Thanksgiving Dinners, One, Two, Three!

Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday of the year.  I like it way better than Christmas, which I find annoying in the extreme because of its emphasis on consumerism.

Christmas is focused way too much on buying stuff, with a tidal wave of advertising flyers pouring into our building, designed to make us feel bad if we don't get the latest gadget or electronic doodad for our kith and kin.

Thanksgiving is focused on what it really important.The whole purpose of it is expressing gratitude for all the good things in your life, and as Canadians and cohousers, we have a lot to be thankful for.

So you can imagine my delight this month when I enjoyed not just one, or two, but three Thanksgiving dinners at Pacific Gardens, all of them scrumptious and eaten with good friends and good company.

The first was with my neighbour across the hall, Sharon, who cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for her son before she went on her holidays in early October so he wouldn't miss out.

She had so much turkey and mashed potatoes and veggies and gravy she needed help in eating it all, so she invited me, another neighbour, and her son's girlfriend - and there were still left-overs.

Then last night Pacific Gardens had its annual potluck Thanksgiving feast, with close to 40 people.  We had the usual fare, but with additions from our gardens, and an enormous pumpkin pie among the many desserts.

After the meal we had some wonderful entertainment, with Raul on piano and vocals, David Weston on violin, followed by David Li playing the piano and singing, and Clare, who revealed a hitherto unknown talent for the piano that delighted us all.

However, because some people were away on Sunday, we decided to do it all over again tonight, with about 25 people, and it was even better.  Kari made a pumpkin chocolate cheese cake that was absolutely irresistible.

Three Thanksgiving dinners in two weeks - now that's something to be grateful for!

Kathryn

Rock-Polisher IV - How a Broken Hot Water Tank Changed My Life

I've been thinking again about the rock-polisher effect in cohousing, and how our lives can be changed by something totally ordinary.

A few weeks ago our three-year-old hot water tank fractured, flooding our recycle room and leaving us with only one tank for the entire building.

So the word went out that we should use hot water sparingly until it was replaced, which, since it was custom-made and had to be re-built, took several weeks.

This caused me a certain amount of anxiety.  I am a big fan of hot water - long, hot showers, bedding washed on the longest cycle, dishwasher on power scrub - yes!!

Sparingly and hot water were not words I would use together.  But, I experimented.  I rinsed the dishes in cold water, then put them through the dishwasher's quick cycle.  They were fine.

I did the same for the laundry - my clothes and bedding came out of washing-machine clean as clean, and it took me a lot less time, as did shorter showers.  This was good.

And when we had our new hot water tank at last, I didn't go back to my old ways.  This made me realize how many new lifestyle habits I have acquired since I moved here.

I don't just read my daily newspaper and then throw it into the recycle bin.  I deliver it to David, who, after he reads it, passes it on to Ron, who then gives it to Bill.

If I have left-overs, I give them to somebody else.  I lend my car out to anyone who needs it.  I'm willing to try unfamiliar foods at our potlucks - nettle soup, gluten-free bread.

I don't buy as many clothes, and I give more to thrift shops or put them in our freecycle cupboard.  I feel comfortable not wearing makeup, and what makeup I do wear is organic.

I don't buy as much stuff.  I considered getting a new car (my little Echo is 10 years old this summer) but didn't.  I've kept my old printer and computer - ditto with my seldom-used cellphone.

So how did this all happen?  It wasn't because someone gave me a lecture, or passed a bylaw.  It was all slow and incremental, little changes made by following the example of other people here.

And that's how the rock-polisher effect works, living in this Pacific Gardens river where we all tumble up against each other and smooth out our rough edges.

Kathryn

Busy, Busy Bees at PGCC

I'm feeling really creaky and stiff today, but not because I went nude bungee jumping! :-) No, it's because I was one of the many busy, busy bees participating in a spring work party at PGCC yesterday.

In usual Pacific Gardens fashion, we started it off with a potluck brunch, featuring yummy pancakes and waffles, with all kinds of scrumptious toppings, including Mykl's tasty banana syrup, as well as raspberry preserves and organic maple syrup.

Add to that some good strong hot coffee, a fruit smoothie, Sharon's excellent scones, and we were well-fueled to tackle the spring cleaning inside and the gardening and landscaping outside.

And we did a lot in a few hours. Sharon and David steam-cleaned 52 dining-room and office chairs.  Bill and Norah cleaned out the bugs trapped in our dining-hall lights, and replaced bulbs.

Trey, Joel, Braeden and Soma leaped, tumbled and ran through the building, watering the many plants both upstairs and downstairs.  As Braeden said, looking at all the plants: "No wonder it's called Pacific Gardens!"

I vacuumed the floors in the music room, the office, and one of the guest bedrooms, and mopped the floors in the kitchen and the elevator, and cleaned the ovens.

Chad and Kari led a team of enthusiastic volunteers who did everything from filling in the potholes on our gravel driveway to shovelling several loads of topsoil donated by Dirk Becker.

Of course we finished off the day's work with another delicious meal, this time featuring a hearty vegetable lentil soup made by Sharon, and homemade bread baked by John using wheat grown on Vancouver Island.

