The Abandon House and its Leftover Dreams

_mg_0672 Last summer I was lucky enough to tag a long with my Godmother to a house that had been abandoned for over fifty years. 


My Godmother had over the years left letters “to whom it my concern,” in the mailbox, and often drove by in hopes of finding the owner. You see she had peeked into the windows and saw that the abandon house was full of leftover treasures. The note she left asked if the owner would like to sell anything inside the house, she was interested in buying everything.


Then one day, one lucky day, a “FOR SALE” sign went up in front of the house and my Godmother had her answer. Someone to contact.


The owner was surprised that my Godmother wanted to buy the “junk” as he called it. He rubbed his hands in glee and told her she could have it all on one condition, that she empty the place clean.


My Godmother found her dream come true and I took photos of a life that seem to stand still.


Abandon-house Dream-dresser


Have you ever longed for something knowing that in doing so it will come true? Or do you think more on the lines of, “Be careful what you wish for it might just come true?


Isn’t it curious how we live certain dreams and at the same time stack other dreams in neat piles for a day for them to come true. As if putting them aside we give them room to expand and nurture our imagination.


I believe that eventually that what we dream for does come true… one way or another.


                                                     



Comments

41 responses to “The Abandon House and its Leftover Dreams”

  1. I think you can make things happen, if you think positive and dream of the things in detail. Call me silly, but my husband and I actually started a list, noting down things we out our focus on and wanted to have happen, that have actually happened. Ordinary life? Or a little bit more..? Who knows. I love your photos and am glad your Grandma’s wish came true.
    Thanks for sharing!

  2. oops I see it said Godmother not Grandmother, sorry for my typo. ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. A dream is a wish your heart makes … Dreams DO come true. What a sweet, sweet story. : )

  4. Dreams coming true ! OK I’m going to think the same about an house I know , let’s see if I can have everything in it !!!
    I’m sure I would have loved this house !!!!I ‘m thinking very strong to come over and to help you to empty this little nest

  5. Love and hugs to you my darling one.
    I love all that you share.
    I thank God for my multitude of blessings
    and believe in the power of prayer and wishful thinking………..
    Love Jeanne

  6. o my dear..
    it really is a reward.. for your granma..
    and I can see where you took your interest in antique, forgotten, left behind beauties..
    I felt so good.. reading..
    dreams that are becoming true..
    and lost dreams..
    isn’t this the great balance of life..
    I wish you the best with all your dreams..

  7. Such a timely post. Just yesterday I was dreaming … OK, passionately yearning, to live on a small lake, where I’d hear nothing but the symphony of birds and the delightful shrieking of grandchildren at play. How wonderful for your godmother’s dream to come true!

  8. Love the way you said that and I totally agree!
    Beautiful photos as usual
    I hope one of your dreams is that book!!

  9. How wonderful for your Godmother AND for you! My imagination goes wild – what was life like for the person or people who left these items behind? What caused them to leave without these items?
    I know to expect more on this one! Have fun while working to empty this oversized treasure chest!

  10. A lovely post… it makes me wonder that if you say something bad you shouldn’t “tempt fate” but if you think something positive you shouldn’t get your hopes up!
    Victoria xx

  11. Whenever I by a house that appears abandoned, I always wonder about the people who lived there. It’s the same with estate sales, when you see all of their things put up in the cupboards, tucked away in closets, beds neatly made- who was the person that took care of all of these things?
    Your godmother certainly has the patience of Job and I’m glad that it paid off for her! I hope you share some of the treasures that she unearthed. ๐Ÿ™‚
    Karin

  12. Julie Ann

    I think I remember this last year, I am sure you did a post when you helped clear & clean the house ?
    The dream philosophy is incredibly thought provoking Corey. The power of positive thought is immense. Jx

  13. There was a lovely two-story house in the valley. It was constructed, probably, in the early 1900s. On the front porch hung an old-style water heater that had been turned into a planter box. The house was vacant for years and one day there was a for sale sign and I saw a man sort of sweeping up the beautiful covered front porch. I stopped and it turned out it was the owner. It had been his parents’ house and his elder brother had lived there (died at 90) and now the younger brother was selling the house. I asked what would become of the planter box and if he’d be interested in selling it. He asked what I’d pay and I said a price and he sold it to me. He aid his mother always planted geraniums and lobelia in the planter and that every day he was sent out with a glass milk bottle full of water to water the planter. I brought it home, cleaned it up, painted it the same color green that it had been painted and planted it with red geraniums and lobelia. I have always think I’m planting flowers for Mrs. Weitzel (his Mom’s name). The house was moved this spring – it was on the evening news since it was so huge. It was moved in the middle of the night to a park at the south end of Lake Washington where it was put on a barge and moved to its new location on the shores of the lake. The couple bought the house from the city for one dollar as the city wanted the site for something else. The couple talked about how they plan to restore it to its former beauty so I know that the old house will be as loved as Mrs. Weitzel’s planter box is here.

