So…this week the final results of the election are in with the counting of the special votes which has resulted in some changes to the make up of parliament. I tried in vain to find a good news story for this post, but everything seems quite awful right now, so even more reason to look for the good things, the small pleasures, and the things that make us smile.
Flowers
A big small pleasure, if one can say such a thing, has been the appearance of these flowers on one of my cactus plant. How gorgeous are these?
In the shopping basket
There were lots of things in our Wonky Box today – a lettuce, yams (oca), asparagus, bok choy, broccoli and two lovely read capsicum. And another half cabbage – no idea what to do with it! I couldn’t help but buy a big bag of fresh peas that I have been dipping into as I pass the bowl they are sitting in. I also had to pick up purple asparagus and a few blood oranges. Yes – I just had to as they looked so good.
Eating out
There was only one sandwich this week – a ham and cheese baguette for lunch at Pandoro on Wednesday – and yes it was good and just the thing between the hairdresser and osteopath.
On Friday, we headed over to Shepherd for dinner. It is so sad to hear they are closing, a sign of the times, with increases in prices, less people eating out and I also guess post-Covid malaise. I just had to have the same starter I had when we were there back in June, smoked fish with egg, mandarin, paprika, and cracker on the top, which is an absolutely amazing combination of flavours.
Karl had the wild venison, walnut, tamarillo, honey, truffle and cheese to start with which was also good. For my main, I had the fish with broccolini, green beans, radish, kimchi and a pine nut salsa. Karl had the lamb shoulder birria, with chilli, red onion, coriander, chickpea and tortilla. We had a side of Potato Dauphinoise, which came with a sweet and sour mustard and cheddar topping. We had a glass of Cabernet Franc from Jenny Dobson with our main, and a sauvignon blanc with our starter. The food was absolutely gorgeous and the closure of the restaurant is a loss to the Wellington dining scene.
Simple things
- Going out for a curry with friends on Saturday night – great fun and good food at Great India.
- Getting my hair cut and coloured – well worth the expense!
- Watching the antics of the gorgeous fluffy cat that lives opposite.
- Finding a beautiful blue linen shirt in a perfect colour (picture will have to follow!).
- Sitting in the sunshine.
- Enjoying this chocolate from Baron Hasslehoff’s – oh my word! Absolutely wonderful….
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.
- Tootlepedal’s Blog has an up and down sort of day.
- Enjoy autumn in Japan as seen by Ju Lyn over at Touring My Backyard.
- Trent ate out and helped with Halloween and of course makes us a good cup of coffee.
- Anne looks closely at flowers over at Something Over Tea.
- Deb celebrates spring flowers.
- Donna over at Retirement Reflections makes delicious looking banana muffins.
- Jo tells us about food she had in Vietnam recently. Looks gorgeous!
- Lisa over at Southern Patches shares her Friday Favourites including some gorgeous orchids.
- Sue reminds us that we don’t have to be everything to everyone.
- Pop over to see doors and murals in Iceland over at Natalie’s latest post.
- .…and all the other lovely bloggers out there. Sorry if I have missed anyone…..
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 
Hi Barbara, thanks for the mention. I always enjoy your small pleasures and aren’t cacti flowers lovely? The chocolate looks good too. We are off to Amsterdam next week so hoping to have some dark chocolate there. My small pleasures this week was having my blood tests results better than expected. x
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A delightful round-up of pleasures! In my corner of South Africa we are enjoying the aftermath of some light rain; we spent a most pleasant day in Bathurst over the weekend in the company of members of the Military History Society; I was able to get a cancellation appointment at the dentist this morning; and I am about to put out bird seed and spend a little time watching our avian visitors – a guaranteed time of peace 🙂
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Thank you Anne – watching the birds will be a lovely treat after the dentist!
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It always amazes me to see flowers in cactus because of the contrast it brings. Those pink flowers are delightful!
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I agree!
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I always love to see what is in your wonky box. In the summer my niece gets those and I am always interested to see what she gets. I also have a cactus that is blooming and the flowers look very similar. The flowers are at the end of a very long stalk that is growing out of the cactus. I brought it inside last week when the night temps dropped really low. I’m so sorry to hear that your restaurant is closing the food looked amazing. Thank you for sharing my post. Have a wonderful week!!!
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The wonky box is fun but I do sometimes wonder what to do with it all! Cactus flowers area always so much fun to see – your sounds great! We heard this weak another restaurant we love is closing. Just so sad.
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Hi, Barbara – I love that when ‘good news stories’ are scarce in the media, you find your own. Those beautiful, tiny flowers on your cactus plant made me smile. They are not only gorgeous, but very uplifting.
We are having similiar experiences with long-term restaurants in our area closing due to a variety of factors, especially not being able to recover their balance or their full customers since COVID. Very sad with no immediate solutions in site.
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I love those wee flowers too. Another restaurant has just closed, and a favourite of ours too. So sad.
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The cactus flowers were the pick of the small pleasures for me today. Beautiful.
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Yes the flowers are very lovely!
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I really like the cactus flowers Barbara, I have a few on my verandah and smile every time I see them. Lovely list of small pleasures again this week 🙂
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They are lovely aren’t they. Thanks for stopping by!
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Those cactus flowers are so pretty. We have similar experiences with restaurant closing in our area. I haven’t been able to find replacements yet. Thank you for the mention and your weekend coffee share.
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Restaurant closure seems to be a sad trend – mix of landlords putting up the rent, staff shortages and general costs. Comment rescued from the spam folder!
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The cactus flowers are so pretty. We have similar experiences with our favourite restaurants closed. I haven’t been able to find replacements yet. Thank you for the mention and for your weekend coffee share.
P.S. Barbara, I hope this comment went through. I left two comments on your Weekend Coffee Share post last week and they didn’t show up. I left a comment earlier on this post and didn’t see it either.
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You always have the best-looking produce!
My small pleasures this week: 1)A long walk with a friend and her 2 little kids. I got to hold a baby for the first time in a long time. 2) Finding a great bargain at an estate sale yesterday. 3) Making (and eating!) homemade gingerbread with orange sauce.
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Oh they sound wonderful! A new baby a bargain and that gingerbread sounds divine.
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Hi Barbara, I left two comments on this post and two in the previous Weekend Coffee Share posts and didn’t see them on your blog. I hope this goes through. Could you check your spam folder in case they land there. Thank you.
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Those flowers are so pretty. What a fun update!!
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Hi Barbara. I was drawn to the photo of the Chinese lantern but can’t quite decide what to call that colour which seems to be in between pink, red and burgundy. We had orange ones in our garden when I was a child and I recently saw three different colours of lanterns growing in a pot together and sort of twisted round. Not a great description I’m sorry but you get my drift I hope. Unfortunately, they were quite expensive and I managed to resist. The cactus flower is beautiful. I’ve had quite a few simple pleasures lately. There’s the yellow rose by my front door with it’s beautiful fragrance and I do try to stop and smell the rose as I go in and out. Now, about to fall off, there are two buds about to replace it, which will be lovely. I also picked my 19 year old son up from the airport after returning from LA. That’s not a simple pleasure for me as it was his first trip overseas and he was gone for 3 weeks, but for people who travel a lot, it wouldn’t be such a big deal.
Hope you have a good week.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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How lovely to have the rose bush by your house! A real small pleasure. And lovely to have your son back.
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A big yes on both counts thanks.
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