In a week where the news has been filled with some horrific images and events, it is even more important to think of the positive things in our lives. For me on a personal level, this included spending an afternoon with my nephew, his wife and their gorgeous wee 8 month old boy on Sunday. It is the first time I have lived in the same town as a member of my family since 1998.
The weather has been mixed as regular readers will have picked up, but we have had some very sunny and lovely days as you can see from the featured image above and that below, both taken on Friday lunch time. Such bright blue skies always lift the spirit.
And so to this week’s food item on This Week’s Small Pleasures. In the shopping bag this week there was some silver beet and sprouts to make sure we get our leafy greens, pears and persimmons for fruit, mushrooms to add to a soup later in the week, some very good blue cheese from Over the Moon and the first little bag of yams of the season. What we call yams in New Zealand are also known as oca, and are lovely roasted. I made scones for afternoon tea on Saturday, and tried out the new jam I bought on Wednesday from Pickle & Pie. On Thursday, I had fish and chips at one of our local pubs, because I deserved it! Sunday dinner was Diana Henry’s sasiccia con palate e pomodori al forno….basically sausages, potatoes, vegetables (in this case capsicum and courgettes) topped with tomato and cheese. Fantastic!
Finally, on Saturday, I went to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s production of Giselle. It is a ballet I have seen many times, but one of the old classics that I still enjoy. The two principal dancers – Mayo Tanigaito as Giselle and Laurynas Vėjalis as Albrecht were not only perfectly matched, but beautiful dancers and such a joy to watch. Below you can see the stage before the performance began.
So those were my small pleasures this week – what were yours? As usual, I like to feature other bloggers who have made me smile, made me think or generally shared some interesting aspects of their lives.
- Laurie over at Notes from the Hinterland is not going to mow her lawn…and continues to share her lovely podcast.
- Carol Ann of Fashioned for Joy continues to share some wonderful delights – he blog post is a real delight.
- Sanch Writes had a great trip to Adelaide – farmers markets, wine, beer…sounds delightful!
- Ju Lyn of Touring My Backyard takes a detour
- Trent shares coffee and his new kitten.
- Enjoy flowers, interesting buildings and street art over at Natalie the Explorer. I’m also going to add this post to her Coffee Share.
- Little Pieces of Me enjoys coffee in bed
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 
Blue skies, time with family, fresh and tasty food, and a ballet performance are fabulous for the soul. Thank you for the mention and for linking with #weekendcoffeeshare. Have a wonderful week!
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Thank you Natalie! Hope you have a good week too.
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What a treat to have family living close by! My children are so far away. Sigh.
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I am not used to it! More used to having family in far flung parts from Vancouver to Washington DC to Edinburgh to Stockholm to Warsaw!
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Phew! That is far.
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When my husband and I got married, my older brother in his speech referred to branches of the family all over the place – at that time we were living in Copenhagen. How different to generations in the past where everyone lived in the same county…
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How right you are to focus on the positive aspects of life – we are bombarded with the negative ones daily.
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We are indeed.
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The scones look yummy! What flavor is the jam?
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Apple, boysenberry and rosemary.
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I think it is important to stay positive, I love your post! I love the ballet and the food looks delicious! I should make some scones, that sounds yummy! Have a great week ahead! ❤️ ~ Diana
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Scones are always good and quick and easy too!
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I’ll look up some recipes! Now I want to make some scones!! 🥰❤️
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Pleasures this week….hmm a day off on Sunday which is normally work and seeing one of our cats on the mend.
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The stage is lovely! I’m glad you are getting out.
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It was a wonderful performance. We’ve been able to go to the theatre since the last quarter of last year here in New Zealand.
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What a great week, meeting up with family, eating lovely food, and going to the ballet. I’m sure you are also enjoying having one day off during the week too.
Lovely for you to have family together in one city, this was always my mother’s wish. My family are now all in Australia, but my parents were from Scotland and Ireland, and we lived in Africa for 25 years. Australia and New Zealand and such wonderful countries to make a home.
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It was a good week! My family is spread out all over the place – US, Canda, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Poland….so it is especially nice to have a nephew here!
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Oh, what a blue sky! Your local produce and cheese looks scrumptious. Yes, living with family in town can make such a difference in life. We are so grateful that our older son and his wife are here in Chicago.
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Oh, how I miss live theater. I hope you enjoyed the outing.
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It was a beautiful production, quite lovely.
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I enjoyed reading this post. I feel more hopeful to see these signs of better days.
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Hurray for the Ballet! Giselle is the first ballet I ever watched on stage – it was a rather magical experience!
I love your vegetable stash – so many exciting vegetables & possibilties!
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I’ve just made a coleslaw with the red cabbage, apple, carrot and chives from the garden.
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Yummy! I like the addition of apple into the mix! Do you put mayo into your slaw?
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