Sunshine in grey skies

Due to a determined virus, I have been out of order this week.

On Thursday (the pinnacle of this sickness), I  finally took a day off of work to sleep and rest and try to keep my head from exploding. I posted on a Facebook that afternoon that I was looking for a cure for death. I figured it might start with some ginger, lemon, honey and garlic. :)

It was a bit dramatic, I know. But even hopped up on painkillers (the only way my skull didn't hurt so much that I couldn't rest my head), I was still suffering. A lot.

Well today, after reading my status update from yesterday, one of my wonderful neighbours came over with chicken soup, a supplement for headaches, herbal cough drops, and syrups to help with my congestion.

It was such a touching gesture.

And earlier today, another neighbour quietly collected the leftovers from yesterday's pot luck and made a giant pot of pork and bean soup. Then she sent an email informing everyone that there was free soup in the kitchen.

I was having a horrendous day at work. My head was still in considerable pain and I was dealing with the aftermath of the launch of the new payroll system which affects thousands of users in my support region. The calls and emails were flowing and my brain was achy, my eye sight fuzzy and my troubleshooting capacity severely diminished.

The receipt of this email was such welcomed news. Especially after tasting it. It was delicious and really turned my day around. All you really want when you feel crumby is something warm that you didn't make for yourself!

Thanks so much Susana and Sharon.

-Myriam

Sprinkler Malfunctions and Lessons Learned

Summers are very dry in British Columbia, and so just about every garden here has some sort of sprinkler system. Pacific Gardens is no exception. When we had the initial landscaping done, we installed what we thought was a well-calibrated sprinkler system. However, our supposedly fine-tuned system has, like most of the residents here, a mind of its own.

Water spurts in strange directions and locations, and at odd times, and last night we had a particularly spectacular sprinkler malfunction - a geyser of water shooting straight up into the air and threatening to flood a pathway.  I immediately rushed to the rescue, but after wrestling with  the sprinkler bip (as it's called), I was soaked.Then my neighbours Chad and Susana came to take a look. Chad managed to turn it off, but not before he got soaked, too.

This afternoon  a group of us had an impromptu meeting on the lawn to discuss the sprinkler snafu, and, in best cohousing fashion, the conversation meandered onto other problems that needed a solution.  What to do about the fellow who needed a place to stay but couldn't find a room to rent?  We had a room available. Where could we find more volunteers for cleaning?  The teenage relative of a friend was keen to earn some extra money doing chores, as was a new tenant.  How were we going to pay for the new blackout blinds in one of our units?  A resident came up to us and offered to help cover the cost. One of our three-bedroom-and-den units was up for rent; how we could help the elderly owners find new tenants? We still had an ad posted for another unit that was now rented, so we would just re-direct any inquiries to them, and help out with writing ads for Craigslist and Kijiji.

So, in about 20 minutes, we solved four problems and got started solving a fifth (the sprinklers are still going to need more work, alas). And that's the synergy of cohousing.  There's so many opportunities to meet that you just can't help coming up with some great shared solutions!

Kathryn

Where neighbours become friends

There are times when I think that living in cohousing is too much - too many meetings, too many tasks, too much argy-bargy.

And then I experience what I did in the last two days.  I had to go to hospital for a diagnostic test today, and sent out an e-mail for someone to drive me there and back. I immediately had offers of help from two people.

Then, I had problems with a lock, sent out another e-mail asking for help, and within five minutes one of my neighbours showed up and fixed it in a nanosecond.

And finally, this afternoon, when I came back from the hospital, a neighbour showed up at my door with a gift of a scrumptious cinnamon bun - apologizing that it didn't have any icing!

Now, I don't want to give the impression that cohousing is all about what you can get from others.  It's also about what you can give. And this culture of giving is contagious - when you see your neighbours helping each other out, you feel motivated to do the same.  And that builds connections and trust.

So, despite having to endure a rather unpleasant medical test, I am feeling really good this afternoon, thanks to my wonderful, caring neighbours here at Pacific Gardens!

Kathryn