Hello, I felt that since so many of you follow and enjoy my creations and my art, that you might like to know a little bit about the road I traveled to become who I am. This is quite long, but I hope you will take the time to read it all.  Let me say that I do not believe in coincidences, and believe that everything is connected and happens for a reason, even if we sometimes cannot understand what that reason may be.  People come in to and out of our lives every day, all with a purpose of giving or getting from us, a life lesson.  I believe we endure the pain and suffering we do including our illnesses to perfect for God.  We are on this earth to learn to love unconditionally.  It is as simple as that, and as difficult at the same time. My entire life is a reaffirmation of this belief, and my faith in God. My name is Donna Ann.  I am now 66 years old (and old as dirt Lol) I was born in Burbank, Ca, in 1944 and grew up in the San Fernando Valley, just a few blocks from Bob Hope's home. Our street was across the boulevard, and in a distressed area, not at all like the other side of the boulevard in Toluca Lake, but it was "home".  Universal Studio's was just down the street, but not at all what it is today. We lived in a very small four room house that my dad built by adding on to an old wooden garage.  It had a long dirt/gravel driveway that was edged on one side by a row of sweet peas along the fence line.  To this day I love the smell of sweet peas and can remember mom and I picking them by the armful to bring in to the house and put into a vase placed on our table in the 8' X 8' square area we called a dining room.  Our house was a one bedroom home that had no bedroom door. My bed was a single bed placed in a corner of the room between the closet and the wall. My parents bed was next to mine, with a dresser between our beds.  I had one wicker basket for my toys, and about 1-1/2 feet of space in the middle of the closet, which was very hard to get to.  I shared this room with my parents until I was 16.  After much complaining on my part, they finally allowed me to moved out to the living room couch which was a fold out bed.  I graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1962, and spent about 1-yr. attending a private small business college nearby. When I was a child, I always felt that I would be married three times during my lifetime.  This has come to pass.  When I married my first husband, I married too young.  It lasted 10 yrs and we have two girls who are now grown.  My second marriage also lasted 10 years and produced one child, my son.  This marriage ended in an abrupt and extremely traumatic divorce.  I won't go into any details but as some have said, I should write a book about those 10 years, but the divorce moved me to Ashland, Oregon where my family had migrated to over the years.  Sadly, my girls left home and moved to be with their biological dad who resides in another state.  My youngest daughter left my life at that time, (she was 16) and not a day goes by that she isn't on my mind and missed.  My oldest daughter lives out of state with her 4 living children.  She and I are close.  I raised and supported my son alone, without any child support, financial or government help.  I was a single mom for 18 years, and am very proud of that, and how my son turned out.  He is a wonderful person and we are extremely close.  I never dated during that 18 years as it took a little more than 10 years just to heal from the experiences we endured.  My son lost so much too. He lost his dad, his two sisters, his brother, his dog, all of his friends and his home all at once. This was in addition to the incidences that prompted us to move. He had a counselor for a while who was very helpful in his adjustment, (this man's daughter was a schoolmate of my sons ),but the counselor died in a plane crash which we found out about as we watched the wreckage on the news one evening.  He was devastated.  They showed the airplane and I just thanked God that my son was not with him when he crashed as he often went flying with him in his small plane.  No child should have to experience the trauma he has had in his 31 years. I worked for 5 years with Safeway as a Deli Manager and Deli Trainer for store manager-trainees and I also trained other Deli Managers throughout the state, which meant traveling now and then.  I then worked for a couple years as Bakery/Deli Manager for Ray's Food Place, another grocery chain here in Oregon.  I loved decorating cakes. It satisfied my creative side, as I also enjoyed making party trays in the deli.  As a salaried manager, I also worked holidays and most weekends and when doing holiday party trays, I often went to work at 9pm at night and worked until 2pm the next day as I had to work my normal shift in addition to making trays all night.  Ah! the joys of being in management. In late 1994 I was let go from work and then spent my time as a full time caregiver for my mother, father and part time caregiver for my aunt, in addition to being a single mother.  Before I left work, I was working in addition to being their caregiver, which was extremely stressful, so it really was a blessing in disguise.  Ah! again, no coincidence.  