Hello out there!  This is my first post.  I have had so many things to say that now don't know where to begin!  Maybe I should begin with a bio of who I am.  This is going to be "Joe Friday" style.  Some of you will know immediately what this means, others are going to learn about Joe Friday.  (A tough, no-nonsense cop from the late 50's, early 60's TV series.)  His famous line, "I want the facts, mam, and nothing but the facts."  I don't believe he ever cracked a smile.  Here are the facts:

  Me Today

1.  Born in Los Angeles, CA.  Parents divorced when I was 2 months old and my mother, sister     and I moved to Las Vegas, NV; where I grew up.  Lived next to Aunt Lily & Uncle Earl.

Uncle Earl:  The real steady father figure in my life.

2.  Happy Childhood.  No major traumas.

Mary and Diane (only sibling)

3.  Ran away and got married at age 16 (this is going to be an interesting tale and also a good deal of teaching will come from my experiences down THAT rabbit hole.)

I thought I knew it all back then.
Ha!  Life is the great teacher.

4.  Three children from this.  One baby was adapted when I was too young to have a say in it.  We have reunited and he is a wonderful/successful man, father and businessman.  He fared better than his brothers, one died at 2 weeks, one lived in the craziness of this first rabbit hole.  
5.  Remarried:  Great man.  Responsible and trustworthy.  Very good life in a rural, small town in Northeastern Nevada.  Raised five responsible children to adulthood.  Lots to share from this time frame as well.  Different setting but, still, lessons crop up in all phases of life.
6.  Divorced...big mistake.  Ran off to the wilds of the Skull Valley Mountains in Northern Utah.  We experienced life off the grid,  Mountain Man Rendezvous and running through irrigation sprinklers high in the mountains, away from prying eyes.

                "Mosey"

7.  Coming back down to reality.  (The low lands)  Life down this rabbit hole had many twists and turns.  Another area, up in the mountains of Southern Utah, near the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.  Living off the grid again and learning more about this exciting and free lifestyle.  Survivalism.  How to build a good fire. Building a cabin on a slim income.  Dumpster Diving.

8.  Wild Woods:  My Successful Custom Wall Paint Business.  (The name was due in part to where we lived, truly in a wild wooded area as well as my husband (#3) wanted to start building furniture from the twisting, gnarled wood found so abundantly all around us.

Dabbling in Stained Concrete

9.  Four Wheel adventures:  Petroglyphs, Dinosaur Tracks, Ancient Anasazi Trails, Historic Mail Drops.

Slot Canyon:  Amazing Petroglyphs on both sides.

10.  Fighting with the county over our property:  The battle's climatic moment arrived with a letter to either tear our cabin down or they would do it and charge us.  A new set of Constitution- Minded County Commissioners and a whole new staff in the county offices saved our bacon.  
11.  A win-win solution.  Hats off to the new Kane County people who helped with this.
12.  A sad day for Mosey.  Solution: Selling his beloved property to a neighbor.  What now?


13.  My 93-year-old mother with                  Dementia.  
Me: her sole caretaker, striving to keep her at home.  Steps down this rabbit hole draws one into a very different reality and learning (step by step) what works!  Lots to share on this!

                         

14.  Remembering what I love about life and taking the steps to bring those things back.  
       Writing, Painting, Swimming, Kayaking and Photography.

15.  Hanging it up; or, "how to avoid the "Rabbit Holes" of life", if you want to.

16.  New adventures, places to see, things to do....the only thing you can count on is change.