And those great days just keep coming....

After a day in the office on Friday, I met PIGSY at the opening of the Ranelagh Arts Festival 2023. It was luanched by the Canadian Ambassador Nancy Smyth and there was a great crowd at the art exhibition launch. The sun was shining so everyone hung out on the street outside the gallery and chatted with the exhibitors.

And then Saturday was a day in the Ranelagh Arts Gallery where PIGSY was a guest invigilator. This was another fun day where we chatted to visitors all day about the art on show. But the day got really great when and offer came through at close to 5pm for a ticket to the Michael Bublé at 8pm in the 3 Arena. It really was all about Canada this weekend, eh!

After a fast turn around, leaving the gallery at 5.30pm, hopping in the shower and jumping on the bus and luas I got down to the Gibson Hotel for just after 7pm to meet my fellow concert goers.  

What an amazing concert. Michael Bublé is an incredible singer and performer and I love a big band!!

And then we really got lucky when Mr Bublé arrived to a "second stage" which was only 2 rows away from us and did a full Elvis medley of songs. Just incredible!!

This part was the highight of the show for me - and then he magically disappeared in a storm of ticker tape / paper confetti to reappear on the main stage.

All in all a great show!

And my great weekend is not over just yet. 

This morning we go to the Stella Theatre in the Devlin Hotel for the Ranelagh Arts Film Festival where we will watch the documentary "Castro's Spies". 

And then later in the day we will have a call with Amy and Patrick (another Canadian!) in Florida - 5pm our time, mid day there time. 

Hope your weekend is as good as mine - drop a line below to let me know what you got up to!

Cheese O's order!

As you saw from my previous post, my new favourite thing is "Cheese O's" which are tasty little puffed cheesy bites in a variety of flavours.

There was only regular cheese bites in Cheddar flavour and also Sweet Chilli flavour (we prefer the Sweet Chilli) in my local Supervalu so I decided to order a few of the other flavours directly from the supplier.

Well look at this - they have arrived!

I ordered 24 packets in total and they arrived all packed up in 2 boxes like this.....all the way from County CorK via the Tralee Post Office (I tracked it using the An Post number supplied by the company when they sent me confirmation of my order

The delivery arrived about 11am this morning just before I went to work so we only opened the boxes this evening. 

The first flavour we selected to taste was the Salt & Vinegar, which we both LOVED!

Unfortunately though I only bought 2 of this flavours........guess I will have to order again in the future!

If you are interested in tasting these delicions snacks you can order on their website here, or look out for them in your local Supervalu or other shops.

For me, they are a great low carb snack that fits in my keto lifestyle perfectly. There are not many keto friendly snacks available in my local shop so I am very happy to have found these, and I am looking forward to tasting the other flavours. 

You can check out the website below to see the nutritional info in order to see how this snack would fit in with your diet/lifestyle.

Well done to Dairy Concepts Irl on a great new Irish low carb product!

Edit - Tasted the Cheese & Pickeled Onion and they taste just like Monster Munch.

"Lost in Thought" is open!

Ranelagh is alive!

PIGSY's "Lost in Thought" is on show.  The exhibition opened with a bang on 21st of April and you can read all about the opening here on PIGSY's website.

Next up is the finissage event on closing night of 5th of May. 

And if you aren't able to get to see the show sometime this week before it close on Friday, you can check out this video below (starring moi (!), and PIGSY) all about the show.

Other than PIGSY art, my latest obsession are something that I found in my local Supervalu store.....they are an Irish product called "Cheese O's"

Made from Irish Cheddar cheese they are basically dried cheese puffs with some flavouring. I've tasted the plain version and the sweet chilli version and both are great. They are low carb (I'm back on keto) and high protein so they fit perfectly with my current lifestyle and diet.

They are so good that I went on to the Cheese O's website to check out the other flavours and ordered a variety box. I'll report back on the different flavours when I get that delivery!

You can check out the Cheese O's website here for info.

Made by a company called Dairy Concepts and based in County Cork I expect my Cheese O's will arrive quickly in a few days. I ordered them yesterday but today was a Bank Holiday in Ireland so the order probably won't even get processed until tomorrow........either way I don't mind when they arrive but I am looking forward to tasting all of the varieties.