God gave me what I could handle, and when I made the statement  "God get me out of here"  WHAM! two days later I was out of there LOL. During the next few years, I experienced a bad car accident (back end over the front end roll going 60 mph.  I careened across the freeway and in between two cars, hit the ditch and flipped rear end over to land on the car roof, then bounce back rear end up and slid into the ditch.  I can remember saying out loud "God, please don't let me hit anyone" and then" Please let me be ok."  I was forced off of the road by an RV whose driver never even noticed the accident behind him). Both the state police and paramedics told me they expected to find me dead inside the car.  They were amazed that I was still breathing.  I hung upside down in the seatbelt for a while until I convinced an onlooker to open the door as I could not undo the seatbelt from this position.  I could hear several people who had stopped yelling to stay away from the car, the car was going to blow up.  Luckily I was conscious enough to turn off the ignition, but the danger was still there.  I could hardly keep my eyes open due to the concussion. The car was nose down in the ditch with the tail end straight up in the air. The engine was running (before I turned it off) and gas poured over the manifold. The sound of the crushing metal and the smell of gasoline affect me to this day.  I did suffer a severe concussion which has left a couple of minor problems, and a broken finger which is fused and difficult to use now.  But, I am blessed as I know my Guardian Angel was with me and kept me and those around me safe.  This happened less that a mile from home.  I have suffered the loss of a granddaughter.  This was by far the most heart wrenching experience of my life.  Her name is Stephanie Erika, named after both of her parents.  Her father Stephan, and her mother, Erika  She was my daughters 3rd child of 5.  She was stillborn and died in utero just before her due date.  I understand it was from Parvo 19, which was picked up somewhere and transferred to the unborn baby. I lost my dearest friend of 34 years, who had been my "rock" since I was 18 years old. I lost him, my aunt and my father within 6 weeks of each other.  The deaths were sudden and unexpected except for my fathers. Bless his heart, he was just a month shy of 91 years old.  One month later, we survived a sudden flood about 3 minutes after midnight on New Years eve, 1997.  We lost our mobile home. My son, cat, dog and I were blessed to be able to move in with my mother, whom I said I would "never" live with again.  God just had other plans, picked me up and "put" me there and I was very thankful to have a roof over my head.  She also needed me there 24 hrs a day by then.  Again, no coincidence.  She suffered from breast cancer and a double mastectomy at age 84, this was just a week and a half after my dad passed away at 90 years old, and a week after her surgery.  This all happened within a very short period of time, of less than a year.  Mom lived another four years to be 89 yrs old.  I am now very thankful for the four years we spent living together, even if it was difficult at times.  We were able to do much emotional healing and became very close towards the end of her time.  I miss her. Mom was still recovering from her mastectomy surgery. She also had a very bad heart and suffered from heart failure and bladder cancer which was a result of the breast cancer.  She was too weak to endure more surgery and opted for no chemotherapy.  We had many paramedic calls and trips to the hospital during those years, as well as a couple of years while I was still working.  Just a few months before I met my current husband, I was told that I had uterine cancer and possibly breast cancer at the same time.  Talk about a shock.  I will never forget hearing those words.  As it turned out, I was literally a "hare's breath" away from uterine cancer, as the doctor told me after my surgery. I was unemployed, uninsured an in a real pickle.  If it not for a very kind nurse practitioner at the clinic who worked day and night for days until she found a program that would pay for a life threatening situation, I would not be here today.  I was blessed with the best doctor/surgeon and a good hospital.  I had emergency surgery just after we moved in with my mother.  She herself was still recovering from her surgery. The breast cancer they said I had turned out to be a false alarm, but they still watch this area and I have it checked regularly because of family history.  In October of this year, they again thought I may have breast cancer, but after several types of imaging and examinations, the results were inconclusive.  I just had another follow up, and so far so good, whatever it is has not grown.  I have to return again in 6 months for another re-check.  If that one comes back ok I can go back to my once a year checkups.  It is not my idea of fun but necessary. I bought a computer to occupy my time since I was home 24/7 with my mother, and a whole new world opened up for me.  The world of  Digital Art, PSP and Incredimail.  We all know the addiction that leads to don't we. LoL After my last divorce, I swore I would "Never" get married again.  