The challenge I set myself has been completed.
101 dolls in 101 days.
I feel excited ...
and deflated.
I liken it to the feeling after attending an invigorating retreat
or a stimulating conference
or reading an engrossing novel -
my perspective on life is forever changed.
And I wish it wasn't over
because the euphoria lifts my spirit.
And I feel I can do anything
but the excuses are already lining up in my head!
Possibilities abound in my thoughts
but the nay-sayers are circling the wagons -
the self-critic; the negative voices of people long dead;
the judge (and the jury); those who demand I conform.

But I have demonstrated ...
perseverance and determination,
trust in myself and in the divine,
discipline,
lateral thinking,
a sense of purpose.
All of these qualities I can apply in all life's endeavours -
creative, intellectual, spiritual, emotional, physical.

And I will.

I couldn't leave Quinn without his life-long partner...
so Doll 102!!!

Wilhemina Krautz was born in 1907 in Germany.
Her family emigrated to South Australia shortly after, in 1908.
Germans were the largest group of non-British or Irish settlers and their descendants
in Australia.
They were industrious and had a strong work ethic.
However, after World War 1,
anti-German sentiment was strong.
Quinn's mother, Constance, found it hard to accept his new bride,
as her husband had been killed by German soldiers at the Battle of the Somme.

Wilhemina grew up in a small settlement
and worked alongside the local doctor.
She quickly learnt practical skills of midwifery and homeopathy.

After her marriage to Quinn Buchanan,
Wilhemina continued her midwifery and homeopathic medicine.
She set aside a quiet room in her home for sick patients,
and another room for expectant mothers.
Her fee was one pound.

Quinn and Wilhemina were married in 1925.
They had 9 children:
Britta b. 1926
Derk b. 1926
Rosa b. 1927
Gerhard b. 1929
Johanna b. 1930
Georg b. 1931
Friedrich b. 1933
Caspar b. 1934
Catharina b. 1936.

The children helped Wilhemina look after the chickens, cows, horses and the large garden.
They helped with milking,  making butter, and collecting eggs.
These they sold to passing paddle steamers.