Gifts from the Dead

When my wife was lost in a car accident, she left legacies. Here are some of them. Four great kids, a menu and a house. A promise unfulfilled, a trip to Venice. In some ways she had also prepared me in case something should happen to her, weird.


In the ten years since Tarnia has been gone, I was helped through it by my in-laws who moved in while I worked in the oil game. We had other carers to help them too. Because there were four kids, eight, five and twins six months.





Some of her legacy:

I love my big bruvver!

The eldest boy is voting this week! His driving licence is on hold for lack of time, and visits to the pub seem to be for a drink, not a binge. And his mates, both the guys and dolls, are all fine people too. His hobbies have changed, all the dinosaur names do not run off his tongue like they did when he first started school, way back when, where he would be up the front of the school at assembly, giving a talk! His blog is great, and he has heaps of insights that I would not have dared to even think of at his age.
Tarnia would be a bloody proud parent.
At the moment, finishing school is a priority.

Dancin' in the Street

Frazler, #2, was a bit of a handful the last two years or so. The teen years kicked off with an amazing "poutful" of cheek. He left primary school straight into late teenager-ship. Or thought he did. I think he is way better, and I respect his attitudes now he wants things so he knows he has to work for it. We seem to get along so much better, threats of loss of The Bike, time out, all that seems to have calmed him down. I am more than sure that Tarnia would agree that he is a copy of her brother,looks and sounds like him even and that he would make her proud too. We made a quarter pipe with his mates for the backyard last year. He had lost a front tooth in a fall, and I was so upset. I thought his little dirt jump was no good, so let us build something together. He cannot wait to have a beer.

Nearly 6 weeks old.

The Girls are tweenies. Fashionistas almost! But I don't allow them that much freedom- no Paris Hiltons here thank you. Nearly finished with primary school, they are both really doing well. They are pretty and smart, and think they can twist me around their thumbs, nearly. They are great to have around, with the two of them, and it appears to cut down friends coming around a lot, at least up to now. Now keeping a cool room is impossible. A junk yard more like it! Every year there is need for a wheelie bin! Ah weweeel.

Over the years there was an regular number of items on the menu at our place.

One was Chow Mien that Tarn got off her mum Bev.  Tuna Mornay. The Egg, Bacon and Cheese Quiche. Roast Beef and Veges. Spaghetti Bolognase. I learnt these dishes years ago BC, before children. We were travelling around Australia and to England with my work, but I knew when I came home there would be a really nice dinner coming up. Some I could not really carry on with are Apricot Chicken, Salmon Patties, not my style. I have yet to try them out on the kids, so who knows. White wines were often drunk with a dash of soda thank-you. A cup of tea, two sugars please, were her staple beverage. Coffee and beer were not, unless the coffee was brewed up!

This is Tarns house. Of a Victorian era style.

We had moved there after a year living in a nearby town while she diligently looked for a place for us, that we could afford, and that she really liked.
 I was literally "dragged" off an oil platform in "the middle of the Pacific Ocean" for lunch to visit this place, to approve of her choice! What could I say? She had at least half of the deposit ready, I had better chip in too! And I was sent back again before dinner. What could I do?  Those were the days, the boss was nice about the trip in and out, and I think Tarn was grateful. I liked it 'cos it had a shed, a garage, a wine-cellar, irrigated gardens, big trees and fruit trees. Simple. I think Tarn liked its simplicity, its old fashioned style, the High Ceilings, the what is known now as the Piano Room with its' huge mirrored mantle piece highlight and the Huge Bath Room where you could swing a cat in each hand around and around... It did not have a an en-suite- but there were plans to fix that...  I like it and to replace it would be a shame. I don't think I could buy another one near my folk's place, and the kids should be out and on their own within a decade. Won't they?


I would have liked to go back overseas with her, the return to Europe would have been momentous...