You can never have enough...

[Oh_hunnihunni]

That said, when I recently had to do the funeral bit for my friend the funeral directors were absolutely wonderful. I explained she was poor, and the estate pretty much insolvent, and that I would apply for the WINZ grant but couldn't guarantee their account would be covered. They redid their account for me, dropping it back a thousand dollars, and offered to still fulfil the requirements for what ever I could come up with. And they did.

For those of us without family, businesses can be extremely kind about things like this. So maybe what they make on the better off lets them give some of us a very good deal.

I now recommend this business every chance I get. And they're getting my business, with my funeral insurance cover. Something everyone should think about getting, in my opinion...

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Transporting the coffin , is one of the bigger costs of a funeral so it makes sense to DIY.  Its why in our lot there has been more instant cremations, thus no embalming and transport problems.

Its how MrP and I have planned things. But also no funeral. Ill scatter his ashes to the sea. If I go first well Im blowed if I know what he would do for me... So Long as he doesn't take me on Trips like his father did with his Mother.

Much to MrP's disgust when the undertaker brought Mums ashes back she told him he would need a coffin made for him due to his size.

Geeze I wish I could see that women now, we could both be "Off the Rack" sizes now lol

So many people dont talk about death, dying and making plans and it just makes it harder for those having to deal with it.

But I can proudly say my Proudest moment was organising my Stepfathers funeral.. and doing the catering for one of my Stepfathers friends wife's funeral. He was Māori, She wasn't. And he didn't want his family taking over. Unusual I know. So we planned what he wanted, , they had the service with Mavis at home, went to the cemetery, which I went to and saw how he was pushed out. Then I went back to do the food. He said it was perfect and he knew he could trust me and knew that no one would push me around.

Its horrible when family politics messes up a time that should be special.

I remember when my Thai friends Dutch husband died. I had to go and tell them its Not a done thing to take photos with the dead person. It might be in Thailand, but not here and his brother was getting very annoyed by it. She threw me in the deep end and wanted me to speak, without any notice. Thankfully sometimes I quite enjoy speaking in public. Im sure Jakob was watching over me.

Do talk about it, Do make plans, Make living plans and make sure they know if you are a donor. And what you want. After all its your funeral

Be careful with ashes. It is seriously offensive for many cultures to put human remains in food gathering places - like the sea, or lakes (sorry my darling no trout reincarnation for you!!) not to mention illegal, so it pays to check out the rules with local authorities. I know councils have all sorts of rules, based on experience (rose gardens for instance have been seriously compromised by over use...) and checking in advance can save hassles in the future. 

Something funeral directors know all about.