Today, I’m going to share a story with you and it involves one of my long time friends, Ruby. I’ve introduced you to Ruby before and shared her kitchen, master bedroom, porch, Christmas dining and Christmas tree decorating and she and I have been buddies for probably 14 years now. We met in church years ago and she has been a Bible study leader and women’s ministry director for many years and now runs a non-profit called The League Ministries, partnering with churches all over the country to encourage women to get into Bible studies and home groups. I love her heart and her vision and she is dear to me.
Ruby and her husband, Bill, have been married for over 40 years and lived in a beautiful home in Kennesaw for the past 20 or so. They loved their home and Ruby made it pretty. She and I did a lot of decorating in that house and it was fun to see the changes. One of the things that has been on her heart for a long time is living on the lake. Lake Allatoona is not far from Kennesaw and that lake spans a couple of counties here in our area. With fingers and coves weaving in and out, there are lots of homes on the lake which was developed by the Corps of Engineers many years ago. The Corps still owns the land surrounding the lake, but many homesites were bought and sold over the years and now there are some beautiful homes on Lake Allatoona. Of course, there are still some small falling apart shacks on the lake too. Ruby has been looking for at least 10 years for a home to buy or a lot to build on and nothing ever seemed to work out, so she thought her dream of a lake house would remain a dream.
But, God worked in some mighty big ways, allowing them to sell their big house without even putting it on the market for more than they expected to get for it and at the same time, Ruby found a lake lot that was perfect for them. The house on the lot has been abandoned for 8 years, the elderly couple had to move out of the home that they have lived in since the 60’s and the children were not able to keep the house up, so it fell into disrepair. They were able to buy the lot with the house as a tear down and now are going to finally build their dream cottage on the lake.
I’m SO excited to see this dream come true for Ruby and Bill and I’m going to blog their lake house journey and share it with all of you. Let’s take a little tour of the house as it is now and see the potential in this lake lot. They are building a Craftsman style cottage on the lot, which is a style I love.
Falling apart rocking chairs in the front yard, tell the story of this abandoned home. I’m sure there were happy times in this house over the years, but it certainly looks sad now.
The home is completely in disrepair with some limbs falling on the roof and the entire inside is a mess.
Not worth saving, but it will soon come down and the lot cleared for building.
The old detached garage. They plan on building a new detached garage in the same spot.
The poor sad house is about to go away in preparation of new building.
Inside was equally sad and just a mess. A little scary to walk through actually.
The old brick chimney.
Back side of the house with a scary dirt basement. I hate to think of the critters under here.
Back of house with the silt fence in place.
The lot meanders down hill to this pretty little finger of the lake. A peaceful cove they will so enjoy. They have 3 grand children with another on the way and I can see lots of family time here.
The old dock will eventually be replaced with a new one.
The lake view off the cove.
This is Ruby, smiling from ear to ear. I am so happy for her and her lake house dream coming true. It’s been a long time coming. Ruby is also a breast cancer survivor and that’s been quite the journey too.
Neighbors down the cove include this A frame house. I think some residents live here full time and others 1/2 the year or on weekends. She has met a friend in the area who is a full time resident, so I know they will enjoy having each other close by. I’m sure lake living can be a little isolated, even though they don’t have to drive far to get back to shopping and stores. It’s not that far off the road.
Another neighboring house.
And yet another large beautiful lake home. I heard this family stays here half the year and the other half in Florida.
Being on the lake is so peaceful and serene and I know Ruby is going to love this view.
Their little cove will be perfect for cooling off and adding a boat too.
Just down the hill from their new cottage, this view will be in store for them every day.
I love Ruby and she has been a true friend to me for so many years. I look forward to seeing her lake house cottage come to fruition and a big dream come true.
Ever the bargain hunter, Ruby has found a couple of things left behind that she is going to repurpose. Love this little table and it will find a place in the new lake house.
I spotted this little table in the garage too and told Ruby to definitely keep it. It’s a drop leaf table and will be so cute all painted and looking at home in the new cottage, so hopefully she can find a place for it.
I wanted to share this story with y’all and let you know that I’ll be posting updates along the way of the lake cottage. They hope to move in by February, so it will be a fun journey to watch and she’s going to let me give my ideas on decorating it.
A new house is so exciting!
I can’t wait to watch this, because it’s what we did on Logan Martin Lake in Alabama! Ours was not a tear-down, but a cosmetic nightmare, complete with shag carpet, pink walls and lots and lots of dirt. But, I’m sure Ruby knows this is what God has for her, and I’m excited to see it take place. He certainly know how to take care of His children, especially those of us in ministry to others! Bless Ruby! And bless you as you help her!
Congrats to Bill and Ruby on their new lake home! One of my dreams is to renovate a lake home. This is such a fun idea for your blog. How exciting it will be to watch this journey unfold with pictures. This will be great memories for them.
