Welcome to day 2 of Wandawega Week! If you missed day 1, click here.
Today, we’re giving away a signed copy of Tereasa’s book, A Very Modest Cottage. If you’d like a chance to win it, just leave us a comment on this post between today (Tuesday, August 9th) and Thursday, August 11th at noon (Central Time).
But before you scroll down to comment, I’d like to share with you a few more gorgeous Wandawega photos, and a very special blog post Tereasa wrote about her Dad, Tom Surratt. It’s filled with love and heaps of hope, and I’m sure you’ll be as touched by it as I was…
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“An old car, a decrepit piece of furniture, a rusty old tractor, an abandoned cottage is never beyond hope. They just need to find someone who’ll believe in them.
Tom Surratt believed.
He didn’t see a worthless, geriatric farm machine that was too far gone. He had a gift to see the youth, the former self, the beauty in everything. He saw his grandson one day driving that tractor down Main street in the annual Beardstown Fall Fun Festival Parade. He didn’t see a rust bucket of a pick-up that was beyond repair. He envisioned the ‘country limoisine’ his son Sam would drive his bride Tara home in on their wedding night.
Tom’s ability to see potential where most saw junk was a gift he passed on to every member of his family. His son Sam can bring pretty much anything with an engine back to life again. And again. And again. His daughters Amy, Lisa and Holly married men cut from the same cloth. Men who know that the right combination of ambition, duct tape, and elbow grease make all things possible. His wife, Kay, held Tom’s hope in her heart as she hammered, nailed, painted, and restored half a dozen condemned properties into loving homes for low income families with her two hands. And my father Tom inspired me to see the beauty locked within an abandoned cabin bound for the wrecking ball. I saw a quiet, happy place where Dad could go to read his books and listen to his grandkids and watch the clouds roll by.
Dad didn’t make it to see the rebirth of the modest cottage.
Or to witness his grandson – with a grin a mile wide – old enough to pilot that old international Harvester tractor down Main street and win best of show for antique restorations. But his ability to dream and hope and believe lives on.
I hope this little story of a resurrection inspires you (like my Dad inspired me) to think twice before you lose faith in that old car, that weathered piece of furniture, that old tractor, or even an old, abandoned cottage.
(Tereasa’s Grandpa, holding up her Dad)
Even the most modest of projects can be become something beautiful. There is no such thing as too far gone. With hope and a hammer, I believe there is always a way.”
– Tereasa Surratt, author of A Very Modest Cottage
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(Photos 1, 2, 3, & 5 courtesy of Mary at at Home Is Where The Boat Is. Photos 4 & 6: AVeryModestCottage.blogspot.com)
beautiful post! luck be a lady and let me win!
Great post. If only more people lived with the ability to see beyond the exterior, we would become a less throw-away society.
Inspirational and heart warming for this Georgia peach that grew up in Wisconsin. I love your website and am so happy I found it!
Just lovely, both the writing featured today and the resort shown yesterday. Such amazing work – thank you for sharing! Like Tereasa, I treasure the legacy of creativity, restoration, and “can do” I’ve been given from my parents.
Inspirational! makes me want to go on vacation.
beautiful love story…reminds me of my dad who i also lost many years ago. thanks for introducing me to this book!
I would love a copy of this book. I looked it up online yesterday to see where to buy it. Thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s blog and reading today’s about Mr. Surratt.
I adore your blog, and this entry blew my mind! I would love a copy of this book, I am swoooning over every inch of each cabin.
That sums up my philosophy to a “T”. Previously owned ALWAYS has more character and I love my surroundings to tell a story. If I don’t win, I’ll be looking for that book. Love it!
Judy 🙂
I recently found your site and really enjoy it. Would love to have a copy of the book as we just bought an old house in the country and are realizing the joys (and unjoys!) that come with it!
That was a great guest post! It makes me want to go to antique shops and rummage stores to find something to restore.
Aw…I love it. I am truly amazed at the abilities of all of you who can believe in old things. I’m trying to find that quality in myself.
I’d Love to get my hands on this book. Very Inspiring.
Very beautiful. Brought back memories. Happy days are here to stay!
