As I wrote earlier this week, art makes a home. And hanging a mezuzah makes a Jewish home. Today the guests for my monthly 2nd Friday Shabbat Dinner honoured me by helping me bless my new home at Vancouver Cohousing with a Chanukat Bayit – dedication of the home, kind of a Jewish housewarming.

A mezuzah is a parchment scroll containing Torah verses declaring the oneness of the Divine. The roots of the ritual go back to the Biblical story of the struggle by Moses to free the Israelite slaves in Egypt. To persuade Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, the Egyptians suffered a series of plagues, culminating in the death of the first born. As the story goes, God told Moses to tell the Israelites to dab sheep’s blood on their doorposts so the angel of death would pass over their homes (the origin of the name Passover).

These scrolls are hung in their ceremonial cases generally within 30 days of moving into a home, and frequently a party is held in order to accomplish this ritual task. My mezuzah case was made by a very creative close family member at the age of 12 or 13.

After reciting the appropriate Hebrew blessing, we trooped over to another cohousing member’s unit. Now middle-aged, she said she has had her mezuzah since she was 21 and never felt safe enough to put it up on her doorpost; but now she was ready to have it on her home. She put her mezuzah up with great feeling.

And then we enjoyed the first sit-down dinner in the common house since we moved in two weeks ago. It was a potluck with a great variety, including two eggplant dishes and I love eggplant. The group was a lovely combo of cohousers and folks who have previously come to my Shabbat dinners at my Kerrisdale home. We sang the Shabbat blessings before the meal, and afterwards I brought out my drum for some sacred chanting.

The mezuzah is a very positive symbol. While my home was under construction, I experienced a very negative symbol – one of the workers drew a swastika on a stud in the framing. Fortunately, I saw it before the drywall was installed and had the stud replaced. I reported it to Vancouver Police as a possible hate crime. Unsettling to be sure, but I doubt the jerk had any idea it was the home of a Jew.

Today was a pleasure. I began putting some art up on the walls, including the masks, family portrait and kimono that you can see in the photo. Certainly not fine art, but they all have meaning for me. Like beauty, art is in the eye of the beholder. They give my place personality and character, helping to make it a home.

This morning I touched up the finish on a pine bookcase from Craigslist, so that tomorrow I can haul my books out of boxes and onto the shelves. Packing up for the move I selected about 50 books to donate to the Isaac Waldman Library at the Jewish Community Centre. But there are still plenty for a large and a small bookcase, with Japanese vases interspersed here and there.

I recently heard an interview on CBC Radio 1 with a man who had eliminated all his books and had gone totally digital. I have much fewer volumes than when I owned houses, but I still like to go to physical texts, as well as Dr. Google, for information and inspiration.

At midday I got a call from friends Charles and Sandra who were in the neighbourhood and dropped by to see my place and the complex. They’ve been hearing from me about the progress and challenges of Vancouver Cohousing for almost four years. I was proud to show them around.

I was delighted to find in my mail box my weekly Economist magazine and a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency (for my American friends, that’s our IRS) that they had recalculated my 2014 tax return and were refunding $411.29!

This is hard to write about. During the day I eat moderately. But I have a tendency to binge eat late at night. I really let loose on the weekend, consuming a large carton of ice cream on Saturday night and six Chinese coconut buns on Sunday – both pretty much at one sitting.

I know it’s filling an emotional need. When I’m going to bed alone, there’s something comforting about a full belly. But when my mouth is full of kisses, I don’t overeat.

I remember first becoming aware that I was out of control when as a jogger I registered for a 10Km run in the 1980s and saw that at 197 pounds I was eligible for the “Clydesdale Class”. Yikes. That sent me to Weight Watchers where I slimmed down to 165 and became a lifetime member. I eventually gained it back.

In 2002 a girlfriend urged me to do something about my body. I joined Overeaters Anonymous and lost weight. But I haven’t been to OA or Weight Watchers for decades. I’ve continued to gain and lose over the years with 175 pounds as my new target, which I reached last year in time for two family weddings.

Lugging all those boxes and moving furniture in the move into Vancouver Cohousing has shaved off a couple pounds. I weighed in at home yesterday at 187.8. Those decimal places matter to me; no way would I round that off to 188. For my six-foot frame, 183 is a healthy BMI.

