Cohousing-L Mailing List: renamed: Common House Usage questions

[PattyMara (PattyMara]

In a message dated 3/6/00 3:44:09 PM , HeidiNYS [at] aol.com writes:

<< So, please give uses of CH input such as:  What areas of your Commonhouse 
get 
 used and how much??????

At Tierra Nueva, cen. CA coast:

Our common house kitchen and dining areas gets used most at mealtimes (Mon, 
Wed., Sat evenings).  Next best usage is the guest rooms (2) which are booked 
heavily, mostly by member households' visiting family and friends.  Our 
living room/library is used for most committee meetings, generally 2-3 times 
per week, and increasingly, folks are hanging out there after meals for a 
more leisurely experience than in the dining room where general chaos insues.
   
 >>Do people hang out informally?

Yes and no, with waves of interest that wax and wane.  Our video room draws 
multiple gatherings to watch rented videos, and monday night football has a 
faithful following.  The ping-pong/pool table gets a regular crowd.  One 
rainy days the moms with small children gather for lunch and/or craft 
projects.   Laundry room is used continually. 

But sometimes it does feel empty and underutilized.  I suspect that the 
weather has a lot to do with it....usually it is so mild here, that our focus 
is outdoors.  And during the day, so many of us are "out in the world" 
working.  The main population at home during the days are stay at home 
moms/young children and retired folks.  Sometimes there is a deserted feel to 
the whole site, common house included.  This comes as a big surprise to 
me...I imagined lots of activity and bustle.  Instead, there is a quiet calm 
most of the time, except on weekends when more folks are home.  Summers and 
holidays tend to be quiet times as well.  It still surprises me.  

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

meals, meetings, yoga/exercise, videos, parties, office (xerox machine, 
community mailcubbies).  Laundry brings people in, but it is a rather 
solitary task, with comings and goings perfunctory.  

Patty Mara Gourley
Tierra Nueva, cen CA coast, where one of our toddlers is in the hospital with 
RSV, a respiratory virus.  I just got a phone call from a worried mom who 
wants me to run over and listen to her croupy toddler's chest.  Community at 
its best:  Proximity.