A broken heart and broken bones don't kill her dream.

I am an avid reader of your fine magazine and have been for years.

I submitted an article to you and it was published in the November/ December 1998 issue.

At that time, I was a homesteader in Oklahoma with my husband. Let me tell you where I am now.

In November 1998, my husband and I lived on two acres in Oklahoma in a converted bus. We kept pigs, chickens, goats, horses and cows. Life was good, raising a garden and eating fresh eggs from our chickens. We were waiting and preparing for the Y2K time bomb. We stocked up on everything imaginable and no one could foresee that in January 2000 I would be in the hospital.

After a surgery and complete relief that Y2K didn't happen, life settled back to normal. Or so I thought.

My husband and I began to disagree--about everything--and our once somewhat harmonious marriage became decidedly un-harmonious. He didn't like my goats; I didn't like the fact that he didn't like my goats. The goats were sold. He didn't like much else. The cows were sold, as were the pigs.

Then, two days after starting a new job, one of my horses kicked me in the knee and broke it in four places.

My daughter came to my rescue and took care of me for three months while my leg healed. My son-in-law faithfully drove me to my doctor appointments every two weeks. All of this required money. I had no money so I had to sell my beloved horses to pay my bills.

When my leg healed, the factory where I started my new job had closed so I had no job. I spent the summer in Arkansas visiting my parents.

At the end of the summer, I moved back to the farm and took a job at a convenience store. I was happy to be back at the farm by myself. I had a young horse and my dog. After about eight weeks on the job, business slowed down and I was laid off. I took another job at another convenience store. During this time, I enjoyed the farm and found it quite therapeutic. Chopping wood kept me busy while not at work and I found that this little farm helped me through my divorce.

Right before Christmas, my mother called and said she needed my help. I gave two weeks notice and packed up all I could in my truck and moved to northwest Arkansas where I helped care for my mom as she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

I obtained a good job where I still work today and live in an apartment where I have a garden spot and yard. I can have chickens also, though I do not have any currently. I am also experimenting with indoor gardening, growing potatoes (successfully!) and snow peas. The tomatoes did grow though not very big and the lettuce did well. My animals consist of parakeets, finches and a cat, with plenty of deer, squirrels, wild birds and an opossum and raccoon occasionally.

I have not given up my dream of another homestead and keep my dream alive by experimenting with my indoor and outdoor gardens. I plan on getting some chickens and rabbits in the spring, and hope to save enough money to purchase a few acres. I have some good friends and one in particular who shares the same homesteading dream.

DONNA SLATON

EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS

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