I always start this post on a Sunday, and to be honest had to really think about what to write in this week’s small pleasures post. There was good weather (see Wednesday’s post), my nephew moved up from Christchurch and we enjoyed pizza and conversation with him on Thursday, the garden was looking good and I went to the hairdresser on Friday (not a major thing since we have been out of lockdown and therefore able to visit for months, but still a small pleasure).
Anyway, let’s start this week with food. In the bag this week there was a bag of Jerusalem artichokes, that I made soup with, a celeriac that I mixed with potato to make a mash to top a cottage pie (you can see Karl helping himself to some below), a big bag of spinach because greens are important, apples, passion fruit and, of course, lemons. I also picked up two sorts of mushrooms, and made myself mushrooms and tomatoes on toast for Saturday breakfast. Today, Monday, I had a lovely persimmon, watercress and feta salad sprinkled with seeds for lunch – very delicious, no picture as it was in my lunch-box at work!
Sunday was, to use the Scottish word that perfectly describes the weather, dreich. Basically, it was grey and dreary. It was raining on and off, although to be fair, not cold. It was the perfect day to make tea and read, and that is exactly what I did after completing the usual weekend chores around the house.
It is still a bit grey today, but the colours of autumn brightened up my walk home from work. It was lovely to get home, book something on the forthcoming French Film Festival and curl up on the sofa with a new crime drama.
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.
- Laurie over at Notes from the Hinterland shares her vegetable purchases too – lovely to see!
- Carol Ann of Fashioned for Joy shares a week of delights including watching a child jump in a puddle and enjoying yoga.
- Sanch Writes has a great week full of all sorts of good things (including hearing her parents are recovering from Covid).
- Ju Lyn of Touring My Backyard shares more of her life in Singapore with a visit to Canning Park.
- Trent had a weekend in Cape Cod
- Lots of lovely pictures of Toronto again and some stunning purple flowers over at Natalie the Explorer.
- Deb gets bold over at Deb’s World.
- Little Pieces of Me enjoys a long weekend.
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 
The hairdresser for me is a major pleasure, I have extremely thick hair and I always feel so much better after I see my stylist.
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Loved the word “dreich”. Learnt something new! Very descriptive. How would you pronounce it?
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The first four letters are pronounced ‘dree’ and the ‘ch’ is like in German – think ‘doch’, It is a fantastic word that is really perfect to describe the weather today!
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What a great Scottish word “drench”! My father was Scottish and we all remember his Scottish sayings, but this one escaped him. I had a teacher friend who used to say to the students that it was a “whey day”… which was also very apt!
Enjoy your new book… I am so behind with my reading..😔
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I visit the hairdresser for the first time in many weeks this afternoon – am greatly looking forward to the results. You highlight peaceful pleasures indeed.
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That top picture is glorious! Autumn is such a beautiful season. As always, the food looks fabulous. During the pandemic, with a little help from my husband, I have been cutting my own hair. I am lucky. My hair naturally likes to be in a bob, and I think I will continue to cut it myself.
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Yes there are always wonderful colours in autumn. Thanks for stopping by! I’m going to stick with the hairdresser for now I think!
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A good decision for many women. I just got lucky with my hair, I think.
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Beautiful fall color and a beautiful meal.
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Yes the colours at this time of the year are lovely. The food, though I say so myself, was good.
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So many good things in this post. And I’m still loving the Fall color!
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The colours of Autumn just stunning, I was immediately wowed at the first pic. It was so nice you could enjoy your weekend regardless of the dreich weather. Love that word.
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What are those trees with those fabulous red leaves (in your lead photo)? Their trunk/branch shape is almost bonsai like.
Ah, reading with a hot pot of tea on a grey day … bliss for me!
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I think they might be acer?
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Just looked it up – it looks like it is! And it has Japanese origins!
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