Seeds of Renovation and the "Tree of Gone"

It was a mixed day at the lake this Saturday. We met with David and Kathy about the remodel, had John and Jimmy up from Galveston and still managed some swim time! If you are looking for us on the dock....we're off in the lake! Some neighbors, Linda and Tommy swam over from their lake house to meet us. The water is clear and wonderful on a warm day. there always seems to be a cool breeze, though.

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Someone had to work around here....so on to JOE. Joe cuts our grass and is one of those people who has more energy than I ever had as a teenager. He cut and removed a huge tree that had been down for some time on our lot. It's amazing but he did it in less than a day with the help of his son [and didn't even have his "good" chain saw!]. Everyone needs a JOE in their life!

There's a hole in our dock!

Did I forget to tell you that we bought this cottage "as is"? Allen saw the potential and so, this is how we had to sign on to this saga. The dock had a huge hole in it. I can safely say it is about 30 years old, so it is no surprize. Enter our new best friends....D&K construction. Allen wanted a big entertaining type dock and that's exactly what we got. David built it within 2 weeks [ even though he was on another job] and did it all in the rain! We've already jumped off of it to swim in the clear cool water.

Our friends, Asa and Jackie came out last week and Asa [World Class swimmer] glided from one end of the lake to the other. Being on the lake is like having a swimming pool with none of the upkeep! So here you see the before and the after. Hooray for David!

Life Twists and Turns...The Start of a New Blog

Recently I ended my former blog: http://www.westendpostike.blogspot.com/
because after Ike, we were tired of hurricanes, dimishing beaches and lack of support from the city. After 30 years on the coast, we bought a lake house and promptly sold our little gem on the ocean. In fact, we were at closing for the Lake House when we got a call that the Beach House had a contract! At this point, I feel that credit is due to two realtors: Peter at Bayreef Century 21 and Marie at Lakeland Realty. Both made buying and selling a house a speedy reality.We never thought that our beach house would sell quickly. At this point, I need to digress to how we landed on a small, pristine lake in Goodrich. My nextdoor neighbor at the beach, Jane, was listening to me proclaim that I was not going through another hurricane and wanted a more tranquil setting. She related that she also had a lake house and went on to describe its peacefulness and beauty. No, she wouldn't sell us hers, so I started looking online for homes in her area. After much persuading, Allen agreed to take a look at the lake....but only a look. We drove up there, found Jane in her front yard and went down to the lakefront. We were instantly smitten. So, for the next year, I looked weekly on HAR online for listings. Not many around.... I looked in the SOLD section and showed Allen a house that resembled our beach house; exactly what I wanted. Only a few months later, that house came on the market. After a 3 day listing, we bought it. Unlike the Beach House that is completely renovated and sparkle-new, the Lake House needs some work to bring it to "our own". Thus, the saga begins.