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.
January 11, 2012
There are three imminent opportunities to meet with members of Wolf Creek Lodge in coffee shops, their home, your home or wherever.
Friday, January 13th at 3:00 p.m. Meet at Summer Thyme in Grass Valley.
Wednesday, January 18th in Truckee at 10:00 a.m and 7:00 p.m. in the home of two members.
Your own – contact us and let’s arrange a meeting in your location if one or two of our members can reasonably get there.
Full details are at www.wolfcreeklodge.org in the side panel or send an email to info@wolfcreeklodge.org with “coffee” in the subject line.
January 7, 2012
The Lonely Planet has just published it’s 10 top US travel destinations for 2012. There at number 6 is California’s Gold Country, just behind Culebra, Puerto Rico and ahead of Boulder, Colorado. Of course Grass Valley, home of Wolf Creek Lodge, is a key part of the Gold Country. Check out the article at Top 10 US Travel Destinations. Of course members of Wolf Creek Lodge knew this all along but it’s nice to get some recognition.
December 21, 2011
Catherine Allen hosted and interviewed the Women of Wolf Creek Lodge Cohousing on the Women’s Show on KVMR . The show was on Aug 29th. Click the link below to hear the program. BE patient, depending on your internet speed, it may take a minute or two to load up. Have fun and happy listening!
Click Here: Wolf Creek Lodge KVMR Women’s Show
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The Women’s Show
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Media by ruthschwartz
December 6, 2011
Introduction to Wolf Creek Lodge
Saturday, December 17th we’re having an introduction to Wolf Creek Lodge and Holiday celebration and you’re invited! The times listed below are for our December meeting only.
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 Holiday celebration, 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.
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Events by ruthschwartz
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 
