I then moved back to Hugh River Holdings and started living with Glenn and got married the following year. We had Charlie in 1999 and Jorja in 2002. To start off back here again, as a governess, I was a little bit lost. Life on the lucerne farm was full on. That’s why Glenn is good with stupid hours now. You must be out bailing hay at ridiculous hours. My day was more about making sure he was set for his day. I did start getting a bit bored with life. Across the road at Stuarts Well there was a pub and a camel farm. I ended up applying for a job at the camel farm. I was in the kitchen cooking bacon and egg rolls for all the tourists coming through after their camel ride.

When the family sold up the lucerne farm Glenn and I stayed on and managed. After 12 months the people that bought it weren't making any changes that we needed to make. So we decided to leave. We up and packed up with no idea where we were going. We headed to Jamestown first and I said to Glenn why don’t we go for a little bit of a holiday to the EP. My mum was originally from Koongawa up near Kyancutta and I still had uncles over here. We had a look around and liked the area. In the end Glenn rang up one of the local businesses to see if there were any jobs going for a farm hand. In April 2009 he went to work for Skulls & Annie Howell out at Kapinnie. Our kids went from School Of The Air, to doing a little bit of correspondence until we found out where we were going, to hopping on the bus at Kapinnie and then we moved to Cummins they walked to school! I was blown away with that sort of thing – the different ways of getting to school!

About 6 months after starting work on the Howells farm, Glenn was shot. Glenn was working at Skulls’ place, and we were on the other farm. On this day Charlie happened to be home sick. He was home by himself as I had to race in and pick up Jorja from Netta. Sitting there waiting for it to finish I get a phone call from Glenn saying “Hey, don't go home on the main road. Get home and get Charlie. Get in the car and do not stop for any white vehicles” The phone dropped out. That was all I knew.

I started driving the back way home. I rang Charlie and said I want you to get in your dressing gown. As soon as you see my car I want you to come in get in the car. I had no idea where I was going. Charlie comes out gets in the car we’re starting to reverse out and there’s this white car coming up the driveway. The last thing I remember Glenn telling me was that if you see a white car don’t go near it. So, I lock the car and start reversing and looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Skulls and Dicko driving. I thought this was all good, this is fine, I can get out. I said to the kids stay in the car and I got out. Skulls gets out of the car, and he told me Glenn had been shot, he’s fine but we have to get you out of here.

The bloke attacked Glenn all because he thought he was entitled to money from Glenn’s father and as he couldn’t get to him, he would get the next best thing and that was Glenn. He walked up to Glenn at Skulls place. He’d really thought about this. He had made a homemade gun and had it in his pocket. When he saw Glenn he tapped it and the bullet went through Glenn’s nose and ricocheted into his eye socket. Luckily, he was wearing glasses. When Glenn was talking to me, he had been trying to get away from this idiot, blood pouring down his face, trying to get me to get our son safe. Glenn ended up taking the shooter away the other way. He was drawing him away knowing Charlie was at home by himself. Glenn was airlifted out that night. I first met Nita and Reg Howell and had a long night in their house thinking about what was going on. I was lucky Skulls was going to Adelaide the next day and he took the kids and myself over. It was horrific what we went through. It was scary. I swear someone was looking out for Glenn that day, everything was fine, and it could have been a lot worse, but he came out the other side. It was a bit eerie going back to the farm. I felt more for Glenn. At the time there was a really good counsellor at the hospital, and she was the best thing to help Glenn move forward. I think the fella took his own life. Glenn would have been always looking over his shoulder otherwise. You don't expect something like that to happen, not when you just move to a new town. We were still new to the community, we knew no one. We came back and everyone knew us because of what unfolded. What an interesting way to start our life on the EP.

We just got over that and about 6 months later things were not quite right with Charlie, and he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. A few people I had spoken to in the medical industry say that type 1 can be triggered by trauma. I sort of think that that was what happened with Charlie. Our life was turned upside down again. Charlie was 10. He coped, and still does, quite well. We are lucky to have the flying doctors here, for our family to use them twice in 12 months. Far out. We had our ups and downs, trying to work it all out, juggling and getting our head around diabetes was the biggest thing. He doesn’t even look back anymore. We were out at Skulls for 3 years. In January 2013 we bought the butcher shop. We thought let's work and do something for our kids and get some money behind us. On the farm we dabbled in butchering. I had helped with bookkeeping too. I still remember having a cow in the territory and the beast being on the kitchen table and it was literally butchered. Now we know what you can use! We haven’t looked back.

Life as a butcher is busy. 11 years down the track it's full on. In the 11 years there is more paperwork. The level is ridiculous making sure we are ticking all the boxes. I remember earlier being able to go out and serve, go back and do a few things in the office and back and serve. I just love customers. I would prefer to be doing that than bookwork. We have 2 fully qualified butchers. An adult apprentice, 2 school-based apprentices. We have 6 other staff including younger kids coming on board. We have a bit of a gang. I'm finding now it's getting quieter and quieter. We have the regulars and more and more tourists coming through. I am big on giving back to the community. I will always want to do that. I try and do the right thing but its getting harder and harder to keep forking out money. I don’t think people realise how much sponsorship entails.

Winter months are for my golf and summer months my bowls. I am enjoying my golf and bowls as an escape. It's a great club. I enjoy a good bit of banter – they never know what I'm going to come out with! It's the same with golf, that white ball defeats me most times- not a sport that you grasp quickly. I love the walk and the 19th hole! It's the same with bowls. It's good to go out and play, come back and sit around and be amongst completely different groups of people. Not too many young ones are playing bowls. I keep reminding them that I bring the average back down for them! At golf we are getting a few new numbers in which is good.

I think because we have the business, that keeps our minds busy and helps us to move on. It is full on in here and we are always trying to do the best for our products. This year I’m making Glenn have a week off work. It's hard to have time off. This will be interesting to see how we go, and it will be a first. We are passionate about it and It's our product we are putting our name on, and everyone is really good here. The shop will still stand!

Charlie is now in Darwin. He picked the furthest point away from his parents. He was a barista for 3 years and this year gone back as an SSO. He is at Berry Springs Primary school where Kate Harden (Richardson) is deputy principal. He’s really enjoying it. He’s happy. Jorja is over in Adelaide. She spent 2 years in Lincoln as an au pair. Last year was her first year in Adelaide and she worked in one of the childcare places there. She did not enjoy it last year and found it hard with friends, housemates and workmates. This year she's started a new job, new house and she's loving life. Shes doing really well.

I never used to like having my photo taken and I still don't. But after the incident with Glenn when I nearly lost him, I’d not had one family photo with him and the kids. Whereas now, I try and do it once a year. My little thing is whenever we get together, we have to have a family photo. And that way I know if something happens, I have a recent photo of us all. You just never know - until something is nearly taken away from you – life can be short.

I love the fact you may be down and out- or down, and this community will always rally around you. I love that. And that's just being in a small town. It's so good that the community will always help someone struggling. I love that. Thats me. I love to help someone out. I might be having a bad day doing paperwork, but there's someone else out there struggling. You hear whispers and being in a small town that someone is not doing well. It's good to be able to help them out. Everyone just rallies around. I would not want to be in a city, I don't think I could handle it. I don’t think I could go back to living at a station either. It’s isolated, you don’t have people contact. Being in a small country town just works.