You have had such a life changing series of events! Such a loving person to take in old senior horses and others. I wasn't on here yet when all this was going on. My mother went through a flood in the 1950's and said she would rather have fire, or tornado, than a flood. Sounds like the flood has such long reaching effects. You must be a very strong person to get through this.

My gosh, you are making me tired just hearing all you have done! Two days to walk home! We take in cats and are at capacity (actually over). You take in everyone! I think you must be a saint, and all your critters probably know it. :)

You do sound like a saint Marilyn! What an ordeal to go through. Wishing you, your husband and those animals all the best and really hope things work out so you get your place sold and buy the other one! You deserve some much needed good luck.

Glad to hear from you, and to know things are starting to turn around for you and yours. I hope what you wish to do finds a way to come about and make life a bit easyer for you. please know you are well liked and cared for at this table.

My houseExcept for losing the horse and the two donkeys, I would much rather go through a flood than a fire. The worst part is losing all of my photographs. I had given my daughter many of her childhood pics a few months before the flood, so I am happy that at least she has those. My photos were completely blank...or covered in a rainbow looking haze. None salvageable.

We will know more after the first of the week what we are going to do about the house. One possibility on the other place. When I spoke to the realtor who had it listed, he said they would sell the back part of the place....which is the barn, apartment, boat dock, etc. separate. If we bought that and got a lease on the front part, which is a hay field, with an option to buy when we sold the rest of ours, I would feel okay.

We are considering moving the house if we get that other place. You don't have to be crazy, but it helps....but anyway, we are crazy. But we have put so much into this house. It depends on if it is feasible to move it. We took it from a total disaster to a pretty decent house. It means a lot to us. Jody will get in touch with the mover the first of the week.

my house

Wow, nice job on your house! I can see why you would want to move it, you put a lot of heart and hard work in it!

Sylvia...that's interesting.

Marilyn....This "other" property you like...is it on higher ground then?

I know your hands are full, but I don't think you're the type who would be happy with nothing to do either. It would have been nice if Harvey hadn't destroyed and damaged so much, but the blessing of Harvey is that you have a family of horses who have good lives now.

As always, I love your house. I'm happy you have an option to keep it even if you move.

Marilyn, I've prayed that God's will be done. He knows what will be best for you and Jody. It may be that God wants you to move to that other house where things would be easier for both of you and if so, He will work that out, or God may want you to stay put for reasons only He knows.

Sylvia, thank you. We would have a real estate broker representing us. Even if I found a buyer for my property myself, I would still go through a real estate agent. We have sold eight and bought six pieces of property and we always have a realtor representing us. The property has a half mile long driveway and if we bought the back part, where the barn, apartment, etc. is, we would get a right of way. The driveway is off to one side, so it would be easy. However, if we couldn't get the front part, which is a hay field, I wouldn't want the back part. It would defeat the purpose of moving. Heidi Allbritton is our realtor. She specializes in country property.

Nicole, I am not worried about flooding. I am not worried about flooding here again either. And the other place has the land built up where the barndominium is located and also another pad built up for a house. We didn't get any water from the hurricane. We only flooded a couple of days later when the storm went inland, turned around, came back and stalled out over head and dumped over 50 inches of rain in a very short time. If you get that much rain, and the ground is already saturated, you are going to flood anywhere you live around here. In one town 20 miles away, 90% of the houses flooded. It was a very freak situation. Yes, it could happen again....but probably not in my lifetime.

The realtor who has the land listed told me it didn't flood. I have no reason to doubt him because there is no evidence that I saw. When a place floods, you get all kinds of trash washed in and hung up in fences. The land is deep....it has a half mile long driveway. I know the part by the road didn't flood....which means, if my horses had been there, they would have been okay....even with that much rain, and to tell you the truth, that is all I care about.

The bayou is even wider there than it is here. It is 100' wide here and down there, looks to be half again as wide.

Linda, we will see how it goes. I love this place and if we ended up just staying here, that would be okay.

I read thru the above posting and then looked at the pics of your beautiful home with a lot of long sighs,and even some tears just thinking back to what yous were and still are going thru after that dastardly storm,Marilyn....no idea what else to say,other than,God Almighty....and best of luck no matter what you and Jody choose to do in the upcoming months.

I see. I knew you would have looked it over and have a plan of action. Now I understand what your seeing in this property and it's potential. It fits your needs and I hope you get it! BTW Your Dodge truck with 150+K miles is a dream truck for someone in the construction trade, here in Colorado. Texans moved here in force, remember I'm a Texan......the life here is similar. :0)

Wow, Marilyn... what an update! Good luck for your plans.

Moni

To think that some women just buy *shoes*.

I am sure my husband probably wished I just bought shoes. I am wearing a pair of sneakers from the thrift shop, that cost $3.99, and my horse, Val, is wearing (or will be again as soon as I can get the farrier out) a set that costs $175. And he gets new shoes every 6 weeks. I get "new" ones when I completely wear out my old ones, and back to the thrift shop I go for them. I am not complaining. My shoes aren't important to me....although, I am wearing some pretty high dollar shoes, but I wouldn't pay that much for them new. I am happy that I can put shoes on Val. My horses mean everything to me.

You are amazing, Sue. I hope you know I was just trying to be droll -- not critical.

No offense taken, Chisue. Not even when you called me Sue. :-)) Funny, I used to have a neighbor down the road who would come by fairly often to see my horses. He always called me Susie. I don't know if he thought that was really my name or if it was just a general sort of name that he called all women. I wish I had asked him, but I never did....so I will never know.

Ack! I must have been thinking of Marilyn Sue in Indiana! My apologies.

I once dated a fellow who insisted on calling me Susan. My name is Sue (middle name, but the one used by my parents -- and me). That was better than the one who called me Baby Doll. He even wrote to me that way: "Dear Baby Doll". What a clever boy; no chance of calling one girl by another girl's name!

Thank you for the update! You sure do manage to stay busy, don't you! But it sounds like things are looking up, and that's a very good thing! I'm also glad to read you will probably take your house with you if you move. When you posted pictures of it (the new place) awhile back, I thought it looked like the ideal place for you, but the living quarters sure don't seem to have the appeal of your current home. I, too, am praying that God's will will be done in your life, that He will guide and protect you, Jody, and your animals always.

Rusty

Thanks for the update. That's neat, taking your house with you!

Boy, you've been on quite a ride, Marilyn, and I don't mean horseback riding! I sure do hope the new place works out; it sounds like it would be perfect for you and the animals. And, I hope your house can come with you too!

Loved the update, every word. Very best wishes, whatever you decide to do.

PS when you have time, We would all love to see pictures of the new family members.