loan

Today we signed our loan to begin construction on Newberry Place. UNBELIEVABLE! Foundations should start to go in the next couple weeks.

apple cider

As a quick break from cohousing madness, we visited Robinettes to get some apple cider and take a hay ride. We had all the cohousers over to our place to sign purchase agreements, the mood was festive and full of stress. Thankfully, we have the needed paperwork so that we can get to the bank on Monday and try to close on the loan. I'll post as soon as we know more.

excavate

I went out this raining, fall morning to check out the cohousing site progress. The bulldozers and backhoes are out and starting the work of getting the site prepped for foundations. Most of the trees and brush have come down. There were multiple homes on this site back in the 70's, so there will also be a lot of foundations to dig out.

Here's a photo looking north up the infamous Dexter alley. Apparently the court hearing for the alley vacation was yesterday. We haven't heard anything from our lawyer as to how that particular hearing went. In order to vacate the alley we had to have all the neighbors within 300ft of the project be listed as defendants. They represent the public that we are claiming the alley from. Nothing says "get to know your new neighbors" like listing them in a lawsuit. If it went well, then we are ready to keep rolling on the project, and these powerlines should be the next to go. This next week is full of big decisions and critical junctures for the cohousing group, culminating in the loan signing at the bank.

pics from wa

Levi learning to sit up...on a tiger

Levi does his joker impression

Bedtime for Francis.... I mean Lauryn





















Sunday morning breakfast before the Seahawks game


























Nate came to visit for a couple days




























Yoko Ono has my baby!!!

aia event

Tonight, Marty and I presented at an event for the Grand Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) on the topic of cohousing. There were several moments throughout the evening where I just couldn't believe we were presenting on this; taking people through 4 years of development. In my opening comments I talked about how Marty and I were in the back of a little Dodge Omni car (with Bwindi) on our way to a camping trip. I barely knew Marty at the time, but we started talking about our homes, neighborhoods and hopes for ccommunity. I was having similar conversations with Phil and Lavonne. Out of these conversations the cohousing project was born.

It was really rewarding to present with Marty tonight, so close to having this project off the ground and in the ground. After the presentation our Architect came up to us and said, "it's really amazing what you guys have done." What a huge compliment, and one that extends to so many people in our group. I often get credit for a lot of other people's hard work. I always try to pass on the compliments, but that's the great thing about the cohousing project is that people have come into leadership at the right times. I wish every compliment I receive was heard by everyone.

east meets west

Nora, Levi and I just flew out to Washington State for a long weekend. I have a couple days of work that we piggybacked on with some vacation time. Here is a picture of the cousins playing for the first time. Lauryn was adopted from China a little over 2 months ago. She is a bit farther along in her mobility and understanding, but they weigh about the same (that is a reflection on Levi's near obesity, not Lauryn's slenderness). She didn't quite know what to make of her Uncle's beard. Both of them are battling colds.

Serendipitously, Nora's brother Nathan is down from Alaska for a training in Seattle. So he is coming up on the weekend, also to meet Levi for the first time. More pics and stories to come.

rapid growth story

We just got a really nice story about Newberry Placed published in the online journal "Rapid Growth" www.rapidgrowthmedia.com There were only minor glitches and I think the journalist did a great job of capturing the project and not making us sound like total wackos (or Waco's).

The article focused a bit too much on me, personally, but this has always been the case in talking with media. They need the human story, and there isn't time to tell 16 human stories.

bids are high

We have the bids in for the cohousing project, and things are a bit high. It's really tough to figure out why or how it translates to individual mortgages. I'm starting to figure out why standard developers just build the same unit over and over - no surprises. I'm sure we can get it figured out and still keep on schedule, but it takes the wind out of every ones' sails. People get really excited that they might be able to add that one thing if the bids are on, but now they have to think about getting rid of something instead. "Who wants to ride the roller coaster? Step right up!"

september ends...

With September coming to a close and the weather starting to turn, the Faber Fam took advantage of one of the last good weekends before Michigan settles into winter. We started our day with a trip to the farmers market to pick up some fresh produce for some Autumn Soup. Squash, parsnips and tomatoes were the order of the day and we found them in great supply at various booths up and down the market. We also bought some homemade pita bread. Most of the market was covered in tarps so we maneuvered Levi's stroller, dodging water drops and downpours. It was not the most beautiful of mornings to be at the market, but with all the fall harvest coming in, it was tough to beat. The other great thing about the market is that you run into a lot of people that you know. So we were able to bump into a number of old friends and get caught up while stuffing veggies into our bags.

After we got home from the market, Nora started in on cutting up the veggies for soup. From the way things were going, I thought the soup was going to end up more as a stew. But when I got home from my next outing, I was surprised to find more of a bisk.

I decided to take in another rugby game. So on my way out of town, I stopped by my brother Jon's house to see if he wanted to come along. He was finishing up some mixing for a client and obviously was getting tired of it, because it didn't take much conjoiling to get him out of the house. Out at the field the weather was off and on between light drizzle and sunny skies. I think most would say it was perfect rugby weather. The Grand Rapids Gazelles did not appear to be doing to well (I'm still learning the sport so it is often tough to tell). In contrast to the last game I went to, this one's referee was stopping play a lot more - I don't know if that was in response to it being rougher or if he was just having a bad day. Jon and I stayed out there for about an hour and then I got him back to his mixing duties.

When I got home I sampled some of Nora's Autumn soup (very tasty).

We then decided to check out the Eastown Street Fair. Our friends' band was playing at 5pm and it had been awhile since we saw them live. The street fair is another one of those places that you know you will run into a ton of people you know. Levi was introduced to several old college friends. We tried out his backpack unit for the first time because the Baby Bjorn is getting a little too small. Your back really starts to feel it after a couple hundred yards of walking around. He also got to try on his new shoes, which are really nice but pretty pointless at this stage of the game. The band was great but we couldn't stay for long because Nora had to get to a party and I was heading out to Matt and Ruth's house.

So we parted ways and I headed out to the Boelkins for some dinner and games. When I got there the boys were surfing on crab apples from a tree they cut down in the front yard. We had a nice spaghetti dinner and then tried out a new game called Memoir 44. It is a tribute game to the d-day and reinacts different battles from WWII. It makes me want Levi to grow up faster so that we can play games together. Cohousing will probably help too, board games are tough to play by yourself.