As I begin today’s report on Saturday, the wind is blowing furiously off the grey and churning lake, and I sit in our new kitchen watching this bad weather while enjoying a hot cup of coffee. I am facing the stairwell, with its newly installed glass, and through the glass I can see the mountain mosaic above our fireplace. We christened the fireplace last week. My father-in-law did the honors, because he always used to build the fires. The house is so designed that one can see the blaze in that fireplace from almost any point in the house that faces it, on both floors. I remember how long we waited for the stone mason to complete that fireplace. There were many months wherein the structure was tarped in and we could not really gauge the progress. We’d spent a long time planning and reworking the design, but much of that project was a leap of faith that the stone mason could create what we’d envisioned. There were times when I thought the mason was going to have a nervous breakdown, such was the challenge with which we had charged him. His name is Mark, and we jokingly referred to him as “Markoangelo”. Mark not only succeeded in realizing our vision, but he created a work of art which we grow more fond of every day. Indeed there was great controversy surrounding our design, and when it was finally unveiled, some people working on the house didn’t like it. I suppose they were expecting a realistic depiction of the mountains, but that was not what Shauna and I had in mind. I suppose one could make the argument that Van Gogh’s “Wheatfield with Crows” is not a realistic depiction of that scene, but I still consider it to be a beautiful work of art.
I remember when we first visited the owners of a Neville log home near Dorset, Ontario, and I was immediately taken with the beautiful view afforded by its large picture windows. Today, looking out on that lake, with the forbidding weather and the trees swaying in the wind, I was suddenly aware of the fact that we too now have a spectacular view. I have been so involved in the myriad of expenses and details involved in the construction of this house, that I have been almost completely oblivious to the reasons why we embarked on this journey in the first place. This house is organic, it belongs on this site, and it blends in beautifully with its surroundings. Both from the interior and the exterior it simply belongs in this environment. As I spend more time just hanging out here, I am astounded by the sense of peace it exudes.
Our next door neighbour just bought a new outboard motor for his boat, and this evening, just before dusk, he launched it for a test run. When I saw him out on the lake, I waved to him and he motored in to give me a ride. As we took a power run around the lake at 55 mph, I watched the house from a distance. This is the first time I’ve seen it from the lake since last Fall, and much has changed in that time. This house was built in turbulent times, through an economic crisis, at a time when my parents have rapidly descended towards the ends of their lives. There it stands, a fixture on the ever-changing landscape. Much has transpired in the last two years, but the house, with all its stories, remains a solid, fixed thing in this ever-changing environment. For me this is a consoling thought.
-Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
I remember when we first visited the owners of a Neville log home near Dorset, Ontario, and I was immediately taken with the beautiful view afforded by its large picture windows. Today, looking out on that lake, with the forbidding weather and the trees swaying in the wind, I was suddenly aware of the fact that we too now have a spectacular view. I have been so involved in the myriad of expenses and details involved in the construction of this house, that I have been almost completely oblivious to the reasons why we embarked on this journey in the first place. This house is organic, it belongs on this site, and it blends in beautifully with its surroundings. Both from the interior and the exterior it simply belongs in this environment. As I spend more time just hanging out here, I am astounded by the sense of peace it exudes.
Our next door neighbour just bought a new outboard motor for his boat, and this evening, just before dusk, he launched it for a test run. When I saw him out on the lake, I waved to him and he motored in to give me a ride. As we took a power run around the lake at 55 mph, I watched the house from a distance. This is the first time I’ve seen it from the lake since last Fall, and much has changed in that time. This house was built in turbulent times, through an economic crisis, at a time when my parents have rapidly descended towards the ends of their lives. There it stands, a fixture on the ever-changing landscape. Much has transpired in the last two years, but the house, with all its stories, remains a solid, fixed thing in this ever-changing environment. For me this is a consoling thought.
-Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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