There are some weeks that are full of small pleasures, there are some where you have to look for them. This week was the latter. I kind of feel I want to avoid the news for a couple of days and to hunker down with trashy films, good books, pots of tea and good food. Well, I did manage to do just that on Sunday, keeping out of the winter weather and being cosy.
So to the small pleasures of last week. On Tuesday, I was treated to this stunning morning sky on the walk to work. The colours really were this bright, and although red skies in the morning are traditionally associated with bad weather, it really was a glorious sight.
Food always appears in my Small Pleasures posts as you know. There was lunch at Dixon Street Deli of avocado, tomato and halloumi on toast on Wednesday, and in Saturday’s shopping basket silverbeet, more dark red yams (oca), green beans (from Australia), celeriac and some smoked hoki. The hoki was to go into Diane Henry’s gratin of smoked fish, tomatoes and potatoes for Sunday dinner from her book From the Oven to the Table. This is so good and perfect comfort food for a winter day.
On Friday during my lunch time walk, I spotted these tango dancers outside the Buenos Aires Cafe. This was in celebration of Argentina’s national day, and really brightened up my grey Friday. It also reminded me of being in Buenos Aires on that day in 2000, and going to a dance performance in the evening. A real small pleasure.
Finally, walking to Pilates on Saturday morning, I stopped to admire the flowers on the Japanese magnolia, which are beginning to open up. Every year I take time to look at these gorgeous pink blooms – just stunning.
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.
- Over at Notes from the Hinterland Laurie shares some lovely pictures from her summer garden.
- Carol Ann of Fashioned for Joy shares her delights – always a lovely read.
- Ju Lyn at Touring my Backyard visits one of my favourite places in Singapore.
- Deb shares her intriguing tea tree
- Natalie the Explorer shares more gorgeous pictures of Toronto and hosts this week’s coffee share. Thank you Natalie!
- Anne at Something Over Tea shares more pictures of South Africa.
- Sanch Writes is in lockdown in Sydney but still finds some positive things in life.
- Jo at And Anyways makes crumpets – and enjoys other things too.
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 
I’m a massive Diana Henry fan & love that book, but haven’t tried that dish…you’ve inspired me…
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Oh me too – great recipes and lovely writing style.
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These are beautiful small pleasures. I hope you have a great week next week. Thank you for the mention and for linking with #weekendcoffeeshare.
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Thank you! Hope your week is good too.
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The red sky is very interesting!
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That red sky is fabulous!
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Yes it was quite spectacular!
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Beautiful sunrises and sunsets are a joy to see. What fun to come across dancing in the street too! Thank you for mentioning my blog too.
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The Japanese magnolia and the beautiful sunset would be lovely to see…and I must spent more time looking at some of the cookery books you recommend…always nice to try something new.
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The Diana Henry one is great, dishes to put in the oven and go and do something else, and great ideas for this time of year.
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Diana Henry’s book sounds good, and I’m more motivated to cook in cold weather.
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The morning skies look amazing! It’s one of the reasons I love waking up early. Food looks delicious! How cool is it that you got to watch a random tango! Hope you have a lovely week ahead!
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Yes the sky was amazing that day. The random tango was fun! Hope you have a great week too.
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Those morning sky’s are stunning!
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I hear you – some weeks are just more challenging than others. Which makes the small pleasures particularly precious! Thank you for sharing your highlights for the week!
The tango performance must have been a surprise & delight – since it brought back good memories of your trip!
And those pink magnolias – wow! Are they related to cherry blossoms in any way?
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Yes the tango in the street was a lovely surprise and delight as you say. No magnolia and cherry blossom are different families. Thanks for stopping by!
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We tried fried Haloumi tonight with our home made burgers, strangely enough we couldn’t really taste them that much but it’s good to make things rather than buying them.
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That food looks amazing and wow, the colors of the sky…stunning. I love magnolia trees! They are so pretty.
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Love the food! I wish I had access to halloumi. And I appreciate the point you made about small pleasures – sometimes they are everywhere and on other times we just have to pay more attention to find them. Very true. My recent simple pleasure is this chocolate cake that is part truffle that my sister gave me. It was so delicious.
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Sometimes it really is those little things – tango in the street, a good chocolate cake – that punctuate our weeks. Thanks for stopping by!
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I love magnolia trees and mine is always a delight in September, I take way too many photos every year!! Your tango photos made me smile and reminded me of coming across a group in Paris, dancing for the love of it.
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