A Beautiful Day in Community

Garden

2011-08-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a wonderful turnout of helping hands in the garden. It was planting day and neighbors came out to get to work weeding, amending, pruning and yes, planting. Saturday morning turned out to be perfect weather for the work, with a light breeze and not the hard hitting heat.
We planted lettuce, peas, parsnips, beets, radishes, carrots, chard and much more! What a feast we will have available to us come this fall. For those of us who lingered, we were rewarded with a violin and piano serenade coming through a neighbor's window. I wish I had a sound bite on this page just to give you a feel for what we got to experience that morning. It was like none other and I have to say, it was a cohousing HIGH in my book!
Many thanks to the men and women of the community who helped.

Some Memorable Events...

2011-08-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

Over this past year, we have had the privilege of participating in some really neat events here at La Querencia. I wanted to post a few pictures of the events related to the kids, since that is what my world is at this stage in my life! :) There are 3 events in particular that stand out to me and my family-the first being the Rocket Launching party!

George had the idea that the kids might enjoy building and then launching their own rockets. Why not, right? Well, the kids LOVED this idea! Each child who participated built and painted their own rocket. The day of the launch each kid got to shoot off their rocket and then go catch the parachuting top.

I love this picture, you can see the smoke from the rocket and the initial reaction from each person as they look to the sky!

Here is the crew of rocketeers! A memorable morning was had by all. Thanks George (and Neil for helping!) for making it happen!

The next memorable event here at La Q was a Kid's Water Day. Several families were returning from different vacations as well as new families joining our neighborhood. We thought it would be a good idea to get all the kids out on the lawn and have them meet and interact in a fun way.

First we had all the kids meet and tell us their names and one thing the LOVED!

Then it was time for the slip-n-slide. We also played a water balloon toss, and water balloon tag. Then it was time for a dip in the pool.

We not only had a great turnout of kids, but many of our other residents came out to enjoy the fun and watch the kids get wet! We finished the night off with popsicles for everyone.

Finally, though I know there will be more memorable moments to come yet this year, was our Movie by the Pool night. George came through again with another great idea: why not have a movie night by the pool? Awesome! We had a great turn out and the kids swam into the night while watching Toy Story 3.

My family just loves living here at La Querencia! My kids have found a home where they are accepted and loved for who they are. We see them interacting with people of all ages and learning life and social skills that will take them far beyond their years here at La Q. As a parent, that is a wonderful thing to watch. Cheers!
-Jen Schultz

2011-08-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous new moon tonight, which brought about 10 of us out to sit and watch it rise, contemplate what it would be like to live in a world with 11 moons, like Jupiter, sing moon songs, enjoy the breeze coming off the ponding basin (our own "Lake La Querencia!") and enjoy each other's company--a cohousing moment!

Fresno Earth day 2011

2011-04-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

April 30 – 11 am & 4 pm FREE and Open to the Public
Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno 2672 East Alluvial Clovis, CA 93611

Join the Fresno Earth Day Coalition for Earth Day 2011 at Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno.

This is the second year the Unitarian Universalist Church has hosted Fresno Earth Day. This successful event was well attended last year and has expanded this year. 2011 activities include over 75 participants, live music, local food, practical workshops, tours, exhibits, films, kids' activities, green car show, free e-waste recycling, solar cooking & bio-fuel making demonstrations, green car show, bike ride, walking tours - xeriscaping, green building tour, bird watching, vermiculture (earthworms), composting workshop, care for garden tools workshop, children’s activities, vegetarian cooking and paper making workshop, valet parking for bikes, Free Bike and Helmet Safety Checks and much more.

Additional Details:
Live Music includes: Lonesome Jem - Jem Bluestein and friends - Master of many kinds of American and European ethnic musics; Soul Kitchenette - organically-raised, free-range musicians who play highly sustainable rock/pop/soul music that you will find delicious; Heartland Harvest - Mixing traditional and contemporary folk, blue grass, old-timey, and other Americana - including funny stuff; Bound for Oblivion - a blues influenced rock trio. They do lots of original music, but also have lots of covers in their repertoire; Roscanna - a terrific traditional Irish music group

Practical Workshops: Paper; Raw foods; Composting; Care of garden tools; Bio fuels

Demonstrations / Displays: Vermiculture (garden worms); Solar cooking; Bio-diesel processing; E-cars; Wind turbines;
Bee hive; Solar power generation

Bikes: Bike ride to Fresno Earth Day from Tower Velo; Bike ride to Woodward Park; Bike helmet check; Bike safety check; Free valet bike parking.

Tours: Native plants / xeriscaping; Birdwatching: Green features of the Unitarian Universalist Church & Fresno Cohousing

Exhibits: Green businesses; Non-profit organizations; Faith -based organizations; Government agencies

Kids' Activities: Zoomobile; Hula Hoop weaving using old T-shirts; Seed Bombs; Coffee grounds; Recycle relay; Paper making

Green Car Show: Bio fuel vehicles; Electric and high fuel efficiency motorcycles; Hybrids

Free E-Waste Recycling (no additional wording per Steve)

