Rainy Days and Birthdays

As you can see from the water accumulated in the wheelbarrow, we have had quite a bit of rain recently. In fact, it started raining on Thursday around 4:30pm (I brought the washing in hastily as the first fat drops fell) and didn't stop raining until about 7pm on Friday evening. It poured and poured and poured. I couldn't believe that the sky hat that much water available to dump on us!

Still, the mangetout and sugar snaps like it, and they are putting out peas faster than we can eat them. We have a ziplock baggie in the fridge full, and we keep on eating them. The veggie of choice everyday, but they are growing faster than we can eat them. And we can eat them pretty fast, let me tell you.
Actually the mangetout are doing a lot better than the sugar snaps. They are far more prolific, and bigger, so although the sugar snaps are tasty I don't think I will bother growing them again because you get so much more pea-for-your-penny from the mangetouts! But that's by-the-by.

Yesterday was the GardenBoy's birthday. I was going to make him Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Honey Cake, from her Feast recipe book... But he was given a big chocolate cake from some friends... so I have promised to make him a cake later in the week when the gift-cake is finished. We went out to Betty's Tea Shop in Northallerton for his birthday treat... the whole lovely experience was topped off with a gorgeous Eton Mess for him, a mini lemon cheesecake for me, and milk-shakes for the boys.

It was all just too much for Spikelet. They all crashed out early and were still so full that they went to bed with no supper!