June 14, 2019
Next Introductory Meeting: Sunday, June 23
Just One Home Left!
"Sacred Abundance:" The Gifts of Cohousing
Inspiration-and Challenge-from the 2019 National Cohousing Conference

If you weren't able to attend the 2019 National Cohousing Conference in Portland Oregon earlier this month, you can still watch Courtney Martin deliver the inspirational Keynote Address. Her talk is available on youtube, at the link below. In it, Courtney tells a story from the children's book Extra Yarn , by Mack Barnett, about a little girl named Annabelle, who has a box of neverending yarn of every color; no matter how many scarves and hats and sweaters she knits for everyone she knows, she always has "extra yarn" left over.

Throughout the rest of the address, Courtney uses the metaphor of the "extra yarn" to describe the abundant gifts of living in cohousing. (In Courtney's case, that is Temescal Commons Cohousing in Oakland, California). These include the bounty of fresh lettuce, artichokes, kale, strawberries, carrots, basil, and snap peas grown in the community garden and overflowing in community meals; the decades' worth of wisdom and knowledge about gardening passed from a member in her 80s to younger ones; the support an experienced mother of two is able to offer an anxious first time mother of a newborn; and the love embodied in "the simple act of showing up over and over again, in person-eating food, weeding gardens, watching basketball games, playing in kiddie pools-just really mundane human stuff."

Courtney challenges the audience too, with a call to make cohousing and the many gifts it offers-the improved health and quality of life residents enjoy, their increased participation in civic and political life, and their greater sense of connection to nature-more affordable and accessible.

Highly recommended. Click on the link below:

A Birthday Gift

Fair Oaks EcoHousing member Bob Anderson sings for Fran Oyafuso on her birthday. Although Fran's awareness is muted by advanced Alzheimer's, she has fleeting moments of awareness, allowing Bob to offer his gift of song with guitar and voice. "It was an honor to share my music with Fran," Bob said.
More "Extra Yarn:" FREE WebChats from the National Association of Cohousing in the U.S.

Each webchat is a Zoom call available to all. If you haven't already, you will need to download and install Zoom on your computer. It is extremely easy to use. The presenter shares for 15-30 minutes on a topic, then takes questions from the audience. These are a wonderful resource!

Upcoming WebChats:

Wed, June 19, 5pm
Ted Rau
Rounds – making it doable to hear everyone 
Rounds are easy: everyone speaks one by one. Some groups don’t find them easy to do. To benefit from rounds the most, it helps to have a clear prompt and some techniques to make them fast, informative, easy, and to encourage sticking to the format.

Wed, June 26, 5pm
Alan O’Hashi
Introverts Unite: Cohousing is your hedge against isolation 
There aren’t a lot of data out there about this, but a scholarly article by gerontologist Ann Glass, phD from the University of North Carolina – Wilmington indicates that in one sample, 65% of senior cohousers are introverts. Why is this topic of interest to me? I’m an introvert – Myers Briggs INFP to be exact. This chat will have some content from my talking head, but I want to hear from you about the importance of intentionality in community as a motivator for people who tend to look more inwardly to become less isolated through cohousing.

Tue, July 9, 5pm
Shelly Parks
Hosting a Great Marketing Event 
Events are often the first place our potential members meet us and form an opinion of our community. This session will cover ways to make the most of this time.

Thu, July 25, 5pm
Laird Schaub
Delegate or Die: Why Larger Groups Must Delegate and How to Do It Well 
While all power in consensus groups is rooted in the plenary, it’s a mistake to insist that all decisions be made there. A good deal of what people experience as meeting fatigue is due to plenaries being unwilling (or unknowledgeable about how) to effectively delegate decision-making power to managers and committees, and members feeling trapped in conversations they don’t want to be in. The result is endless meetings and demoralized committees. Yuck. In this webinar I’ll lay out why this doesn’t work and the ingredients necessary to turn it around. An essential part of the answer is groups getting clear about what constitutes appropriate uses of plenary time and then getting religion about not coloring outside the lines.