A partial list of participants include: Food and Water Watch, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, City of Fresno Water Conservation Program, California Native Plant Society, Green Hope Veterans, ALA in California, GRID Alternatives, Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Save the Foothills Coalition, Fresno Audubon Society, Sierra Foothills Conservancy, Master Gardeners/UC Cooperative Extension, Tree Fresno, Sierra Club – Tehipite Chapter, Fresno Recycling Program, Fresno Chapter of Green Building Council, Fresno Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, National Parks Conservation Association, Healthy Dairies Commission, Coalition for Clean Air, Community Food Bank, Heifer Int., CCROPP, Roots of Change, CSUF Organics Program, Critical Mass, Fresno Bike Coalition, Birchwood Conservancy, County of Fresno Recycling, Clovis Botanical Gardens, Fresno Wildlife Rehabilitation, Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, Sun Mountain Solar Cookers, Sierra Cat Haven, Mokichi Okada Association, Fresno SPCA, Restore the Delta, ReStore (Habitat for Humanity), Fresno Bike Kitchen, S.I.L.O., CSUF Organic Farm, LUCA - Latinos United for Clean Air , League of Women Voters and ABC Cooling and Heating, A La Mode - children's used clothing, Charlotte's Bakery, Hart's Haven, Intermountain Nursery, OFFLINE Solar Co., Real Goods Solar, Rustica Kollection, Shaklee, Squaw Valley Herb Gardens, T&D Willey Farms CSA, The Center for Mindfulness, Three Springs Community & Garden, Tower Velo, Urban Salvage Central Valley, Whole Farms Market, Educational Employees Credit Union, Holistic and Integrative Family Medicine, Halloran Dentistry, Casa de Tamales, Lucy’s Lair, Food Not Bombs, Revive Cafe and MANY, MANY MORE!

Autos confirmed for the green car show include: 2011 Nissan Leaf all electric 2005 biodiesel VW Beetle 2005 biodiesel Mercedes E-320 2002 Veggy oil converted VW Jetta 20?? Prius Plug-in Hybrid 2 X 2010 street legal Electric Carts Valectricar 2011 Chevy Volt plug-in electric hybrid 19?? Motorcycle to electric conversion 2012 Honda Insight Hybrid 2012 Honda Civic gas, high mpg 2008 Vectrix Motorcycle 2011 Smart Car Solar Toyota Prius CART High School Biodiesel Processor

Fresno Earth Day Coalition includes: Fresno Betsuin Buddhist Temple • Fresno Co. Bicycle Coalition • Fresno Metro Ministry • GreenFresno.org • Interfaith Social Justice Collaborative • Fresno Cohousing/La Querencia • San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust • Sierra Club Tehipite Chapter • Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno.

For More info: www.fresnoearthday.org or 559.322.6146
Completely Solar Powered!
http://www.fresnoearthday.org/
559.322.6146

Please help us make this a well-attended event - post it on your facebook and twitter accounts.

Easy Cheesy - What's Not To Love?

2010-11-12T15:07:00.000-08:00

It was La Querencia’s first Common Meal by the kids! It was George’s idea. After consulting with the parents, who all agreed, George asked for volunteers, got many enthusiastic participants, and the planning began.

The first task was creating the menu. All easily agreed on mac and cheese, chicken, salad and dessert (the last one was easy!). George googled “Easy Mac and Cheese,” and, lo and behold, up popped up a very easy recipe! There are just four ingredients: macaroni, cheese, sour cream and one egg. None of this Kraft box stuff for our community! George proposed ice cream sandwiches for the dessert, and everyone enthusiastically voted for those.

Prep work started yesterday after school, with the kids coming to the Common House to bake cookies. Fortunately, we had an abundance of cookie dough that had been sold to community members by several of the girls for their school’s fund raiser. Armed with ice cream scoops, trays and parchment paper, all took turns scooping the dough onto the paper, putting the trays in the oven and then, not so patiently, watching the cookies bake.

After a break for dinners at their homes, the gang reassembled for the great Ice Cream Sandwich Assembly Project! It got a little messy here and there, as the ice cream melted, but all was completed without a hitch.

George did the grocery shopping while the kids were at school. It was an early dismissal day, so when the kids arrived home, they all trooped down to the Common House to set the tables (34 people had signed up!), and combined the ingredients for the mac and cheese. It was off to play, then, with a return to the Common House at 5:00 p.m. for the finishing touches: filling the water pitchers, putting the salad greens in the salad bowls, putting all these plus the bottles of salad dressing on the tables and sautéing the chicken (already cooked and in bite-size pieces from Trader Joe’s) briefly in olive oil and mixing Trader Joe’s pesto sauce in with it.

Still a half hour to spare before 6:00! Belinda and Lilly, to fill up the time, choreographed a dance to do for dinner entertainment. The girls also practiced taking a group bow to acknowledge the “Three Cheers for the Chefs” that was sure to come from the impressed diners!

Show time! There was a special Chefs’ Table reserved for the crew. The food was hot and delicious, and everybody raved!

It was a fun evening, a great collaborative meal—and one that we’re all looking forward to having happen again!

Submitted by resident Pat L-B
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A book and a bear, vision realized.

2010-09-23T08:29:00.001-07:00

I recall that at one of our first organizational meetings, back in 2004 (I think) we were asked to describe an activity that we would be doing when we were in cohousing. My vision was that I would be sitting on my front porch reading a book to some children.

Well, today, that came true! Ana, Tessa and Elijah wanted to sit on my porch swing with me, so we did. Tessa ran home and brought back a Berenstain Bears book and I read it to them. What a wonderful moment it was for me, and I hope, for them.

From home owner - George

Comments from the cohousing neighbors:
That's the coolest!!
Thanks for sharing George!
What a wonderful grandpa and role model you are:))!
Agreed. We're grateful for your influence on our children. We believe strongly that our children will have a greater development as human beings because of the connections with others, especially adults. So thanks for caring about our kiddo's, it is appreciated.

Weekend Highs

2010-09-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

From the Shultz Family Blog - A family living in the Fresno Cohousing Community.

Our last couple of weeks have been busy getting back into the school routine. We are slowly finding our rhythm and discovering the homework load/busy-ness of Clovis schools. We walk to school every morning and really enjoy the time to talk and spend time with the girls. Chris gets to walk with us on Mondays and Fridays and we love doing it as a family. We also walk to school a couple of mornings with our neighbor friend, Lilly. Her brother Sean walks home with us because he is in afternoon Kindergarten.

Weekends are always fun around here in cohousing. There are a bunch of kids to play with. Last Saturday our house was filled with little people! We had my niece and nephew over, and neighbor kids filling the house with laughter and noise. Thankfully they all get along very well.

