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
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
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.
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
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:
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.
Friday, March 1, 2013
With A Song In My Heart
Yesterday began as one of those days that epitomize the February blahs. It was cold, rainy, grey, and miserable.
A friend from back East who telephoned to chat accused me of lying when I said the crocuses were out (really, truly, they are!).
I had nothing more exciting for my day's plans than laundry, list-making, and compost-dumping (which I didn't do, because it was too awful outside).
Even the usual Pacific Gardens potluck karma was out of whack. The food was good, mostly vegetarian, but only about 10 people showed up.
Bleah!
But the evening soon had some fun and sparkle with our very own version of Canadian Idol, using the cards from a game called Encore.
Each card had a word on it that we had to use in a song. Sounds easy, but it wasn't always. Trying to find that elusive musical word was a challenge at times.
It could also be very funny. John had us laughing till tears ran down our faces with his comic rendition of a song with the word "finger" in it.
David tried to convince us that his multi-versed sea shanty with the word "landlubber" in it was close enough to the word "lover".
We also found that our neighbours had some wonderful musical talent. Bill revealed himself to be a crooner to rival Michael Bublé.
Susana had an impressive knowledge of African-American spirituals from her participation in the Everybody Sings group.
Ron was able to recall they lyrics to those top 10 hits we thought we'd all forgotten, while my specialty was Broadway musicals.
Jasson chimed in, too, and Chad came up with some creative choruses.
After an hour of singing, jokes and laughter, I went home in a much better mood and with a song in my heart.
This is why I like living in community.
Kathryn
A friend from back East who telephoned to chat accused me of lying when I said the crocuses were out (really, truly, they are!).
I had nothing more exciting for my day's plans than laundry, list-making, and compost-dumping (which I didn't do, because it was too awful outside).
Even the usual Pacific Gardens potluck karma was out of whack. The food was good, mostly vegetarian, but only about 10 people showed up.
Bleah!
But the evening soon had some fun and sparkle with our very own version of Canadian Idol, using the cards from a game called Encore.
Each card had a word on it that we had to use in a song. Sounds easy, but it wasn't always. Trying to find that elusive musical word was a challenge at times.
It could also be very funny. John had us laughing till tears ran down our faces with his comic rendition of a song with the word "finger" in it.
David tried to convince us that his multi-versed sea shanty with the word "landlubber" in it was close enough to the word "lover".
We also found that our neighbours had some wonderful musical talent. Bill revealed himself to be a crooner to rival Michael Bublé.
Susana had an impressive knowledge of African-American spirituals from her participation in the Everybody Sings group.
Ron was able to recall they lyrics to those top 10 hits we thought we'd all forgotten, while my specialty was Broadway musicals.
Jasson chimed in, too, and Chad came up with some creative choruses.
After an hour of singing, jokes and laughter, I went home in a much better mood and with a song in my heart.
This is why I like living in community.
Kathryn
Friday, February 22, 2013
Team Tinfoil Stands Firm
On Monday we received an e-mail from Susana with the subject line: "CORIX WAS HERE TODAY! BC Hydro will be meeting with the community soon."
Once again Corix was trying to instal smart meters at Pacific Gardens, despite our expressed wishes not to have them in our building. Fortunately our agreed-upon warning strategy worked.
Here is Susana's report of what happened:
"Kara sounded the alarm....dinner bells....thank you so much Kara!! She managed to give us warning before Corix was out of their vehicles.
There was an installer and a supervisor. They were in marked Corix vehicles and installer in uniform. Several of us met them at the door and refused the meters. Supervisor did all the talking, and assured us they would not install, but wanted to take a photo in the electrical room to prove that they had showed up.
In hindsight, we should have told them to take a photo of the front door, just like the other 3 times Corix has been here. They are more persuasive now, and we let them in just to take a photo of the room. It seemed innocent, as we have letters on all meters showing refusals.
The installer started going through each letter to photograph it, and the individual meters, so they could match up letters with account holders. They wanted to deal with each resident independently. This was NOT OK with us, and not what they had asked to do. We told them that we are a community, and they must deal with us as a group. A copy of the letter sent on behalf of the Strata was handed to the supervisor.
