I do miss the view of the waters of Georgia Strait from my Kerrisdale apartment, but I am coming to appreciate the vista of the Coast Mountains from Vancouver Cohousing. The photo is from the common-area walkway where I’ve parked a patio bistro set a few feet from my unit for me and anyone else to sit and enjoy. The view is more expansive from the rooftop garden on the common house that you can see at the end of the courtyard.
The common house is already buzzing. The shared office is being used, folks are doing yoga in the studio, kids are revelling in their play area, the guest rooms have guests and a hard-working team has organized the community kitchen. The pantry/canning and crafts rooms are taking shape. The weekend “free store” where we offered our excess items was a success. I managed to give away stuff without acquiring anything.
This Friday, I’ll be hosting my Second Friday Shabbat Dinner here, a great opportunity for friends to join me and get a look at the first cohousing community in the city of Vancouver. On Sunday we’ll have a party to mark exactly three years since City Council approved rezoning our property.
Donnie has taken the lead on our recycling committee to guide us in carefully sorting our trash. As a result, massive amounts of stuff have been diverted from landfill. I’m on the committee too and want to help make our community a model for what can happen when people recycle consciously.
Strolling along at 1.2 mph, I’m writing this post on my trusty treadmill desk that I’ve just hooked up. It feels great to be using it again. I’ll find out from Nic below me this evening how much noise it makes for him, especially when I bump it up to 3.6 mph when I’m streaming something.
There are still boxes to unpack but the end is in sight.
One of so many scenes of being neighbourly.
A view of the front along East 33rd Avenue.