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.
- Anne of Something Over Tea shares the birds seen in her garden in January.
- The Glasgow Gallivanter shares her Geometric January.
- Deb of Deb’s World shares what was on her January calendar.
- Trent of Trent’s World enjoys several musical moments.
- Jo of Brookford Kitchen Diaries details her kitchen diaries – check the links.
- Mr Tootlepedal has a welcome lie in
- Sue shares her January adventures.
- Travels Through My Lens continues a tour of Paris arrondissements, reaching the 17th.
- Fred shares things in his garden, and makes mandarin jam.
- Maria of Green Dreams offers us coffee and shows us her allotment plans.
- The Travelsketcher shares Tuesday’s tip.
- Mr Platypus of Now I’m 64 shares a wordless Wednesday.
- Natalie has adventures in Costa Rica.
- Donna talks about ultra processed foods.
- And enjoy Saturday Sketches over at Cornwall in Colours.
- ..…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.