A husband just was not on the agenda.  I was searching online at http://www.Classmates.com for High School friends I had lost touch with, and happened across the name Barclay Vose. We never dated in high school, but he spent time with my then boyfriend, who I dated for 6 years; all through Jr. high and High school.  I was actually looking for another friend that we were close to back then. It was the three boys and me in our tiny circle.  I loved being the only girl. The two other boys were and are again like my "brothers". We triple dated often and had a great time.  After graduation, we all went our separate ways until recently. We all figured we began our teen years together, so we may as well go out the same way, as close friends. I had been scrap-booking my high school photos and had just put a picture of him (Barry) into my photo album the morning of the day I found him online.   Coincidence?  I think not!  I sent him an e-mail, and needless to say, he didn't have a clue who I was.  That is, until I e-mailed him a photo of the group of us together.  He remembered then. LoL His wife had died from breast cancer the week before I contacted him. but he had been mourning her for four years before she passed as he was her caregiver.  We quickly renewed our friendship and discovered we truly had a lot in common.  He lived in Antelope California, and I in Ashland, Oregon so our communication was via telephone and e-mails.  He spent 25 years in the military.  First the Navy for six years, and the rest in the Air Force until he retired.  He completed three tours in Vietnam. 1963, 1965, and 1970.  I have to admire that, although as with most Vietnam vets, he did not get through it emotionally unscathed.  My heart goes out to all veterans.  Thank you for your service.  He then worked for 15 years at UC Davis in the engineering dept. and retired in 2003. We married 6 months after we were reacquainted, in Lithia Park, Ashland Oregon.  The ceremony took place on the 28th of December in 2000, on a bridge crossing Ashland Creek in Lithia Park, Oregon.  We were married by a female Judge, who suggested this spot.  We both felt it was perfect, as it was the same place Barry had proposed to me a few months earlier.  The ceremony was short but very touching with the exception of the female jogger who jogged across the bridge and between the judge and us in the middle of the ceremony. LoL  Just my son, his girlfriend, another aunt and my girlfriend and her husband attended.  The creek babbling below us made the ceremony even nicer.  The weather was about 34º but sunny as you can see in the photos below.  We each held a single red rose, which I now have dried and in a window box display in our bedroom. These photos are of the occasion.  . Barry went back to California a week later, and I stayed in Oregon to care for my mother.  He and I were apart the first six months we were married, but Barry drove up every other weekend, only a 4 1/2 hour drive.  My mother passed away five months later, very happy that I had a man in my life again.  It's a good thing too, because I had not worked during the time I was caring for her, so I had no income.  Mom was left with only $35.00 in her bank account. Had I not been married I would have really been scurrying to find work. Just before she died, she had been in a coma and often didn't remember who I was.  She came out of it in time for her to say goodbye to her brother, sister and my son. She fell asleep after they left, but awoke a couple hours later.  I asked her if she knew who I was (her memory was very bad by this point). She didn't say anything for the longest time, then she looked at me and in a soft but mischievous childlike voice, said "yes, you're Mrs. Barry" and gave me the biggest smile.  Those were the last words she spoke before she closed her eyes and died, just a few moments later. I moved to Sacramento to be with my hubby and left my then 23 yr old son home.  Barry retired from work 2-1/2 years later, so we put the house up for sale, and it sold in 3 days.  I could not wait to return to Oregon.  I love this state and feel a real affinity with it.  We live in the middle of a forest area in Central Oregon and love it. A week before we moved, however, we were victims of a home invasion robbery.  It happened while we were in the house sleeping.  Needless to say, it was quite traumatic, but I thank God we were not injured or killed.  The authorities told us that the gangs in the area thought nothing of killing you as you slept.  A couple not far away had been shot and killed while they slept just a short time before.  We were blessed indeed.  It was believed to be a Russian gang who brazenly broke in to our home.  We were also told that there were most likely 4 to 6 of them.  They took a lot, including our new car, my jewelry and much much more.  I truly believe my Guardian Angel kept me sleeping which kept me alive for I am a very light sleeper and did not wake up.  It is frightening to think someone with a weapon was standing over you while you slept.  Barry is deaf in one ear and sleeps wearing a c-pap so he never hears anything.  