John asked them 3 times to leave, which they ignored. When we said that we would only deal with BC Hydro and no longer with Corix, the supervisor said he would get a Hydro rep. to meet with us, maybe next week. Finally they left after having photographed several of the letters and meters.
Be prepared for a meeting with BC Hydro. We need to stand firm and not let them bully us. Windsong Cohousing in Langley, speaks as a group. If one Smart Meter is installed, it affects the community, so they are standing together. Let's do the same.
Thank you to everyone who has signed letters. These are very important. If anyone sees any Corix, Hydro or other installers, please ring the dinner bells throughout the building, both floors, as Kara so wonderfully did, which worked like a charm!!"
The members of Team Tinfoil will be on the alert for the sound of dinner bells. We'll keep you posted as to what happens next in this ongoing saga!
Kathryn
Once again Corix was trying to instal smart meters at Pacific Gardens, despite our expressed wishes not to have them in our building. Fortunately our agreed-upon warning strategy worked.
Here is Susana's report of what happened:
"Kara sounded the alarm....dinner bells....thank you so much Kara!! She managed to give us warning before Corix was out of their vehicles.
There was an installer and a supervisor. They were in marked Corix vehicles and installer in uniform. Several of us met them at the door and refused the meters. Supervisor did all the talking, and assured us they would not install, but wanted to take a photo in the electrical room to prove that they had showed up.
In hindsight, we should have told them to take a photo of the front door, just like the other 3 times Corix has been here. They are more persuasive now, and we let them in just to take a photo of the room. It seemed innocent, as we have letters on all meters showing refusals.
The installer started going through each letter to photograph it, and the individual meters, so they could match up letters with account holders. They wanted to deal with each resident independently. This was NOT OK with us, and not what they had asked to do. We told them that we are a community, and they must deal with us as a group. A copy of the letter sent on behalf of the Strata was handed to the supervisor.
John asked them 3 times to leave, which they ignored. When we said that we would only deal with BC Hydro and no longer with Corix, the supervisor said he would get a Hydro rep. to meet with us, maybe next week. Finally they left after having photographed several of the letters and meters.
Be prepared for a meeting with BC Hydro. We need to stand firm and not let them bully us. Windsong Cohousing in Langley, speaks as a group. If one Smart Meter is installed, it affects the community, so they are standing together. Let's do the same.
Thank you to everyone who has signed letters. These are very important. If anyone sees any Corix, Hydro or other installers, please ring the dinner bells throughout the building, both floors, as Kara so wonderfully did, which worked like a charm!!"
The members of Team Tinfoil will be on the alert for the sound of dinner bells. We'll keep you posted as to what happens next in this ongoing saga!
Kathryn
Thursday, February 14, 2013
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
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
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Fun with Finances at Pacific Gardens
Pacific Gardens is a cohousing community, but it is also a condominium, so each year we are required to present a budget at our Annual General Meeting outlining our income and expenses and all that tedious financial stuff.
Now in other stratas I've lived in, the hapless owners got the budget delivered to them before the AGM, full of incomprehensible columns of figures, and at the meeting, were given a cursory explanation of what it all meant, before voting on it.
Not so at Pacific Gardens. We do it differently. First, we include everyone in discussions about the budget - owners, renters, and children. Second, we explain why we spend what we do in a way that people can understand. And third, we try to make it fun!
So, on Friday afternoon, we had a Fun with Finances table out in the atrium, with pie charts, wall posters, a list of frequently asked questions, quizzes, a draw for a prize, plus tea and ginger cookies.
This all took place amidst the usual bustle of activity in the atrium - children doing cartwheels, Matt replacing burnt-out bulbs in the hallway lights, and me distributing containers of soup left over from the Thursday night potluck.
Mia made sure that everyone who passed by got asked what they would like to see in this year's budget. Anna, four, asked if there was money for bubbles. Her older brother, Joel, wanted a peach tree in the garden. Soma hoped we could have monkey bars for the kids to play on.
The adults mostly wanted to keep their strata fees the same, but when they saw how big the slices were for our hydro and insurance payments on the big colourful pie chart on the wall, they realized that might not be possible!
