Donna Suttle (dksuttle)

I am the kid who stared out the window dreaming of geography beyond the book on my desk.  I was a gypsy child moving with my family from one trouble spot to another, always behind in school but ahead in dreams.  I married young and have been in that harbor ever since, 50 years on the 27th of March, 2013.

For 25 years, my husband and I tended our jewelry business, exotic materials flowing into and out of our doors every day, stirring my curiosity.  Researching these things took me around the world at least once a day.  The history and lore of gemstones and metals enchanted me.  25 years slipped away.

We were displaced by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, our businesses damaged and the integrity of the building we live in was deeply damaged.  When the restoration work was begun on the building in 1998 we lost our leases and moved on to New Mexico. 

We lived “off the grid” for twelve years in the Land of Enchantment.  My husband and I both worked a bit from time to time.

In 2007 injuries my husband received in Vietnam finally took their toll and he retired.  I followed him a year later.  In the meantime our house had burned and liberated us from the conventions and the possessions that had served as our anchor.  Never shedding a tear we turned to the future.  Our son grown and gone, our house and cozy retirement in ashes and our feet itching we headed for Ecuador to rebuild our lives. 

So here we are.  Living in paradise and drifting away with our days.  Trouble is we are hearing the call of wanderlust again and we don’t know what tomorrow holds…