This week’s small pleasures #220

I’ve been sitting for ages trying to think of a good opening sentence for this week’s small pleasures post. It was a week where we ate out at a favourite restaurant, when it felt that summer was here when we went to Thorndon Fair (not today though…rain again) and when we lit candles to mark the second Sunday in Advent. It was a week when we heard that the first Covid vaccines are being released in the UK – it will be interesting to see how this rolls out and the results and consequences.

The weather has, at times, been lovely this week (at other times, quite awful). The picture below shows what it was like on Thursday lunch time when I went for a walk down to the waterfront. I know regular readers have seen this view before, but I still love it.

And so to this week’s food pleasures. The cherry stalls are out, with paper bags full of fruit to be picked up when out for a lunch time walk or on the way home. There are still peas in the pod and asparagus, some fresh green beans and tender stem broccoli. There was our usual delivery of bread on Saturday, including ciabatta and zopf from Arobake, along with croissants for a Sunday breakfast treat. We enjoyed the asparagus with Sunday dinner, along with Peter Gordon’s minted potatoes, peas and crème fraîche (made with fresh peas of course), chicken roasted with thyme and sage from the garden, and a courgette/tomato/red onion vegetable mix. The best part was left overs for lunch today.

To end with, and also seen in the featured image at the top of the post, this wonderful display of flowers, including these gorgeous primulas (primula bulleyana), as seen in the Botanic Gardens. Note the agapanthus in the background!

Anyway, that is my quick round up on some of this week’s small pleasures. Here are some of my fellow bloggers good things of the week:

• A happy place and a happy space with Christmas trees over at All Things Bright and Beautiful
• Some Friday winners from Laurie at Notes from the Hinterland. Can’t agree with her more that blogging has allowed us to meet people from all over the world, all of whom have so many interesting things to share.
• Check out Trent’s Weekly Smiles and Natalie the Explorer’s beautiful pictures from Toronto.
• Little Pieces of Me gives thanks with Grateful Fridays
• Check the beautiful sunset over at Zimmberbitch

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram@thistleandkiwis.  As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days.  If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com