I used to be a reporter, and I was always told, "follow the money" when I was trying to figure out what was happening for a story. If people were trying to hide how money was spent, you knew something wasn't right.
And if leaders of governments and organizations were open and honest about their finances and made a real effort to explain what they were doing, you knew they could be trusted.
Finances and budgets may seem boring, but how they're handled can tell you something about what a community is like to live in - whether it's run democratically, or just for a few, whether everyone's concerns are heard and respected, or ignored.
That's why we try to make finances fun at Pacific Gardens, because we want everybody who lives here to feel included.
Kathryn
Now in other stratas I've lived in, the hapless owners got the budget delivered to them before the AGM, full of incomprehensible columns of figures, and at the meeting, were given a cursory explanation of what it all meant, before voting on it.
Not so at Pacific Gardens. We do it differently. First, we include everyone in discussions about the budget - owners, renters, and children. Second, we explain why we spend what we do in a way that people can understand. And third, we try to make it fun!
So, on Friday afternoon, we had a Fun with Finances table out in the atrium, with pie charts, wall posters, a list of frequently asked questions, quizzes, a draw for a prize, plus tea and ginger cookies.
This all took place amidst the usual bustle of activity in the atrium - children doing cartwheels, Matt replacing burnt-out bulbs in the hallway lights, and me distributing containers of soup left over from the Thursday night potluck.
Mia made sure that everyone who passed by got asked what they would like to see in this year's budget. Anna, four, asked if there was money for bubbles. Her older brother, Joel, wanted a peach tree in the garden. Soma hoped we could have monkey bars for the kids to play on.
The adults mostly wanted to keep their strata fees the same, but when they saw how big the slices were for our hydro and insurance payments on the big colourful pie chart on the wall, they realized that might not be possible!
I used to be a reporter, and I was always told, "follow the money" when I was trying to figure out what was happening for a story. If people were trying to hide how money was spent, you knew something wasn't right.
And if leaders of governments and organizations were open and honest about their finances and made a real effort to explain what they were doing, you knew they could be trusted.
Finances and budgets may seem boring, but how they're handled can tell you something about what a community is like to live in - whether it's run democratically, or just for a few, whether everyone's concerns are heard and respected, or ignored.
That's why we try to make finances fun at Pacific Gardens, because we want everybody who lives here to feel included.
Kathryn
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Our Cohousing Correspondent in Mexico
Pacific Gardens is spreading its influence far and wide - we now have a cohousing correspondent in Mexico, Roz, the authoress of our Officel Etiquetta and the hostess of our Elderberry dinner.
Roz is escaping the gloom of our rainy clime to soak up the scene on the beach in the approporiately-named La Playa. She has been sending us regular reports of her days spent eating fabulous food, meeting wonderful people, and enjoying the sunshine.
I'm not saying I'm jealous or anything, but really, when you look at pictures like this (and it's one of many she's e-mailed us), I do get a bit green-eyed, even more than usual!
Roz has a wonderful idea, however. She writes: "I think we have it all wrong...we should live in a country where it is easy to grow food all year long, where we do not need as much electrical power, where musika abounds from early morning till into the evening, where one makes instant friends...and then holiday in the summer months of our winterland!
Let's sell and come here to build a Cohousing development!!! Mucho purchasers for sure!!!"
I think she's on to something, don't you?
Kathryn
Roz is escaping the gloom of our rainy clime to soak up the scene on the beach in the approporiately-named La Playa. She has been sending us regular reports of her days spent eating fabulous food, meeting wonderful people, and enjoying the sunshine.
I'm not saying I'm jealous or anything, but really, when you look at pictures like this (and it's one of many she's e-mailed us), I do get a bit green-eyed, even more than usual!
Roz has a wonderful idea, however. She writes: "I think we have it all wrong...we should live in a country where it is easy to grow food all year long, where we do not need as much electrical power, where musika abounds from early morning till into the evening, where one makes instant friends...and then holiday in the summer months of our winterland!
Let's sell and come here to build a Cohousing development!!! Mucho purchasers for sure!!!"
I think she's on to something, don't you?
Kathryn
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