Our very own country road

We were in West Virginia a number of days before we realized that we could not buy a house. Being unemployed for nearly a year does bad things to your finances. So we switched to the "For Rent" sections of the classifieds. Hoo, boy. Wendy's in Fairmont will always remind me of those days. We would sit for long periods of time, perusing ads and making phone calls.

We saw house after house, none of which would fit us and our five critters: three equines and two canines. We saw what an impossible situation we seemed to be in, for if we couldn't find a property with acreage to rent, we would be paying beaucoup bucks to board our horses.

Meanwhile, our already strapped finances were being strained even further by staying in a motel. We contacted a friend of Kevin's family and he very graciously housed us. Oh, the stories Pat told! He and his family live in the country west of Morgantown. It was our first exposure to a real live hunter. Even his 9 year-old daughter snagged a deer that year! Their living room was adorned with a buck's head, from which hung several handmade star cutouts, apparently leftover from the Christmas season. The deer's name? Starbucks!

Our guest room was actually his reloading room. Shelves went to the ceiling, filled with various types of ammunition. I found myself shuddering somewhat as I tried to fall asleep.

I still wasn't too sure about this new state in which we were to live!

But back to Wendy's.

It suddenly occurred to me to call one of the realtors with whom we had contact before our arrival in WV. It was a long shot, but we asked if she knew of any rental properties that were available.

We couldn't believe it when she said, "As a matter of fact, a client just called me this morning and asked me to put his house up for rental. It's in the country on 23 acres."

And here we are. Our very own country road. Well, sort of. After all, we're renting.