Everything about our build feels special and unique, because for us, it is. After all, we’ve never built a timber frame home before.

I suspect, though, that our experience is all the more meaningful because of an auspicious combination of John’s involvement in the building process, the people we’ve chosen to work with, and some strange circumstances along the way.

One of the exceptional aspects of our build is our recent living arrangement. For the nearly four weeks he worked as our “site adviser,” Patrick lived with us.

He arrived five days before our official Day 1, and left Kenora a week ago today. He’s now hard at work in Boston on Timberbuilt’s next project. But he will forever be part of our house and its story.

John and Patrick worked together every day. After many productive hours at the build site, they returned to our place in town where we shared meals, stories, and shoe space at the front door.

Thanks to this unusual extended sleepover, our build couldn’t feel more personal. Patrick got to know John and me and what this house means to us, and we learned about him and the life experiences that brought him here. We also heard how the key components of our Spanish Olive came to be.

As I’ve written before, the fire at Timberbuilt not only destroyed the company’s shop and office, but also the timbers for multiple homes, including ours. Patrick was on a trip at the time and planning his drive from California to Northwestern Ontario. He changed his route and instead went back to New York to help cut our new timbers. In the process, he also shaped every peg that is now holding our house together.

I love knowing that.

We already felt an emotional connection to the design and spirit of our house, but it goes even deeper now.

Early in his time here, Patrick told us, “I like knowing the world’s going to look a bit different because I got up in the morning.”

We’ll always appreciate the mornings he got out of a warm bed to go work by a frozen river. And we’ll never forget the important role he played in creating the beautiful home we’ll enjoy every day for the rest of our lives.

Farewell, new friend.