Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

Tonight's Community supper was a treat!

We usually all crowd into our makeshift community dining hall. We've got some heaters and lights and enough chairs and table to 'almost' have enough room. To be honest, it gets a little loud and cold in there. I think it's on purpose so we don't loose our motivation to get our common house built.

Tonight we did something different. Some of us cooked, and some of us were guests. The idea is used in communities quite often to encourage more one on one time with community members that wouldn't normally get a chance to see each other. With my husband out of town and three young kids I wasn't fussed about going out tonight- so I said I'd host.

As supper time arrived I found myself wondering who was cooking and thinking about the barn, and the rain. Suddenly I remembered I was cooking! In a mad scramble I got the kitchen under 'somewhat' control and fished around in the fridge.

It turned out to be take out. On my way home from picking my son up, we stopped for two pies... chees for the kids, and garlic vegetarian for me and my surprise guest.

We got home to Cheryl! Sitting on our couch waiting for us. (The coordinator of the evening had passed her the message that I was running late.) We experimented with children's manors which my children seem to have lost somewhere) and we even had HALLOWEEN CANDY for desert.

Cheryl helped with dishes, we played a racing game to clean up the toys, and as I type this Cheryl is enjoying my kids whilst reading the bedtime stories. a treat for both of us.

After a five day spurt of having my husband away I feel so lucky to be here. My day began at 6:45 when the toilet backed up. From there the following:

1. Joel stopped by to help with the toilet.

2.Ingrid popped by to drop off some paperwork and the giant coffee maker.

3. I bumped into Dorothy in the parking lot who offered to pick Paul up at the airport.

4. I borrowed Meg's printer, she poured me a splash of coffee

5. Joe decided he'd join me on a trip to Save on Foods in Abbottsford

6. A Chat with Maureen on the way home.

7. Met with Shayne and Cher for coffee while kids played

8. Shauna came over to discuss the Ten Mile Tour (almost sold out by the way!)

9. Dahlia stopped by to give a toy she was done with to by two year old (awwwww!)

10. Spoke with Julia about our sinlge mom week traumas

11. Had pizza with Cheryl... and my kids are getting stories.

In my previous life, I wonder how many people I would have seen in a day if Paul were away. My mom, maybe a car trip to a play park. Possibly one neighbour? One thing is for sure, I would have eaten supper alone with the kids. While that's nice sometimes too- options are really wonderful.

Thanks Cheryl!

Dear new neighbours

Dear new Neighbours,

I know I haven't met you yet. Or maybe I have. I just wanted to welcome you to your new home. I can't wait to meet you. Truthfully? We can't wait to build your house so we can start to stop this whole "construction phase".

Life here is great. I imagine it will only get better when you get here. We'll have the common house, we'll have the landscaping, and best of all? We'll have you.

My kids are in bed now. Have been for a while. They played with two different sets of kids today, and were asleep as their heads hit the pillow.

I'm still up. I'm wracking my brain trying to find a way to find you. Life here is so good, so sweet, so ... common sense... that I can't imagine living anywhere else. But we're still waiting for you. Waiting to meet the last of the new neighbours who will;

- cook the odd meal... share in many cooked for them.

- enjoy children who play outside in gaggles of giggles

- most likely garden, or want to learn how.

- you probably like people- though you may actually be an introvert like many others here

- you could be single, or married. Either way you know what it means to love with your whole heart.

- you are your own person- but you like to be a part of something bigger than just you.

- you might be lonely right now... looking for a place where you can belong.

- maybe you've heard about cohousing, or maybe you're still scared it means something bigger than it does. Maybe you need to visit so we can sort all that out.

- you probably love great food...

- you definitely love great people.

Dear new neighbour, find us soon? I just can't wait to share a cup of tea, or a walk through the farm. I want to know your kids. Or have you know mine. I want to ask how you are, when I know you aren't well. I want to help. I want to be helped by you.

I want meet you. Please come soon.

Braved the Snow.

It was a tough day for those of us who'd worked so hard to bring together the Chuck presentation on cohousing. All week people assured me (from Edmonton originally) that the snow would melt. Only on thursday when they called another snow day for the schools did panic set in.

And of course, the disappointment. I'm speaking personally now, but the village as a whole was disappointed. All week long we received emails, phone calls and even the odd person who drove down the driveway looking for something they longed for. Don't get me wrong, I know the people who will end up here will find us on their own. I suppose what I wanted was the room full of people with a common vision. I wanted to see people smiling and excited all in one room together. I wanted to feel the success of the media attention we've been getting lately.

