February 20, 2012
Come to the the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Aurburn, CA on Sunday March 4th at 11:30 a.m. Members of Wolf Creek Lodge will explore the concept of cohousing with a special emphasis on senior cohousing. A light lunch will be available.
The Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalist congregation is at:
190 Finley Street, Auburn, CA 95603
You can also join them for their service which starts at 10:00 a.m. Their website is http://www.mysfuu.org .
February 16, 2012
Wolf Creek Lodge hosted a luncheon in the Nevada City Cohousing common room for the sub-contractors building the lodge. It was a great opportunity for the subs to meet one another, members of the lodge and project management. All left with enthusiasm and a conviction to “get the job done”
February 10, 2012
“Death of a Salesman” at Nevada Theatre Jan 25-Feb 12
Sierra Stages presents Death of a Salesman from January 25 – February 12 at the Nevada Theatre.
Death of a Salesman is Arthur Miller’s unrivaled masterpiece. It delves into the heart of the American dream, depicting salesman Willy Loman in the twilight of his career. His two grown sons have not achieved the success that Willy envisioned, and his own hard-earned career is crumbling. Despite his wife’s unfaltering support, Willy cannot reconcile his ideal of the perfect all-American life with what has actually come to pass.
Mardi Gras in Nevada City
A Downtown Parade, Masquerade Ball and Carnivale are featured February 18 & 19, 2012 as this colorful Sierra foothills town again celebrates Mardi Gras in Nevada City.
Weekend activities open Saturday night with a Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball, featuring a live band, in historic Miners Foundry at 325 Spring Street. Cajun food will be available for purchase throughout the evening. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Chamber Office for $12. Or, you can purchase tickets on-line or at the door for $15. 21 and over only. Read more…
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February 8, 2012
Several lucky lodgers plus friends spent a delightful afternoon on Sunday, January 22 at the 2nd annual MusicaliTea, a benefit event for the Sierra Master Chorale presented by InConcert Sierra . Sweet music and hot tea, what could be better in the wintry cold of January? Sierra Master chorale members serenaded us in-between serving a delicious 3-course luncheon that included Curried Egg Capriccios, Scrumptious Scones with “Harpsichord” Curry and “Timpani” Tartlets, among other delectable finger foods. Local actor and playwright Gary Wright entertained us with oral excerpts from “Tea” related literary works such as the Mad Tea Party from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Butch Thresh was so inspired he’s planning on revisiting Adams’ work. He is also going to practice drinking his tea with the “pitch-perfect pinkie pose” that Claire Manhart is so deftly modeling in our photo. We’ll expect more lodgers to join us for this fun-filled fundraising event next year!
February 7, 2012
Well, the rains finally came, and we were ready for them! Our focus over the last couple of months has been to get the slabs poured and the road ready for winter so we can work through the winter rains-and we did that! As the drops started falling last month, our grading contractor was just finishing up compacting rock on the road to create a working base for construction trucks and lots of workers.
Unlike the old days where winter rains meant you could just go home, today rain means lots of inspections for erosion control. In the last couple of years, California has instituted much stricter regulations about how construction sites must protect against erosion. A Storm Water Pollution Protection Plan (SWPPP or “sweet pea”) requires every construction site to develop a plan for mitigating erosion and performing ongoing inspections and maintenance. For every storm event-defined as 50% or greater chance of getting more than 1/2 inch of rain-we need to do a pre-storm inspection, a during- storm inspection, and a post-storm inspection, and sample water leaving our site to make sure that we are not contributing particulates to the stream below. Two of our community members-Butch and Dick-are assisting our Geotechical/SWPPP consultant Tom Holdrege with these inspections to help keep costs down. The fines are serious ($10,000 per violation, per day!) so we have to take this seriously.
I find myself torn over the strictness of these new regulations. On one hand, I am glad to see stronger protections of our waterways, which are cleaner now than they have been for 160 years, and at the same time I am frustrated by the amount of time and money these inspections cost us. But over time, this will become the norm, and Wolf Creek will remain a healthy mountain stream that can support fish and marine life. Wolf Creek Lodge can be proud that it is doing its part to protect that stream both with our erosion control measures and with members’ involvement in the Wolf Creek Alliance, a local non-profit that monitors the stream’s water quality.
On other fronts, I have been working closely with our Construction Project Manager to coordinate subcontractors for the start of erecting the walls next month. The walls are being pre-built in a warehouse and will be delivered as panels to the site. That will be an exciting day when they start going up!
January 30, 2012
Rebecca Disbrow of Cohousing Collaborative, LLC posted this article about the value of cohousing in our soft housing market.
Cohousing Quick Facts Series: Cohousing is Financially Stable and Predictable
If you haven’t gotten a chance to read through the full “Report on Survey of Cohousing Communities 2011″, produced by the Cohousing Association of the United States, I wanted to share some of my favorite facts from it with you. I’m going to post one of these facts each Monday for the next five weeks, so check back in before you settle into the office (or wherever you happen to be Monday mornings if you’re lucky enough to not be in an office!)
Todays Fact: Cohousing is Financially Stable and Predictable:
- In the survey, only 13% of communities reported any of their units in foreclosure – indicating exceptional financial stability of cohousing communities
- Nearly 90% indicated their cohousing property is valued higher (43%) or about the same (46%) as local real estate. Here is what that bell curve looks like:
To read more from the Cohousing blog: Click HERE
To read more about the economics of senior cohousing: Click HERE
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Media by ruthschwartz
January 23, 2012
Although Grass Valley has a mild climate Wolf Creek Lodge is only an hour from very different climatic conditions in the northern Sierra. Both down hill and cross country ski areas are available around Donner Summit. During the hiking season members enjoyed hiking together on the spectacular trails in this area. We all looked forward to snow shoeing and skiing in the winter.
However, this winter was slow in coming. It has been an exceptionally dry season in the northern Sierra. Many downhill ski areas have been making snow to cover their trails. We hope that this week we have turned the corner. There has been significant snow in the last few days. Another few storms will establish a good base for cross country skiing. The downhill areas are probably now in good shape. We plan to soon find out.
Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovers. It’s also a time to connect with friends. Dr. Oz calls them Vitamins F (for Friends) and counts the benefits of friends as essential to our well being. According to a 2009 article in 
