Well, we have begun clearing clutter in earnest and there seems to be never ending stream of things we are throwing away. To be honest, it all seems a little overwhelming at the moment (especially books and old DVDs), so thinking about the small pleasures is really important right now as you can imagine. The featured image at the top of the post was taken at 7:15am on the walk to work.
Birds of Wellington
First up, a lovely positive story in the news this week – native bird numbers are on the rise in the Wellington region. The report states that since 2011, the average number of native bird species being counted each year has risen by 41%. Average annual counts of kākā have increased by 260%, kererū by 200%, tūī by 85% and pīwakawaka by 49%. I can well believe it from what we see in and around where we live. This is of course something to celebrate, and in no doubt partly due to the wonderful work done at Zealandia.
Edibles
I had two good lunches out this week: eggs Benedict with spinach and mushrooms at Neo Cafe and Eatery on Wednesday and empinadas (one with spinach and egg, one ham and cheese, one tomato and mozzarella) at Buenos Aires Cafe on Friday for an end of week treat.
In the basket this week could be found potatoes for Sunday mash, oranges and tamarillos for fruit, orange and purple carrots, parsnips, and silver beet and Brussels sprouts for greens. I made carbonnade à la Flamande (a beef stew cooked in beer) for Sunday’s dinner, served with lots of mash and the sprouts, and lots leftover for this evening. The perfect thing for cold winter days.
Simple things
- Enjoying tea, a cheese scone and lots of gossip with one of my former Pilates teachers.
- Finding time just to sit and read as there is only so much clutter clearing one can do at once.
- Watching the second series of the original British House of Cards, To Play the King, first shown in 1993. Well worth seeing again 30 years later.
- Listening to the buzz of a busy cafe*.
- Going to the hairdresser.
- Baking treacle scones…but more of them on Wednesday.
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.
- Jo over at And Anyways shares ideas of where to eat in Queenstown.
- Natalie the Explorer shares fun photos of traffic signal boxes.
- Ju-Lyn sends us another postcard from Ipoh over at Touring My Backyard
- Join Tootlepedal’s Blog for a bicycle ride.
- Laurie over at Notes From the Hinterland has a lovely mini staycation.
- Nigella Eats Everything makes some amazing looking ice-cream sandwiches.
- There is mini golf and a stir fry over at Retirement Reflections.
- Deb celebrates the lazy, hazy days of winter.
- Trent always offers us a great cup of coffee and writes a new song.
- Carol Ann of Fashioned for Joy shares many delights including a lovely bunch of flowers from the farmers’ market.
- And we welcome back Anne at Something Over Tea from her recent holiday. Välkommen tillbaka!
- …and all the other lovely bloggers out there. Sorry if I have missed anyone…..
*For the sharp eyed – the same cup, glass and water carafe were last seen in the Small Pleasures post from a couple of weeks ago, but in a different cafe. Two independent establishments too. Obviously sourced from the same place!
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com or lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.com
Thistles and Kiwis 
Undergoing such a big decluttering task can be tough, but finding joy in small things, like your peaceful morning walks, can make a big difference. You’re doing great, keep going! 🙂
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Thanks! My morning walk to work is a great way to start the day and clear the head.
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Great news about the native birds!
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Yes – just the sort of news you want to read.
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a truly wonderful photograph… I wish my mornings were as lovely…
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Oh thank you! It did look lovely today.
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It is always good to hear about natural species increasing. I am glad you are taking a little time out from packing. That is an exhausting process: I helped my son clear his house before he left for Scotland – of course my home needs a lots of de-cluttering too now!
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Yes it was such good news to read about the birds. There is something physically and mentally exhausting about clearing clutter.
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Ah, yes, the joys of decluttering and packing. We got rid of loads of books, magazines and vynl records when we moved here. It’s exhausting! Glad you had some small pleasures, stews and soups are what I like about winter months. Probably the only thing! 😂
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It is exhausting to clear the clutter but also somehow cathartic. Soups, stews and root vegetables are the best thing about winter!
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The eggs benny look soooo good…..
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They tasted good too!
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Wonderful, wonderful news about native birds! Glad you are able to squeeze some simple pleasures in with the sorting and decluttering. My oh my, what a job. That eggs Benedict looks amazing. Thanks so much for the mention!
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Yes that news about the birds was excellent. Shows what can be done. I wish I had a declutter fairy to help me 🙂
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Same, same, same! Our house is fairly tidy, but, oh, the basement.
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Love a good eggs benny. Decluttering is no easy feat.. good luck.
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You have jogged my memory. It is a long time since I cooked baked eggs in spinach with a cheese sauce. I must do it again soon.
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Good news about the birds. And House of Cards. I remember the original as well. Good idea for a rainy day.
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Hi, Barbara – I love positive news stories. The increase in your bird population is wonderful (and a refreshing change from all of the negative news stories that we here). Once agian, your dishes look amazing.
Thank you for the shout out!
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Thank you so much for the recommendation! You know, I really wanted to work at Neo Cafe, the menu looked incredible so I was eager to join their kitchen team but sadly they weren’t hiring at the time. Do you ever go to The Beach House Cafe in Island Bay? That’s where I found work, such a lovely place 🙂 And what wonderful news about the local birds!
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Neo is always busy – I was lucky to get a seat last week. I have been to The Beach House Cafe but years ago – we are just never out that part of town these days. The birds – yes what news!
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I’m glad you took time from decluttering to enjoy lunch, cafés and good books! (I am rooting for you as you make hard choices.)
The empanadas look amazing, and I’m thrilled to learn about the birds of New Zealand. Thank you for the kind mention!
One small pleasure you gallantly omitted, but which I’ll add: Congrats to you and Sweden in winning a nail-biter to advance to the next round!
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Thanks Carol Ann! The empanadas were good and yes of course the football! There were cheers in this house.
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I can’t wait till 2 weeks from now when my small pleasure will be a hair cut. It’s too long and heavy right now. I really must get it shorter next summer. Decluttering is not for the faint of heart! Good luck.
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As usual I’m a bit late to comment but I always love your post on small pleasures it is so positive!
Best wishes for your clearing and de-cluttering .. we are doing the same and it is exhausting sometimes.
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I have never heard of tamarillos. so I will have to look for them at my local farmers market, and international market.
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