What a week….3 full days of Zoom meetings based from home, an attack of ‘abdominal migraine’ meaning pretty much a day in bed (and missing half a day of Zoom meetings), dinner out (luckily I was feeling well enough not to cancel) and … getting a delivery of bulbs as I mentioned on Saturday. Anyway, I have managed to recharge this past weekend with lots of small pleasures from reading, to cooking (this fabulous dish for Sunday dinner with left overs for Monday) to just resting…and saying hello to the ducks!
And so to the small pleasures from last week. First up, kicking autumn leaves. These are from an old oak tree in the Botanic Gardens…don’t you love the noise and feel of walking through crisp foliage?
And so to food….on Thursday we had dinner at Concord. Housed in the former Wellington iconic cafe The Lido, it is owned by a couple of well known figures on the city’s hospitality scene. There is a retro feel to some of the items on the menu, and the decor too has a touch of the 1970s and 80s about it. We both opted for the shrimp cocktail to start, which came in the elegant glass below, and was complete with avocado, crisp red onion and a perfect Marie Rose sauce. The main event was a steak sandwich, full of flavour and perfectly cooked, and served with a suitable mound of chips (fries). Great food, wine and service means I can see us returning.
Saturday morning saw me actually make perfectly shaped poached eggs, which I just put on top of buttered sourdough and sprinkled with salt and red capsicum flakes. Our afternoon treat was a raspberry friand from Arobake, who also delivered this bread early on Saturday morning (a zopf, a sourdough and a weggli toast).
In the shopping basket this week…a butternut squash for some midweek soup, another half cabbage, a leek, pears, persimmons and some oyster mushrooms which I used in a sauce with pork filet on Saturday evening.
Sunday was Mother’s Day in New Zealand. Here is a picture of my mum taken in 1989 at home in Edinburgh. It is one of my favourite pictures of her, and I think conjures up her personality pretty well.
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. Also entered in Natalie the Explorer’s Coffee Share.
- Carol Ann of Fashioned for Joy does some gardening – and what a wonderful job too!
- Ju Lyn at Touring my Backyard cooks some great looking pasta.
- Natalie the Explorer goes on a weekday walk.
- Anne over at Something Over Tea spots some fun signs.
- Deb’s World’s takes stock…a great post.
- Little Pieces of Me celebrates mother’s day in nature.
- Trent over at Trent’s World enjoys coffee.
- I love today’s Monday Motivation over at Popsicle Society .
- The Annoyed Thyroid makes a fabulous looking fish dish.
- Joanne over at And Anyways enjoys high tea.
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
Thistles and Kiwis 
❤️❤️
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Zoom meetings can be nauseating at the best of times! Thank you for providing links to other interesting blogs (as well as including mine) which adds to the small pleasures of my week. I hope you are feeling yourself once more.
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Your mum has a twinkle in her eyes in that photo – like she’s planning mischief.
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She probably was…
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This is inspiring: your ability to rally from physical distress and still greet the crunching leaves (yes!); make a portrait of a quiet leaf; and savor a yummy meal. I love the breakfast photos and loaves of bed. But of course the best is the portrait of your mother: gentle, loving, marrying interior and exterior. Vermeer would have loved her. Thank you for sharing your affection for her!
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Oh thank you Carol Ann!
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I love that photo of your Mom. It radiates tons of personality!
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I think it captures her well.
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The leeks are such a good size for this time of the year. I think we are going to dine on two over a few meals. It is a lovely photo of your Mum, a natural pose with a spirited grin.
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I thought the leeks were a good size too! I think that photo really gets mum’s spirit as you say.
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Such a lovely picture of your mother.
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Thank you!
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I looked up abdominal migraine – sounds extremely dreadful! I am glad you are recovered and had such a packed & lovely week despite.
Your food spread is stunning & inspiring (as always)! those 3 loaves of bread are particularly stunning!
And I love your feature photo – are those geese playing hide & seek?
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Thank you – it was a good week despite Tuesday’s horrid moment. The birds are ducks – white ducks – very noisy ones normally.
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As a fellow headache sufferer, I am so sorry to hear about the migraines….The ducks are lovely 🙂
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I liked the ducks too. Migraines and headaches are horrible I agree.
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You’ve given me another new restaurant to add to the list for when I finally get over to see my bestie – although she’s also added the new ferry ride to Sommes Island to that list too. That Greek lamb and tomato sounds just the thing.
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Oh yes the new electric ferry – we’ve still to try that trip over to Somes Island would you believe. We are planning on trying another new place this week – there are too many places to chose from!
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I’m glad to hear you recovered from your abdominal migraine in time for dinner out. Nature is a good place to go for small pleasures like walking on fall leaves and watching white ducks. The food and your groceries look amazing. I love that photo of your mum. Thank you for the mention and for linking up with #weekendcoffeeshare.
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Fabulous photo of your mum, oozing a gentle outlook combined with thoughtfulness. I always appreciate your shout-outs and find something new to read every time!
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I have always liked that photo of my mum.
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Ooohh that recipe for the lamb, feta and Orzo looks so good, I might try making it. Your other photos look yummy too and I LOVE the photo of your mum.
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I highly recommend that lamb dish. Thanks for your comment re the picture of my mum!
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Hi T&K, your meal descriptions have again taken me to your hemisphere where I’d enjoy all those rick flavors and (just to continue with this virtual, anything goes thought) sit back to have a long conversation with your mom. She looks thoughtful and I’d be keen to hear her opinion on just about anything..
Hope you’re feeling well enough now to join us. . .
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Thanks Gary – feeling fine now! My mother loved to talk to anyone about all sorts of things. She would have most definitely have been keen to have a conversation!
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