Cleaning bees and breakfast potlucks

This is a bit dated but...I wanted to share it anyways.

Our community puts on these little potluck breakfasts seasonally (if they happen more frequently than that, I am oblivious to it).

It’s a nice change to the evening potlucks. The energy is so different at these. Quiet, calm, relaxed.

After the potluck they host a cleaning bee. And this time they had planned a soup and muffin lunch afterwards as well. It was delicious soup and John made bread with local wheat that he had freshly ground.

Sometimes I wonder about making time for these cleaning bees. God knows I have a hard enough time keeping my own house clean. It seems silly to go wash windows in community when there is a pile of dishes on my counter. And my weekends are short enough already and that means I have to get up early enough to come up with something to make to bring and … insert more excuses in here…

But, the experience is really worth it.

It gives my kids the chance to give back and also to get to know their neighbours in a more productive way. Anna has been helping Kari all morning and even hours later she won’t leave her side.

It’s a fun way to contribute and to build relationships.

I am making a conscious effort to not sit at the kids’ table at the regular potlucks. It is so nice to spend time with the other adults.

Mia has started a Friday afternoon tea. They are really low key and quiet but it’s been a nice way to round off a work week.

I am glad to see that people are putting more effort into community building.

-Myriam

A Month in the Life of Pacific Gardens

While Pacific Gardens still was under construction, we shareholder / developers used to discuss our vision of what it would be like to live in cohousing.

Kathryn recounted her experience of living in a housing cooperative* in London, Ontario. She said it had been a really cool place. It was a hub of interesting and fun activities, not just for the people who lived there, but for the larger community as well. She envisaged that Pacific Gardens would play a similar role in Nanaimo.

When I saw the March issue of The Bloomin’ News, the newsletter that Sharon publishes, it brought home to me the fact that Kathryn’s dream had come true. Just check out a month in the life of Pacific Gardens; in this case it was February 2013:

3 birthday parties, the youngest 1, the oldest 83

1 NVC [Non-Violent Communication] workshop

seeds have sprouted in cold frames

Family Sing

2 residents got pneumonia

at least one "Ladies Night" get together

Nanaimo Green Party AGM

a flood [involving the central hot water heater]

someone learned a new magic trick

someone went nude bungee jumping [offsite, at the Nanaimo River!]

one Qi Gong lesson

4 men's group sessions

work progressed in "front yard" by pond

a fun group game of Encore [described in Kathryn's blog post entitled With A Song in My Heart]

we successfully defended the community against Smart Meters for the 4th time [Proud Members of Team Tinfoil and Team Tinfoil Stands Firm]

3 pairs of ducks nested

a small walking club began

we purchased 20 new chairs for the dining hall

8 yoga classes

the floor seams were repaired

the snowdrops and crocus bloomed

1500 plus people viewed one of our Facebook posts!

5 community meetings

4 meditation sessions

a community circle

a book club meeting

4 community potlucks [you are welcome to join us for our potlucks at 6:00 pm on Thursdays]

1 Council of Canadians meeting

the garden was visited by several deer

2 residents were hospitalized

the frogs began singing

potholes [in the parking lot] were refilled

neighbours enjoyed each other

the community got stronger

What modest Sharon did not include in her list was that a useful newsletter was published to help residents keep on top of what was going on. Thank you, Sharon!

* For the sake of clarity, there are some technical differences between a cohousing complex and a housing cooperative, but in practical terms there are many similarities.