This weekend seems to have been one continuous and lovely feast.  I knew I was in for lots of foodie treats so I did start well, as I so often do, on Saturday morning with a watermelon, mango and orange smoothie, made with natural yogurt, hemp seed milk and chia seeds.  I made one for the little fella too as I suspected he may eat lots of snacky food and wanted to make sure he went out with some good nutrition in his tummy.

The main event on Saturday was the 18th birthday celebration of Emily, a wonderful young lady who I have had the pleasure of knowing all her life.  Her Mum, Lucy, did a do at home and invited family and friends who have known her and shared so many life experiences with her during the last 18 years.  There was a huge feast which we picked at all day.  Well, I did!

This salmon and some runny Brie (not in the photo) were my favourite things.

It is always a pleasure to be together with the girls and we all enjoyed meeting for the first time or re-meeting friends of Lucy and Emily’s we may not have have seen for many, many years. Presents were opened, with assistance from cute little helpers, stories were told,  the moment was enjoyed,Emily was toasted with champagne,
and her Dad made a touching speech. Sammy made a delicious cake which we all enjoyed. The boys played football and let the younger ones join in too so everyone was happy. Thank you Lucy, for such an enjoyable day and a splendid celebration of such a lovely young lady’s first 18 years.  Lunch merged in to the evening, spent partly in the Black Pig and then back at mine with a sleepover for 4 which was lovely.  We were quite restrained, especially for us!  I did manage a cooked breakfast this morning but failed to take any photos.

Harvey found William who has finally decided that the time for hibernating is over.  We were worried about him as he self-hibernates and we were concerned that such a long and harsh winter may have been too much for him.   But he looks really healthy.  We gave him a bath and he settled down to a lunch of his favourite food – young dandelion leaves.
We all had a good lunch today too.Slow cooked shoulder of pork served with a choice of gravy or a hickory smoked BBQ sauce , dauphinoise potatoes, tomatoes and a green salad made with lamb’s lettuce, rocket, chicory and Granny Smith apples, dressed in a homemade dressing with rapeseed oil, garlic and mustard.
Followed by a yummy chocolate, hazelnut and salted caramel tart.  I found the recipe on the BBC Good Food site and you can access it here.  It is a layer of pastry with hazelnuts in it, then a layer of salted caramel topped with a whipped chocolate layer.  Really yummy.

I failed to take a photo of the really light and flavourful rhubarb and custard tart my sister Abi made.  I also failed to take any photos of my lovely family who came for lunch today or my lovely girl friends who stayed the night.  Too busy enjoying everyones company to remember to take pictures! I did capture Andrew’s spectacular lemon cupcake but didn’t take one of Alison’s coffee walnut cake.  Both were wonderful. Thank you Andrew and Alison for coming over for lunch, and thank you Abi and Jim.

So I have had a feast, all weekend.  Dreadful for my health and diet.  I knew it would be so from tomorrow I am definitely behaving!