There are times or events that make it all the more important to consider the small things that make us smile. I’m feeling a bit like that at the moment for a variety of reasons. Anyway, as I was working at home today, a walk was necessary in the afternoon. I spotted this beautiful blossom…
…and this kōwhai, so beloved by tūī. What glorious signs of the season that immediately lifted my sagging spirits.
Bird of the Year
This year’s Bird of the Year was announced this morning, and it is the karure black robin. The kākāpō, which was one of the birds I voted for, came second. The kārearea came third place and fourth and fifth place went to the kea and takahē respectively. You can read more about it here.
Lunches
I had one of my favourite lunches – the tuna bagel – at Bond Street Deli on Wednesday, and another of the NZ$10 deals of a coffee and sandwich at Tipple on the Nook on Friday. This week I had the ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce. Such a great deal, and a nice place to sit with a book too.
In the shopping basket
The Wonky Box delivered up yet more broccoli, two giant onions, potatoes, kumara. parsnips, a leek, avocados (not tired of them yet), a bunch of baby purple carrots and some mushrooms. We topped this up with oranges, giant lemons (what is it with giant produce?), asparagus, rainbow chard, a small fennel bulb, tomatoes (still a bit expensive but could not resist) asparagus, rocket, gurnard for Saturday’s dinner, steak to have with potato gratin on Sunday for a treat and some chicken, eggs and other bits and bobs.
Out and about: bees
For the next eight weeks, Wellington has been taken over by giant bees. To be exact, Bee in the City is one of those sculpture trails, with thirty bees and some community bees decorated by schools and local groups. So far I have spotted six (two from the car on the way home). The ones below can be found in Old Bank Arcade, Civic Square, Grey Street and Midland Park.
Out and about: World of Wearable Art
On Friday evening, friends and I headed out to this year’s World of Wearable Art. Regular readers will know that I go every year with friends, and every year there are some costumes that are particularly striking. This year’s show as called Glo! and the themes this year were metallic, open, Aotearoa, avant-garde, kinetic and bizarre bra. Below you can see the programme (which is excellent, featuring all the designs), some past costumes on display, and people getting seated before it all began.
The show as ever was spectacular, with dancing, aerialists, musicians and of course the costumes. The most breath taking moment was watching one of the aerialists, on a spinning pole that was covered with flames. Other acrobats wore long black skirts, with the flame trimmed hems. It was quite something! WOW, as it is known, is also a competition. The supreme winner was Waikanae-based Kayla Christensen for her piece Sacred Nightfall. You can see some of the winners here.
Simple things
- Breathing in spring air.
- Enjoying longer evenings.
- Going to book club for good conversation, and not just about books.
- Making a very good potato/kumara gratin as part of Sunday’s dinner.
- Watching lots (and I mean lots) of cooking on YouTube. I know…
- Saying hello to Zee, a well known local cat who spends most of his time in and around the Salvation Army charity shop.
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.
- Laurie celebrates her birthday.
- And Fred shares six things from his garden.
- Autumn is here for Jude at Cornwall in Colours.
- Anne finds a mermaid’s purse.
- The Glasgow Gallivanter spends a day in Valletta.
- Meanwhile Travels Through My Lens goes on a Parisian cruise.
- The Travel Sketcher reflects on the week in The Pearl.
- Mr Tootlepedal has an unexpected cream tea.
- Lovely to see Maria in Stockholm.
- And Neal shares a Silent Sunday.
- Ju Lyn shares her happy place and happy space.
- Ilze makes the mondamin cake – looks good!
- And Natalie has a gorgeous day in Port Hope .
- Deb talks about what she has been reading.
- Finally….Mr Platypus introduces us to a new addition.
- ..…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 and good food. Thistles and Kiwis can be found on Facebook and Instagram @thistlesandkiwis
Thistles and Kiwis 
I’m enjoying getting my house back to ‘normal’, Barbara. It was wonderful to have my visitors but I do tend to like my own space. Hope your mood improves. I’m sure all those Spring flowers will help xx
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We had some sad news at work about another death within the space of a couple of months. That plus the news (cannot always be an ostrich) means lots of small pleasures are needed!
It is nice to have visitors, but also nice when they leave!
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That lemon is a giant. I hope it was gave you plenty of juice. The WOW show would be amazing to see in person. Lucky you!
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I know! Wonder if that lemon is all skin and no juice? WOW is such tremendous fun.
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I love the bees! and i wish we could get to WOW again. We did go one year and met one of the artists – she was fabulous!
sherry https://sherryspickings.blogspot.com/
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Oh lucky you! WOW is such fun. I will try and track down some more bees.
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so happy to hear that the black robin won the bird of the year. It has done so well, from near extinction to a reasonable number. Love the bees also – specially the one that looks like the “buzzy bee”.
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It was nice such an endangered species one. The bees are fun and yes there is a ‘buzzy bee’.
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Oh, so loved your ‘bee in the city’ sculptures – so much imaginative fun! Did you know Toronto did this recently for the FIFA 2026 Great Beaver Quest where they had 52 4 foot high beaver sculptures wearing all the participants uniforms and countries special colours and markings all over the city – in a very similar way . . . do look up if you haven’t seen!
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I saw the beavers on another bloggers post. They were fun.
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The robin looks a delightful bird! South Africa’s bird of the year is the Black Harrier – with over 10 000 votes for it. The bees look such fun too. I enjoyed seeing the Scottie dogs in Glasgow earlier this year.
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I think these competitions are great to raise awareness. I’m looking forward to finding more bees – just a bit of fun.
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Small pleasures are always important, especially when life hits a rough patch. Those vegetables are enough to brighten any day. Then there are the bees and the fashion show. Finally, a very pretty cat. Hope things go better this week.
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Yes they are. There are lots of things around us to make us smile if we lift our heads and look.
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Oh, how fabulous that you also have a trail now! I miss our Scotties. that cat looks quite large – and very comfortable.
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Yes! The bees look a lot of fun. I so enjoyed your Scotties. That cat is very well known in our suburb. Quite a character. Even had an article about him in our local free newspaper.
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These statue trails have become very fashionable. They are popping up all over the place. I enjoyed your heartening flowers.
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Yes they have – I have seen a few popping up on other blogs.
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The garden vegetables look incredible – there is nothing like seeing a harvest that vibrant. It was fun to see the moveable art with such a fascinating twist. Thank, you for sharing such a beautiful mix of nature, art and feline charm.
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Sounds like a lovely, and fun week! I love the bee statues. At the moment, we have crow statues in Portland. Thanks for the shoutout!
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The bees are fun to see. It was a good week apart from some very sad news at work.
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