In the Year 2000
In the Year 2000 Once upon a time, in the year of 2000, Ray decided when he retired- left his badges, and walked out the gates at ORNL for the last time being an employee there- we would move to Fentress County. Fentress County???! Near the Kentucky border. A long, long way "up the road." No easy way to get there!
After much debate and other tactics, and many more debates, we compromised. We moved to part of the Cumberland Plateau. A long, long way "up the road" and no easy way to get there!

Yes, I had said I wanted a small farm with a pond. A small barn would be nice and the acreage needed to be fenced. Oh, and most of the land cleared, but had to have woods. Yes, many times I had voiced my dreams of a little farm.
Please note the word "dream"- as in my wildest dreams will I move a long, long way up the road and no easy way to get there. Please, just bring the little farm near to where I already was!

But we went looking in our compromised area, and there was our sign-"For Sale", a homemade sign, worn, and falling down. We drove up and down the road, past the sign, many times. People were standing in the yard looking as we passed. Kind of; we were looking at them as they were looking at us.
I was not driving! If I had been, I would have stopped at least by the thrid time we drove past- I did wave to let the people know we were friendly or perhaps someones relatives returned home for a once again look at the old home place.

Finally, Ray made a profound statement: "you reckon we ought to stop and meet these people and ask about their sign." I told him I thought we should or be ready when a deputy drove up and pulled us over to check identification!

We drove up a gravel and grass driveway between two fence rows. Ray and I got out of the car, and the meeting and greeting begun. Yes, they were selling and moving closer to the city of Crossville. Husband was sick and wife did not want to drive the distance any more. She appeared to know a for-sure place not easy to get to, nor easy to get away from!

With the fogs so bad, and the snow at times, she said it made it where they had to "park down at the bridge and walk in, to feed their cows,"- so they were moving. Place had been for sale for a year now. Sales had fallen through four times. Perhaps that was our big sign!

We left our new friends that night and the little farm, with a plan in place- to buy "the place." No farmhouse though, yet all the other things I had mentioned were in place. There in the field, instead of my old farm house, sat a 14x 64 single wide mobile home.

I couldn't imagine how we would down-size from a 3,000 plus square foot house to a small mobile home. I couldn't imagine how we would ever get our garage cleaned out!

But Ray had big plans! He would build us a house on our little farm. Ray was born with what I call "his handicap"- his hands do not fit a paint brush. Ray does not and never has painted, nor does he plan on painting for a hobby.
Out of dire necessity, we started to look for a house for Ray to build- no painting required!
To be continued......