Boondox -
No problem! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Again, sorry for such a long post, but I was hoping you would find it useful.
Although I think the .22 Hornet would be a great round for your use, your choices will be a little more limited (assuming you're looking for a new gun.) Don't get me wrong, there are "big name" mfgs. currently making guns in that chambering - it is just you will find fewer "flavors" to choose from.). Springfield Armory & Savage with their O/U .22 Hornet/.410 single shots, Ruger has a bolt action, and Taurus even makes a pistol in .22 Hornet, but to my knowledge, Remington and Winchester aren’t currently offering anything in .22H (I could be wrong here of course - you could check with your local gun shop to see what they say.)
As Egon pointed out, you could also consider the .222 Remington - the (for a 55 gr bullet, it is about 3000 fps vs. the 2400 fps for the Hornet or 3400 for the .223). A nice cartridge that won lots of benchrest competitions and has a fine reputation as a varmint cartridge as well. A bit more “oomph” than the Hornet, but something to consider.
There are a lot of wildcat cartridges out there (and more obscure "factory" chamberings as well) - but I suspect that you aren't necessarily going for something hard to find or that has expensive ammo. (You can get new mfg, non reloadable .223 HP ammo (20) for under $3 a box while the .22 Hornet should run you somewhere in the $10 for 20 shots). All depends on how much you want to spend and if you want it carried at every store you go in to or not. /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif
Sounds like you'd like something relatively light so your wife can handle it. Just remember though that for each lb. you shed on the gun, it'll revisit you in the form of recoil velocity and energy, so you gotta strike a balance somewhere. (I ran a calculation on the .17 Rem and it has a really low recoil V & E - roughly half of something like the .223, which is still really low.)
BTW, I added a pic of one of my better groups with my 6mm ppc just for fun since we're talking about gun stuff. Not my best group with it (you can see the shot I pulled on the lower left). Just gotta keep trying I suppose! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
-Take care