Got up into the attic the other day, after breaking through the plaster ceiling and making a more convenient hole through which to access the dirty, dark attic.

When we were checking out the house, considering buying it months ago, we spent about an hour up in the attic, flashlights in hand, with one of our consultants, Paula’s brother John, who built his own house. And one of the “interesting” things was the old gable roof, with shingles still intact, that holds up part of the current pyramid-style roof.

His conclusion was that the roof was not going to fall down any time soon, and that anything can be “fixed” with the proper amount of time and money.

The studs and rafters and beams are rough-cut oak, decades old — hard, tough stuff. It’s like an old barn up there, and strangely, this makes me quite happy. It’s not going to fall down any time soon.