This week’s small pleasures #425

Thistles and Kiwis

The sun shone today, which always lifts the spirits. We have had such a lousy summer, that any glimmer of blue skies and sunshine makes us smile. Of course the ‘best’ small pleasure this week was getting the all clear from the eye doctor on Thursday and seeing the eye heal nicely and no longer look quite so red and scary. Those of you who have had a cataract operation will know I am now in the ‘after 3 weeks you can…’ phase and longing for the ‘after 6 weeks you can go to the optician’ moment for new reading glasses.

Anyway, I went back to the office on Friday just in time for a morning tea to celebrate the Chinese New Year. This giant inflatable dragon could be seen in the social space – picture taken before the plates of dumplings and other goodies appeared.

In the basket

The Wonky Box delivered some caulilini (Monday’s dinner in a cheese sauce), red skin potatoes, onions, tomatoes, a leek, sweetcorn, a cucumber and a big bag of salad leaves. I topped it up with a couple of courgettes or zucchini, flatto peaches, a few plums, a fennel bulb, fine stemmed broccoli, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries (’tis the season) along with burrata, mozzarella and a pot of this lovely smoked salmon spread. I really need to use up a lot of veggies this week!

On the table

I was at home Tuesday and Wednesday, and popped out to our local deli for some salami, a piece of brie, olives and some crusty bread to have with some salad for lunch. I also enjoyed the figs I bought last week for breakfast with some Greek yoghurt a couple of mornings – what a treat!

Baking

On Saturday I made this brown butter and strawberry cake from Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s latest book Good Cooking Everyday to celebrate, a few days late, Karl’s Name Day (28 January). It was a nice light sponge, but putting on my Paul Hollywood hat for a minute, slightly overcooked at the edges. Anyway, it tasted excellent and went well with some Earl Grey tea.

Out and about

On Sunday afternoon, we headed out to the cinema to see Maria, the new biopic about opera singer Maria Callas. It was a rather slow film, but Angelina Jolie was fantastic in the role, and it is worth seeing for that alone. Callas had a rather sad life and died at the age of 53 in Paris. If you like opera or Jolie or just want to see a beautifully made film then go, but fortify yourself with a coffee and Jaffa beforehand. I kind of agree with this review here.

Simple things

  • Being greeted in Swedish at the eye doctor when I went for my after op check up.
  • Reading this fun review of the Vivienne Westwood exhibition I went to last week.
  • Buying some flowers from the supermarket – a very simple thing to do that makes a difference.
  • Watching the first heat of Melodifestivalen….was this a small pleasure or not? If you know you know, if you don’t…..read here.
  • Seeing that my friend’s dog Spark won dog of the month at the doggy day care – she was a rescue dog and has come such a long way. You can follow her adventures with her sister Tilly over at @tilly_spark_and_bolt on Instagram.
  • Spotting this pretty fungi in the garden – well, it probably shouldn’t be there but it is interesting!

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 included in the weekend coffee share hosted by Natalie.

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

46 Comments

  1. I have just enjoyed a mug of Earl Grey tea, having already done my week’s grocery shopping before 7 am! This post is a delightfully peaceful read: I plan to bake a poppy seed cake later this week – I haven’t baked for some time 🙂

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  2. Hi, Barbara – Your photos are beautiful as always. I especially like the opening flower shot. It’s stunning! The CNY dragon is also very cool. I miss celebrating CNY while living in Beijing. It was also a highlight of the year. ❤

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  5. I don’t go back that far with you, and hadn’t realised that you’re Swedish. How did you end up in New Zealand?

    That Westwood exhibition sounds completely amazing.

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    1. My husband is Swedish and we moved to NZ 12 years ago due to him being offered a job here.

      The Westwood exhibition was fantastic – I need to go back before it closes.

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  6. That sounds lovely! 😊 The sun always has a way of brightening the mood. I hope you get more of those blue skies and sunshine soon! 🌞✨

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        2. Usually, it’s 1/3 of the month that is sunny. This year.. nope. But all around, the climate is changing..

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  12. My smile was getting a good report for my husband from his doctor. I just love being those little bunches of flowers at the grocery store it just brightens everything. I saw your cake on Instagram and I may have drooled a little it looked so delicious. Have a wonderful week.

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  14. Your cake sounds delicious, I Iove cooking with strawberries. It’s always nice to buy cheerful flowers. We have very wet weather here in the Northern tropics at the moment do soups and stews are back on the agenda too.

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  15. I just left a comment for you but not sure if It sent. Your week sounds nice.

    Pauline (Happy Retirees Kitchen.)

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  16. I am glad that your eye has settled down. It is interesting to read of the different time scales after the operation in our respective countries. I will go to the optician after four weeks.

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    1. My cousin in England was told to wait 6 weeks for an optician appointment as well – interesting both the doctor and optician both said 6 weeks so it must be standard here. The nurses at the hospital were much more fussy about what I could and couldn’t do than the doctor.

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  18. So glad the eye surgery went well and your eye is healing nicely. Your wonky box items and the cake all look so good. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.

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  20. Well, that was annoying. I wrote my comment out and it said it couldn’t be published. Do I remember what I wrote? Nope! I know I said the fungi was interesting…and cute. I’m glad you’ve had a few nicer days. Our winters and spring are usually so wet that I hate when summer is less than stellar.

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