This week’s small pleasures #418

Thistles and Kiwis

Iti te kupu,nui te whakaaro

This whakataukī or proverb means ‘a small thing can mean a lot’, is something I believe in. The bus driver greeting us with a cheery ‘morena’ (good morning) as we get onto the bus, biting into the first nectarine of the season, the potential that a new book holds as you turn to the first page and listening to the dawn chorus are all small things that mean a lot in daily life. These roses spotted on a nearby street also made me smile – what a gorgeous bright pink and just so pretty.

Wednesday lunch

I made it to one of my favourite cafés in town Squirrel, enjoying the Maude’s chicken sandwich, complete with capers and other good things, and named after the owner’s dog.

In the basket

Our fridge is overflowing with vegetables…a mix of left over ones (the other half of the cabbage finally made a second coleslaw at the weekend) and new ones. In the Wonky Box this week were some welcome courgettes, purple caulilini, choy sum (help…..), a leek, red skin potatoes, a bunch of basil, a lettuce and I added on aubergines (eggplants) and apricots (which I made into a crumble with 2 leftover nectarines). I added two ears of sweetcorn, grapefruit, lemons, a bunch of mini carrots, a small tin of tuna (for lunch boxes), peaches, tomatoes, asparagus, broad beans, peas and a large jar of Pickle and Pie’s bread and butter pickle.

Sunday sunshine

After being woken by a 3.9 earthquake (the sound actually woke me up before the shaking), Sunday turned out to be a lovely sunny day. While Karl went off Christmas shopping, I walked along the waterfront to the market. Not that I needed any fruit or vegetables, but there were other stalls to browse and I was heading to a particular destination for a bit of seasonal shopping.

Simple things

  • Enjoying stone fruit season
  • Watching the Lucia morning in Sweden, this year from Sala – you can watch it here.
  • Meeting the neighbours for drinks and nibbles.
  • Realising it is very close to the summer holidays.
  • Feeling the warmth of summer sun.
  • Walking along the waterfront on Sunday.

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.

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.

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Published by Thistles and Kiwis

Loves summer, sunshine and cats. Beginner gardener, likes eating, cooking and reading about food

41 Comments

  2. I love the idea of the small things that matter: the odd rose hanging on in there at the darkest time of the year, the hellebores, and the daffodils starting to show promise. The picture of the fruit and veg stall against the blue sky, the week’s small pleasure dropping into my mail box first thing on a Monday.

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  5. Another week to be thankful for (apart from the earthquake!) and thank you for Santa Lucia. I will watch it properly when I have some quiet time this evening. Happy Holidays!

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  7. I love reading these posts from you – the earthquake sounds a little alarming though! It is blissfully cooler here today, so easier to round to more tasks than usual. I would like to lift that sandwich off the screen for it looks delicious!

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  14. It’s feeling very chilly here in the central valley of California today, so I envy you being near to summer and all those beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables. 🙂

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      1. That would give you some strange weather. It would naturally be summer, but Antarctica would never be super warm. When I was in Australia, the temperature change between Melbourne and Brisbane was palpable. It was much more temperate and comfortable for me in Melbourne in December than Brisbane was.

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  15. Over here It’s winter solstice on Dec 21 and this weekend is cold and sunny with windchill so I love seeing your roses and fresh fruit and veggies. I hope the earthquake didn’t cause any damage. Thank you for the mention and your weekend coffee share. Happy Christmas to you and Karl.

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    1. It wasn’t that bad a shake, and we had another one on Tuesday with the epicentre in a different place, and there were two more we didn’t feel them further north. WIihing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

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  18. What wonderful basket!!! I love that saying and I think it is so true!! Yet so often we overlook the small things. Earthquakes are no fun. It’s been a few years since we’ve felt one here in my area of Washington state.

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