  14. I totally believe what you just said.. I think that if you truly want something and believe in sincere prayers it will happen… ๐Ÿ™‚

  15. becky up the hill

    Ahh Corey….all I can say is I’ve had that dream, or a smaller variations of it. In my dream it’s been a ‘Hope Chest’ that no-one wanted. As I love empherma, vintage clothes and ‘dreams’. I think I need a bigger dream. A whole house! Honestly a dream like this would be a ‘book’ I would read. I’d love to hear more and see more pictures!

  16. I wonder who they were and why they had to leave?

  17. There are so many abandoned farmhouses around here, just waiting for the bulldozer to plow them under to be replaced by mini-malls. Dreams do come true if you are patient and flexible. They don’t always come true in the way you had envisioned.
    – Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife

  18. martina

    O0h I hope so! There is one particular dream that I really hope comes true.

  19. So much fun to hear about your Godmother…I loved the stories about her collection and about the pajama party last year.
    About being careful about what you wish for…I had straight, fine and blond hair all my life…wished for curls. Ten year ago after a major operation my hair started curling the more humid it gets the curlier my hair becomes…now sometimes I would love to have straight hair again ๐Ÿ™‚

  20. What a wonderful ending to the story of your Godmother’s wishes and dreams.
    Darla

  21. I believe that too Corey!!!
    How amazing for you Godmother, and for you too!!! That sounds like something I would love.
    Rosemary

  22. What a wonderful dream come true. This is a dream I can dream. I did once find a garage like that and was able to clean it for the owner. What treasures we found in that garage, now if only I had my camera. But it was 40 years ago.

  23. What a dream come to life, Corey. Mary must have been over the moon.

  24. How wonderful! ๐Ÿ™‚

  25. So maybe I will live in the UK some day? Sometimes I wonder if the dream is just that – a dream.

  26. What an amazing story! So glad she persisted and I love the shots!

  27. maybe I don’t really know what my dreams are anymore . . .

  28. like your grandmother i have a few chest drawers pilled up with dreams of my own…
    every day again the piles are growing with new thoughts and images unfolding a storybook without ending…
    love the images corey, representing the sphere of found treasures looked for so long.

  29. When I was a kid, about 11 or 12, I wanted to be a mapmaker. But I grew up and became a journalist, then a TV producer instead. And then, seemingly out of the blue, I became a mapmaker…
    When I was 16, living in Germany, I visited Prague and said to myself, “Someday I will live in this city.” Four years later, I did. I had actually forgotten that dream until the opportunity popped up in front of me. And I believe it was because I said, “I will,” to myself, not, “Wish I could…”
    When we were about to be married and house-hunting, I stumbled upon a bunch of lovely candleholders and bought them, saying, “Oh, these will be perfect for the deck!” A deck we didn’t have… none of the houses we’d looked at had decks, even the one we bid on (but we didn’t get that house)! I forgot about the candleholders, until six months later, I found them in a box and walked out to our deck of our new house to set them out!
    I completely believe dreams do come true, little ones and big ones alike, when you really believe they will.

  30. This post struck a sweet note in my heart, Corey! My blog profile relates how my childhood dream came true (and I still have a couple more tiny dreams which I am waiting to see how they unfold)! =)

  31. Oh my gosh – I LOVE this post!!! What an inspirational message to all of us who hold onto dreams!!!…Donna

  32. And you were there to take pictures for posterity…how lucky for you…
    sharon

  33. A story full of hope and treasures… just what I needed to hear today. I’ll keep dreaming.

  34. Oh my goodness Corey, that has always been my dream…to find an old abandoned house with lots of treasures in it – with permission to have it all! What fun!

  35. Corey I remember back when you posted about the party at your Godmother’s amazing home – she certainly has ‘the eye’ for treasure hunting – no wonder you two hit it off so well! These are beautiful pictures of ordinary old stuff – but how gorgeous shown from your perspective.
    I wonder how it will be if (and the plan is I will!) I’ll be able to stay in my little house for always – then someone comes in and loves what I have collected and treasured over the years. I hope they will be gentle and perhaps see the beauty of things through a lens.
    We’ve now decided on two nights in Aix as there’s so much to see – will send details!
    Have a wonderful weekend.

  36. Rebecca

    Was the slip really hanging like that on the drawer front when you went in? Fascinating.

  37. OH yes your last line dear Corey!
    One day all our dreams Do come True!! If we know what we want and have faith to take action….. Yes indeed they do!
    xox
    Constance

  38. Wow! Luckyyyyyyyyyy!! How cool was that?! Your photographs from that day look like they are straight from an Anthropologe catalogue, Corey. Pretty!

  39. Talk about houses that we did not build, filled with good things that we did not provide?

  40. what a fantastic dream come true!
    loved reading all about it, as all your other posts.
    hope you & the family are well & having a good summer.
    xo mary ann

  41. I love your Godmother’s determination, and a wonderful dream come true.

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