The Hazard Chronicles

Three years ago we bought the Wallace House. Since then it has become, in many ways, our home away from home. I can't even count the number of nights we have spent up there. How often it has been used as a jumping off place for hiking, backpacking, bike rides, huckleberry picking, or ski trips. How many movies we have watched, or sleepovers we have hosted. How many walks down the stairs to the swimming pool, local restaurants, or events hosted in town. Our family has come to knows several of the store owners on a first-name basis. 

And the crazy thing is that, even though it is all so familiar by now, it still feels like a vacation every single time we go.  Like Narnia, or Terabithia, it's like there is some kind of magic portal at the top of the pass, and once through it, all the rules have changed. Time slows down. You feel lighter, more nimble. The air seems fresher. This is Wallace- a little town that hardly even registers on the map. But it has become OUR Wallace. 

We love it.

*****

It has been a slow process, but Rachel and I went up last weekend to put the final touches our our bonus room that we have built. It's nice that it's close enough that we can do this- quick overnighters with just the two of us. The kids are old enough to get themselves off to school in the morning, and Rach and I have flexible enough schedules that we are afforded this luxury on a pretty regular basis. In fact, "Let's go to Wallace" has almost become a code- a way of saying "Life is really busy, and that is good and exciting, but I miss you and we should take some time away from it all." And so we do. These trips are almost guaranteed to yield good conversations and have become an important point of connection in our relationship.

Ok. Here's some before and after photos of the bonus room. It has been a multi-year process, where we put like one board up each time we were there. There are a lot of little stories in those boards and nails. A lot of sweat, and dirt, and a little bit of blood, in carrying a bunch of heavy things up the steep scary stairs. Of plans and compromises and more plans and trips to the hardware store and learning new skills and putting in hours of quality time together. I think it has become the favorite room in the house and will be used a lot, but even if it isn't, it will have been worth it. Sometimes it's not the destination that matters. But for this one, I think the destination looks pretty good.

This is how we started. We did new subfloors and carpet, walls, ceilings, windows, lights, and furniture. Basically, everything.

This was taken from the same place as the above photo. Ceilings are 7.5 feet high and it feels cozy.

We added the electric fireplace heater for warmth in the winter, and I think it adds a lot to the feel of the room. Like a little log cabin. Also, we tried to maintain some sense of history by keeping as much of the original wood as possible.

As for furnishings, we have two full sized beds, and two queen beds (one is a sleeper sofa), making the area super practical when hosting large groups of people.

*****

In other news, these two turned 16. It seems like an important birthday, but I can't really say how it is different than 15 or 17. But yeah- they've been alive for that long now. So...cool. 

*****

In other, other news, Rach and I went and saw the play Julius Caesar. It was done in the original Shakespearian English with a few very minor changes to accommodate the change of setting from Ancient Rome to a modern Women's Penitentiary. I don't know if it was this change, or if it was just exceptionally acted, but this was the best Shakespearian play I have ever seen.