This week’s small pleasures 509

Thistles and Kiwis

It’s Monday evening and the sun is shining. In fact, it was sunny all weekend which not only lifted the spirits, but also the temperatures. It now really feels like spring. The voting has started for Bird of the Year, and I naturally have picked my birds. My choices, will, of course, remain secret. I was indoors on a work visit all day today, so went for a short work on getting home, stopping to admire these gorgeous magnolia blooms.

When I went out into the garden to pick some mint to add to a yoghurt sauce, I spotted these. I have forgotten what variety they are, but they are certainly very pretty.

A wee trip

The weather was lovely at the weekend, and on Sunday we drove to Eastbourne (also see the featured image at the top of the post) for a short walk and lunch. You can see Wellington over the water. The grey clouds did not last.

While other people seem to have the luck, I never seem to see penguins, seals, whales or whatever creature decides to visit Wellington, but I did say hello to this seal over in Eastbourne. He is at least always there.

Lunches

I won’t bore you with my Wednesday medical appointment, but it meant grabbing a cheese, ham and tomato toastie from a cafe I don’t normally go to. It was OK, not my favourite, but I did fall in love with the egg timer on the table.

On Sunday, we had excellent croque monsieur at Tartines in Eastbourne. After having read Tricia’s recent blog post about this dish, it was kind of necessary to have one. My excuse anyway…

In the basket

This week the Wonky Box gave me more broccoli, a few potatoes, avocados, a bunch of carrots, one bok choy, and a lettuce and a cucumber (not pictured). I have some things to still use up from last week, so I better get cooking! I topped it up with a bunch of this gorgeous looking rainbow chard, asparagus, a radicchio, oranges, kiwi fruit (please don’t say you are eating kiwis….) and onions. I made an apple and pear crumble with last week’s left over fruit on Saturday, with the other half on Sunday.

Simple things

  • Seeing sunshine and feeling warmer days are coming.
  • Hanging the laundry outside to dry.
  • Purchasing the new Ottolenghi cook book, Simple Too.
  • Spotting a man sitting reading and enjoying a glass of wine on Friday as I headed to the osteopath – one of the little things from Friday.
  • Getting a nice new picture of my brother in Washington DC.
  • Watching the tulips I bought on Monday opened up into these stunning blooms for a couple of days.

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 and good food. Thistles and Kiwis can be found on Facebook and 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

44 Comments

  3. Was the egg timer there to make sure the table would be vacated for the next customer 🙂 ? Oh, adore both tulips and magnolias . . .

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  5. Such a peaceful post! I am about to make our Monday midday meal and am pleased to see the sun at last after a bout of gloomy weather. Reading a novel while sipping wine … perhaps that is what I will do this evening 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  8. Keep looking for those seals, whales, and—be still my trembling heart—penguins. We have whales off the coast of Maine, too, and sometimes they can be seen from the shore. Like you, I have never seen one, but hope springs ever eternal. I’ve also looked for great whites, which have made their way to Maine, but I’ve never seen one of those either. Those magnolia blooms look like birds about to fly away. Hope you reveal your favorite birds when the contest is over. Thanks for the mention!

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    1. Oh hope you get to see the whales at some point. I see signs saying take care of penguins crossing the road in the evenings but have never seen one in the wild in Wellington. You are so right about the magnolia blooms… and once we know the winner of Bird of the Year I will let you know.

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  9. That croque monsieur looks amazing. I do wish we would get things like that and proper toasties in our cafés (tend to be paninis). And your narcissi look very much like ‘Winston Churchill’ which has a lovely scent (but there are other similar varieties). Thanks for the link Barbara.

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  13. I’m catching up after being away in Sydney for our daughter’s beautiful wedding. She and her new husband are now honeymooning in the South Island and had a very snowy day yesterday. I hope it’s a bit warmer where you are. Your tulips are gorgeous.

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  14. Pingback: blue – Touring My Backyard

  15. Love the blue skies, magnolias, daffodils and tulips in your post. Those flowers are definite signs of spring. Thank you for the mention and for your weekend coffee share.

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  20. How lovely to see those spring blossoms your are surrounded by 🙂 Such gorgeous colors and textures.

    I’s fall in love with that little egg timer, too! What a sweet design!

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  21. What lovely and unusual tulips! Thank you for sharing them with us. And also the delights of the warmer weather and those gorgeous vistas from Eastbourne. A lovely way to begin my morning.

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