Sensing Self Designs

In 2010, Nat was looking for a piece of property to buy in the canyons above Boulder, Colorado. That summer, there was a devastating fire known as the Four Mile Canyon Fire. Homes were lost and much land was burned. Some property values plummeted.

Sometimes I like to think about how interesting it would be to take what I know now and insert myself back into the past with that "new" knowledge. For instance, I remember having recently moved to Boulder and sitting in my office on a hot, summer day looking at the clouds darkening in the sky. They were dark, heavy clouds of smoke that made the day seem like dusk. The fire raged on for days. Boulder is still very appreciative of the fire fighters who tirelessly worked to put out the fire.

But little did I know at that time that out of that fire would emerge a path for me to meet Nat. Nat was able to buy the property at a price that was affordable for him. Shortly thereafter, he decided to design and begin building a house. In his free time. On his own. Yeah, I'm still impressed.

A couple years later, I read Nat's on-line, dating profile (hope he doesn't mind that I shared this!). While not sure I was interested in dating him, I was very interested in hearing more about the house project. We meet and became friends that bonded over projects and a few months later start dating. It's a sweet story but without the house, without the fire, I'm not sure there would have been a story. New opportunities seem to always arise out of destruction. I hope some beautiful, new stories emerged out of the ash for other people as well.

Now, as for the house, Nat is almost three years into construction. I began helping him last fall (goodbye long, summer road trips!) and we figure it will be another two years before the house is ready to live in. Good thing we love our projects! Below are some photos for you to see the evolution of this project and I'm sure you'll find blog posts about our progress during the warmer months when we can keep working outside.

Nat also built a "shed" on the property. I think of it more as a peaceful retreat.