Read more about their experience in the Fresno Cohousing community

What A Day in Yosemite!

2010-09-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

What a day! Yosemite was perfect in every way: clear weather, comfortable temperature, very little traffic, easy parking, and a great group of cohousing hikers!
We all chipped in for a 15-passenger van that Bryan rented, and Chris and Jen drove their own van with their four girls. One of our 15 couldn’t go at the last minute, so we were a merry band of 20, ranging in age from 18 months to 70 years.
Bev swears she had the best time of all, holding Winnie the Poodle and watching us all, especially the teenagers, stuff ourselves into the van at 7:15 a.m., some awake, some not so. We picked up Mark at his house in Coarsegold and zipped on up to the park.
Rebecca and Bryan planned a great hike that was do-able for all: first to Sentinel Dome, then to Taft Point where we had lunch, and then a finale of Glacier Point—all in all, 5 miles on our boots. Violette had been to Yosemite just once before and had only a fleeting glimpse, so the views for her were spectactular. The young kids did great. Sammy, the 18 month old, was the envy of us all, especially at the end, with her dad, Chris, carrying her in a baby back pack.
We made it all back to Oakhurst for dinner at El Cid’s and then took Mark back to his home. Mark invited us in, and we topped off the day with a whee of a time on the zipline he and Marilyn have installed behind their house!
We headed home, arriving about 12 hours after we started, tired and happy—a great day for being with our neighbors!

Submitted by resident Pat Looney-Burman
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Loving Cohousing

2010-09-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

I just love living in cohousing. Here is a glimpse of a morning here in our community:

I wake up to the sun shining through my windows and the geese flying overhead to rest in the ponding basin just behind our community. Getting the girls off to school, I visit with Heidi who has just come in from walking her dogs. Barbara is walking along the pathway and stops to visit as well. Samantha is trailing behind me and decides to stop and say good morning to the dogs. The morning air is finally cool and we feel at ease taking our time and enjoying the fresh air. more

Extracted from the Shultz family blog. Friday August 27, 2010

Neighborliness Expands the Circle

2010-08-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

It's hard to know sometimes how the things we do touch each other - In cohousing, thank you and appreciation abounds. These two "Thank You's" one internally and one to the neighbor next door are good examples I think of cohousing feels different from other "drive into your garage, close the door" communties. Following the "thanks" you'll also find a story reprinted from the Tree Fresno group about a tree planting. Several Fresno Cohousing residents participated.

David Firth (custodian/sextan at the UU church next door) gave me excellent information on how to enlarge type on my iMac desk-top computer, how to send e-mails, make copies, send copies, and how to FAX using my Canon Printer/iMac Computor. Resident Pat M.

Thanks to George, Michael, and Neil, the crafts room got a coat of primer. Thanks to Katie Kelley and Joe Syverson, we now have the first coat of paint, and thanks to Katie and Joe for putting on the 2nd and final coat of paint. Now we can move on to phase 2. Also - Thanks to Sarah, Katie, Joe and Cyndee for helping to haul the recycling ($23 more for the teen room). Resident Bryan S.

Reprinted from the Tree Fresno site

Planting one tree every two minutes may not be record breaking but pretty darn fast. You've got to dig, pull, plant, fill, build a berm, pound the stake, then tie an eight.

That's exactly what our volunteers did on Saturday, June 12. They put 70 trees in the ground in just over two hours at the Fresno Metro Flood Control District stormwater basin on Chestnut, just north of Alluvial. On this beautiful morning, Basin neighbors and volunteers from all over came out to build sweat equity in the 18-acre site. Soon the top one-third of the basin will be seeded with turf and the result will be much like the beautiful basins at Maroa and Herndon, and at McKinley and Weber.

Trees and turf will be watered by an irrigation system which draws water from the basin itself or from the nearby Maupin Canal. Surface water irrigation systems save millions of gallons of potable water each year. This planting was the 12th partnership between Tree Fresno and the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District in a continuing effort to beautify stormwater basins throughout Clovis and Fresno.

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Would Your Neighbor Show Up With a Truck?

2010-08-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Last night, after attending Back to School Night at my son's school, my husband and I went out to our car and it wouldn't start. While waiting for what turned out to be the first of three tow trucks (the auto club dispatcher just didn't seem to believe that we were unable to put this hybrid car with electrical problems into neutral, nor could it be jumped, so we needed a tow truck with a dolly or with "go-jacks". Yes, this is much more than I wanted to know about car towing, too!), my husband called our neighbors Bev and Neil to see if they could be available to drive us home from the car repair place after the car was towed there. Well, they had an even better idea. They both showed up, Bev in her Prius, and Neil driving the small pickup truck that belongs to the community. Members of the community can use the truck to haul stuff, or for occasions like this when an extra vehicle is needed. Neil handed us the keys, both of them said some words of encouragement, and were on their way. We stood there in the twilight, feeling so grateful that we live in cohousing. Posted by resident Lynette Bassman

Editors Note: Neighbors helping neighbors is a wonderfully common theme in cohousing communities. The days where you popped in at a neighbors' house for a cup of sugar are almost only a memory. The exception seems to be the 150 or so cohousing communities across the United States where neighbors are still stopping by to share tomatoes, or beans, cook a meal or wash clothes for someone recovering from surgery or offer a kind word of encouragment. Cohousing is the future of community today.

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Hawaiian Marinara, Peach Upside Down... Fit for a Prince and Princess

2010-08-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

What’s it like to cook dinner for 35 people? Well, actually it’s not bad—and to be truthful, it’s exhilarating and I’m coming down from a high! George and I cook twice a month (the community expectation is once a month, but we love to cook….), and I feel like this each time after we prepare a community dinner. Tonight we had spaghetti with a special marinara sauce (a recipe I got from a Japanese woman I worked with in Hawaii—go figure!), regular meat balls and veggie meat balls (thank you, Trader Joe’s, for both), tossed salad with veggies from the community garden, hot garlic bread, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and fresh peach upside down cake baked this afternoon by George.