Silly really. But it was a lot of work. In the end the village was split. Some wanted to brave the snow and would not be deterred. Others were more sane, and cautious. We set out in two cars expecting that no one would be there. We were wrong.

The presentation went on. The room was not packed, but full enough to make me proud of our work. The roads held up for us, and we drove safely there and back without so much as a slippery spot.

And now ... The snow has almost melted away. Gone faster than it came.

At least now I can harvest my rosemary for the Ten Mile Lunch....

Snow Day Friday 11:00am Update

SNOW DAY BACK UP PLAN IS IN EFFECT

(snow sucks, by the way)

For all the curious people who are planning to come to the Chuck presentation we at the ecovillage are dismayed by this weather. Some of us spent a good deal of time this morning trying to decide what to do. Cancel? Postpone? What about people who may show up anyways? We've come up with a couple solutions:

One way or another we'd like to thank you all for your interest. In the past week we've seen the website traffic QUADRUPLE, Our email box has been inundated with curious minds looking for new homes, We've had people who were once interested show renewed interest. Even if we can't pack the house for a big awsome presentation this time, I feel like we've achieved success!

For those comfortable with driving:

Chuck will still do the presentation! The new location is very near campus at Central Heights Church Click below for map.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Central+Heights+Church&ll=49.032593,-122.293453&spn=0.007864,0.019162&client=safari&oe=UTF-8&fb=1&gl=ca&hq=Central+Heights+Church&hnear=0x54843f9d75e9f3a7:0x1d49386fd2f9a230,Chilliwack,+BC&cid=0,0,9911024603444751659&t=h&z=16&vpsrc=0&iwloc=A

be warm, drive safe. We'll see you there.

For those who'd like to take a pass:

1. Two more events happen this week that we'd love to invite you out to! Information below

2. Email us at welcome@yarrowecovillage.ca and we will put you on a special notification list for our next presentation date and other events you might enjoy.

January 24 The "Not ready to be Seniors" Cohousing Presentation

Will cover alot of similar information, but will specifically focus on seniors issues. Families still welcome.

7:00 pm

Clearbrook Library

32320 George Ferguson Way, Abbottsford

January 28th Ten Mile Tasty Tour and Lunch

we'll tour The Yarrow Ecovillage in the morning, and then we'll make our way to the community school for a lunch featuring the ecovillage's fine organic produce and made entirely with local ingredients. In the afternoon we'll also share the slideshow presentation. Tickets are 20.00 for the tour and lunch. If you'd like to join us for the slideshow only portion only please contact us so we can arrange that.

SNOW DAY BACK UP PLAN

SNOW DAY BACK UP PLAN for Cohousing Presentation:

Wow. This weather is sure crazy!

Thanks for your interest in cohousing and our sweet ecovillage. People around here are dismayed by the weather, and we don't know what we'll do about the presentation friday night.

If you are interested, but don't want to drive, we get it. Please send us an email through our contact button and let us know that. We'll find another way to do this presentation another time.

If you are interested, and still want to come out, please check here regularly for updates about our event location.

Sad but true... we may yet be snowed out. But we hope we'll hear from you anyway!

More to come Friday AM.

Whimsy from Janice

Janice should blog. She sent this through Beverly, who shared it with me. I'm putting it up here because I think it highlights our community joy beautifully. Thanks Janice!

"There's a soft hush outside due to the thick blanket of snow outside my doors. The juncos, sparrows and finches are feasting at the feeder my husband made out of wood scraps from the barn, and their merry chatter and swift movement charm both me and the cat. Just now, a beautiful young, male, Northern Flicker perched on my upended outdoor table leg. His roseate cheeks gleaming against the mocha of his cheeks, his tufted head looking rakish in the wind, he peers around him, making sure its safe. I wouldn’t have known he was there but for his peculiar keening, whistle of a cry, telling his mate the mother lode was there on my back porch - a pile of wild bird seed, theirs for the taking.

CBC.ca | The Early Edition | Pinched: Neighbour$

CBC.ca | The Early Edition | Pinched: Neighbour$

The Chilliwack Progress! Hot off the Press!

Wow! Check this article out! Thanks so much to Jennifer Feinburg for her talent and support!

