Through the Looking Glass #3 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: PattyMara (PattyMaraaol.com) | |
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 23:04:46 -0500 |
Hello list, I'm writing from the chaos of packing and moving. Tomorrow the big moving truck will arrive to move us into our cohousing home. This will be our last night in our Halcyon cottage. And this may be the last post for a few weeks as well, since when the telephone installer came on his appointed day, and opened up the ground box to find it absolutely empty of cable, we discovered that our contractor missed some fine print in the Pac Bell contract that required him to measure the cable runs. So phone service (and our e-mail connection) won't be available for at least three weeks. We'll share a cell phone with our coho neighbors, dear friends, who moved in last week. And for a week we'll be the only two families on site. Then two more will move in, and in one week, two more. Work has ground to a halt on the common house because moisture tests of the concrete slab have indicated that the slab is too damp (mysteriously so, since it was poured last fall) to lay the parquet flooring. This is true for over half of the homes as well, and our flooring sub-contractor is refusing to warranty the parquet if it is installed on damp concrete. So we are searching for solutions, and the common house remains "off limits" to us. So frustrating. Hopefully a solution will be hammered out and we can move on and in. When the first family moved in, many folks showed up to help load and unload the truck and the move seemed to happen very quickly. In one morning, the yard (sand dune) surrounding their house was transformed by all of their whimsical outdoor furniture, sculpture, potted plants and yard art. Very very encouraging to me. I look forward to the same transmutation around our home, which is immediately up the hill from theirs. Our family has chosen to do the move by ourselves, since we have two strong teens and two additional strong backs. Our motivation is that we don't want to be obligated to move all the other 25 households in during the next three months. I wonder how other communities have solved this issue. There will be times when I know I will be happy to help out, and will, but I am less than thrilled with the expectation to do it for everyone. So we have begun to process this at our business meetings, and folks seem to be in agreement. Although there are some senior members who clearly expect the entire community to move them. More communication and process work to follow, no doubt. What seems to be a high need now is a transitional house for several households who for many reasons will not be able to stay in their current homes long enough for construction to be completed on their new homes. We're looking into finding a large home to rent in common for this interim time. I am feeling more and more connected to our new home, especially since art has been moved over and propped up against walls and windows. Glitches still remain, like wall sockets that don't work, and goofy doors, and missing medicine cabinets. But all temporary glitches. Looking forward to watching the stars transit our new windows tomorrow night. My next post will be from the construction site by day, cohousing community by night. Cheers, Patty Mara Gourley Tierra Nueva Cohousing
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