Here we are in May already, and time for the first small pleasures post of the month. It is autumn here of course, and while the cooler mornings are very much indicative of the season, we have had lots of lovely sunshine. I bought some gorgeous yellow Cala lilies which you can see in the featured image at the top of the post, caught up with some old BBC radio dramas (the ones from the 1960s and 1970s are quite hilarious at times) and found some time to read. Oh yes…and kicked my way through a pile of leaves.
As usual, I enjoyed my Pilates classes. My Thursday teacher is moving on, so a few of us joined her for a farewell drink on Saturday. Karl and I went for a lovely meal at a little Italian restaurant in town afterwards – no photo, but I did have a lovely fettuccine and prawn dish.
On Wednesday, I made it down to the little vegetable market and picked up half a cauliflower and a couple of other things, including a bit of focaccia from Shelley Bay Baker. In our basket on Saturday, as well as lemons and limes, there were the first of the persimmons, a few passion fruit and courgettes. All sorts of good things!
One regular small pleasure is Sunday breakfast. We have time to linger, enjoying fresh bread and orange juice and whatever else takes our fancy on the day. I still have some Kalles kaviar to enjoy with a boiled egg, and of course had to have one of my favourite passion fruit as well. It is also a day to have two cups of tea at breakfast – now that is a small pleasure!
Finally, to ‘animal corner’. On Friday I met these two rabbits, Nixie and Oscar, who were available for ‘bunny therapy’. Their fur was so soft and they seemed quite happy to be stroked and spoken to by lunch time passers by. At home, we have noticed that Charlie has been spending even more time sleeping than usual, curled up on his favourite fur throw with a glass of water nearby. He is thirteen and a half so is allowed to slow down a bit.
That is all from me this Monday, except to say that one of my regular small pleasures is catching up with fellow bloggers around the world. Here are a few of my blogging friends recent posts.
- My blogging friend Laurie over at Notes from the Hinterland updates us on her moss garden and as usual, treats us to some good music.
- Carol Ann of Fashioned for Joy shares some wonderful small pleasures of the week.
- Sanch Writes explores bits of Canberra (and check out her April 2021 Reflections too).
- Ju Lyn of Touring My Backyard shares more of her life in Singapore (where I really hope to return one day).
- Trent saw an osprey – how wonderful. Such a real small pleasure in my book and definitely a Weekly Smile!
- Something Over Tea enjoys the patterns of cabbage as much as me!
- That Travel Lady in her Shoes shows us doors from Oslo.
- Lots of lovely pictures of Toronto over at Natalie the Explorer.
- Deb takes stock over at Deb’s World.
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
Thistles and Kiwis 
A lovely week 😊
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🙂
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So important to reflect on the small things in life. I love the way you have linked to your favourite blogs – I hope you are comfortable with me trying that out on my next blog post too 😊
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Oh yes please go ahead and link to your favourite blogs too!
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Thank you for linking to my post. I have enjoyed this peep at your week. We still do not get out much – except to purchase groceries – yet I enjoy my garden and walking around the neighbourhood.
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Thank you! Maybe soon you’ll be able to go and see more?
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Beautiful. I love the start of autumn 🍂
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Yes the colours can be quite spectacular.
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Those calla lilies are a glorious burst of yellow. Crunching through dried leaves is always a great pleasure.
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I know that yellow is just lovely isn’t it?
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Sure is!
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I’m still not getting how this Small Pleasures works! Thanks for adding me! I am traveling again and as soon as I return I am going to figure Small Pleasures out since I have quite a few pleasures in my life! I am soooooo fortunate! Cady
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I’ve been doing a Monday post like this for a while – just a quick summary of nice things of the week. You don’t have to join in if you don’t want to! Just if there are a few nice things to share. The mentions are just to highlight a few blogs I like.
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So great you take time & enjoy your work free mornings & with such yummy food. Persimmons are one of our favourites here. Squishy bunnies too cute, what a dear sweet old cat you have, love the speckled sunlight looks like its keeping Charlie warm & cosy.
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Those bunnies were cute, and Charlie does like to lie in the sun.
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What beautiful yellow flowers. I quite like persimmons and am glad the season is upon us. I have also enjoyed crunching autumn leaves.
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There is something lovely about crunching through leaves….
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Your yellow Cala lilies are absolutely beautiful in the morning sun. I do love those bunnies and your sweet little cat Charlie, I am a softie for all animals.
You are very lucky to have a vegetable market nearby, and everything looks so fresh, would the vegetables be grown locally?
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The veggies are pretty local I think but also from the South Island – all from New Zealand at least!
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yes, and they look very good!
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Thanks for sharing my posts! Your posts always make me smile! I love the lilies!! Yellow flowers bring so much joy! Glad you got some bunny therapy too! 😀 They are cute! Charlie looks pretty chilled. Hope you have a lovely week ahead!
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Thank you!
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I Love your beautiful yellow cala lilies and the bunnies I bet were super soft. I Love all the veggies you got from your market! I Love persimmons and haven’t had one in awhile. I hope you have a wonderful week! 😀 Kindly, Diana
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Thank you – hope you have a good week too.
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One of life’s greatest pleasures is kicking a pile of autumn leaves! A lovely week 🙂
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I have a very soft spot of calla lilies, particularly yellow ones like yours – they were my choice for wedding bouquet! Your capture of the petals with the light streaming in through the window is so dreamy!
And of course, I love those purple caulis …. I love it when you post pics of them!
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Oh your wedding bouquet must have been quite stunning! How gorgeous.
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It was simple ( just a few stalks of the lilies) but yes, I thought it very lovely!
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Wow. Stunning Lillies! I enjoyed your photographs too. Very well captured. Visiting via Laurie’s blog Notes from the Hinterland. I see quite a few familiar names here in your blog community.
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Thank you and thank you for visiting!
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👍
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Bunny therapy! I would love that.
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