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This week’s small pleasures #421
So here we are, the first few days of January already gone. The weather has been atrocious most of the time, with some heavy rain (on Friday evening it was bouncing off the rooftops opposite), grey,...
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A seat at the table: Craggy Range
To say we have had mixed weather this summer is an understatement. From lovely warm sunny days in December, so a cold and wet start to the new year, with even falls of snow on the Desert Road. Anyway,...
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Wining and dining in Hawke’s Bay
If you enjoy good food and wine, Hawke’s Bay is the place to go. There are excellent restaurants, interesting shopping, farmers’ markets and, of course, it is home to some well-known vineyards. A wine...
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This week’s small pleasures #422
It was hard to go back to work today. Getting on the bus, putting my lunch box in my bag and trying to remember my work computer password all seemed so alien after three weeks away from my desk....
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What’s on your bookshelf: January
One of the most enjoyable things in life, that many of you will agree with, is curling up with a good book. Perhaps a cup of tea or a cool, summer drink on the side, maybe even a biscuit (or two) to...
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Silent Sunday: Paraparaumu Beach
Today we drove up the coast to Paraparaumu and went for a walk on the beach. It was wonderful to smell the sea and take note of what was around. Going on to the beach… Spotted on the sand… And the...
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This week’s small pleasures #423
Today is the Wellington Anniversary holiday, and the sun shone – hoorah! We have had a relaxing day, reading, cooking and pottering about. However, the best small pleasure this week was a trip up to...
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Savour: Salads for all Seasons
It is summer here in the southern hemisphere, though to be frank we have been having a bit of what I call a ‘Scottish summer’ (ie rubbish) until the past few days. Our seasonal holidays are over, and...
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This week’s small pleasures #424
This week’s small pleasures post is coming to you on Sunday evening as tomorrow I am off for a cataract operation on my right eye. My left eye is known as a ‘lazy eye’ and I don’t see properly with it...
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If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…
If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…you would ask me about the cataract operation. I would say I was a bit nervous, but once it was done it was great. I would tell you about the blue and red...
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This week’s small pleasures #425
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...
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They walk beside us every day
Today, 6 February, is Waitangi Day, commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi which is considered to be New Zealand’s founding document. First officially commemorated in 1934, it has been a...
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This week’s small pleasures #426
We seem to finally be getting some decent summer weather – of course, the schools are back and public holidays are over until Easter. Isn’t that always the way? Anyway, it is nice to see sunshine and...
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Wednesday Words and Whimsy
Wednesday dawned, and as usual, we were woken before the alarm by the call of the kākā. With it being a non-working day, I can take it a bit slower first thing, actually finishing my breakfast cup of...
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This week’s small pleasures #427
Here we are in the middle of February already. Melodifestivalen is on in Sweden (just catching up on Saturday’s heat as I type), the Fringe Festival has started, and the mornings are already getting...
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Cook book club February
When I looked at the topic for this month’s cook book club, my mind went blank. Did I have any books dedicated to summer? I made Julia Turshen’s beef and zucchini (courgettes) meatballs for this...
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What’s on your bookshelf: February
February is a short month, and was even shorter in terms of reading days due to the cataract operation on my right eye at the tail end of January. Luckily, I had borrowed a David Rosenfeldt crime...
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This week’s small pleasures #428
What a week! I had been to a work meeting in town on Tuesday afternoon, and as I came out to go for a taxi (I had just missed my bus…) I tripped and fell, and the heavy back pack I was carrying kind...
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If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…
If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…we would be sipping orange pekoe tea and enjoying chocolate chip cookies from our local deli. If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…you would ask...
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This week’s small pleasures #429
Well….I heard from the physiotherapist this morning that I have fractured the fifth metatarsal bone, so to say the week has not started particularly well is a bit of an understatement. As I type, I...
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