I arrived in the Bay Area in 1971. In the early years I taught 10 and 11 year olds at Presidio Hill School in San Francisco. It was a small progressive private school that was started in 1918. This is where I first learned what community was all about. The parents, teachers and kids were an extended family.

In the later years I worked for the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, which is a part of the National Park Service. My job title was “Interpretative Ranger” which meant, generally, I told people about the Park. My favorite part was working with teachers to develop programs to get kids involved with the natural world and Golden Gate National Recreational Area.

I was lucky enough to have a duplex in the Marin Headlands, which was inside Golden Gate National Recreational Area. There I lived for the last 14 years of my 19 years at the Park.

As retirement was approaching I was looking for a place to live as well as a way to retire. Since I had Park housing, when I left my job I had to leave my home. I had been looking at cohousing possibilities for some time. I took cohousing tours in Santa Rosa, Cotati, and Sebastopol. Also, some places in Portland and Tucson were appealing. I was on the Wolf Creek Lodge newsletter email list for a year before I visited in February, March, and April. I joined in May 2011.

I retired on June 30, 2011 and moved to Grass Valley on July 31, 2011. I volunteer at the local elementary school in an anti-bullying program called Steps to Respect. I’m in a training program at Empire Mine State Park. I joined the South Yuba Club Fitness Center and take Qi Gong with several Wolf Creek Lodge members. I’ve also joined the local ACBL Bridge club and play with Wayne Vasey, another Wolf Creek Lodge member. I love it here, and the Wolf Creek Lodge community is ideal for me.

The 27th Annual Grass Valley Downtown Car Show

Saturday, April 28th from 10am to 3pm

Enjoy a trip down memory lane and experience American nostalgia at its best. See the classic American automobiles that defined their generations and shop, dine and stay in a city that honors its historic past and embraces its wonderful future. Click here for more info.

They’re having a party and you’re invited. Help kick off the 2012 season with a night of special performances by some local legends. They’ll be presenting a variety of classic Americana works, from Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Scott Joplin and Barber. What a great way to say goodbye to winter and welcome MIM’s exciting new season. And, of course, you’ll be helping to support the amazing music programs that MIM has been bringing to our community for over 30 years.

 

Local wines will be accompanied by fabulous appetizers provided by Wendy Van Wagner from In The Kitchen.

This is just the first of many wonderful concerts through out the month of April. More info click here.

April 7, 2012, 7:30 to 10pm, $25

North Columbia Schoolhouse

17894 Tyler-Foote Crossing Road, Nevada City.

Poetry, music and storytelling to benefit the North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center. More info, click here.

 

Wildflower Walks South Yuba River State Park

11am. Meet in north parking lot.

Docent guided Wild Flower Walks are presented every Saturday and Sunday, March 17 to May13. Experience terrific wild flowers and views of the South Yuba River. Bring water, snacks, camera and wear good shoes.

 

For more info call Park Visitor Center 530-432-2546 or click here.

An Evening of Music & Story with Jimmy Cliff

The Center for the Arts presents at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 415 N. Pine St. Nevada City, CA.

Saturday April 14, 8:00PM, $38 members, $48 non-member, general admission.

Concert followed by DANCE PARTY with DJ Redlocks to 11:00pm. Limited to 4 tickets per member. Limited seating on a first-come first-serve basis with space for dancing.

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Cliff is the only living musician honored with Jamaica’s Order of Merit and a 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. For more information and videos of Cliff’s performances, visit here.

By Vicki Dotterer

In last month’s newsletter, we introduced the idea of sharing one of the Wolf Creek Lodge two-bedroom homes with a like-minded cohouser by either co-owning or through a rental arrangement. Here is the article. As you may have guessed, we heard from several people who were interested and excited about finding a way to make their cohousing dream come true.

What are next steps?

Here’s a two-fold suggestion:

1. 1) Attend a meeting where ideas and needs can be exchanged and possible approaches can be discussed.
2. 2) Meet the members of Wolf Creek Lodge and see first hand how we do business to make sure we are the right cohousing fit for you.

The best part is you can accomplish all of this by coming to Grass Valley for the members’ General Meeting in May or June. Once we know when most interested people can attend, we will set aside a time during our meeting to specifically discuss and exchange ideas on this topic. This will be the perfect opportunity to explore the possibility of sharing a home.

Here are the General Meeting dates: May 19 and June 23. If you are interested, please contact us and let us know which of these dates work for you. We’ll send you all the information you need to get here.

Suzanne Marriott,

Senior Cohousing was featured on “The Today Show”.  You can see it here:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/46891129#46891129 

So when you have completed your round the world cruise come and see us at Wolf Creek Lodge in Grass Vally, California.

Wow! An exciting day for Wolf Creek Lodge as we see the walls rising on the construction site.  The framing has been done off-site so we should see things move quickly.

Saturday, March 17, 2012 – Starts at 1:00 PM

Be our guest for a site visit, introduction and informal potluck dinner with members of the lodge.
Call 530 478- 1970 or email info@wolfcreeklodge.org for location.

Are you near Grass Valley?

Then come to the the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Grass Vally, CA on Sunday March 11th at 12:30 p.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 Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains congregation is at:
246 S. Church St., Grass Valley CA 95945
You can also join them for their service which starts at 11:00 a.m. Their website is www.uugrassvalley.org .

On Wednesday, March 7th at 7:00 p.m. members of Wolf Creek Lodge will conduct a live webinar.

We will email you a link to a presentation viewable on your computer and a phone number that will allow you to dial in and hear the presentation and ask questions.
Your hosts are Bob and Claire Miller and Dick Shannon. You can view their bios here.

We will talk about the concept of cohousing and senior cohousing in particular.  We will describe Wolf Creek Lodge explaining it’s unique location and the architectural features that are appropriate to senior cohousing and sustainable living.

Please join us; we are looking forward to it.

To participate send an email to info@wolfcreeklodge.org with “Live Webinar” in the subject field.

Alternatively you can hear a recording of a webiner here but we really hope you will be able to join us for the live one.