t is with a heavy heart that I announce that our beloved friend and servant CHIP (Common House Intrepid Printer) has shuffled off the mortal coil of toil and turmoil, that is the common lot of the public printer. CHIP churned out bank statements, financial reports, reimbursement forms, and more without complaint. Wine labels, Consensus Cards, any number of full color flyers and brochures, web pages, emails all were delivered faultlessly from his trusty paper tray.
It’s the end of a printer error at Cascadia, so join me in a toast to CHIP. 🍷
The southsiders have done a tremendous job decorating the courtyard for the holidays. The trees and houses are lit up beautifully, and there’s a laser light display that’s a lot of fun. I must applaud them for this collaborative effort, since this is a lot more decorating than in years past. Because of the pandemic, we are still not planning any indoor activities together, so it’s really nice to have something so beautiful outdoors.
Drop by for some cookies and cocktails any day after dark. There is a latke party coming up- be sure to stop by for some homemade goodies. Later this month we will participate in the physically distanced night parade up the street, so get your battery operated lights out and we will light up the whole neighborhood.
There will also be some exciting lights in the night sky. I heard about the “Christmas Star” which is the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn. We should be able to see it even with all the holiday lights. I expect our resident astronomer will bring out the big telescope for a viewing party.
That’s still under discussion. With the pandemic, we definitely have to modify Halloween traditions. There’s a push to go all out decorating your house this year. The kids and I have really gone wild on my own porch, and a group of kids decorated the play structure. We’ve enjoyed walking the neighborhood and seeing some creative and spooky houses.
Homemade Sugar Skull Picture
If you want a haunting sugar skull in your window, as pictured above, let me know- the kids and I had great fun creating the masterpiece in our window and would love to make one to decorate your place. If you haven’t seen it yet, definitely drop by and take a look.
Me, when I’m angry
If you don’t decorate, I might put on my scary witch costume and put a curse on your house. (Yes, I’ll wear a mask.)
I am a fan of Star Trek, and have recently been re-watching Voyager. I watched an episode with the Borg, and it reminded me of something that came up at the National Cohousing Conference last year- assimilation.
Borg Drone Seven of Nine, tertiary adjunct of Unimatrix 01
If you aren’t familiar with the Borg, here’s an overview. They are “bad guys”- a collective of cybernetic humanoids (drones) linked with a hive mind. They assimilate populations and those innocent people become Borg. They are very persistent and adapt easily. Resistance is futile. But of course, our heroes always manage to defeat the Borg, even if it takes a few episodes to do it.
Back to the cohousing conference- one of the workshops I attended was about welcoming new members into the community. The presenter said new members must assimilate, or be exiled. We all chuckled, but recognized some truth to it. The presenter continued explaining, that when new people come, they have new ideas, and new energy. Which means “different” ideas and “different” energy. Which then means, it’s not the same way we’ve always done it, which means change, which is scary! And that can often result in conflict.
So what happens with that conflict? The new member gives up and assimilates to the old way, or they push their new ideas and become exiled. If that’s the case, often they are unhappy and end up moving out, which just begins the cycle again because there will be new people with new energy.
It was an eye opening lecture and discussion. It made me look inward and think about how have I responded to new ideas in the community? How was I treated when I first came and began participating? Am I one of the “bad guys” forcing assimilation? How can I help to welcome new members and encourage their new ideas and energy?
We have been facing a lot of change this year, and many of us are just worn out from all of it- the pandemic, the wildfire smoke, politics, and endless lists of stuff that needs getting done in the community with no energy to do it. Our meetings are virtual and our opportunities for connecting with one another in person are sparse. The pandemic has disrupted and limited our opportunities for connection. It has been tough for me to be a good community member right now. So I wonder, what kind of a community are we welcoming new people into right now? Would anyone want to be assimilated right now?
Since I’ve been here a while, I know this place to be a caring and supportive community with respectful people of varied interests and abilities. It is a community that strives to meet our mission, vision, and values. Community members are interesting and creative, and I am confident we will figure out new ways to keep connected as this pandemic continues. I am happy and grateful to live in this community.
I hope that prospective members will see that this is a vibrant community and great place to live. And maybe assimilation isn’t as bad as it seems on television.
10:00 Saturday morning and 3 of us are working on the CH patio. There comes a loud noise from McDonalds. It was clear and loud enough we thought it was a car hitting a dumpster in the parking lot. We couldn’t see anything so we went back to work.
In a few minutes some folks come over the bridge and say “there is a car in the wetlands”. We went to look and there was a car 12-15 feet down the slope from fast food heaven.
The driver was a fully clothed elderly man who was able to get back up the hill with his cane. As we approached the police warned us the car was on a slippery slope. And the second officer quipped, “it’s in neutral too.”
The tow truck driver attached two lines to the back of the car while he and the officers had a good laugh. Several of us watched the operation from the back of our newest members 3 bedroom. And away the car went.
But there might have been a mystery involved in this incident. One of our families said they had seen that same car turn around in the north side parking lot not minutes before the accident. What had convinced him that whatever he was looking for was just over the hill from McDonalds parking lot.
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