Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common House Use and Uses

[Judy Baxter (BAXTER]

Ruth wrote:
>
> We use common house for meals trice per week.  Tai chi,  Yoga, once each p
> week, and a 'stitch & bitch' knitting/sewing circle.  Also, of course for
> Community/committee meetings.
>
> We are trying to prioritze 'what next'!!
> We do not informally hang out there...... some folks think that it is
because
> of everyone being so very busy.  Others think it'd be used more if we made
a
> plan, made the money, and made it more beautiful.  For some folks,
matching
> tables are important, matching lounge area furniture, etc.  For others,
it's
> ok the way it is.   this is one of the more friction-producing questions
> we've had since move-in.  Money is available in differing amounts and with
> different meaning to various of us, of course!


Ruth Hirsch of Cantines Island, NY asked:
> So, please give uses of CH input such as:  What areas of your Commonhouse
get
> used and how much??????

Ahh - At Monterey Cohousing, (Minneapolis), our Common House is the lower level
and most  of the first level of our renovated Georgian mansion -    not  your
classic Cohousing design.  We have roughly 2 meals/week plus whoever shows up
on Friday to eat leftovers, so that is really 3 meals per week.  An occasional
other meal (lunch on work days, Sunday Dinner, as  last night). Tai Chi class,
karate practice, weekly card players, weekly "sewing/whatever' circle. Sounds a
lot like yours. Also a puzzle corner has evolved in the library/den, and puzzle
solvers are there at various times, moving the pieces around.  The kids also
use that room a lot, for video games mostly (discussion coming up on TV,Videos,
video games). People watch videos there.  We have 2 guest rooms, sometimes they
are in use a lot, sometimes not, but they are much appreciated.  The laundry is
used by all the residents of the Mansion plus one family from the townhomes. 
The wood shop is used a lot by the dedicated woodworkers (not me) so can't say
how much, but is also much appreciated.  Hot tub installation in lower level is
in process, so can't say how it will be used.  Kids room gets a fair amount of
use by younger kids and visitors.

We have been having monthly 'Monterey Presents' events of various types (see
our web site) and there are occasional video evenings. Plus other singalongs,
etc.

> Do people hang out informally?
Not exactly hang out, I would say.  Sometimes someone reads the paper in the
Living Room. And there are lots of "co-chats" by the mailbox, in the laundry,
on the stairs or in hallways. I have one neighbor who always started
interesting conversations when we met in the hall at 11pm, which was
frustrating for me. 

> What brings folks to Commonhouse?  Does doing/not doing laundry there
matter at all?

Well, 8 households (11 adults, 2 kids, 1 dependent adult) live there.  So we
interact a little more because of that.  But not a lot more - if someone is
busy elsewhere, we won't see her/him.  People come for mail, sometimes to read
the bulletin board, for meals, to find their kids, for activities.I can't
really speak to the importance of coming to do laundry.  They hang out more in
the courtyard in warm weather.

We had a visitor from a Danish Cohousing community, Saettendam ( i think it was
the first one).  He commented that we were all a lot busier. and i think we are
all very busy, if not too busy (how to decide that?)  .  **I'm** too busy.
And a lot of the kids are in the 7-11 range where they go to  lots of stuff -
karate, guitar, violin lessons, etc., so that keeps them *and* the parents
busy.

So, I don't know if this helps.

Judy

Judy Baxter, Monterey Cohousing Community,(MoCoCo) Twin Cities Area, Mpls.,MN
-- e-mail:      baxter [at] epi.umn.edu
15 homes - 7 new townhomes plus 
        8 coop apartments       in the Mansion (a rehab Georgian building)
(built as a retirement home in 1924 -) which also serves as our Common House
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Two (probably just one) (3 BR +) townhomes  for sale - see our web page
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 Voice Mail for Monterey Cohousing - 612-930-7554
 web page: http://www.jimn.org/mococo/