New Year’s Eve day my car would not start—turned out to be problems with the transmission. By the time the insurance company had looked at it three times, two new parts were ordered, and special arrangements made with the key company it was a month before I had my car back. But I was not without wheels. Members of Wolf Willow offered to take me places, got me groceries and even loaned me their vehicles—happy to have me use them whenever they did not need them. What a gift to me, especially the week I had a daily commitment to fill in at my former place of work! Thanks Friends![/callout] [callout font_size=”13px” style=”periwinkle”]Carmel & Frank Dodd
We were to be out of our home by February 1st. My husband is a collector and had filled a 3 car garage and a shed 24×16! Finally accepting help, he had a Wolf Willow member with him when he fell, breaking his hip on January 30th. This man organized others to pitch in, finish the move, and deliver “treasures” to our cottage. I have relied on him and others in this chaotic time. How can we ever say how we treasure the friendship and meaning of cohousing![/callout] [callout font_size=”13px” style=”limegreen”][callout2]Louise Clark & Eliza Meggs[/callout2] Eliza and I are so pleased that Wolf Willow allows pets because they are great companions, especially if we are aging alone. Our dog, Joey, was welcomed into the community, but just five months after move-in our big-hearted boy died. We received lots of support from our neighbours acknowledging our loss and their appreciation of what a good co-housing dog he had been. One neighbour brought us some flowers. I said, “But you’re not even a dog person.” She replied, “No, but I’m a people person.” So there you have it – the spirit of cohousing in action.[/callout]
As you can see from the anecdotes above, all from the past six months, residents in a cohousing project believe that as we age we will encounter various health issues, some of which we will not be able to manage or overcome on our own. When we see our neighbours experiencing health challenges, we willingly step in to help, knowing the next time it could be our turn.
In developing Wolf Willow Cohousing, we have gone one step further. We have created a building with healthy lifestyles in mind.
The exterior walls at Wolf Willow are R40. Because of the effectiveness of the insulation, each apartment has its own heat exchanger and humidity control. All units have access to sunlight and fresh air from a minimum of two sides. Included in the 3,500 square feet of common space in Wolf Willow, are a number of rooms devoted to our physical, intellectual and artistic stimulation. For instance, we have multi-purpose rooms devoted to music, arts and crafts. We have an exercise room and a sauna.
In the area outside the building we are involved in intensive gardening. Nearby are walking and bicycles paths connectied to the riverbank and downtown.
We are very happy with our healthy living results. Get in touch some time and drop in for a tour.
