Whether basking atop a scenic plateau, or plodding the depths of a deep crevasse (both literally and figuratively), my life is an open book (well...mostly! A lady has to have a few secrets, eh?).

Why Do I Want to Keep a Blog? Excellent question! Years ago, I lost my first grandson and in an attempt to deal with my profound grief, I decided to embark on a healing journey: a long-distance hike on the Appalachian Trail. I began my first blog as a way to share my journey with friends and loved ones back home. It was then that I realized how satisfying maintaining a blog was. I really do enjoy writing!

Later, when I lost my son, followed shortly after that by my brother, I found that the blog afforded me a way to pour the overwhelming emotions I was feeling out into the universe. And I discovered that in sharing my own travails, others came forward. I realized that in being open and vulnerable, others didn't feel so alone. I understood that in a small way, I had the ability to lift the veil on mental illness, and maybe reduce the stigma just a bit.

For reasons I am unable to put into succinct words, I take joy in sharing my life. In fact, it's actually therapeutic for me, as affirmed by the doc who (tries to) help me to keep my head straight. So, I offer you a glimpse of the inner workings of my sometimes-addled mind. Perhaps I'll offer a description of some of my adventures and even misadventures. Maybe I'll take a walk down memory lane. There might be a recipe here and there. I'll even throw in a few photographs now and then, too.

Maybe I'll make you laugh, maybe I'll make you cry. Maybe I'll make you ponder, or reassure you that you're not alone in some of the insanity you might be experiencing.

In other words, I never know what will come forth when I sit down to write. Could be stream-of consciousness, could be a carefully crafted and meticulously honed entry.

Whatever comes forth, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy offering it.

Cheers! And happy trails.


Bucket List


Some of these are relatively attainable; others most certainly not. But it's a fantasy list, no? Doesn't hurt to dream...

  1. Make a meaningful difference in someone's life
  2. Take a Toastmaster's class to learn to speak more eloquently in public
  3. Speak about depression, PTSD and suicide to military bases, schools, or any other forum in which people might benefit
  4. Do a stint with the Peace Corps, or at least do some sort of extended stint of volunteer work in a third-world country
  5. Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
  6. Climb the highest peak in each of the 50 states
  7. Ride my motorcycle along the historic Route 66
  8. Learn to hula hoop
  9. Learn to throw a frisbee
  10. Go to Uganda and see mountain gorillas in their native habitat
  11. Dive in a shark cage
  12. Hike in New Zealand
  13. Hike in Vietnam
  14. Go skydiving
  15. Learn to love running
  16. Take a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon (Did this for about a week or so and it was one of the most amazing adventures of my life)
  17. Learn to ride a road bicycle clipless
  18. Easily get into wheel pose in yoga
  19. Learn to throw a pizza crust
  20. Drive a demolition derby car
  21. Scuba in the Great Barrier reef
  22. Drive a race car
  23. Paint a painting that I am truly proud of
  24. Earn a degree in Fine Arts
  25. Hike in Nepal
  26. Attain a rock-hard athlete body
  27. Go ice fishing
  28. Take a truly epic trip in my RV
  29. Go to where the Monarch butterflies migrate at peak time
  30. See every National Park in the U.S.
  31. Go bungee jumping
  32. Hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail
  33. Spend a night seeing what it feels like to be among the homeless
  34. Hike rim-to-rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon
  35. Compete in a triathalon (I wouldn't say what I did was" competing", ha...but I did it.)
  36. Get my friggin' dog to quit peeing in the house
  37. Learn to dance the two-step with reasonable proficiency
  38. Learn to dance West Coast swing with reasonable proficiency
  39. Floss daily
  40. Learn to dance East Coast swing with reasonable proficiency
  41. Sail on a barefoot cruise or tall ship cruise
  42. Be able to do 100 push-ups (man-style) in a single set
  43. Do a long-distance bicycle tour
  44. Take a week-long motorcycle camping adventure
  45. Swim naked in the moonlight 
  46. Hike Hadrian's Wall n England
  47. Hike El Camino de Santiago in Spain
  48. Hike the entire circumference of Lake Tahoe
  49. Fly in a hot-air balloon
  50. Become a Master Gardener
  51. Become a Master Beekeeper
  52. Find peace in my heart
  53. Go bungee jumping (did this in Nepal over a river. Super scary, super exhilarating)
  54. See the Northern Lights
  55. Ski a Black Diamond run
  56. Write a book
  57. Save a human life
  58. Hike or ride a bike along a portion of The Great Wall of China
  59. Go to Daytona bike rally
  60. Go to Sturgis bike rally
  61. Be an inspiration to someone
  62. Do even one pull-up (although I'd love to be able to do 5 someday)
  63. Take a college-level geology class so I can better appreciate the rocks,etc. that I see when camping and hiking
  64. Run a half marathon
  65. Run a marathon
  66. Blow glass
  67. See Stonehenge
  68. See the Great Pyramids
  69. See Pompeii
  70. Take an extended kayak or canoe camping trip
  71. Visit a mosque
  72. Fly in a hot-air balloon (I've done this several times now: once with Pat when we were newlyweds, then once with each of my kids when they turned 10)
  73. Draw a picture of each of my children that I am genuinely proud of
  74. Visit a Jewish Temple
  75. Bowl a game over 150
  76. Ride in a biplane
  77. Grow a filter
  78. Start a bee hive
  79. Sing karaoke without looking like a complete ass
  80. Act in a play
  81. Dance alone on top of a mountain like Maria in Sound of Music
  82. Learn to speak Spanish with relative proficiency
  83. Write a poem
  84. Write a raunchy limerick
  85. Make homemade cheese
  86. Make homemade soap
  87. Try blacksmithing
  88. Get in my RV and drive with no plan whatsoever for a week: no peeking at maps, GPS, Google search, etc.
  89. Declutter
  90. Write a complete bullshit letter to Dear Abby and see if she answers (she did)
  91. Host a foreign exchange student
  92. Learn to live within a budget
  93. Earn a blackbelt
  94. Do a ride-along with a police officer, fireman, or paramedic (cute fireman preferred)
  95. Experience weightlessness
  96. See if I can be hypnotized
  97. Kiss a girl
  98. Do goat yoga
  99. Join the mile-high club (maybe???? With the right person...)
  100. Ride a camel
  101. Learn to identify cloud formations
  102. Catch a REALLY BIG fish (big is relative...tami jo is small)
  103. Participate in a Patriot Guard ride
  104. Make any necessary amends
  105. Hike the John Muir Trail in California
  106. Go skydiving
  107. Find Waldo
  108. Ice skate in Central Park
  109. Learn to drive on the left side of the road
  110. Live in Ireland for 6 months
  111. Check out The Optimist Club
  112. See what's under the kilt
  113. Shear a sheep
  114. Be a "wife' in an eastern European wife-carrying contest
  115. Solve for equation
  116. Learn to whistle... yeah, I really can't
  117. Trust
  118. Learn to play any sort of tribal drum(s) 
  119. Take a trapeze class
  120. Take a pilgrimage to Romania to meet my relatives
  121. Love someone who will love me in return, despite all

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