This time of year is always so busy, it is sometimes hard to draw breath and so very important to remember small pleasures. I’ve had to stop French classes for now to clear some head space, which is sad but something has to go. Karl headed off to Shanghai for a conference, and I had a good rest over the weekend, reading, resting and enjoying getting my hands dirty in the garden. Anyway, this morning, Monday, I flew up to Auckland for work – here is the view as we were landing. The featured image was taken just as we came into land.
Eating
On Wednesday, I popped in to have lunch at perennial favourite, Pickle & Pie, and this time went for their special of the day which was this aubergine (eggplant) ‘schnitzel’ with chicken, pickles and salad. It was so good and a great mix of flavours. For lunch on Saturday, I had some rye bread from the market, sardines, fresh peas, tomato and cucumber. A feast! And yes…that is me having avocado on the same rye bread, topped with a little cottage cheese and seasoning (red capsicum flakes and ‘pimped pepper’ from Spicecraft) for Sunday breakfast.
In the basket
The Wonky Box this week contained some more shallots, carrots, asparagus, purple caulilini, a beautiful lettuce, giant fennel bulb (hand for size reference!) and….avocados. I picked up some oranges, a couple of courgettes and a bag of peas, for ’tis the season, and some strawberries and blueberries.
Out and about
On Sunday afternoon a friend and I went to see Conclave, a fascinating film about the death of a pope and the election of the next one. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini, this may well be my film of the year. It was beautifully filmed, showing the contrast between tradition and the modern world (think a priest vaping), and with an intriguing plot. Highly recommended, 5* out of 5* from me.
Simple things
- Enjoying strawberries and ice-cream on Friday evening.
- Reading this hilarious account of the neighbourhood Halloween event.
- Getting lots of laundry done and hung outside in the sun and wind.
- Popping to the local pub for something to eat one evening.
- Making and eating salads with seasonal produce like peas and asparagus.
- Flying and looking at clouds and blue skies.
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 the weekend coffee share hosted by Natalie.
- Anne of Something Over Tea is also celebrating spring.
- While Laurie celebrates autumn.
- Meanwhile Natalie celebrates her 7 best outings in October.
- Sanch wraps up her October reading.
- Maria of Green Dreams offers us some seasonal baking.
- Deb of Deb’s World shares a wonderful optimistic October.
- Stop and have a coffee with Trent of Trent’s World.
- Take a tour around Fred’s French garden.
- Sue hosts the weekend traffic reboot.
- Mr Tootlepedal shares birds, flowers and goes on a trip to the market.
- Donna of Retirement Reflections shares her October.
- Jude of Cornwall in Colours rounds up her garden posts for the year.
- Carol Ann shares her weekly delights including a fabulous meal out.
- .…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 
How long does it take you to fly to Auckland, and how often do you do it? An overnight stay, or just for the day, to be in the office? Nosy questions. The food all looks great, as usual.
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1 hour, and this trip, I am spending two nights. How often just depends on the work coming in.
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Thanks!
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These posts are uplifting to read – especially as today is a rather gloomy one. The rain is threatening to come, yet something is holding it back! I enjoy reading about your outings as well as your choices of what to eat 🙂 🙂
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Thank you Anne! Hope your day improved and the sun shone.
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What beautiful views this week!
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Thank you!
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I, too, saw Conclave and liked it a lot. Sing Sing is still my favorite so far, but I am guessing that Conclave will be in my top ten of the year. And wasn’t Ralph Fienes excellent? What an actor! He can do anything.
Thanks for the mention.
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Agree Ralph Fiennes was excellent! And Isabella Rosellini too – just love her.
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Both are/were excellent. I wouldn’t mind seeing that movie again.
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You seem to be doing a lot of travelling for work at the moment, but it must be nice to visit other cities if you can stay overnight. I used to travel a bit when I stopped teaching and became an exam assessor instead, occasionally an overnight stay. it can become tiring though. Of course I drove, no flying involved!
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It can be fun, and you do meet interesting people, but it is tiring too, especially as these degree approval meetings are very intense.
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So much great stuff in this post, Barbara. Of course I smiled at the mention of Avocadoes (can’t you request not to have them in your wonky box?). I aloo had a good laugh at your link to Leah McFall’s Domestic Detail Hallowe’en! Our Hallowe’en wasn’t quite so dramatic. But we did have a fun time, More of that in my upcoming WOYP post! ❤
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Yes you can ask for things to be excluded – beetroot for example in our case – but I do like avos just not every day! The Halloween event at least meant we didn’t have people knocking on our door.
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Beautiful food, scenes, and that is one giant fennel!
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That fennel will keep me going for a while!
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One of my favorite veggies, and I grew a ton this year.
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Your header pictures have been beautiful lately. They probably always are but I have been specially noticing them recently. They have given me great pleasure.
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Thank you!
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The bread looks delicious – hope you get another break soon. Happy week.
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We have a holiday booked at the end of the month.
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What beautiful views from your flight! I love the wonky box this week, especially the purple caulilini and the giant fennel bulb. Thank you for the mention and your weekend coffee share.
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Thanks! On a clear day you can get great views from an aircraft.
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The views from your work trip and the good food is equally inspiring. Thank you for sharing with us. How nice to treat yourself to a weekend of rest and enjoyment of the simple things at home and in the garden. Everyone should do that more often 🙂
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Yes sometimes a rest and simple things is what is needed.
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Sounds like a good week. It is hard sometimes to let things go because life is just busy, but it’s necessary all the same.
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It sounds very posh to fly to work. I love your plane photos.
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It really isn’t! Especially if you have to catch a 06:30am flight, work all day, and fly home (me tomorrow!). My job requires travel and it is the only way to get places. Glad you like the photos – hopefully I can get some good ones tomorrow.
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