Yarrow Ecovillage reaches the halfway point

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By Jennifer Feinberg - Chilliwack Progress
Published: January 11, 2012 3:00 PM
Updated: January 11, 2012 4:24 PM

The members of the Yarrow Ecovillage see themselves as "ordinary people" building an "extraordinary" neighbourhood on the western fringe of Chilliwack.

Ecovillage members Nevin Gavigan, Vivian Vaillant and Linda Jones took the Progress news team on a recent tour of the site, located just off Yarrow Central Road.

Resident Vivian Vaillant said moving in was the "best thing" her family of five has ever done.

"I've never felt more at home," she said. "There's always someone around with what you need, whether it's an onion or the time to watch your kids for a minute while you dash out to get something."

Phase 3 of the co-housing construction is now underway, with two- to four-bedroom units on offer.

The community is about half full now, with 50 residents in the ecovillage so far, of which 17 are children.

It's not a commune or a housing co-op, they hasten to add, nor are they affiliated with any particular religion.

The Yarrow Ecovillage is an intentional community, and its members do share a desire to live in a more sustainable way, and one that's more connected and engaged.

The Vaillant family arrived in November, with plans to rent one of the units until theirs is built and their other house is sold. Vivian immediately took over the ecovillage blog at www.yarrowecovillage.ca to give the world an online window into their lives, and share some of the enthusiasm she feels for the project.

"We didn't want to move into a normal, vinyl-sided neighbourhood," she said. "I had that back in Edmonton. It took me five years to get to know any of my neighbours."

They started attending workshops and got to know some of the ecovillage members before they even moved in.

"What we found were some of the nicest, coolest, most sound-minded people you'd want to anywhere.

"And they all want to know their neighbours," she said.

The co-housing project has been underway in Yarrow since 2006, when Chilliwack city council approved an "ecovillage" rezoning designation for the 22-acre site, one of the first of its kind in Canada.

Several components make up the ecovillage from the Groundswell co-housing units, to certified organic farming operations, and future plans for mixed commercial/residential development on the two acres closest to the road.

Newest member Contributes Talents from afar!

Hello to Janet everybody!

Janet hasn't moved here yet. In fact, her first trip out will be for the Chuck Presentation and Workshop January 20-21. I've had the pleasure of speaking with her over the phone and I have a feeling we'll be neighbours one day.

My first clue was when she offered to contribute how she could to the Chuck presentation. Janet happens to be a graphic artist. Right before Christmas when we are all so very busy she rolled up her sleeves to make us a beautiful poster for the upcoming event!

Check it our people! My first reaction was... "Oh! I want to live there" followed shortly thereafter with "OH!!! I DO LIVE HERE!!!" and then I laughed out loud for a bit.

Thank you Janice! See you soon.

Ask Five Ecovillagers Question 2

What is your New Years Resolution?

As we settle into January I'm keen to make my resolution. One New Year's Resolution that I can keep. I would love to say I'll drink less red wine, or eat less chocolate, but the reality is I won't. I can't possibly bother trying to loose any weight because that won't happen either. I guess it will be the Blog itself. I think I'll resolve to make two posts a week on this blog.

Don't hold your breath though. Now that I live here I'm amazed at how much of my time flies by every day because I've bumped into a neighbour, or I've found something interesting to do.... Like walk around asking my neighbours what their New Years Resolution is!

These are five random answers...

1. I resolve to join the Hammock committee here at the ecovillage. I will see to it that Hammocks get hung and sat in all over the entire site. I personally will sit in more hammocks this year.

2. I don't have a New Year's Resolution. I don't like feeling like a failure- so I find it easier not to resolve things. Instead I take it day by day and go with the flow.

3. I resolve to spend more time making connections with people. The problem with the village is it is easy to feel like you have enough going on here to be bothered with the rest of Chilliwack. I like the greater community of Yarrow. There are great people here and I'd like to spend more time getting to know them.

4. I have the same resolutions every year. They involve becoming a better person, practising being the person I want to be. Sometimes it feels easy, sometimes it can be tough- but I resolve to continue to work at it.

5. I'm going to try and spend more time reading to my kids. We all enjoy it so much when we just sit for hours reading but with their interest in screen and all the outdoor play they do it isn't an activity we get enough time for.

There you have it folks. One post down, one to go.... I'm just glad none else at the ecovillage plans on giving up chocolate!