Spent the late afternoon at Cane Creek swimming pool after spending the morning and early afternoon getting yardwork and housework done. It was a nice treat after cleaning up around here. We had a blast. The water felt so good. The wind was a bit chilly when you got out, but hey, that’s why you just stay in the water until your hands and feet are shriveled up like raisins!

We bought a pass because it’s so much cheaper than paying each time we go for seven of us! And we plan on going quite a bit over the summer. It was wonderful to be playing the water with the kids and then looking up and seeing the beautiful green mountains against the gorgeous blue sky.

Towel heads

As of this evening, one of my clients (for The Bottom Line Accounting)  and one my favorite cafes, will be open Thursday, Friday & Saturdays until 6:30pm!!!!! I’m so excited. If you’ve never been there, you really should go. If you have eaten there, you know that expanded hours will only enhance your dining experiences. They’re food is incredible and the atmosphere is very welcoming and laid back. You can eat inside or outside. Their website is clingmancafe.com
Say hi to Trip while you’re there. He’s the owner and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet!

Exciting stuff! We got our hops rhizomes today. We’re looking forward to embarking on a new gardening attempt. Joe loves to brew his own beer and since we’re growing so many other plants, we figured we’d give hop gardening a whirl as well. We are starting with just 3 plants and will keep you posted on how this project progresses.

Fantastically! Thanks to the end of the drought here in western North Carolina, our gardens are flourishing. A sight to behold. We have a large potato patch out by the road and just planted some bush beans out there, also. (Working on the companion gardening.) In our large back garden, we have several varieties of leaf lettuce which we’ve been enjoying in our salads along with the arugala. Tonight we picked our first swiss chard and beet greens and had those for dinner. Ever so tasty. We also have several more rows of green beans out there. The yellow crookneck squash, cucumbers, zucchini and watermelon plants are all up and looking healthy. Planted over 30 tomato plants, mostly Romas, so we can do sauces, salsas, etc. They are interspersed with a number of varieties of pepper plants, again the companion gardening. We have herbs in various places around the yard and in pots on the front porch. We just ordered some hops rhizomes the other day and are going to give that a try. Joe enjoys homebrewing, so we’d be tickled if we grow our own hops for that purpose.

It’s just always such a thrill to watch the plants come up, to be able to walk out the back door and pick our favorite vegetables for dinner. And then in the fall, to watch the pantry and shelves become lined with the fruits (vegetables) of our labors to be enjoyed through the winter months. There’s nothing quite like growing your own.

readying the garden

So many eggs. Our girls are in overtime mode. Love those fresh from the coop brown eggs with their golden yolks but in reality, there’s only so many we can eat at one time. Solution: quiches. We’ve been making quiches and putting them in the freezer. What a great way to use the eggs and store them. Quiche Lorraine, asparagus quiche, broccoli quiche, spinach quiche and my newest creation, arugala quiche! Oh, my, the arugala quiche is to die for! Even the kids love it. With our spring crop of arugala, it’s a great combination. I use it in place of the broccoli or the asparagus. Eggs and arugala. Yeah, baby.

Good morning everyone! Another beautiful Spring day here in western NC. Hearth Haven is bustling, as usual. We’ve gathered the eggs (11 this morning! Go girls!); watched the bluebirds catching grubs for their babies after the rain. The kids and I have dough for 3 loaves of bread rising in the pantry. Will probably do dough for 3 more loaves in a little while. Might have to make some more quiches to freeze to keep ahead of the eggs the hens are providing. Today the triplets, Meghan, Topher and TJ have their first reconciliation and then tomorrow morning, they will have their first communion. No baseball or softball games this weekend, so that’s a nice little break. Meghan is now the catcher for her team and doing an awesome job! No idea whatsoever where she got her athletic ability.

Going to get the rest of our garden planted this weekend, too. Our arugala, green beans, leaf lettuce, onions, beets, swiss chard and potatoes are all up and doing well. Going to plant more green beans, tomatoes, squash, carrots, cucumbers and herbs today. All our strawberry plants are growing splendidly. Can’t wait to start enoying the fruits and vegetables of our labors. The kids get so excited when the seeds they’ve planted break through the ground. What a learning experience for them. Our apple trees all seem to be doing well, too. That will be so awesome in a few years. In the meantime, we will continue our autumn tradition of going out to Hendersonville to Justus Orchards and picking apples for our applesauce, pies and apple butter.

One of our girls