Lovin’ these cool, crisp, mountain mornings.  Ah, fall is in the air.  Once the kiddos are on the bus, I shall get cracking on another batch of apples. Crockpot applesauce today and then apple pie filling in a jar later today. Then school work, housecleaning, work, and whatever else needs to be done around here (never a lack of that!).  I don’t have any classes today at UNCA so that’s a nice little break.

A nice gentle spring rain is falling outside, so inside activities are what’s on tap around our home, Hearth Haven. James is making chocolate chip cookies and I have bread dough rising. Joe, Topher and TJ are working on their Odyssey of the Mind column structure project for the state competition which will be held at Wingate College on April 10th. Their team won first place in the regional competition, so they get to compete at state! If they win that, then they will head to the world competition. Go Team Kane!

Miss Shayla came through her surgery last night with no signs of cancer! Apparently the radiation had caused some scar tissue to develop which became infected so they had to remove a few inches of her bowel and her appendix. She’s still in pain and needs her rest, but no signs of any other cancer, so that’s wonderful! The power of prayer and positive though is amazing.

Now that spring is upon us, it’s time for us to get some more baby chicks. We’ve reinforced their pen and coop area to keep the raccoons at bay (sadly, raccoons massacred our small flock just before Christmas). The boys cleaned out the coop yesterday. Now that we have our new pup, she’s going to be given the job of protecting our girls, too, along with Roscoe, our Great Pyrennees. Thankfully, a friend of ours just down the road has a huge flock, so we’ve been able to get ‘real’ eggs during our own lapse.

Along with checking out chicks, it’s time to start planning the garden, ordering seeds, etc. I love spring and all that come with it!

First day of Spring and what a beautiful day it is. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  Birds are singing and building their spring nests. The pansies and geraniums I planted in the pots on the front porch are gorgeous. Supposed to be almost 70 this afternoon. Welcome, Spring. We sure need you after this long, crazy and snow-filled winter. James and Tyler have cleaned out the chicken coop as we need to get ready for some chicks after the raccoons decimated our flock before Christmas. I have donned my apron this morning and have 2 ½ dozen blueberry muffins in the oven. Quiches to follow shortly. Frankie has been playing with his new sidewalk chalk in the driveway and Meghan, Topher and TJ are at their respective classes at UNCA for Super Saturdays.
Yesterday was another gorgeous day. Frankie and I met with a tax client then we had lunch on the sidewalk at Clingman Café. Kitty joined us as we enjoyed our lunches and sat in the sun. She’s a sidewalk café dog! Love it. After that we went to the French Broad River park for a half hour walk. They have a doggie park there, too, so we let Kitty play. She is so NOT aggressive toward other dogs. She just wanted to be near people and be pet. When the other dogs came to sniff her, she would just roll over. Not an ounce of aggression in her  sweet heart. We left there and drove just down the road to Carrier Park so Frankie could play on the playground there for a little while. It was a nice afternoon. Last night was Meghan’s night to go out with me. We headed back to Carrier Park and took another half hour walk. I think half of Asheville’s residents were out there soaking up the inspiring weather. After that we went to India Garden for wonderful curried meal. I love that her tastes are open to the exotic. We had a fun night out, spending mother-daughter time together.
I’m following my plan with the health resolution. Eating well, taking my supplements and getting exercise. The Celexa withdrawal symptoms are easing every day. I am already feeling better about myself and what I am doing to help myself. It will be a step-by-step, day by day, journey and one that will last a lifetime, but I’m ready for that. And I’m not denying myself things. Not cutting out entire food groups. This has to be something I can live with, so eating healthier, smaller portions is going to be a key. That along with daily movement will make a difference. I need to accept and understand that it’s not going to be dramatic, fast weight loss and I need to know, in my heart, that that’s okay. A couple pounds a week must become acceptable to me and I need to not become discouraged when it doesn’t happen overnight, knowing that with each day, I’m becoming healthier and stronger. The scale, the numbers, cannot rule my life. That is such a hurdle for me.
Poor Jennifer. Had to take Shayla to the hospital last night. She is having surgery this morning as they found she has some sort of blockage in her intestines. I stand in honor of Jennifer. How she finds the strength to get through all this, to fight these battles is beyond me. A year and a half ago, on Jennifer’s birthday, little Miss Shay was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She’s come through that; it’s in remission, and now she is hit with whatever this is. It just seems so unfair to me. All that Jenn, Shay and Savannah are going through. The battle rages on. My prayers are that the opposing armies will retreat and leave these beautiful girls alone.
Enough already. Jennifer is my hero. Her strength an inspiration.

