This week’s small pleasures #278

It is Monday evening, dinner is in the oven (chicken breasts stuffed with cooked leek, tomatoes, basil and ricotta) and it will soon be time to light the candles and get cosy. All small pleasures to end the working day.

Meanwhile, as autumn draws on, there are still lots of things to enjoy in the Botanic Gardens such as this amiaceae plectranthus fruticosa or forest spurflower which I believe is originally from South Africa, and the flowers on the fatsia, which are loved by these little bees.

So to food…and there was a lovely chicken sandwich at Squirrel for lunch on Wednesday, dinner at Malaysian restaurant Rasa on Saturday (I had Sayur Goreng – lots of vegetables with tofu and shrimps) and a bowl of homemade yellow split pea and vegetable soup on my day working at home on Friday. I made a batch of granola to have on hand to sprinkle on yoghurt and enjoyed this apple, plucked from a colleague’s tree, smelling and tasting of the apples of my childhood. In the basket this week was pears, feijoas and passion fruit, onions, green beans, Portobello mushrooms and the first Brussels sprouts of the season. We also enjoyed a special Sunday lunch at Highwater, where I enjoyed a lamb salad with chickpeas, smoked feta, lots of greens and coriander while Karl had an excellent fried chicken sandwich.

The book that can be seen in the soup picture above is Anne Kennedy’s The Sea Walks into a Wall, a lovely collection of her poetry. I also started to re-read Barbara Pym’s A Glass of Blessings – such a joy and a real small pleasure.

I found some beautiful candles in autumn colours at Small Acorns, went book shopping and enjoyed a lot of autumn sunshine. To end, this beautiful dahlia which was sitting on the table at Squirrel cafe. My poor dahlias have not done so well this year, so I will just enjoy this instead.

So that is me for this week. What were your small pleasures this week? Here are some other blog posts from a few fellow bloggers looking at the good things in life. 

• Carol Ann of Fashioned for Joy listened to a raisin…and also talks about the community of bloggers. I certainly feel the same about my blogging friends.
• Ju Lyn at Touring my Backyard contemplates sustenance and shares a picture of a fabulous looking omelette.
• Natalie the Explorer shares pictures from Allan Gardens Conservatory in Toronto (and hosts the weekend coffee share).
• Anne over at  Something Over Tea is off on an adventure to the Western Cape.
• Jo at And Anyways talks about eggs….those scrambled eggs look amazing!
• Deb’s World’s takes stock with an A to Z.
• Laurie at Notes from the Hinterland cleans up for spring.
• Share a coffee with Trent over at Trent’s World. 
• There is Monday motivation over at Popsicle Society 
• Scribble and Scran goes to see Stormzy in Glasgow!

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