By Greg
SPOILER ALERT: There WILL be more…
This month marks two years since I started the TrennaMahney.com website.
I have loved doing it. It has reminded me of so many events, incidents, feelings, from my time with Trenna. The stories Trenna and I have told and the records I have published have allowed me to relive so many experiences.
And it has helped me to reflect on just how lucky we were to find each other and to spend … Read the rest ... “Two Years of Writing About Life, Love and Loss”
Trenna and I liked to record information about our holidays. Below is the travel diary Trenna kept on her iPad of a trip to the North Island of New Zealand from 11 November 2016 to 22 November 2016. The only time we went there, and our last overseas trip together.
It was a trip that turned out like nothing we were expecting, due to an untimely and devastating earthquake. I have written a brief account of … Read the rest ... “New Zealand North Island – Tren’s Travel Diary”
Mainly by Trenna
As I am writing this it is my birthday. 66 today. 66!
Back in 1998 Trenna, as usual gave me a birthday card, and in it was a poem she had written for the occasion. I really appreciated the effort she put into it.
Just for some context, we both turned 41 in that year, Trenna a few months before me. We would have been married 9 years by then, and we were living in … Read the rest ... “An “OWED””
Scene Setting by Greg, Then an Extract From Trenna’s Gardening Diary
This post is just a bit of whimsy
This post is just a bit of whimsy I have decided to do on the spur of the moment. Today (16th December 2023) is one week before the third anniversary of Trenna passing away. And of course Christmas is approaching and a few days after that will be my birthday.
It is a time of mixed emotions. Don’t get me … Read the rest ... “24 Years Ago in our Garden”
At the end of each Post on this web site there is an opportunity to make a comment. I love it when people do and the comments stay attached to that particular post.
That usually works well, but if you have read a Post you probably won’t come back to it so you will miss any comments that are made after that time.
Often commenters/commentators have been able to add extra information or correct something I … Read the rest ... “Everyone’s Got an Opinion”
Intro by Greg, the rest by Tren
Below are Trenna’s notes of a 4 day break we had in 2015. We had booked a house just outside the small but delightful town of Bridgetown, in the South West corner of Western Australia. It is about a 3 hour drive from our place. Oh, and Bridgetown can be cold!
I’ll tell you up front that the story is not a remarkable one. It reminds me of a Japanese movie or … Read the rest ... “A Few Days in Bridgetown – 2015”
I am very conscious that I haven’t added a post to this website for a couple of weeks. This is very unusual. Since I created the website 19 months ago I’ve contributed every week, and on average about two posts per week.
As I have written previously (for example, HERE), the TrennaMahney.com website serves many purposes. One of those is to help me in the grieving process.
Intro and extra clarifications by Greg, the rest by Tren
As I’ve said previously … In Trenna’s iPad she has written summaries of each year. As you will see from what she has written she has gleaned the information retrospectively from a wide range of sources.
As I reproduce them on this site I’ll take the opportunity to clarify and expand on some of the stories. Trenna wrote these summaries (and there … Read the rest ... “1991”
By Greg
The FREE e-book I refer to is a copy of the autobiography Jack’s Luck by Jack Mahney (written with assistance from Trenna). There is a download link to it at the bottom of the page.
Some time around early 1997 my parents lived in a retirement village and on a weekend we would often visit them. It was nice place with plenty of gardens and lots of … Read the rest ... “Jack’s Luck (and a FREE e-book!)”
If you haven’t read The Darwin Letters yet, what are you doing here? The Darwin Letters start here.
Once Trenna arrived in Darwin it became apparent quite quickly that she wanted to write to family and friends to tell them of how different it was to Perth, and to tell of the adventures we had undertaken.
These days you would use Socials to get the word out, but of course in 1994 that wasn’t … Read the rest ... “Funny and/or Clever Newsletter Titles”
Intro by Greg, Lyrics by Trenna
Trenna had quite a nice study desk when I first met her in 1987. It was very solid, and had one of those inlays on the desk top that look like green leather. It has three drawers on either side, and it is solid.
It was one she bought new, so it is no antique, but it is still a nice piece. It made it’s way … Read the rest ... “The Mill Point Road Song Lyrics”
Note: The recordings I refer to in this piece formed The Kitchen Tapes series. It starts HERE.
The ABC is Australia’s national media and broadcasting service. And on the ABC Radio National station on weekday mornings the Life Matters show has been running an interesting segment entitled Life in 500 Words.
I have listened to quite a few and there are some fascinating stories … Read the rest ... “Trenna’s iPad”
The USA Travel Diary series starts HERE.
Place: San Francisco
Weather: cloudy and sprinkling
Got up at 6 am can you believe that! Caught the bus to San Francisco downtown. We had to get to Fisherman’s Wharf which became quite involved. It took us three buses to finally get to Pier 39.
We bought our tickets for Alcatraz Island. It was … Read the rest ... “The USA Trip Diary – Part 9”
The USA Travel Diary series starts HERE.
Got packed for Las Vegas. We went to The Suburban Mr and Mrs Wijnhamer, Jim, Tony, Toni and me. It took us about five hours to get there. When we arrived we couldn’t believe our eyes, the entire place was a mass of beautiful lights it looked like one big gigantic carnival.
We booked into our motel at about 11 … Read the rest ... “The USA Trip Diary – Part 8”
Notes by Trenna, Intro and Extra Information and Stories by Greg
This is another in the “Rough Notes” series. It is a term I made up for this website and describes several documents on Trenna’s iPad where she has accumulated information to help in her effort to tell her story.
This one is just a list of some landmark events from the 1980s. I have used them as a prompt and have added a number of stories and … Read the rest ... “Trenna’s Rough Notes on the 1980s Before Greg”
The USA Travel Diary series starts HERE.
Caught a cab into downtown Dallas. We saw the Ewing Boulevard but not any Cowboys. Dallas is definitely not as glamorous as it is made out to be on telly.
Date: 18/2/82–21 –/2/82
Place: Dallas – Los Angeles
Weather: 70° F – 86° F and humid
We took a tour to Southfork Ranch. Which was … Read the rest ... “The USA Trip Diary – Part 7”
The USA Travel Diary series starts HERE.
Place: Chicago
Weather: too bloody ridiculous for words
Note from Greg in 2023: For context, from what I recall from what Trenna told me the background to the Chicago visit was as follows.
Toni had met a nice, attractive sailor, Wayne, when he was on shore leave in Perth. They went to Chicago to catch up with him.
However it turns … Read the rest ... “The USA Trip Diary – Part 6”
The USA Travel Diary series starts HERE.
Place: New York
Weather: cloudy and cool
Unfortunately not a white Christmas but certainly a different Christmas from Perth. My presents included three jumpers, one pair of slippers, one bag, powder and a ticket to the Broadway show The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
My Chrissy meal was totally different, too. A typical “ding” … Read the rest ... “The USA Trip Diary – Part 5”
The USA Travel Diary series starts HERE.
Place: New York and Boston
Weather: New York not bad. Boston cold.
Everything is closed as it’s a public holiday. Bart drove us to Brooklyn Heights where we had a lovely view of New York at night.
Caught the bus to Boston. Stayed the night at the Ramada Inn.
The USA Travel Diary series starts HERE.
Weather: fine and warm
We arrived in New York 22nd October. We caught a taxi from Kennedy Airport to Toni’s aunt’s place which cost us 30 bucks. Toni’s aunt is very nice. She [Toni] also has three cousins Bart 22, Antoinette 18 and James 12.
We slept two doors … Read the rest ... “The USA Trip Diary – Part 3”