Usually we do a lot of the prep work a day or two before the dinner, but this week our schedules were packed and we just couldn’t do it earlier. I did most of the grocery shopping yesterday on my way home from work and then started in on the sauce this morning around 8:00 a.m. I chopped the garlic and onions here in our house and then took that to the Common House to load into a big pot. Once I got the sauce put together and simmering, I set the tables while George picked the veggies from the garden and made another trip to the grocery store (eight more people had signed up after I had done the initial grocery run—fortunately, TJoe’s is just around the corner!). I showered and went to work, returned home around 3:30 and even got in a 45 minute nap before heading back to the Common House to finish the last minute things. George baked the cakes while I was napping so that they would still be warm when we served them.

Almost everything was ready when people poured in at 6:00 p.m. Michael helped George get the spaghetti in the serving dishes and tossed with olive oil while I ladled out the sauce. Without a shred of modesty, I say that it was all delicious! There were good conversations going on at each of the four tables. George plated the “late plates” for Joe and Heidi before Michael, Cindy, Jenny and Candy took over the kitchen for clean-up. I saw Chris wiping down the tables, even though he wasn’t on the clean-up crew.

People strolled on the walkway after the dinner, chatting. Jeff pulled Kara and Sean in Kara’s wagon, with the two of them looking like the Prince and Princess of La Querencia! The evening light started to fade, and Venus was lit up brightly up in the western sky. The squadrons of geese took off from the ponding basin (our own “Lake La Querencia,”) passing over our houses, with another squadron coming in for a landing. What a sight!

George and I went down to the pool about 8:15 to join a smaller group of residents, ranging in age from 15 months to 81 years old! Four year old Tessa wanted George and me to stand in the pool “right there” so she could swim over to us. Addie urged George to do an underwater flip—and he did! I tried it, too—and couldn’t!

So—that was my day in cohousing—and I know there are more to come! I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Written by resident Pat Looney Burman
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ice cream, wedding & world class soccer

2010-08-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

What a great cohousing time it's was, and what a success! Almost everyone turned out for the ice cream and play, and the last people went home about 9:00 p.m.
People probably would have stayed longer, but it got too dark for the kids to play their games on the green lawn.
We had decorations up congratulating Jeff and Lisa on their marriage and had
a card signed by community.
The kids had an impromptu soccer game. Everyone played from the very little ones to Don Gaede and Bev and Neal's 18 year old grandson all playing together.
Wish you could have been here!

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Ice cream social... yummy!

2010-08-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

A child plays in the front yard or grassy area with an older youth, while a parent or two or three neighbors casually gather to converse on a front porch. Generally there is a bit of a breeze. That breeze transports curry or basil, garlic or orange blossoms and the occasional swallow tail or variety of hummingbird across the yards. Yards are filled with Yarrow, Coral Bells, and Lavender, Artichoke, Basil, Peaches, Kiwi and Grape. A goose or two (or thirty) can be heard at the pond behind the houses, greeting their friends, or leading a gaggle of new chicks to water. If the day isn't too hot a friend or two will be collecting tomatoes, beans or potatoes or tending to a weed or two in the vegetable garden. The veggies will likely find themselves served up in some delicious community meal later that day, and nourishing the families.

There is plenty of work to be done, a new craft room requires some paint, a floor needs sweeping, a toy or two placed out of the stepping areas. All seem to be accomplished with quiet respect of sharing responsibility with others. Most often from a place of appreciation - for the homes, the neighbors, the quality of life.

Perfect? Heck no... there is the occasional conflict - talked out. The occasional misunderstanding - clarified. The occasional desire to be alone - respected.

When the weeds are all pulled (and often when they are not) there is a delicious, often amazing meal, simple and satisfying - shared with friends.

Some days there is a movie to share, a picnic and concert to attend and even delicious batches of homemade ice cream to try. All in all it's a really good life.

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Today, one of our elders passed away.

2010-05-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

Posted with permission from Tierra Nueva Cohousing community.

Today, one of our elders passed away. Tierra Nueva Cohousing has had other elders cross over in our early days, but Ken has been with us for our entire 12 years of living here. He was a staunch purveyor of World Peace, always bearing witness in any discussion involving conflict, as an advocate for peace. The children of Tierra Nueva adored Ken, as he was fond of reading them stories in our Common House library. Today, a table in the Common House has a photograph of Ken reading to young Aiden, who shared the same birthday, surrounded by roses from our cutting garden.

I was baking bread this morning, just adding flour to the sponge and could see outside my window a tender scene. Ken's wife was being hugged and held on the pathway, by another neighbor. This touched me so deeply. A simple gesture that says so much about why community is important. Why we do the difficult work of relationship. To be here for one another no matter what. To be present for one another through thick and thin, through both joyful times and times of grieving.

This is how a community's heart beats.
PattyMara

ps: something that I thought of later today, about Ken, I saw Ken every morning (their home is very near ours) as he walked to the mailboxes to pick up his newspaper. Very often I was out in our yard gardening. Whenever he passed by I would say "Good morning, handsome!" and he would light up with a big smile. And like clockwork he would reply "Good morning, beautiful!" And every time he said it, I believed him. What a gift.

Community continues to nurture the garden

2010-05-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Violette along with Sean and Lilly who helped to fill a new raised bed with topsoid and compost. We then planted lots of sweet pepper plants and a sunberry plant. We also mulched the new plants with hay.

Thanks to Jenny who comes out every morning to help me water the garden beds.

We had a truckload of base rock and a truck load of compost delivered yesterday.

The day before Bryan and Valerie picked up 3 bails of hay so all the new plantings can be mulched. This will help keep the soil moist during the days of baking sun and drying winds.

Just before the rain we also scattered cover crop seeds/beans out by the west fence. We will put the plants to work to enrich the soil so it can be planted in the fall. There are black-eyed peas, fenugreek, and cilantro.

