My Top Ten Garden Photos for September.

A piss up in a brewery.

- Well not really though I did get a bit tipsy. Last Friday was Culture night, a night when cultural venues big and small open there doors for the plebs.I love visiting new places and  and so it is one of my favorite arts events (I love Open House too). Then I got the chance through facebook to visit the Rye river brewery in Kilcock CountyKildare ,and of course I jumped at it.
It is housed in an old bakery in the center of kilcock. It was fascinating to see the brewing process from start to finish. It just takes four ingredients to brew beer, water,barley, hops and yeast. The time spent in each step and the temperature can change the taste and color of the beer.  I was amazed to see that they can monitor the process via their smartphones. It is great to see how  passionate the brewers are about their beer McGargles

We tasted nine (I think ) different beers and some chocolate, learning how to taste beer first by swirling it around the glass and smelling it, yes like wine tasting but no spitting out of the precious liquid . Cheers for a great evening Rye river brewing company.

Glenisk yogurt

I suppose one of the fun parts of blogging is when someone gives you something to try or invites you to event so you can blog about it.
I love trying new things and new experiences.
Glenisk recently were looking for bloggers to try their yogurts and post their photos on instagram using the tag  #showusyouryogurt.
I love this kind of thing, I like to imagine I am doing a professional photo shoot.
It was no problem enjoying the glenisk yogurts,they are all yummy,  I especially love the Greek Style ones so creamy.
Thanks Glenisk.

Froth on the Cappuccino- How small pleasures can save your life - Maeve Haran

I was given this book for my 50th birthday by a friend. I have been going through a spell of finding it difficult to finish a book but this book is a cure for that.  It is a compendium of the little pleasures in day to day life. each pleasure is just a page or two  long so perfect for my small attention span. I read most of it in the garden, it is a perfect summer read.. Good bread, warm towels, crisp mornings, laughing babies, girl's nights out, you get the idea.
My small pleasures are:
The bottle bank, I love the sound of breaking glass, it brings out my inner vandal I guess.
I love wining competitions ,
Growing plants from seed .when it works its great to say I made that flower. I like to plant lots of seeds so the failures don't matter so much.
I  love seeing the inside of buildings not usually open to the public.
I love the view into peoples lives from the train in dark winter evenings.
I love the feel of the sun on my skin.
I love getting something for nothing and I love giving away things to someone who will get good use out of it.
I love a bargain. 50% off 70% off buy one get one free.
I love voting, it feels good to play a part in the government of the country, when so many people could not in the past or can not vote today.
I love teaching a skill to my children and now to my grandson ,like riding bikes or playing tennis,
 and I love learning from them too.
I love finding a new television show to follow or a interesting author to read.
I love taking a good photograph.
I love a good comedy show.
I love seeing where the people who read this blog are from:

Ireland	129
United States	89
Russia	24
Germany	13
United Kingdom	4
Poland	4
Ukraine	4
Belgium	2
Canada	2
Venezuela	1 What are your small pleasures ?

I grew this from seed and got the garden chair for nothing on  www.jumbletown.ie  my hubby just had to replace the wood and paint it up.

I visited  a lifeboat as part of heritage week.

My grandson  grew this sunflower from seed.

National Botanic Gardens Dublin

The Botanic gardens was a regular haunt of ours when we were younger, recently we have rediscovered its charms.  I was delighted that our visit coincided with a beautiful sculpture exhibition in the gardens and in the visitor center. Entry is free and there is a lovely cafe and a restaurant too.

http://www.botanicgardens.ie
A lovely audio guide

There is an entrance to Glasnevin Cemetery in the gardens. The Cemetery has a lovely visitor center and cafe.

http://www.glasnevintru