April Showers brings May Flowers

 It's bucketing rain here in Ireland.  

We had a lovely Easter but it started to rain on Easter Monday and now today, after a dry morning, it is raining again.

After working from home all day, I needed to get out for a walk. So after work we set off with an umbrella up to Ranelagh to buy the makings of dinner in Supervalu. It was fine on the way to the shop but started rain a little heavier on the way back. We are now home and the rain is really HEAVY!

But as the saying goes, "April Showers brings May Flowers" so we should see lots of blooms very soon.

I took a few pics of what are weeds really, growing on my street. And even through they are weeds they do brighten the area and they will probably provide food for bees and butterflies, so it's all good.

Musings...

There has been a lot of talk recently about the concept of the "15 Minute City". My understanding of the concept is that services are offered to citizens through improved public transport and active travel initiatives that allow for most people to walk or cycle less than 15 minutes in order use resources such as doctors, shops, restaurants and other community services.

Yesterday after working from home, I set off walking to Ranelagh Village which is only about 5 minutes from my house where I first visited the hardware store to buy some surface cleaner. I then walked on down the main street to Leech's Pharmacy where I dropped in a prescription to be filled.  After that I continued on through Ranelagh and went to The Hill pub to see what was going on there as I had heard that a Hallmark movie was being filmed at this location. When I got to The Hill I could see lots of crew and equipment but no movie stars.  

I didn't stay long at The Hill and then meandered through Ranelagh Park to Supervalu where I bought something for my dinner and then headed home.

All in all doing these little chores while strolling from my house and back took about 50 mins in total. It made me consider that I am probably living in a 15 minute area and there are probably only a few tweaks needed by the local authority to make it a better place for all to live in. It felt healthy being able to walk around rather than driving and searching for parking spaces and all that malarkey. It is to be recommended, I think!

In other news, I planted some flower seeds yesterday. I went for a Butterfly & Bee "Shake & Rake" pack. So watch this space as I will post pics when the flowers come up.  You can click here to see pics from last year in my garden.

"Lost in Thought" by PIGSY

Over the weekend I helped PIGSY hang his new solo exhibition "Lost in Thought" which opens on 21st of April in Ranelagh Arts. Bones came with us - but he didn't last long as he was whiney and bored so I dropped him home and then cycled back to the arts center.

You can read more about the PIGSY exhibition on the PIGSY website - I'd love you to see the art (with added augmented reality) so do come to either the opening night or anytime over the 2 weeks that the exhibition is on show.

Back at Bikram in '23!

If you read back my blog you'll see lots of posts like this about my return to Bikram Yoga as I've been practising on and off for probably close on 15 years now.  

After a break for awhile there is nothing like getting back to it.

This may have been my longest break with my last class being in November 2019 which of course was leading up to the Covid lockdown in March 2020.  If I had known what was going to happen in March 2020, I would have made damn sure I practised more in the months of November to March.

And then the months turned to years and suddenly it was over 3 years since I practised in a studio (I did a bit at home on my own from time to time).

But......I'm now back at it!

I went to a Sunday 4pm class yesterday and have now signed up for a month. I intend to go 3 or 4 times per week if I can make it.

It was a fantastic class and it felt so good to be back!!  

There is nothing like Bikram.....I'm already dreaming of my next class.

I had to rent a mat at the studio as I couldn't fine my old one.  At lunch today I then went to Elverys and got myself a nice mat. So I am all set for tomorrow's class.

The class is at 6.30pm and with I'm working from home so it is perfect time (if I was working in the office it would be a big rush to get there on time).

I can't wait!

I signed up for a month in the Harolds Cross Bikram Yoga studio. It's about a 10 minute cycle from my house to the studio which is just perfect. There is bike lanes most of the way (thankfully as it fairly hostile cycling with the rushiong-home-from-work motorists) and best of all is that it is downhill on the way home with only a gentle incline on the way there.

