one horse town tunes

well, i didn't die.
hello from Thames, a quaint little historic mining town on the Bay of Firth… a mountain town, with some ye olde, Deadwood-esque, wooden structures peppered here and there amidst the prefab/brick/clapboard bungalows - I’d call it Frontier Colonial here. The hostel is a 2 storey building with a huge covered balcony on the second floor, and a lovely garden off the kitchen. The woman who runs it seemed a bit of a troll, tho’ she has warmed up to me already. She has a little papillon-like lapdog who is far friendlier than she is, and a hulking, matted mess of a cat who looks like he first belonged to Jesus (& will be Going Home to Him very soon) - bleached out (originally black) fur about a foot long in every direction, rheumy eyes, and a pug-like face greatly accentuated by this kind of mullet he has on top of his head. I don't know his name, but I call him Deathcab.
Seems I may have a shuttle partner for tomorrow, which means the Pinnacles hike is on!!! Psyched, as that’s mostly why I came to this one-horse town. It’s a 7 hour hike through the mountains just a bit inland from here - fingers crossed :)
Last week, in Mt Maunganui, was really good - mellow, lots of “mountain” (large rock-&-grassy hill  with sheep and bunnies galore) walks, yoga, good people, and a lot of trip-planning. 4 nights now here in Thames, another 4-5 in Coromandel Town, then over to Auckland by ferry, and spending the last 8 days up in the Northland. Cramming in as much Nature as I can.
My thoughts have been on a new understanding of the word “integrity” - an idea of wholeness, and an accord between all parts of the whole. I am interested in the schisms I sense between sides of myself, calling this a ‘lack of integrity’… where I can heal such schisms and draw the parts of myself closer and into accord with one another, I can become more whole, a person of integrity. I don't think this is how I would’ve defined integrity before, but I am finding it to be a useful and perhaps most importantly, nonjudgemental concept to work with.
oh yes, and in keeping with this thoroughly mysterious morning musical trend (these are not songs I have heard while here, or in the last 40 years for that matter!!), this morning I had the misfortune of waking up with “Silly Love Songs” by Paul McCartney & Wings stuck in my head…”kill me now” was my subsequent thought.