Mon, July 29, 5pm
Karen Gimnig
Embracing Conflict as Growth Trying to Happen 
Conflict can be a good thing, even, or perhaps especially, when it is hard. Using positive approaches and strategies won’t always bring resolution, but it will make growth and learning much more likely. Learn how curiosity, deep listening and structured conversations can help conflict to strengthen your community.
A Village
Construction Update
By John Szostek

Those Greeks Again

Stucco is where we’re at, that is, the residential buildings are being prepped for the application of stucco. What is stucco? Well, the Greeks from around 500 BC would daub on plaster to interior walls. The surface would be smoothed and painted, or even decorated. It then became attractive to apply plaster to exterior surfaces. However the plaster used for interior surfaces could not withstand exposure to nature so the formulation was changed to include lime, mud or clay, sand, and straw. This mixture was called stucco to differentiate it from plaster.

In the early nineteenth century the composition of stucco changed. Here is a concise history of stucco from that point on, as related by the folks at Creative Building Products: “Joseph Aspdin a bricklayer in Leeds, England, invented Portland cement by processing and cooking lime and clay together in his kitchen turned laboratory. Joseph named the product Portland cement because it resembled a stone quarried on the Isle of Portland off the British Coast.”

The job of the plasterer evolved into separate trades: plasterers for finished walls and ceilings, lathers who put plaster to lathe, and masons who laid floors, sidewalks and roads.

If you have been on a recent site tour you would have seen wire mesh applied to the exterior walls. The stucco will be applied over this mesh.
Introduction to Fair Oaks EcoHousing
Sunday, June 23, at 10:30am

Fair Oaks EcoHousing is a neighborhood of 30 homes on 3.7 acres in Fair Oaks, CA, 18 miles east of downtown Sacramento. Come see the site and our architectural plans, and meet members at an upcoming cohousing informational meeting. Kids are welcome.

Act now! Fair Oaks EcoHousing has only one home left but we are taking names for our waiting list for all other floor plans. If you are interested, please come to the informational meeting and site overlook. Other h omes do become available on occasion. If you like what you hear at the meeting, please join our interest list to be notified of new availability.

To attend the Introduction to Fair Oaks EcoHousing, meet at 10:30 am at the Fair Oaks Coffeehouse in Fair Oaks Village, at 10223 Fair Oaks Blvd , at the intersection with Park Drive. Look for us on the side of the Coffeehouse, in the patio area or in the building at the back. We will introduce you to the project and then we can carpool to the site, where we will be able to overlook the construction of our new community.

The event will last about an hour and a half, with an optional lunch afterwards at the Siam Patio Restaurant or the Smokey Oaks Tavern. If you can't make it on the 11th, the next meeting is Saturday, July 13. Please RSVP below. Thanks!
Be Part of Our Community:
Just One Home Left!
As construction progresses on our project, Fair Oaks EcoHousing has only one home left. Call now to learn about cohousing, observe the site and reserve a spacious 2-story 4 bedroom townhome. Note: I f you are interested in a different floor plan, please contact us so we can add you to the Waitlist and call you when your preferred size home is available.    We recommend that you come to an Introductory Meeting, if you haven’t done that already.

The 4 bedroom townhome includes:

• Spacious upstairs master bedroom with a full master bath and walk-through closet
• First-floor bedroom, perfect for a home office, an aging family member, or single-floor downstairs living
• Large windows, allowing natural light to penetrate deep into the home and make rooms feel light and spacious
• Open design for living and dining areas, providing flexibility in use
• Modern kitchen with ample storage and counter space
• Large wrap-around porch providing roomy outdoor living space

All homes in Fair Oaks EcoHousing are designed for energy efficient living, with eco-friendly construction and high-quality fixtures and finishes.

Fair Oaks EcoHousing is a pedestrian-friendly village for residents of all ages, with a centrally-located clubhouse, pool and spa, and garden. 

The location is close to Fair Oaks Village and the American River Parkway, with many nearby dining and entertainment options, plus easy access to the freeway.
Want to Learn More About Fair Oaks & Sacramento?