This evening my buddy Roni and I saw Michael Moore’s insightful and funny documentary, “Where to Invade Next.” Turning 62 next month, Moore too has struggled with his weight. Morbidly obese, he spent a week last month in ICU at a hospital with pneumonia.

Weight is a challenge for many of us. Over coffee after the movie, Roni says he’s fighting a daily battle to stay away from sweets. He’s now gone two weeks without refined sugars while still enjoying fresh and dried fruits. He said he feels lighter and healthier. Good for you, Roni!

Michael Moore at a Q&A for “Where to Invade Next” at the New York Film Festival.

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.

Even though I spent a lot of time and energy arranging to sublet my Kerrisdale apartment so I’d have an escape hatch, Vancouver Cohousing pretty much had me at the move-in. I’m feeling the love.

These are the people who have agreed by 100 percent consensus to every decision we’ve made since the project started in 2012. Many of those decisions have been tough but we’ve learned to listen to each other and work through any divisions. That’s true consensus in a community of like-minded individuals.

Like Barb and Vesanto in the photo above, we’re so happy to be hanging out together. There are no awkward silences in the elevator, just opportunities to connect.

We’re already enjoying the fruits of sharing. For example, Frannie is sharing her vacuum cleaner with me and another household, so the new one I bought is going back to the store. Our camping and outdoor gear is going into the bike room for everyone to share. We’ll have a spice library where people can get what they need without having to buy every spice for their own kitchen. The workshop will have tools we can borrow.

My neighbours are very kind. Saje lent me cutlery before mine emerged from boxes. Fabrice lent me eggs when I needed to bake brownies in a hurry. Cam spent this evening driving us in his van to haul a mistake – assembled the wrong size wardrobe! – to Ikea and then pick up a bookcase I bought off Craigslist. This afternoon, Ian installed several things in my place in an hour that would have taken me all day. As a contractor, he does this for a living, so I paid him, but he is very generous with his time and advice.

Before we moved in, I was adamant that if I couldn’t have quiet enjoyment of my own home, it would be a deal breaker. We were told that the floor to ceiling soundproofing would be excellent. But it turns out I can hear the pitter patter of the toddler’s feet in the unit above me – it’s a little annoying and because he’s such a delightful kid I’m surprised to find it somewhat endearing. Imagine that.

The courtyard glistens in the rain.

This morning, I picked up plants from my balcony in Kerrisdale.

I’m so grateful for all the sweet messages and Facebook “likes” as Vancouver Cohousing comes to life. Getting settled in a much smaller space and making it work is taking a long time. But my kitchen and bathroom are fully functional, and the World’s Best Sofa Bed is a dream to sleep on.

This morning I got back into my daily spiritual practices and here I am writing a blog post after a break during moving. My cohousing neighbour Ian is a contractor and came over this evening to help me plan space-saving ideas and installations.

Cohousing is all about knowing your neighbours well. We’ve been through so much in the four-year struggle to bring this project to completion. Now I’m walking around with a silly grin, trying to take in that we’re finally in our homes and able to hang out so easily with each other.

Some impressions: I saw some of the boys trooping back from the 7-11 two blocks west with slurpies. Members are running into each other in the Victoria Drive commercial district two blocks east as we check out the stores. The sloping courtyard is perfect for the little ones to ride their scooters. Almost all the kitchens face into the courtyard to increase opportunities for connection. We’re dropping in on each other all the time.

Olive and Ben (proprietor of Earnest Ice Cream) move in a plant and chat with Saje.

Just about every one of us has found we’ve brought more than we want to accommodate in our homes. So we’re taking items we’re letting go of to the lounge in the common house and will hold a “free market” this weekend to choose what we want. Some stuff will be for the common house and what’s left at the end will be donated or sold.

That idea came out the first meeting onsite on Saturday evening in the common house. We also discussed our recycling program, which is already well under way. On Sunday, we had our first potluck in the common house. I read a pin on a cohousing Pinterest page that in cohousing, the common house is your living room. So true.

On Sunday, we had the first potluck in the common house.

Wade, right, hangs out with Jacob at the potluck.