As I type this intro to the post, the sun is shining, the birds are loudly singing and the first day of the working week is over. The clocks went forward this weekend, meaning spring is well and truly here.
At this time of year, the tūī are even more vocal than usual, looking for mates and competing for the best kōwhai flowers. I was lucky to spot this bird enjoying a feast at a tree near the cable car in Kelburn during the week. Actually, where we live now, there are so many tūī that as this piece states, they pretty much ignore us humans. I found this clip of tui on YouTube if you want to hear what they sound like. They are certainly loud this evening.
In the shopping basket
The Wonky Box this week brought gorgeous bright red capsicum, brocolli, a bunch of asparagus. potatoes, yams (oca), yet more avocados (I gave 6 to a colleague at work last week), mushrooms, pak choy and a huge bag of coriander. While I will use some in a stir fry during the week, I will need to freeze the rest.
I also picked up a couple more grapefruit, some mandarins, a bag of rocket, shallots, a tub of baba ganoush, a second bundle of asparagus, rainbow chard, pappardelle and two little tins of tuna. From the market, I got some really nice rye bread, a two pieces of cheese: a smoked cheese with chilli and garlic and sage Derby, as well as lemons and oranges. And I also treated myself to the gorgeous tulips you can see in the featured image at the top of the post.
Out and about 1: dance events
I missed my French class on Tuesday and headed over to the New Zealand School of Dance for the friends evening, with some dance and a chance to see their new theatre and studio space which is under development.
On Friday, a friend and I went to the St James Theatre for an evening of new works choreographed by dancers of Royal New Zealand Ballet. This was such a great chance for dancers to try something new, to create pieces on their colleagues and then present this to an invited audience. It was a lovely evening, with a mix of pieces danced in one of the studios within the theatre.
Out and about 2: WOW
On Saturday, four of us went to this year’s World of Wearable Art show. WOW is now in its 39th year, and for me at least, never fails to disappoint. The show features some amazing items of wearable art, dance, live music, aerialists and great staging. This year, the apron stage was changed into a triangle shape, which worked really well. The competition element is a key feature, and this year, the supreme award went to this creation, which was even more impressive on stage. You can see some of the other winners on the site, and below the excellent programme which has pictures of all entries, some former entries that can be seen by the bars and entry ways, and the stage before the performance started.
Simple things
- Bumping into the cousin of an old school friend visiting Wellington for WOW. A small pleasure indeed!
- Hearing that the All Blacks beat The Wallabies 33-13, ending their ‘capital curse’ of always loosing in Wellington (apologies to Australian readers….)
- Watching cheeky blackbirds, staring at me as if I had no right to be in the garden.
- Spending time in the kitchen, trying out a new recipe.
- Booking a trip for the end of November.
- Enjoying (still) these camellias by the bus stop.
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 added to the weekend coffee share hosted by Natalie.
- Anne of Something Over Tea writes about food.
- Maria of Green Dreams has a marvellous harvest of tomatoes.
- There was also a celebration of tomatoes by Laurie of Notes From The Hinterland.
- Deb shares what’s been happening in September Deb’s World.
- Enjoy a good cup of coffee with Trent.
- October’s Action for Happiness calendar can be found over at Sue’s most recent post.
- It is time for Donna to declutter over at Retirement Reflections.
- Fred’s garden in France is so beautiful.
- Mr Tootlepedal has a song and a cycle over at Tootlepedal’s Blog.
- Jude of Cornwall in Colours continues her wonderful series of September squares.
- Natalie treat us to her seven best outings in September.
- Jo of And Anyways… wraps up September.
- Carol Ann shares her weekly delights.
- .…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.
Thistles and Kiwis 
Aww, those tui… mwah! Love them. Here in Friesland, it’s autumn and we are loving it getting dark early again, lighting candles, baking apple pie from the braeburn and looking forward to our trip to Luxembourg later this month.
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Autumn can be a cosy time. ENjoy Luxembourg.
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Those birds sound wonderful. Lucky I don’t follow rugby. 😊 Your week is rich with wonderful activities. Thank you for sharing and inspiring.
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Yes I love tuis! Thanks for stopping by.
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I also tried a new recipe this week, a broccoli mould, which turned out to be a delicious way of using up broccoli that has just passed its best. How lovely to enjoy some dancing during the week!
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Sounds like a good way to use up broccoli. It was wonderful to see so much dance at the weekend.
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Thanks for the clip on the Tui Bird Call, I’ve only seen these birds in the NZ Botanic Gardens, but what characters they are, so many different tweets and songs and sounds. Very cute and probably very noisy if they are in your garden.
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They are noisy birds but so much fun too.
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What a fabulous week! Both those outings sound like a lot of fun. I love all these pretty signs of spring you’re sharing too.
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Thank you! Yes it was a good week.
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Those frilly tulips always appeal to me Barbara, so pretty. You’ve had a great week by the sounds of things, very enjoyable to read all about it and love the WOW!
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I love frilly tulips too. Thanks for stopping by while you are on holiday!
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That wearable art is dazzling! Must have been quite a night. Thanks for the mention.
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It was a fabulous show – so many different elements.
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That is so funny about all of those avocados. Your colleague of work must have been grateful for your abundance of them!
Thank you so much for the shoutout — reporting life from Decluttering Central! 😀
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I don’t know if it has been a good year for avocados here or what, but there are certainly loads about!
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These cheeky blackbirds sound delightful! Reminds me of the squirrels where we are (fall just started in the U.S. Midwest).
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Having checked it out, I don’t think the wearable art is quite my thing, but I must admit it is quite impressive in its own way
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It was quite amusing on Saturday….hoards of women heading for WOW with men going the other way to the rugby….not entirely of course but it was very clear who was going to what.
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Bana Ganoush is a fun name to say! I always like your Wonby boc content photos. Artistic and colorful; nature is colorful and interesting in its own ways.
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We’ve booked a short 5 night-stay at the end of November, too, Barbara! As always your posts are uplifting and life is full of small pleasures if we take the time to look. There is a similar fashion exhibition at GOMA in Brisbane which I’d like to try to get too. Have a lovely week. x
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We are actually heading over The Ditch, but to Perth. We’ve never been there so something new for us. Hope you get to the exhibition – is that the Iris van Herpen? Just had a look online – it does look good! x
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I would have loved the wearable art show. We have had a couple of those in our area. So much talent.
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It really is a fabulous show!
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So many small pleasures! And I think of spring when read your post 🙂
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Thank you!
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I love the pretty spring flowers and fresh produce photos in your post. The dance and WoW events sound wonderful. Thank you for the mention and your weekend coffee share.
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Thank you! WoW and the dance were highlights of last week.
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I love reading your small pleasures. Sounds like you’ve had a great week. I love those camellias. The wearable art show looks great, and something different.
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Thank you! The WOW show is always such fun,
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