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)
What a beautiful tribute to your dad. We have become a society of “throw away.” We can’t wait to get rid of something, so we can replace it. I too see the beauty in old things, restored things. They don’t make ’em like they used to. I would be honored to receive a copy of this beautiful tribute.
Hi Layla,
I would LOVE to own a copy of “A Very Modest Cottage” – the story behind it is heartwarming and is all about what it means to be a family. What else matters anyway??
The Lettered Cottage arrives daily in my “online mailbox” and I have to say, I can’t do without it!!
Thank You, Cyndee Jones
I loved this post yesterday! Love the cottages, and the story, and the whole concept. Would love to also have a copy of the book!
I can imagine looking at the pages of this book and being transported to this lovely spot on earth, hope I win! 🙂
What a beautiful tribute and inspiring message. I’d love to win this book! Thanks for the opportunity.
This is so inspiring. It gives me the strength that i could do anything if i set my mind to it and with just a little determination it can be done. I would love a copy of the book the always inspire me to keep going and that i can do it = )
I love old things and dreaming about what they can look like when restored. Great job.
Beautiful, just beautiful! Vintage ALWAYS has a story to tell.
Winning a copy of “A Very Modest Cottage” would be wonderful!!!
Our family has an old lake house my grandfather built 50 years ago. This wonderful story is a reminder of all the potential it has.
A Very Modest Cottage looks like much more than a “how to” book. What a wonderful tribute to her Dad and what an awesome legacy he has left for his family. This is what life is all about!!
Simply inspiring and simply lovely! Thank you for sharing this with us.
What an amazing story; what an amazing woman! I would absolutely LOVE her book. Such an inspiration!!
Thanks for bringing this family’s story into my view. The beauty of blogs. Thanks, Layla.
P.S. I don’t know how you do what you do! I hope you’re getting enough sleep.
Loved the Modest Cottage post- would love to win this book too!
i see the beauty in most junk i come across so this story hits home! thanks!
This looks like a lovely book!! I would love the oppertunity to sit down on my sofa with a cup of tea and leisurely look through it=)
-Adriane
What a great place to get to go and relax at Wandawega. My Grandmother & I visited a lot when I was a child about remodeling the house she lived in when she was alive. She had told me she wanted me to have it and remodel it. That is exactly what my husband and I did. We moved in here when our first daughter was almost 2 and have lived ever since. Our 2 daughters have not know any other place than this as home. We gutted it down to the studs and went from there.
About 2 years ago we bought a rundown home across the street and flipped it. A young couple bought it and live there now. I’m ready to do another house now. I would love to find a place like Wandawega and turn it around like they have.
I would absolutely love to read her book. Keep the posts coming.
What a wonderful tribute to her father! I would love to see the rest of the book!!
What a beautiful beautiful tribute to her dad. I think that as long as they keep these memories and his can-do spirit, he’ll always be with them. And I am sure he is looking down and smiling on a family that took his lessons to heart, I am sure this book is amazing – can’t wait to see which of us is lucky enough to win.
Lovely memories and photos.
Be still my heart…I miss my grandmother’s chicken coop…….if only…….
My husband (a carpenter) and I love the integrity of things with history which once shone with promise and can do so again with a little faith and elbow grease (okay, maybe a lot of both!). What a wonderful tribute also to the legacies our loved ones pass on to us. This book would hold a permanent place next to my bedside. Great story!
Thanks so much for the giveaway. I would love a copy of this book. What an amazing story!
Simply lovely. Thank you for the chance to win,
Would LOVE to win this book 🙂
The power of imagination and dreaming are incredible. I love it!
What a cool book!
Would love to win a copy! I inherited a tiny cabin in Northern Wisconsin and hope it can someday become just as beautiful.
I’d heard about the book before but had no idea the depth of the story behind “A Very Modest Cottage.” After your recent features, I’d love to read more about it!
I can’t even begin to tell you how inspired I am by these posts from yesterday and today. Reading about the wonderful transformation of Wandawega just warms my heart and brings tears to my eyes. I would love to win a signed copy of her book, but if not, I will buy one. I can’t wait to read more about what inspires Tereasa to do follow her dreams like she does!
I love it! If I saw a Wandawega, I’d buy it, too!! 🙂 Thanks for the chance to win!
Thanks for such an inspirational post to start my day! The book looks amazing!
Beautiful memory that left me all blurry eyed. People who can see beauty in all things are such inspiration. This book looks like a treasure, as does the resort itself. I am so thankful that you introduced me to Camp Wandawega.
Besides being a beautiful collection of photos and art, this book is such an inspiration. I want to know just HOW that cottage was renovated for only $300!! We aren’t talented carpenters in our family, but I have an eye for design and color and fabric, so we try! I’d love the book!
It looks and sounds lovely! Thank you for sharing.
What she has done with this place is absolutely amazing and wonderful! I would love to have this book. Thanks for the chance.
This book looks beautiful….looking forward to my winning so I can read it! 😉
This post is so sweet.
I have soooo enjoyed these last few posts. So very inspiring! Thanks.
Thanks for these posts on Wandawega. Really brings back memories of my childhood vacationing in Western Wis. Would love a copy of the book.
I have really enjoyed reading your blog and the photos are spectacular!! I would be honored to receive a signed copy of the book….it looks like a wonderful and inspriring book!
This book is so beautiful. It so reminds me of the camp I went to when I was a little girl. I would love to be able to put this on my coffee table table for all to see.
What an inspiring and heartfelt story. I can’t wait to get a copy of this book, whether I win your copy or I have to go get my own!!
Beautiful story! Would love to learn more!
What a wonderful tribute to her father! This book looks very inspiring!
Very moving excerpt! Would love to read the rest of the story …
Oh, how I love this book and love her final quote. As we just closed on our new VERY old house yesterday (and promptly tore down the ceiling), I’d love to have this on my future coffee table.
My Dad could reporpose anything and make it beautiful…I have a fraction of that ability, I have the insight but lack the skills to carry it to a completed piece. I am just so thankful I have this trait of my dad’s..
(My Dad passed away in 1998 @ 52 yrs old) All that to say, my Dad would have loved this book and to visit this retreat… Hope I win the book.
Brandi N.
I’d love to win this for some inspiration as I start to decorate our home. Thanks!