Eating – Whittakers Ghana Peppermint chocolate, where have you been all my life? I can’t believe we only purchased our first bar this Saturday! Rich, smooth and dark on the outside with the perfect amount of “snap” when you bite into it, releasing the cool, sweet, oozing peppermint within, ye-um! The three of us have decided that we all like it very much indeed so I predict there may be arguments over who gets the last piece. Perhaps safer to buy another block…

Listening – Crossfire, Brandon Flowers. I love The Killers, and this one from their infamous lead singer is definitely growing on me….

Watching – Halcyon River Diaries. I spotted Charlie Hamilton James’ beautiful photos from the book of the series in one of the many photography magazines that I hoard collect, so when I heard that the series was going to be screened on the Living Channel on Sunday evenings I booked my slot on the sofa and it soon became officially known as “Mummy’s programme.” Charlie, his conservationist wife Philippa and their three cute-as-a-button sons follow the wildlife on the Halcyon riverside for a year, observing and capturing the lives of kingfishers, otters, dragonflies and water voles up close – with a lot of patience and some very, very fancy cameras. Completely enchanting…

Reading – At Home – A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson. Ever wondered why forks have four prongs? Or why we prefer salt and pepper above all other spices? Or why reading books at home only really became popular in the early 19th century? This is a book all about the history of domesticity and it’s great. I have all of Bill Bryson’s books and apart from his witty, subtle, droll sense of humour I love his tendency to go off at a complete tangent, sweeping the reader totally off the subject and returning them with a single paragraph right at the end of the chapter. I bought this one about six weeks ago, read half of it and put it down. I’ll pick it up and most probably read the rest of the book all in one sitting.  Entertaining, amusing and informative all at once.

Liking –  that it’s getting lighter in the evenings, that the sunshine has actually got a touch of warmth in it, daffodils, snowdrops, The Collective Dairy’s Apple Crumble yoghurt, Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey (another sofa slot), and NZ Gardener magazine (just subscribed for the first time, have come to the conclusion I need all the help I can get…)