Wolf Creek Lodge

Cohousing Forum in Auburn, CA

Bob Miller — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:29:16 +0000

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 .

Contractors’ Lunch

Bob Miller — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:58:16 +0000

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”

There are lots of fun things to do in Grass Valley and neighboring towns.

ruthschwartz — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:19:16 +0000

“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…

Featured Member – Claire Manhart

ruthschwartz — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:07:59 +0000

I was born, raised, and formally educated in Omaha, Nebraska. After teaching 6th graders for one year, I came out to Los Angeles to babysit my sister’s kids while she was in the hospital having her third child. A friend had told me that since I was in California, I should visit beautiful San Francisco before returning to Omaha. As luck would have it, my brother was in San Francisco after getting out of the Marine Corps. I called him up; he met me at the airport, took me out to dinner, and took me on several cable car rides. As luck would have it again, it was a gorgeous, sunny, warm, fog-free day. And the marine air. Ah, the marine air! I was in love. Decided on the spot to stay in San Francisco. Called Mom to send out my stuff, and my real education began in SF in the 60s.

Now, I didn’t run down to the Haight to join a hippie commune, but I was definitely changed by the openness and acceptance of many around me and the music and the concerts in Golden Gate Park and Avalon Ballroom. But all was not love and brotherhood. There was the divisive Vietnam War. As a Department of Army Civilian working in the high school completion program at the Army Education Center at the Presidio, I saw many soldiers change their lives as a result of advancing their education. I also saw many being spat on if they left the Presidio wearing their uniforms. After serving in Vietnam, many returned to the US in a body bag. I worked for the government for 27 years, 3 years in Germany and 1 year in Korea. I was offered an early retirement and became a tour guide-leading many cruise trips: to Alaska, up and down both coasts, through the Panama Canal and train trips across Canada. Always I was happy to return to San Francisco until I realized most of my close friends had moved out of the area, and my closest family members were in Fresno and Folsom. I was in need of finding a community, so I came up to Grass Valley to checkout Wolf Creek Lodge. I was impressed with the friendly spirit of its members, so I moved from my beloved San Francisco to Grass Valley, which is fast becoming my new beloved city!

MusicaliTea By Jacque Bromm

ruthschwartz — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:59:56 +0000

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 Construction Update By Katie McCamant

ruthschwartz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:55:46 +0000

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!

February at Wolf Creek Lodge

ruthschwartz — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:55:13 +0000

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 The New York Times, “Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health. A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends . . . [and] Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age.” In April of last year, the Mayo Clinic listed the following benefits of friendship: Increases your sense of belonging and purpose; Boosts your happiness; Reduces stress; Improves your self-worth; Helps you cope with traumas, such as divorce, serious illness, job loss or the death of a loved one; Encourages you to change or avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as excessive drinking or lack of exercise.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? All of the benefits listed above, and more, will be a regular part of life in Wolf Creek Lodge. We know that adopting a cohousing lifestyle will be good for us, in many, many ways. We hope you will consider joining us! Happy Valentine’s Day from Wolf Creek Lodge, a community of neighbors and friends.

Suzanne Marriott, editor

Introduction to Wolf Creek Lodge Coming Up on Feb. 18th

ruthschwartz — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:23:37 +0000

Introduction to Wolf Creek Lodge

Saturday, Feb. 18th we’re having an introduction to Wolf Creek Lodge and you’re invited!

Starting at 1 pm guests are invited to visit the building site where a member of Wolf Creek Lodge will describe the project. At 2 pm you’re invited to observe our business meeting followed by our Introduction to Wolf Creek Lodge presentation at 3 pm. This is a great opportunity to meet the people who are choosing Wolf Creek Lodge senior cohousing as their new home. Stay for our delicious potluck dinner and a chance to talk informally with members and other guests.

For location and to reserve a spot, please email info@wolfcreeklodge.org (mention Intro in the subject line) or phone 530.478.1970.

Cohousing is Financially Stable and Predictable

ruthschwartz — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:18:30 +0000

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

Slow Start to Sierra Winter

Bob Miller — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:33:31 +0000

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.