Doh,

I knew I wanted to purchase a farm somewhere in the US.....anywhere I could afford to buy land & where they had good dressage training for my horse & for me. I started looking at where the dressage associations were in the United States & the group in Kentucky looked like it might be the best.....then I realized that Kentucky was the Horse capital of the world so I figured that is would really be the best place for my horses if I could find a place. I didn't want to go to a state where there was a lot of snow in the winter because unless I had an indoor arena to ride in, I would not be riding in the winter weather......but I still wanted some winter weather...more than I was getting in California.....again, Kentucky seemed like about the best place to start looking at. My Mother had died & I sold her house, so I had a limited amount of money to pay cash for a farm.....so I knew I had to go somewhere that land wasn't real expensive. I was having so many health & emotional problems after she died due to the trauma the home care person created, so getting myself out of the house to go anywhere to look was almost impossible. I especially was having a hard time in the winters....right around the time it all happened.....but last April came.....my husband made plane reserations & we boarded all the dogs......except for Leo who goes crazy if he isn't close to me all the time & flew to KY. I had spent a couple of weeks looking at the listings around Lexington & had talked to a real estate agent there for the whole year before I went. I had a list of about 12 farms to see in the 2 weeks I was there & then right before I left for Kentucky...I had purchased a GPS system & went back into the listings to get the addresses.....there was another farm that was just listed & the photos looked beautiful.....but they all make even the worst place look good......so I had no idea what I was getting into.

There was a traffic accident on the California freeway & it was closed down right before my scheduled plane flight......so wouldn't you know....I missed my flight. When I finally got to the airport.....I decided that I would reschedule for whatever flight I could get on & would just sit there until the flight....no matter how long.......that threw off the schedule in KY by a day. When I arrived, we started looking at the ones I had on my list.....they were all dissasters. If you ever saw the movie "the money pit"? These make that look like a mansion. There were many that were what I called hysterical historical makeovers & even if they were in my price range....it would take too much to re do them into a liveable home......then I came across the tobacco barns....those huge black historical barns in Kentucky.......most of them were so run down....it would take more to renovate them than to just buy a farm without a barn & have one put up. However, the one farm that had popped up, I made sure I looked at it on the friday afternoon. After all the horrible places, I wanted to see if I should just give up of not. The drive to the 10 acre farm was amazing......it was like driving on vacation in California......down the winding road, through the trees & across the KY river.....& up the cascades on the other side. Then it opened out into the most beautiful green rolling hills I had ever seen. Onto a winding small paved road, through beautiful farm land & there was this beautiful not so little brick home. I went through the house I wanted it immediately. It was just like what I had seen in my dreams already.....especially when I walked out onto the front porch......it was like I had seen it all before. It didn't look like the land was very practical for the horse barn & dressag arena.....but I had met someone that builds barns at the rolex horse show just the day before who might be able to help me decide if it was possible.

I kept thinking about that farm the whole weekend & had fallen in love with it....especially with how bad all the others were. I was going to drop by the farm over the weekend & look it over again, the the real estate people didn't want possible buyers to meet the sellers.....for whatever their reasons are.......so Monday, I had an appointment with the barn person to check it out. I drove back to the farm & the owners were there.....so I got a chance to meet them. I heard that there was another family interested in the farm....& when I found out that the barn was completely possible even with how hilly the land was.....& I had walked down into the woods & found some really flat land to build on....so it looked even better than originally thought. The next morning....I decided to make an offer.....then I took off to wander around the horse park while waiting for an answer. I figured that since there was another person wanting to make an offer on the house....we might end up in a bidding war & the price was already at my max.......but a few hours later & they had accepted my offer.....go figure....when I met the owners....they decided that they wanted me to own the house & not the other family....so they immediately accepted my offer & didn't even bother telling the other real estate agent that was working with the other people who were interested.

Well, they were moving into a new home & wanted to close escrow in 15 days......so that's how Kentucky came about. Everything just kind of happened & everything just fell into the right place at the right time. It's the most perfect home I could have ever dreamed of. Initially, my intention was to let my husband get his act together & then he would move here too, but that has changed & now I am going to be working the whole farm myself...horses, dogs.....house, barn & all the yard work.....it's a lot for just one person who doesn't have money to hire things done......but it's something I love, so it makes it a passion rather than a chore. This farm has become my new life & has finally given me the way to leave the life that has been dragging me down for so long. It was something I realized completely after I finally got away that I had to do for myself.

So that is how Kentucky came to be,
Debbie