Won't You Be My Neighbor?

We have officially moved out of the tent!!! For the past week Matt and I have been showering on a regular schedule and cooking dinners rather than eating takout. Our dogs have been lounging blissfully by a roaring fire while Matt and I relax over a glass of red wine. We have been waking up in the loft of a beautiful rustic mountain cabin situated next to a waterfall, looking out a big picture window at our creek house. It’s all too good to be true.

Last weekend while Matt and I were working away on our house, a gentleman came walking down the driveway. It turns out he is our neighbor and he and his wife were in town for the weekend. You see, our neighborhood has a lot of rustic mountain homes, many of which are second homes. Our neighbors have owned their mountain house for over 20 years, but have not spent much time up here over the last year or two because they have been renovating a 1800’s era Victorian. So, while Matt and I have talked to them on the phone, and Matt actually met them once about two years ago, we haven’t yet had the opportunity to really get to know them. So, after making introductions, we offered to give Mr. Neighbor the tour of our project. While we were all leaning against 2x4 stud walls chatting, out of the blue Mr. Neighbor said he thought it might be a good idea if we just moved into his house for the winter as he and his wife would not be using it. We tried to contain our excitement while Mr. Neighbor headed down the trail to his house to check with Mrs. Neighbor. To our amazement, she too thought this was a great idea and before we knew it we were down at their house getting the tour as they both welcomed us and our dogs. We have, without a doubt, the nicest, most generous and gracious neighbors anyone could hope for. So, this winter we will be acting as the caretakers of our neighbor’s mountain house…

The part that Matt likes most about this arrangement is its connection to Mr. Marvin, the man who built the original creek house. Mr. Marvin was a wood worker and talented carpenter. After he retired, he built the original house over the creek along with a large workshop, wood kiln and wood shed. Throughout this entire process, we have often looked at each other and said “Do you think Mr. Marvin would like this?’ or “Do you think Mr. Marvin would be proud?” In fact, he is somewhat of a mythic figure around here. And after Mr. Marvin thought up his plan to have a house over a creek and started building, guess where he lived. Yep, Mr. Marvin lived in the same place while he built the original creek house.