Oh Rhoda, that little lake house reminds me so much of the tear down we just finished 2 years ago. Our abandoned foreclosure ranch was also project that took 6 months from beginning to end, but I’ll admit — at the end, I was so anxious to have it OVER that I made a few decisions that resulted in poor quality workmanship that I’ll have to live with for a LOOOONG time. My advice to your friend Ruby is to fasten her seat belt and get ready for a roller coaster of a ride. It will be stressful. It may try her relationships. My advice: try to keep a sense of humor about it; try to enjoy the process and not focus solely on the result; try to stick to your budget; don’t be afraid to fire people whose work isn’t up to your standards; leave yourself enough time to have your wood floors PROPERLY finished (sadly, I could write an entire post on this topic –if you’re on Long Island, ask me who you should NOT use . . . .) We love our home, but once the build was over, I was sooo tired of making decisions and spending money that the finishing touches have scarcely been started, and we’ve been in for 2 years now! Best of luck to your friend, Ruby — thankfully, she’ll have your shoulder to lean on throughout the process . . . .
Cannot wait to follow this adventure!
Congratulations to Bill and Ruby! Can’t wait to watch this dream happen. 🙂
Well! this is going to be exciting! I look forward to this new chapter on your blog, Rhoda – and of course, wish Ruby great fun, best wishes and love in getting a lakeside home set up. That little tiny cove-end is just so lovely. I would sit there all day, under an umbrella with a book and a cool drink, listening to the gentle lapping of the water.
How very sad indeed to see a home that was surely dearly loved in such disrepair. It is wonderful that Ruby and her husband have a vision to create yet another vibrant and well loved home to call home! Cannot wait to see it all unfold.
The house does look so sad and dirty….this will be so fun to watch this rebuild and see the whole process unfold. I think your friend will just love living on that lake. It will be beautiful no matter what the season. I can’t wait to follow this! Susan
It will be fun to watch this house come to life in a new way with a new family. I’m very happy a few pieces from the old house will carry over to the new one… will they be able to re-use those bricks for a patio or path? And the window boxes looked like they could be happy again…
Love this fun project for Ruby & Bill? It’s so nice to have a friend share the journey! What a blessing & I’ll have fun watching from the sidelines! Thanks so much for sharing!
Love this post! I’m house-hunting now and trusting God that the right house will come along at the right time. This will be fun to watch.
Wow, I wouldn’t know where to begin. I wish her the best of luck.
Rhoda,
Loved this post and beautiful story of dreams, wishes and faith. What a wonderful and beautiful piece of property Ruby and hubby Bill have found. I will be excited to continue the journey on your blog of the new cottage to be. Thanks for sharing this story. Congrats to Ruby and Bill.
Kris
Congratulations to Ruby! I can’t wait to see this story unfold! We built a small lake cottage 5 years ago and have so enjoyed our family time there. Our home was constructed start to finish in 90 days because we had an excellent builder who was very organized and very customer friendly resulting in very little stress and very few hiccups!! I hope that Ruby has found a wonderful builder too!!
Congratulations to Ruby and Bill on their exciting new home! I cant wait to see it finished as I love craftsman style homes. I did notice some stone on the old building and I hope they will try to salvage that if possible. It would be neat to have a little piece of the old home in the new home.
BTW…Rhoda, loved your Nashville pics and cant wait to see Part 2. I will definitely be stopping in Franklin on our next visit to Nashville.
Rhoda – my parents “tore down” an old lake house on Lake Burton many years ago. They were able to “donate” the structure of the house to the local volunteer fire department to use as practice for the local volunteers. They did a slow burn of the house over several days as a training for their members. And then they were able to write off the value of the structure as a tax deduction. Their CPA recommended it to them. You may want to suggest this to your friend Ruby.
I looked back at Ruby’s house and remembered how great her home was. I’m am anxious to see what she builds and how she decorates.
I look forward to following along with you! I am blessed to live in a lake house as well. My husband & I bought our little ranch back in the 80’s as newlyweds. We raised a family & are enjoying the emtpy nest & really cherishing all the perks of lake living – why take vacations when every day is like summer camp?
I’m so excited to follow this story. My dream is to have a little house in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I’m not sure if it will happen or not but I keep hoping and dreaming. Makes me happy to follow Ruby getting her dream.
Oh my, I see so much potential. I know it will be absolutely beautiful and such a serene and peaceful place to live. I hope they have some great furbabies to enjoy this with them. This will be a wonderful make over and so much fun. I was going to put dibs on the sewing machine base table – love it. If she decides to sell it, I’m very interested. I am so glad they have chosen Craftsman. I do hope in the tear down, they recycle the bricks and any of the wood that is in good shape. The wood on the dock looks like it’s in pretty good shape plus it has that great driftwood color to it. The bricks look great too. I love brick floors – they are such a classic.
Ruby looks great and way too young to have been married 40 years, wow! She sounds like such a survivor and I wish her and her family nothing but the best of health and happiness. I’m sure she is an amazing person and a fantastic friend. Thanks so much for sharing and I look forward to all the updates.
Looking so forward to seeing this lake house as it progresses. Ruby must be over the moon, and what a blessing to have such a long-time friend. I know the two of you will work magic on this new home for Ruby & her family.