Growing up at 9 Jutland Ave was great.
My Dad built our home when he and Mum got married.
The lived in the shed at the back and Mum was Dad's labourer.
It was a home filled with faith, love and acceptance of each of us for who we are.

I was the middle child of the seven, a sister and 2 brothers older and 2 sisters and a brother (who died as a baby) younger.

Sunday was a special day, Church and Sunday School were very special.
We attended the Coniston United Church.
Grandma was the Sunday School Superintendant.
Sunday School Anniversary was a highlight of each year, as was Harvest Festival.
We always had beautiful new clothes for each Anniversary which made it even more special

With a large family movies and other expensive pastimes weren't so often to be had but you could always be sure of fun on a picnic, trip to the beach, fishing night with Dad or even rabbit hunting.
The fishing and rabbitting also added welcome variety to the table.
Dad was always on the lookout for things to help us with our hobbies.
For me that was mainly in the garden, I loved my collection of cactii and succulents.
Dad built me a large frame and shelves down along the back fence and often brought home broken pots which he fixed and shells to decorate them with.

When I left school I worked at the Steelworks for a couple of years until I was old enough to go Nursing.
I started nursing at Sydney Hospital but transferred up to Darwin to complete my training.
I graduated in 1962 as a State Registered Nurse.
I didn't get to do my midwifery as Rob and I got married and moved to W.A, (supposedly for 6 months - 44 years later I am still here!)
I worked at Swan Districts hospital and later in Occupational Health and safety at Vickers Hoskins.
I also worked in Educational Support in later years, working with children with disabilities.

Graham and I both felt the call to work amongst the Indigenous people in the north of Western Australia so  12 months after we were married we went to the Kimberlies.
we spent 6 years in Halls Creek  with Graham working across the Kimberlies fixing the motor vehicles for all the mission staff. especially the buses.
Initially I worked at the Halls Creek Hospital but transferred to the High School to care for a beautiful lad with Cerebral Palsey called Baden, who later became our foster son.
While I worked in the school I also became the Library assistant, running and automating the school library.
Baden died in 1994.
In 1995 we moved to Fitzroy Crossing where Gra worked as an assistant Pasor to Rev. Rufus Uulf.
Here again I worked at the school running the library and the regional resource centre.
We only stayed in Fitzroy for a year before returning for a year in Perth.
During that year we knew our time amongst our precious indigenous folks wasn't done, so, after Gra's Mum's funeral in February 1997 we went out to Meekatharra to start a church amongst the folks there.
Graham was the Pastor and I took care of the administrations side of the church, both Meeka and the one at Mt. Magnet when we started a second church there.
Here again I worked at the school in Ed. support and automating the school library.
It was in trying to do both the church and the school and seeing the mistakes I made in both that we questioned the difficulties I was having with things that were second nature to me.
We tried to stay on after I was diagnosed with dementia but after almost a year we had to give it all away and left Meekatharra to live in Albany

We lived in Gra's parents home in Albany for about a year then sold it and bought a home in Lockyer before moving to Bethel Independent Living Units.
I loved the people in Albany but the wattle trees there didn't love me.
It was here that I first heard about Alzheimer's Australia W,A,
Diane and Marls were marvellous to us as was Nola from Mental Health.
They helped to get us on track with treatment for AD.
It was here as well that I started advocacy for people with dementia and joined DASNI.