in the mountains of western North Carolina. Spring is definitely in the air. We’ve had a flock, yes, a flock, of 7-8 bluebirds hanging out in our yard for the past week. So stunningly gorgeous. The kids and Miss Kitty and I all took a walk down the country road not far from us today. Enjoyed playing in the field, talking with the cows and watching the Canada geese. Spent time sitting out on the front porch on my rocking chair, sans jacket of any sort! James worked at his job for four hours today, moving branches, helping his boss clear out the pond, etc. Getting ready for a nice big pot of spaghetti for dinner and homemade apple crisp for dessert.

Decked the Halls

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each and every one of you and your families. We hope that 2009 was a blessed year for you. As Joe is stringing the lights on our tree, a project that always tends to be a ‘stay out of the way’ job, I thought I would take this time to write our 2009 Christmas letter.

We have had a wonderful and fun filled year despite the economic crisis that has been so prevalent in all our lives. Although Joe’s hours at work were cut back some, we are thankful that he still has a job. My business has remained steady despite losing a few clients that sadly had to close their doors. Always sad and disheartening to witness. In May, my mother and I flew out to Kansas City for my oldest niece’s high school graduation. I had not been to the Midwest in thirteen years so it was fun to go back for a few days. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with my brother and his family and we had a fabulous time visiting. In late June, we headed to Edisto Island, SC for a family vacation with my sister and her family. We had never been there before and found it so beautiful, quiet, remote and relaxing. No high rises along the beach. Just a quiet, quaint beach town, like beach towns used to be. We stayed in a nice condo just two buildings down from Amy and her family. This was Frankie’s first trip to the ocean! We spent a week there, playing in the surf, watching the dolphins, flying kites and enjoying each other with no interruptions. In early July, we went to Cataloochee for our annual camping trip with all our friends for four days. Always a great time in the woods, playing in the creek, hanging out around the campfire, eating s’mores, seeing the elk, and sleeping in tents. Not more than a week after that, Joe and his mother flew out to Sante Fe, NM for our oldest niece’s wedding. All his family was there for the celebration, all the way from Spain and Ecuador! He had a fabulous time spending time with all of them. So, all in all, we had a great time with our travels throughout the summer.

In March, Meghan, Topher and TJ turned nine years old. Hard to believe when you look back at those early days that we made it so far. In August, the oldest four started back to school. James is in his final year of middle school, in the 8^th grade. Wow, high school is only a few months away for him. Yikes! Topher, TJ and Meghan are in 4^th grade this year. One more year in elementary school for them. Frankie will start kindergarten this coming August. Holy moly. James was on the cross country team this fall and fell right into the rhythm of being a runner. He has also participated in two 5K runs over the past few months and plans on doing more in the coming year. He is taking a break from sports during the winter months, but will try out for track and field in the spring. The triplets are all in the Odyssey of the Mind program after school and Joe is their team’s coach. (OM is a fabulous program. If you get a chance, check it out online at odysseyofthemind.com) They also participated in Super Saturdays at the University of NC-Asheville for six consecutive Saturdays in the fall. It is an enrichment program for A/B students. Topher took a class called Math Discoveries; TJ took hand-built pottery; and Meghan took beginning knitting. They will undoubtedly do it again in the spring. All three of them are also in the chorus in school. As you can imagine, all these activities keep us all hopping, but they’re fun and the kids are learning so much. We are so very proud of each and every one of them for their talents and accomplishments.