Along with doing yoga I am trying to get back in to intermittent fasting. I was wondering how this would go but in fairness I've always liked to do bikram on an empty stomach with 10am morning classes being my favourite. 

Come back to me in a month to hear how it all went.....

Ireland Reads 2023

Ireland Reads Day - Squeeze in a Read

What is Ireland Reads Day you might ask? Well it is a National Day that celebrates reading and it is a day that asks you to give time to reading, whether that is for 10 mins or an hour.....whatever time you have.  You can even pledge the time you will be reading on the Ireland Reads website.

Me and Ireland Reads

The library service I work for has been featuring staff and their favourite reads across their Social Media channels for "Ireland Reads" Day.

Here's how I responded to the great questions put to library staff for this day:

Favourite childhood book? What was your favourite read when you were a child, or what book always reminds you of that time? 

What a great question! It’s got me thinking back to my childhood and all of the books that I enjoyed reading.  Of course I was a big fan of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl but I also enjoyed some of the older “classics” like the Millie Mollie Mandy series by Joyce Lankester Brisley (amazing to think they were published between 1928 and 1967) and others like the “Just William” series. I also enjoyed Pippi Longstocking and The Bullerby  but my twin sister and I also got a kick out of Astrid Lindren’s perhaps less well known character, the bold Karlsson of “Karlsson on the Roof”. And then there were also favourites that I read over and over again like Noel Streatfeild’s and Judith Kerr’s “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit”.

Favourite Irish author? 

My favourite Irish author has to be Maeve Binchy. I love how she interwove social issues and changes in Ireland in to her books and of course her characters were so well written that it felt like they were your best friends – different elements of Circle of Friends’ Benny, Eve & Nan were all so familiar to me.

Favourite recent read? 

Two of my recent reads stand out – the first is “The Light Pirate” by Lily Brooks-Dalton.  It’s a recent publication and I was introduced to it by my sister who had attended an author talk in the States with Brooks-Dalton which was chaired by Judy Blume (yes, that Judy Blume!) who gave it high praise. I found it to be an intensely sad read in parts but the resilience of humans was the message I took from it by the end.

The other recent read was “Running with the Bulls” by Valerie Hemingway which was recommended to me by my mother. I am a big fan of Ernest Hemingway so always enjoying reading about his life and this was written from an interesting perspective as Valerie was one of the inner circle in Hemingway’s life working as a secretary for him initially and then going on to marry his son. Of interest to me however, personally was that Valerie was a boarding student in the 1950’s in the same school that I attended in the 90’s! Valerie Hemingway’s life itself could be the focus of a book in it’s own right as she moved in Irish-US circles that brought her contact with literary greats such as Brendan Behan – this book is worth reading purely to find out more about this.

“Running with the Bulls” is available in libraries now and can be reserved through your local library, with “The Light Pirate” on order currently but not in stock just yet (but you can reserve a copy in order to put your name on the waiting list).

Favourite book ever? 

I’ve lots of favourite authors and I enjoy reading both fiction and non-fiction.  Books by Bill Bryson give me a great laugh and I always enjoy reading anything by Elin Hilderbrand while on holiday as she writes great beachy stories about Nantucket. My all time favourite book is “Love Dad” by Evan Hunter (also known as the great Ed McBain) which is about a father-daughter relationship through the 1960’s.  It’s a book that I return to again and again for an enjoyable read.  Unfortunately I think this book is out of print now, so you may only find second hand copies through online booksellers.  It’s a book that I think would make a great film so hopefully this happens at some point in the future.

And speaking of books to movies I have to mention, “Hello God, it’s me Margaret” which was a favourite of mine when I was younger and I am very much looking forward to seeing it on the big screen when it comes to cinemas in Ireland very soon.

What will you be reading for Ireland Reads 2023?  With the success of “An Cailin Ciuin” I would like to read the book that the film is based on for Ireland Reads 2023 – it’s Claire Keegan’s “Foster”. 

However I am currently half way through “Lady in Waiting” by Anne Tennant (Lady Glenconner) so I need to finish this first!

For further reading you can see my review of "The Light Pirate" here.....and you can also reserve a copy on the Libraries Ireland website.