They also got my Yanni concert tickets, which was a longtime dream of mine to go to one of his concerts, and they were a birthday present from Barry. I had kept them in my purse as the concert was near.  I was devastated by their loss more than anything else they took. They found our car a little over a week later, and in the trunk, tossed aside were the tickets to the concert; nothing else.  I cried, very thankful that we could salvage some pleasure out of the experience.  I drove to Oregon 2 days later thinking I had 2 weeks before the concert.  Luckily Barry read the paper one morning and discovered the concert had been moved up.  It was "that night" and I was in Oregon!!! the concert was in Sacramento. Needless to say I packed a bag and hit the road, arriving only an hour before the concert began. The concert was fabulous, and a healing experience for us both. A week later I was finally back in Oregon. for good.  I moved to Central Oregon in April, and Barry retired and moved up in June of 2003.  As many of you know, we share our home with our RagDoll cat "Buster", and our  Boxer dog "Tony". It sure feels good to be back home in Oregon.  We live next to a State Park.  Unfortunately we also live with the fire danger during the summer months and are only 15 min. away from a volcano that hopefully will not erupt during our life time. Here is our view of our front yard looking towards the street. We have close to 100 pine trees on our property between the house and the street, so we cannot see the homes across the road. This is the view from our back yard.  We now live on one acre of land, with only one visible neighbor.  The land on the other side has not been built on.  The land which is the view you see above, is 80 acres of privately owned land.  The owner lives on the property and is using it as a wild life sanctuary and does not plan on developing it.  We often see the a herd of Elk or Deer, and an occasional Coyote, and recently a pair of wolves at our fence line.  There are rabbits, squirrels, ground squirrels (chipmunks), frogs who live underground and come out at night, and many birds and other small animals.  There was also a cougar about 2 miles from here, but sadly, he was shot and killed.  We love it here, even though the chipmunks are quite pesky at times. Between Barry and I, we have six grown children, seven grandchildren and one great grandson who is just adorable.  Unfortunately all but my son live out of the state, and he is 2 1/2 hours away, over the mountain.  We adopted our Boxer, Tony as a pup, and also our RagDoll cat, Buster.  They were babies together which is why they got along so well.  I use their photos in many of my Incredimail letters in my "Members Only" subscription area of this web site.  Buster and Tony kept us quite entertained.  They were born just a couple months apart  Through my Incredimail stationery they are known through the world and have become quite popular. I still spend most of my days on the computer as we live 28 miles south of the nearest city, so mall shopping is not an everyday option.  I love creating Incredimail stationery, and also writing tutorials.  Another thing I have discovered on my computer is digital art.  I do it mostly for fun as a hobby, but have sold my art.  I also paint using the One Stroke method by Donna Dewberry.  It is a lot of fun.  Photography is yet another hobby, and I have sold prints of my photographs as well. Last summer we were blessed with many overnight guests.  Some of whom included my old boyfriend, (we were together from the age of 13 yrs old until 19 yrs old) his wife, our other friend from school, his wife and four dogs between them for four a four day visit.  We had a fantastic time.  We were able to pick up where we left off in school 40+ years earlier.  We hope to have them all visit at the same time again soon.  One lives in Arizona and the other in California. Each one of us suffer from health issues.  I am amazed at how many of you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and fibromylagia.  There are so many diseases out there.  I am blessed to be fairly healthy at the moment.  I have the usual blood pressure and normal health issues we get as we age, as well as being very overweight.  My biggest frustration at the moment, is hair loss.  Due to scalp psoriasis and other medication side effects.  It isn't pretty, and people do stare, but I try not to let it get me down.  My hair does not dictate the person I am inside, but have a wig to wear if we do something special away from home. I enjoy reading--love the Harry Potter series, and Clan of the Cave Bear set.  I enjoy sewing, quilting, rug latch hooking, digital art, onestroke art, scrapbooking, card making and much more.  There are not enough hours in the day.....life is good! Sadly, in April of 2010, we lost our Boxer, Tony.  He had a seizure and literally just dropped dead.  It was a sad day, and Buster, Barry and I miss him terribly.  He was the sweetest dog ever. There I am in a nutshell......thank you for reading this. This is only the "tip" of the iceberg so to speak of my life's experiences, but if I had written it all it would have been a real book.  Thank you for reading this. May God Bless you! Hugs  Donna Ann     Home Page