I am so excited to have stumbled upon your site, as I renovate my own lake cottage. This book looks like such an inspiring, wonderful story. Thank you for bringing it to my awarness.
what a wonderful memory! and what a fabulous sounding book.
~Chris
Lovely! Looks like a wonderful book!
Awww, what a wonderful story! I would love to read more!
What a beautiful place and what beautiful lives that are now spent there. I love this story and would love to get a closer look at this book!
I’m in love with A Very Modest Cottage. I’m totally buying it if I don’t win!!! Thanks for the post and the opportunity. Blessings!
If i don’t win this book, I think I will definetly be buying it 🙂
Thank you for sharing…Once again, another room/building/place brought to life. You know I am SUCH a fan of your style – the information you share – and your talent. Thank you for sharing their story in your blog. Like so many have mentioned….SUCH an inspiration & motivation to see the beauty in the era before – dusting it off & adding a little modern touch.
WOULD LOVE a copy of their book!
– Amy
Layla,
I can’t tell you how these posts have inspired me. My sisters and I have dreamed of moving an old house that my great-grandfather built to the country and remodeling it for family gatherings. It will be 100 years old in 2015. The whole family thinks we’re crazy, and I had gotten to the point that I thought maybe this was crazy and that it needed too much work.
After reading your post yesterday, I called my sister and said “WE ARE DOING THIS!!”
With renewed excitement and determination, we’re moving on. It’s going to take some time, but I know it will be so worth it in the end.
And on another note, my husband has a long-lost cousin we haven’t been able to locate who lived in the Chicago area. His name is Doug Surratt. How cool is that that the author of this inspiring story is a Surratt!
What a wonderful thing they have done. Would love to be able to read more about the cottages.
what a lovely book. fingers crossed! 🙂
would love a copy of this beautiful book!
Who wouldn’t want this book! As a midwestern girl myself, this is the place vacation dreams are made of! As a child, we once stayed at a similar lake resort in Genoa City, WI. I’m sure it’s long gone, but just the idea of Wandawega makes me long for the old days & a wonderful family vacation like that again!
What a beautiful book!
Lovely photos to dream by. Would love to have this book in my collection. Thank you!
What a great book. Count me in!
That was so lovely — and so inspirational as I work on our own “very modest cottage,” which, as my mother would often say “only needs a little love,” (while my dad would rejoin, “and a whole lot of money!”)
I could really use this book for inspiration! We are in a “fixer upper” and it can be overwhelming at times. This would be a great reminder of what our home can eventually become with hard work and hope!
Wow, such a wonderful tribute to a great man.
Me too! 🙂
I would love a copy!!!!!!!!
We just moved into a cottage, and we love it! I would love a copy of the book. Love your web site!
What a touching post and an inspirational story. It’s always been a secret dream of mine to have a resort on the lake!
Looks so inspiring! Would love to win!
I’m loving the posts on this cottage/camp property! I would love to do the same someday.
After viewing the cottages, all I could think of is what a great place for a family reunion. I currently live in an 800 sq ft cottage and love it. Small spaces remind you what is really important; family not things.
oh my goodness…. I feel refreshed…. just LOOKING at this cottage!!! What an amazing story…. so beautiful!!! I would love a signed copy of the book!!!!! Thanks to you guys for making such a fab offer!!!!!! Terri
All of your posts are incredible, but this Lake feature is beyond amazing. The book looks like a real treasure.
I love your cottage. It is so inspiring! This book would be great on my coffee table!
I love that story of hope and seeing the good and not dwelling on the bad. I would love a copy of the book
Lovely!
What a sweet-looking book! And thank you for the chance to win a copy.
Right on! I’d be thrilled to have a signed copy of this beautiful book.
Best,
Nancy
I would love to have the book and I would also love to find a place like this to retreat to ever so often. They are hard to find.
Yesterday’s pictures were stunning and today’s words are beautiful. I would love to win a copy of this book as a reminder to treat my own belongings in the same way…..and to steal some really great decorating ideas 🙂
I would love to have a copy of her book! What great inspiration!
Love it!