Thanks to everyone for eating the lettuce. Remember to leave an inch or two above the base/core to give it a chance to grow back. It may get too hot for some of them to grow back, but there are a few heat resistant lettuce varieties that might produce through the summer if we are lucky. The new raised beds have mesclun mix sprouts already. There are 14 different plants in that lettuce mix. Once they look like baby plants they can also be harvested, again by snipping the leaves but leaving the roots and core behind. That way they will grow back and keep on giving.

Rebecca

Joining neighbors - feeling good

2010-05-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

We had a good work day on Saturday, thanks to a lot of people, including Scott, Julia, Lynette, Jenny, Susan, Violette, Ruth, Valerie, Rebecca, Bryan, George B, Pat, and probably more!

My opinion: being part of a Saturday landscape crew is an ESSENTIAL part of the cohousing experience. Joining your neighbors while working out the fresh air and making your community more beautiful --it's a feeling obtained no where else, and if you havent done it, you're missing something good.

enjoy the garden video

2010-05-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

enjoy the garden

So progress in the garden marches on

2010-05-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to Jeff for filling in the space between the small raised beds with base rock and filling the large raised beds with top soil.

Thanks to Dr Don for mowing the weeds along the west fence and to Jenny for planting her tomatoes along the north fence. George pulled some enormous weed roots. Joe and Sean smashed some pumpkins to add to the compost.

Bryan diligently worked on the irrigation both Saturday and Sunday.

The herb spirals are planted. The tomatoes survived the rain and wind.

The plea for help is to have someone water the non-irrigated garden beds. The best time to do that as the weather gets hot is early in the morning. As soon as the irrigation is complete it will be automated. I would just need help on the days I go to work, which is Mon-Fri and call weekends. Hopefully the irrigation will be done by my next call weekend.

Please let me know if you are free to help me with that chore. I will show you the place that need watering.

There is lots of lettuce in the long beds ready to eat before they bolt or turn bitter. There is also red Russian kale, spinach, and chard. The herbs in the herb spiral are newly transplanted, but should be ready for use soon.

Spend some time enjoying the garden http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fojs69sJLAM

Thanks

Rebecca

Carlos Reynosa and Lance Canales in Concert

2010-04-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday May 1, 2010, 7:30 pm Carlos Reynosa and returning guest artist Lance Canales
In a House Concert

LaQuerencia (Fresno Cohousing) Common House 2658 E. Alluvial (between Chestnut & Willow). Suggested Donation $15.00 ~ Limited Seating Available. For Information or Reservations: Lorenzo at (559) 367-9528
lorenzo.bassman@fresnocohousing.org

The Recordings of Carlos have reached across the World on Film, TV Radio & Net. The Passion of his flutes have touched many at his live performances... www.carlosreynosa.com

Lance Canales http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ees7reJGapc

LaQ on ABC Channel 30

2010-01-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

The story was covered by ABC Channel 30 La Querencia Residents Explain Sustainable Living

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno, Green Sanctuary and Adult Religious Education Committee sponsored Community Building as a Model for Sustainable Living on Sunday, January 24. Guests learned about how cohousing models a sustainable way of life not just by considering well-accepted environmental concerns such as energy efficiency, but also by cultivating an atmosphere of trust, and nurturing a sense of belonging.

Guest Speakers were Katherine McCamant who has designed and developed dozens of cohousing communities and is the architect of the UU Church of Fresno, a LEED Certified church and Jim Leach of Wonderland Hill Development Company, a full-service real estate development company that partners with cohousing groups to address the growing demand for cohousing.

Joe in Youth Symphony makes the magazine

2010-01-23T14:52:00.000-08:00

Fresno Scene magazine (the one that featured La Q last month) has a cover-story about the Fresno Youth Philharmonic Orchestra this month:

Joe even shows up in the photos! (page 9 online page 7 hard copy).

-Bryan

Garden 2010

2010-01-19T12:15:00.000-08:00

How does this sound? Get more physically fit in the great outdoors, boost your self esteem by accomplishing a task that benefits yourself and your community, decrease your carbon footprint by growing your own food and thus eliminating the fossil fuel requirements of food processing and transportation. All of this adds up to working to be more healthy and enjoying the benefits of your efforts.

We will be receiving a delivery of base rock tomorrow to put down paths in our community garden. Tomato, eggplant and sweet pepper starts are doing their thing on the window sill.

Next weekend is 3 days long for many of us. What a great opportunity to dig out the planting areas to grow our own food this year. There will be tasks for all levels of physical strength, age, time restrictions, dirt phobia, and familiarity with gardening.

Next season's garden has the potential to be beautiful, bountiful, and to make us greener and healthier.

Please harvest TODAY: heirloom cutting lettuces, carrots, beets, celery

What we have to look forward to: spinach, chard, tomatoes, eggplant, sweet peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, popcorn, summer squash, winter squash, melokhiya, herbs, heat resistant greens (spinach substitutes), ground cherries, grains, capers, sunberries. And much more. A mix of perenials and annuals so we can have food crops growing year round. We are blessed to live in a climate that supports the ability to have our own sustainable garden.

Holiday Activites

2010-01-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

Much happened over the recent few weeks - Starting with a breadmaking class, followed a week later by a cookie exchange in the morning of LaQ folks then a lunch for a large group from our new neighbors the Buddhist Church - two doors down. A week later there was a Holiday Open House, then Christmas Day Potluck, and New Year's Day a Polar Bear Plunge into a 50 degree pool - followed fortunately by hot cocoa and a dunk in the hot tub. This Saturday there will be a Lance canales concert(tickets are still available) Steve and Cindy Concert (tickets on sale now) movie nights, more dinners and so many fun things you won't want to miss any of it!

