Coffin put to good use: memento mori

Why spend money on a coffin that you'll never see, never knowingly use?

The owner of Hyde Central Hotel uses hers as a jolly green display stand.

Brilliant, and totally zen.

Otago Rail Trail bike ride: perfect

So, our bicycle tour of the Otago Rail Trail was perfectly wonderful. No surprise, as that's what everyone says.
~ Great big scenery all the way.
~ Four days of not-too-hot sunshine, half a day of wind gusts and rain sprinkles to remind us how lucky we'd been.
~ Very happy group of family and friends who enjoy one another's company.
~ Fun places to stay, lots of stops along the way.
~ All planning, bookings, decisions, management and bikes provided by the excellent Brian Farrant of New Zealand Bicycle Tours.
~ Just hard enough to make me feel proud, but so easy that children and many people my age and older were doing it.

nzbicycletours.com

Packing for the Otago Rail Trail bike ride

So, I've been packing for the great 70th birthday celebration with family and friends: the Otago Rail Trail bicycle tour.

I love packing. I love thinking about it, laying things out, choosing, rejecting, last minute panic because all my merino sweaters are dirty, dithering over shoes and jackets and t-shirts. I love almost forgetting something vital, like the camera, then remembering in the nick of time.

I love writing down the times when I have to get up, call the shuttle, and arrive at the airport. I love leaving things until it's almost too late. I love the last minute dash to a friend's house with a vase of water lilies that I can't bear to throw out.

How boring it would be to have employees to do all those chores. Preparing for travel is half the pleasure.

Now it's time to set the alarm and leap into bed.