Rustic Lake Cottage: Part 2

 These freak storms happen in only minutes.  
When we left the cottage it looked like this.
We had spent the weekend painting and putting in the dock, 
planning to return the following weekend.  But two days later a freak wind storm,

called a microburst, hit a small section of Northwood Lake. 

We heard from friends that our cottage suffered tree loss, but no one was sure if the cottage had been hit.  Matthew Mead drove over the next day to check on it as he was planning to do a photo shoot there, and he couldn't get down the road as the electric company had clean up crews tending to the downed power lines.  They had to cut up massive trees that were blocking the road.  The following day he returned and grabbed some horrifying pictures of the damage.  But the strangest thing was that the cottage was not hit by one single branch.  Somehow we were unscathed.

An enormous tree, the biggest on the lot, lay on its side 5 feet from our cottage, 

its huge rootball in the air, higher than our roof.  

The dock my husband had just worked three days on to put in the water, 

was now floating in the lake, sections dotting the shoreline and in the lake. 

 When my husband and I finally got to see it for ourselves, it was a shock.

You couldn't walk to the water from the cottage without walking 

through the neighbors yard, as it was so treacherous. 
That is hubs standing next to the root ball of the biggest tree that fell beside
the cottage.  Notice the chain link fence that got ripped up into the air with it.

 The large tree next to our dock that I showed last time where Jenny Mead 

and Piper sat last week, before hubs assembled the dock, was no longer standing.

It too lay on its side with a massive rootball exposed into the air, taking the day lillies with it.

Both of our neighbors had trees go right through their roofs.  The damage was quickly done with that forceful storm. We were all so lucky that none of us were staying in our cottages when it struck.

 The following weekend we returned with hubbies smallest excavator and our youngest son to get to work on clearing the trees.  A cousin and another friend, who is an expert tree guy, worked all day long to cut the logs into 8 foot lengths.  By the end of the day, they were all cut and stacked by the side of the yard.  It was an amazing effort, and we are fortunate that we could do this work ourselves.

The yard was becoming usable again, and perhaps our summer would be salvaged

in some regard. I had the tiny grill going nonstop, and I never ate so many hamburgers

in a 48 hour stretch.  Lets not even talk about the hotdogs for breakfast. 

Natural disasters are never expected and you just have to deal with 

the consequences of Mother Nature.  Looking at it now we can say

 we have a better view and overall the lot feels larger and the storm 

was a blessing in disguise in that regard.

This was the view from the kitchen window during the tree cutting and clearing. 

It is all cleaned up now, and I am so thankful for the efforts that made that happen.

The storm brought my decorating fun to (almost) a screeching halt....

 Hubs reassured me that the trees would be gone and not to worry.

So before we headed up for the tree cleanup, I visited a local consignment shop.

A wooden top wicker desk, a cute old blue chair and a pretty blue tole tray came

home with me to bring up to the cottage.  I have been collecting old wicker pieces

for the cottage and this desk will be a great piece to have for a cocktail bar 

or a writing and reading spot.  We tied it in the back of the truck and headed north.  

I planned to rearrange a little furniture and play house while the guys handled the cleanup.

It found a spot next to the fireplace, which is in the bigger

room, which was an addition.  I spotted the moroccan bird cage

at a local antique shop near the house and I took that home with me

for the cottage.  Something about a bird cage...this one has a charming little

hand carved bird on a swing hanging inside of it! 

The weird little window above the desk fell apart the first time I tried to open it.

Half of it just fell out onto the ground, glass and all.  Nice. 

We covered the screen with heavy plastic and stuffed it back in place.

A little pair of shutters are now on my list to hide this situation.

We plan to tear the cottage down one day and build a real year round cottage,

and so we are trying our best not to sink money into this bonafide money pit.

The bit of decorating I am doing is a lot of fun, and has made a world of difference just hanging out

in the space.  However its not "real decorating" more of a spiffing it up with pretty things found at yard sales and antique shops.  When I saw Matthew Meads romantic photo shoot

of the cottage, I knew it could really look super cute.

Matthew staged it all with the vintage floral fabrics he collects.

I loved it so much I hunted down a pair of old vintage floral

draperies to use at the lake.

This is what I found!

 A pair of long pinch pleated unlined panels.

They are on a bluish green background with garden roses in pink and blue and white.

I found them on Etsy and there were quite a few old fashioned fabrics and drapery 

panels available.  I may use them as upholstery fabric on the wicker sofa, or hang them by

the windows.  They are going to look great with the green wicker armchair I found a few weeks ago.

We will be bouncing back and forth on weekends to visit our cozy lake cottage for 

some summer relaxation.  Most days we are at home, and this has been a warm

and wonderful summer. I will be bringing my mom up to visit the cottage and plan to hang up the curtains, and take a pic to show you all....

until then, enjoy your summer!