See the photos on our flkr site & the plunge video on YouTube - plus of course the brief account of the events here - Enjoy! Don't forget to Stop By any Sunday between 1-3 to see the houses and the community and have a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Bread Making
I just got home a few minutes ago and got down to the CH for the Tasting
Section of the workshop. Wow--what bread! Pat

Holiday Open House
That truly is one of the best, most joyous holiday parties I've ever been to! Thanks to Don Gaede for this terrific idea. I hope this was the "First Annual," and that we'll continue with Second Annual, Third Annual, etc.

We're sitting in the Sacramento Train Station now (with free wi-fi--yaaay!), waiting for the Zephyr to Denver. Thank you, Bryan, for the early morning ride to the Fresno station. Everything has been on time so far.

Back to the party: our dog-walking friends that we see when we take the boys and girls out walking were totally impressed with our community last night. As they left, Jan said they had lived in Napa for almost 30 years and had never had a connection with their neighbors like we have.

So many thanks to all--Joe, our violinist, the accordion play from Don, all the people who set up, cooked, opened up their homes, greeted people, cleaned up--it was one of my most memorable and enjoyable times in cohousing!. This is what it's all about! Happy holidays to you all! Pat and George

More on Holiday Party
It takes a Village to raise a child and it takes lots of LaQ Villagers to put together a fantastic Holiday Open House!. Got some more people to thank:
Candy, and Barbara Cutright for helping with the Common House decorations. Mary, Candy, and Jenny for organizing the Cookie exchange. Barbara Cutright, Joe, Ana, Ruth, Lilly, Sean, and Emma for making the Paper Candy Canes and using them as CH decorations. Mary and Susan for taking on cleaning up and organizing the Children's room (looks wonderful. Christmas Elves who cleaned up after the party (these are only some of the names I could remember ) Bev, Bryan, Mary and Jared... It was so much fun, Thank you Don and Jenny for your wonderful ideas :) - Violet, for the social committee.

A big THANK YOU to all who helped out last night to make it a BIG success!
Kudos to Joe Syverson (the next Joshua Bell??), Violet and Mary and their helpers for decorations; Susan, Scott and their crew for preparing the common house; all those who opened up their homes; all those who brought snacks to the common house; and the Christmas elves (you know who you are) who cleaned up the common house after the party. Way to go, everyone!

Don Gaede

Polar Bear Swim
We had our first LaQ Polar Bear Swim (George's idea) around noon today, and you can see the brave souls that did it. Fortunately, we had our cheering section as well, and Violette brought out hot chocolate for all of us. The pool temperature was
50 degrees! The Syverson family went in twice, and Scott came running in at
the end, while we were all in the hot tub. Pat

Rainbow over cohousing

2009-12-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

This was the most glorious rainbow I've ever seen--and then it
turned into a double rainbow!

It looks like in the first photo the rainbow ends - at the composting bin - no suprise there... the bounty of vegetables grown in their community garden last year, and the delicious meals prepared & shared by community with them would certainly indicate that it is indeed a pot of gold. Photos provided by Pat

Thanksgiving in the neighborhood

2009-12-10T11:12:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving at Fresno Cohousing is a community and family event. Imagine a day with your releatives and about 30 new friends. About 56 people attend, counting kids. Out of town relatives for residents came from Pennsylvania, Washington state, San Jose and Morgan Hill, as well as a returning college student from Cal Poly and local
relatives and guests. More turkeys, than needed were purchased - but where is the down side to that? We'll enjoy cold turkey sandwiches on white squishy bread with gobs of mayonnaise, soups and other yummies for several days.

Joe had a soulmate with his 11 year old cousin here. Both boys alternated between swimming in the very cold pool and jumping in the hot tub. The weather was balmy enough for several tables to be set up outside on the patio for al fresco dining. Several games of Wii, some puppy mischief (2 dogs left at home during the day managed to get into the pantry & dust the house with flour and rice - payback for being left out of the festivites I suppose) & great conversation made this Thanksgiving another reason to be thankful for the opportunity to live in LaQ.

Pat

Simple Pleasures

2009-11-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

I walked out my back door at about 2 pm with recycling and trash. I dropped it off and went in the back door of the common house; got my mail and walked up the hall to the kitchen sign up sheet. I signed up for the next meal.

Then I walked out the front door to the pool. Monday is my day to check the chemicals and clean up. From there I walked in the exercise room next door and did 20 minutes on the bicycle while watching some of the Dr. Phil show.

Then I walked to the first house and visited with Violet and her 5 day care kids; I got to be "grammy" and read stores and play with them for 30 minutes or so.

Next I stopped at Neil's house to ask him a question. We talked about their vacation trip to Texas. I walked in my house about 2 1/2 hours later feeling great.

Barbara Cutright

Dog Walking

2009-11-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

Pat, my wife, and I enjoy walking in the morning. Shortly after we moved into La Querencia, we began taking two of our neighbor’s dogs along with us. Tristan and Drake are 80 lb Boxers who love to walk and certainly improve the workout we get with their energy.

A month or so after Tristan and Drake joined us, we invited another pair of neighbor dogs, Freddie and Winnie along. Freddie is now 14, of indeterminate ancestry, and weighs about 15 lbs. “Winnie The Poodle” is a 4 lb. Toy Poodle and is the princess of the pack.

We have most recently been joined by Noah, a hyperactive rescue dog about 2 years old; 20 lbs of total energy!

We started doing our walks in some of the nearby Clovis Trail System, a great network of bike, walking and running trails that run close by. In order to maximize our time on the trails and not on the street, we pack all the dogs into our Prius and drive about half a mile to the trail. Tristan and Drake and in back (although Tristan wants to get his face into the windshield and navigate!). As we encounter other others on the trail, we find that they are often incredulous that none of these 5 dogs are ours, and that we are not paid dog-walkers. It is one of our favorite “Cohousing Moments.”

