me know what you think.

Expectations Gathering
There’s a part of the membership process we haven’t quite got to yet in any formal way ... small and /or large group gatherings to share with each other our expectations of how we’ll each fit in and then live together in our village. These meetings are needed and they’re coming .... I can feel it.
When I was a kid, I kept a small quantity of mercury in my desk drawer from a broken thermometer. It would be fragmented into tiny drops until I gently pushed each drop near another so that they would jump into the others form and create a shiny quivering ball. Too bad mercury is poisonous now. I learned from it.

Over and out,

Ann