We spent a lot of time this summer and fall canning. Made our traditional trek out to Hendersonville to the orchard for apple picking in early September. Our canning this year included: bread and butter pickles, dill pickles, peach butter, 49 quarts of grape juice (from our own grape vine!), applesauce, apple butter, apple pie filling in a jar, and spiced apple rings. We ended up running out of room to store our canned treasures, so Joe built a gorgeous canning shelf which sits regally in our dining room, filled with beautiful jars of our concoctions.

We are still loving our beautiful old farmhouse and we are decking it out for the holidays, of course. The kids are excited about Christmas and we’re having fun making and baking cookies and candies and other holiday favorite goodies. Christmas Eve will find us at church and then home for our grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup dinner. Christmas day will find us up early, opening gifts and sipping coffee and hot cocoa in our jammies and then having our traditional Christmas day dinner of leg of lamb and other yummies with family. We always hope for a white Christmas, but chances are slim on that one.

We love you all and are blessed to have you in our lives. Enjoy this special time of the year and know that you are in our thoughts and our hearts!

Love and Peace,

The Kanes-Lori, Joe, James, Topher, Meghan, TJ and Frankie

Our Tree of Thanks

The preparations for our Thanksgiving feast are well under way. Joe just went to his mother’s to pick up our extra long table. Last night the kids and I made our pumpkin pie. Today we’ve made the stuffing, a pumpkin cake, whole berry cranberry sauce, and toasted the nuts for the sauteed green beans. The kids have also cut out all the leaves for our Tree of Thanks which will be on display tomorrow. Everyone will write some things they are thankful for on the leaves and then hang them on the tree.

We’ve cleaned out the refrigerators (yes, we have two. With a family of seven, it’s pretty much a necessity!) to make sure there’s room for everything. The turkey is thawing. I’ve made what I hope is my last run to the grocery store. Things that need to be refrigerated are in the frig, just chillin’.

And we have such a beautiful to celebrate. The sky is blue and it’s in the low 60′s. Thank you, Universe!

What’s on yours?

Thanksgiving at the Kane’s

Turkey

Blackberry and Kahlua glazed ham

Sausage and pecan stuffing

Sweet potato casserole topped with mini-marshmallows (per Frankie’s request)

Sautéed fresh green beans

Jellied cranberry sauce

Homemade whole cranberry sauce

Caviar pie

Deviled eggs

Apple rings

Mandarin orange sections

Cresent rolls

Creamed onions

Gravy

Banana bread

Pumpkin ginger bread

Homemade pickles (dills and bread & butter)

Apple pie

Pumpkin pie

Berry cobbler

Pecan pie

Pumpkin cake

Oh, yeah, a big nap afterwards!

Thanksgiving 2008

Twas the night before the night before Thanksgiving at our house. We are cutting out foam board leaves to decorate our Thanksgiving branches with leaves filled with things we are thankful for. The kids are having a great time and are spending time thinking about those many things in their lives they have for which to give thanks. A special pondering and one we should all do on a daily basis, not just once a year. After dinner, we will make our pumpkin pie and a pumpkin cake (my husband’s favorite!). Tomorrow we will work on stuffing, homemade whole cranberry sauce and berry cobbler. We made our pumpkin and banana breads over the weekend. Our house shall be full on Thanksgiving day with our gang of seven, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, my mother, and our dear friends, Dawn and Thomas and their son, Jed. Looking forward to breaking bread with some very special people in our lives!

1 c. blanched, slivered almonds
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. light corn syrup

Line bottom and sides of 8 or 9″ cake pan with aluminum foil. Butter foil heavily; set aside. Combine almonds, butter, sugar and corn syrup in 10″ skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, until mixture turns a golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.

almond butter crunch

I’ve made many pumpkin breads in the past, but tried this particular recipe last week from allrecipes.com and it is by far the best I’ve ever made.  It’s fast, easy, fills your house with a wonderful aroma and make two loaves which I guarantee you, won’t last long.

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2/3 cup water

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.