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight (and today) was the 2nd annual LaQuerencia Halloween Party! George and Neil started things off by helping the kids carve pumpkins at 2:00 p.m.--some very creative pumpkins! The Social Committee and helpers worked on the Haunted House in the kids' playroom after that, and then at 5:00 p.m. the trick or treaters in costume came door-to-door. What fun that was--and such great costumes, for both kids and adults! Bryan and Rebecca had the top-rated (by my standards) chocolate--have you ever heard of Cadbury on Halloween? The potluck started at 6:30 in the Common House--another great feast. That wonderful Social Committee again had music, games and the Haunted House for everyone! The costumes were great and imaginative. Ivan and Catalina came as H1 and N1. Barbara R. was an incredible witch with a silver face. Violette was a glamorous movie star. Ruth was a terrific M&M, and Ana was Minnie Mouse, wearing ruby slippers! Bev and Neil came as themselves when they were 16--Neil even dyed his hair black for tonight!

When George and I lived in our previous home, the number of trick-or-treaters dwindled each year until the last year we were down to about 7 who came (the little kids who had come during the early years were all grown up, I guess). Now, in cohousing, we have a wonderful group of kids (and adults) who really get into the spirit of Halloween, and it's a wonderful time for all.

Another reason to love cohousing!

A run and a friendly hello.

2009-10-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

I put on my ipod and run 3-4 miles every other day and it's always a great feeling when I get back (with a good sweat) to walk down the main sidewalk and see how all the plants & trees are doing, and say hi to early risers. It gives me a little boost every time I exchange a friendly hello from one of my neighbors.

Chocolate, a flag and messages for a son

2009-10-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

From a resident, Barbara
My son, Kevin, returned for a second assignment in Iraq. He left from Ft. Bragg, SC on Aug. 19. There was a ceremony on the evening of Aug. 18 on my front porch. We hung a flag, shared his history in the Army, and ate one of his favorite foods, chocolate. There were sheets of paper to write messages to Kevin.

I especially appreciate the support for me of this community. They are giving me things to send to the Kevin and the other soldiers. Also, we are planning to send things for the Iraqi children when we have a connection established.

Childcare a Community Thing

2009-10-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

Written by Bryan - cohousing resident.
Reliable childcare is a recurring theme in the cohousing experience – from folks taking children to school to help with a scheduling problem or as a matter of convenience or for a few days as shared here by Bryan. In a couple of weeks, Rebecca and I will celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary (and 30th anniversary of meeting each other). We're going away for a 4-day weekend. Pat & George are going to look after Joe for us, so we can fully enjoy the Esalen Institute experience. Just last Monday, I needed to go to class in the evening but Rebecca was on-call and working late. Violette looked after Joe "no problem" and Joe wound up helping Lily with hours of homework.

The New Decks

2009-10-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

Neil is building a deck in our back yard and Stacy is working along with him to learn how to build one for her. Then Sharon, next door, decided she wanted a deck in her yard and wants to build it herself. So Neil is teaching both of them and supervising their work. When we got home this afternoon Sharon and Stacy had finished putting the underpinnings in Sharon's back yard. They took the truck, bought the cement and lumber, hauled it to the back yard, dug the holes, set the cement and installed the wood along with the help of Scott, who wanted to help when he saw what they were doing. Of course in the true cohousing spirit - friends and neighbors gathered to celebrate the completion of the patios - any reason to gather and socialize.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2009-10-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

One Sunday morning about 7:00 am I was standing at the kitchen window and heard a child's voice singing "Way up over the rainbow, bluebirds fly". I looked out and 3yr old Ana was singing at the top of her lungs as she was walking down the path. She was all dressed up for Sunday school, had no shoes on and looked so happy. She continued to sing as she walked toward the common house. Then she stopped, turned around and sang all the way back home. Where else could I start a Sunday morning with such a precious moment? ow,

Why live in cohousing? Reason number 235

2009-10-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

We never have to worry about boarding our pets when going away. There is always someone to take care of them.

Joe's concert and the flat tire

2009-10-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

On a Sunday, a bunch of cohousers went up to Sequoia Lake to enjoy a concert and a picnic. Joe, who plays violin, was finishing a week of camp at Lake Sequoia Symphonic Music Camp and his ensemble was one of those performing a concert at the lake. Rebecca and Neil made a picnic to share. Ruth, Ana, Neil, Bev, Candy, Emma, Sharon, and George all came along.

On the way back from a concert and picnic, Neil & Bev had a serious tire blowout. They called us and, cohousers to the rescue! We caught up with them and picked up their passengers, and left George there to make sure Neil didn't try to fix the tire himself before AAA came. (Neil was there to make sure George didn't, either!) We also left them with an umbrella and water to go along with their chairs.

Energy use in one community home

2009-03-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

The following is a brief account on energy use & the dual flush toilets as reported by one homeowner who moved in around September into a 3-bedroom house.

We set the thermostat downstairs at 68 in the evening, 60 at night, 68 again for a while in the morning, and 60 through the day. It is automatically programmed so I really don’t pay much attention to it, and it is so quiet that we are not aware of when it is actively heating and when it isn’t.

We keep the upstairs at 60 all the time, unless we have guests in the upstairs bedroom. Now, with the temperature during the day in the mid 60s, it doesn’t seem like the heat comes on at all and the inside temp stays at around 68-70 as long as we have a little sun.

We rarely need lights during the day, even when it is cloudy. With most of our lights being CFLs, I don’t expect that we use much energy on lighting.

The (dual flush) toilets do save water. If a home has about 10 flushes per day that’s a savings of 8 gallons/day, or almost 3000 gallons per year. With 17 homes with all dual flush (the downstairs only have one dual-flush) that’s almost 50,000 gallons/year for the project.

Solar Panels Go Live

2009-01-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

On January 7, 2009, the La Querencia Cohousing Community switched on 29 photovoltiac (PV) solar arrays. This is the first multifamily residential project in Fresno to go 100% solar. All 28 of the condominium residences, plus the common house each have a solar PV array. The combined power of these 29 systems is 44 kilowatts, which results in an annual reduction of 65,455 pounds of CO2.