When I went home to do my own housework, I found myself humming the lyrics of that old tune: "Oh, we ain't got a barrel of money/Maybe we're ragged and funny/But we'll travel along/Singin' a song/Side by side."

Kathryn

Potluck Karma At Pacific Gardens

As those of you who have been following this blog for a while know, Pacific Gardens has potlucks on a regular basis - usually once a week.

We also have some fabulous cooks, and even a chef, our fabulous Mykl Love, who does amazing feats of cookery with not-so-common ingredients such as nettles and spelt.

So it's always a treat to enter the dining-room on Thursday nights when we have our community potluck and see what's spread out on the table for us to eat.

Our potlucks are truly spontaneous - sort of like us.  We do not plan ahead for what we're going to have, or try to calculate the number of servings. People bring what they feel like.

And that's what makes it so interesting.  We never know what the special dish of the evening is going to be - a super salad, a yummy dessert, a hearty soup, fish, meat or fowl.

I've noticed, though, since we all started eating together, there seems to be some kind of potluck karma operating, as if we were a bunch of collective Jamie Olivers working in the same kitchen.

Some of it I can understand - on warm summer evenings people will naturally want to eat lots of salads and fresh fruits instead of exerting themselves over a hot stove.

But at other times, it's the battle of the borschts, with five different kinds of the tasty beet soup on the table, or yams fried, roasted, mashed and baked, pickles sweet, sour, mustard, dill, crinkly or sliced.

A few weeks ago everyone brought pasta. Clearly, there was a deep carb deficit in the psyche of Pacific Gardens, as it was followed the next week by an excess of desserts, so many there were leftovers - and believe me, that doesn't happen often.

I'm wondering what it's going to be tonight!

Kathryn

The Gift of Community

Just before we moved here, my husband’s boss back in Alberta told him that his sister-in-law had recently moved to a city South of where we are now and that she was depressed and lonely as she didn’t know anyone there.

We felt confident that our experience would be different as we wouldn’t have to work so hard to develop a social network out here, but would instead, be moving right into one. And I am ecstatic to say that we presumed correctly.

Anytime to you live so closely to other people there are challenges. There are weeks that make you wish you had more space from your neighbours and friends. But, I now see that Community is very much a reflection of me. When I am depressed and feel isolated, I withdraw and isolate myself. And when I am happy and outgoing, people seem to be that way too.

Sure, there are times when I put myself out there and feel little acceptance or encouragement. But there are times when I  organize something and it leaves me feeling a lot happier and the whole community feels friendlier.

My Ping Pong tourney was quite successful. We amassed a fair amount of  participants and reawakened a love for the activity in many of the residents here. I tried to go out and play a bit today and the table was always occupied!

And there are times when I am sick and someone comes by with some soup. Or when someone has a bumper crop of tomatoes and comes to share some with me. Or a friend brought by a bunch of bananas because she had gotten a good deal on them.

I have been working on a little secret project for our Christmas Pot Luck meal. Being pleased with it, I went down the hall to share it with my co-conspirator. She wasn’t home (or didn’t hear me knock) so I went a few doors down for a visit with a  friend instead. We both talked about how wonderful this place is. About how the atrium helps us feel like we are getting “out.” Even without having to put shoes on. And the comfort in knowing your neighbours.

And I appreciate the workout room that keeps that giant home gym out of my living space. And that my husband’s tools are in the wood shop. So, if he wants to build something, he has a nice, cozy, contained place to do it.

There is also the freecycle which has been really great for parents who use it as a means for “swapping” clothes. Just as it snowed here I realized I couldn’t find Anna’s mittens. And later that afternoon? I checked the freecycle and found blue mittens just her size. It saved me having to go and buy her some.

The yard is fantastic here. And people love to garden here in the summer. The kids love the covered atrium when it is rainy, snowy or just plain cold. And the conversation lounge is great for a cozy movie night or a conversation and some wine with a friend.

It’s amazing how much love comes back when you start putting it out there.
Community…I heart you.

-Myriam

Killer Whales and Potlucks

A few days ago I saw a news item on the CBC news about the decline in killer whale pods off the coast of British Columbia.  Scientists were seeing a far smaller number of whales in the pods, as well as less vocalizing, and were trying to figure out why.

One possible factor was the lack of chinook salmon this year, which is the preferred dinner dish for killer whales. Perhaps the whales were eating in smaller groups because there wasn't as much to go around, and vocalizing less because they didn't want to signal to other killer whales that there was food available.

The scientist interviewed on the CBC noted that killer whales always eat together - "perhaps because they consider it rude to eat alone", he said, somewhat in jest. That got me thinking about the connection between their behaviour and ours.

Maybe they're eating together just to be polite - who knows? - but more likely for the maintenance of their own health and well-being.  There is a considerable amount of research out there that shows families that eat together are happier and healthier, and if it's true for us, it most likely is for them.

Sharing a meal is something that unites communities. It's hard to stay angry at someone you've had supper with. Breaking bread with another person establishes an emotional bond.

That's why potlucks and communal meals are so important in cohousing communities. Like the killer whales, we know it's better to eat together, and not just because we think it's rude to eat alone.

Kathryn