In addition to substantial savings on their electrical bills, each residence has qualified for a rebate, through the California Energy Commission, of $3100. In addition, homes purchased before December 31, 2009 are eligible for a Federal tax credit of about $3000. The PV systems were supplied and installed by Unlimited Energy, of Fresno.

La Querencia, located on Alluvial Ave just east of Chestnut Ave calls itself “the Greenest Neighborhood in Fresno,” and for good reason. The project was the first multifamily residential project to qualify for, and receive, an incentive award from the City of Fresno under its “Fresno Green” program. This was based not just on the plans for solar, but for the overall energy efficiency, the use of sustainable building materials, reductions in water use with efficient irrigation and low use fixtures, wide roof overhangs for shading and many other “green” features. In 2008, La Querencia was awarded the Gold level by the Fresno Business Journal for the “Best Green Project.”

For more information on the project go to http://www.fresnocohousing.org/

Moving Day

2008-12-29T12:37:00.000-08:00

So, I sprained my ankle Friday afternoon. Frankly this event rendered continuing to prepare to move and to move boxes-o-stuff problematic. To our rescue on Sat am came a bevy of marvelous community members (Bev, Violet, Heidi, Good Don, Scott, Lorenzo, Lynette [I don't think I have left anyone out, but frankly it was a blur of activity so if I did, please forgive me]) who swept in, ignored the mess, and carted over a bunch of boxes and assorted stuff over to our new house and UP the stairs.

I am / we are very blessed, indeed, to be part of such a community.
Susan C.

Moving is not fun

2008-12-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

We haven't moved for 20 years. Now, we are sorting, giving away and packing "stuff" so we can move to our new La Querencia home. We called and Disabled American Vets came with a big truck and picked up boxes and boxes full of our former stuff a week or more ago. Very liberating. And we do hope others come across that stuff (books, clothes, knick knacks) at the thrift stores and find it useful, or beautiful, or funny, or thought provoking. We bought a lot of it, especially books, at thrift stores and used bookstores, over the years ourselves. Now we are trying to do as our friend Bev wisely says, take only what we love. Easier heard than done. However, we are looking forward to a less cluttered, more full life. Dichotomy? Not at all. Less clutter of stuff, more full of living.

Things happen in 3s

2008-12-09T10:59:00.000-08:00

We've finally got a sunny day again, and we need it. Although things continue to go well in our cohousing community for the most part, we've had 3 recent incidents of sadness. Dexter, Barbara's dog, escaped from his back yard and was run over by a car in the rush hour traffic on the street going by the community. Dexter was one of the dogs that George and I would walk every morning (along with 4 others)--and we miss him.

The second incident was the loss of our beloved cat, Nina, whom we had to have put down because of kidney failure. She had lost about a 1/3 of her body weight and could no longer groom herself. She was still purring, though, and sleeping on our bed at night, but the vet said she was too far gone to try to keep. Nina would have been 15 years old in January. She was named after Nina Totenberg (and we named Nina's sister from the same litter Cokie, after Cokie Roberts).

The third incident occurred just yesterday, when Neil and George were doing some work on the laundry. George was cutting a board with his saw and asked Neil to help him stabilize it. As Neil walked around George (who was on his knees) to get to the other side of the saw, he tripped over George's feet, fell and couldn't get up. In less than 4 minutes, there were about 6 cohousing residents at Neil's side, with blankets, pillows and any other aid that could be useful, as we all waited for the ambulance to come. Neil's hip was broken, and he'll have his surgery on Wednesday. The hospital peeps have finally found a pain killer that works for him (morphine didn't), so he's dopey but more comfortable. Bev is a rock and doing well--but you can be a rock just so long! I'm glad we can be here for here--and Neil.

Six weeks in Cohousng

2008-11-07T11:08:00.000-08:00

Where is the time going??? My body feels like it's still last January, but the calendar tells me that it's Nov. 7 and that we moved into our new cohousing community exactly six weeks ago today. You'd never know it to look at all the boxes and piles around the floor...our neighbors put us to shame! Last night, though, I realized that being a procrastinator has its benefits: we've had six weeks for reality testing to truly know how much we really don't need and how much we can do with far less than what we had before. I'm speaking primarily of kitchenware. We moved here from the World's Greatest Kitchen, one I vowed never to leave...but here we are, and I really like the new one! The peninsula is actually larger than the island in the old house. The new one is a one-person kitchen, rather than the two-person space of before, but I can work on one side of the peninsula with George on the other, and it all works out.

I have never slept so well as I do now in our new house--and that's been every night! The cats are missing the fireplace, I think, but now they spend more time on the bed with us at night. We couldn't find Nina last night when we went to bed. She's a creature of habit, but last night she broke her mold and disappeared to places unknown. She has seldom ventured outside for more than 30 seconds, so I had no doubt that she was still in the house--but I looked everwhere--and no Nina. George turned over in bed around 5:00 a.m., and there she was, in her usual place next to me on the bed, in her usual sleep--totally unconcerned that she had added another gray hair to my head!

Welcome to the Fresno Cohousing Blog

2008-11-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful day to live in community, today is election day and full of possibilities.

We start this blog as an opportunity to share the antecdotes, stories and recipes of cohousing. Stop by often & see what we might be up to... sometimes it'll just be a conversation on how the tomatoes are doing, the pattern of the geese, my day trip to Yosemite, Monterey, Napa Valley, what was enjoyed for dinner or an event we're attending. Other days we may be talking about Fresno city policy, a book or movie we read and recommend. Maybe it'll be the solution to the Sunday crossword puzzle, or what cute thing my dog did.

Who knows! The conversation promises to be as diverse as the interests of the community.

Enjoy and come back often, and if cohousing looks to be your cup of tea... come by our Open House on Sunday & take a look at our homes.