Oh, so that's why olive oil is so expensive

Oh the things I have learned from Greek mythology! Who doesn't love Greek mythology, right? Anyway, here is my thought on why olive oil is so expensive:

The people of Athens needed a name for their fair city. So they decided to have a contest between two of the gods, Poseidon and Athena. Whichever god bestowed the better gift to the city would, in return, have the city named after them. Well, Poseidon struck his triton into the ground and up sprang a salt spring fountain thingie. This is useful, since salt is used for preserving things. BTW, here is where I interject a nerdy art history fact; have I told you that I L-O-V-E art history? If you look at a photo of the Acropolis in Athens, and look at the back porch of the Erechtheium (the Porch of the Maidens (caryatids) is the front porch) there is actually a hole in the floor that the ancient Athenians left on purpose. Supposedly, according to legend, that is the very spot where Poseidon struck his triton into the ground. The hole is still there and is marked by ropes so that you know what it is and not just a spot from decay or something. Anyway, let's get back to the story. So the Athenians thought this gift was pretty cool and useful, but wanted to see what Athena would give. Athena gave the Athenians a fully mature olive tree grove. Okay. So that is definitely not as dramatic as mighty Poseidon striking his triton into the ground. Who cares about a fully mature olive tree grove anyway? Well, obviously the Athenians! As it turns out, and here is a fact from the story: it takes an olive tree 40 years to mature and bear fruit. 40 YEARS!!!!!!! That was a VERY cool gift and very lucrative for the Athenians. So, obviously, Athena won that contest hands down. And so the fair city of Athens was named after her. They even built a huge gold statue of her in the Parthenon! It is a shame that war had to destroy this statue. I have heard that there is a replica of it somewhere in Tennessee, though. Anyway, if any of you want a fun read, here is a link to Howard Crosby Butler's The Story of Athens. Scroll down to page 10 of the book to skip to the part about Poseidon and Athena.

And that, dear friends, is why olive oil is so expensive. Or maybe there is another reason but this one is more fun and educational. It takes an olive tree 40 years to mature and bear fruit. Wow. Maybe I should make Mondays Art History Mondays on my blog...or maybe things I have learned from art history. What do you think? I have the best one for next Monday already!!! I'll keep it a secret. It is, quite possibly, the best lecture on Italian High Renaissance artists ever....and all of the credit goes to Dr. Richard Gergel :)

Why I should be at preschool

One word: boxes. Today the teachers drug out a bunch of painted boxes for the kids to play with. HOW FUN IS THAT!!! I remember making forts and houses with my sister when we were little with boxes. Once we made a kitten sanctuary out of a bunch of empty boxes with my cousin. Let's just say we were in heaven surrounded by boxes AND kittens. The kittens loved it too...the boxes at least :) It makes me happy to know that my Eli gets to play with boxes! Did you know that the box was inducted into the toy hall of fame? I know, pretty cool, eh?

My Top Ten List...right now

No, not David Letterman style, just ten things I am digging right now.

1. My husband (he's great...awwww!)

2. My kids (loving the creative spontaneity)

3. Morning walks with my dog

4. Homemade Citrus Cleaner (this stuff rocks!)

5. Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave" (YUM!)

6. Avocados...as always

7. Fall leaves (even though I know winter is coming)

8. Oreos

9. My Dustbuster

10. My fat cat who keeps my feet warm at night

There...I think that does it. Of course there are so many other things, but these were the first things I thought about.

FYI I just burnt a pot of Kashi Pilaf, which is a real bummer. I guess I should not blog and cook at the same time. Noted.

Publish Post

He gets sushi; I get flowers

Today was a romantic day, of sorts, over here. I went to the grocery store and thought I would treat my totally wonderful husband to his favorite food: sushi. So I bought this new kit thingie from Annie Chun and bought some goodies for him to roll up inside the rice, such as crab, shrimp and some cucumbers. What I did not know was that, after work, he went and bought me some flowers. No reason. No anniversary. Just spontaneous romance. I like this!

I now have to try to make my own sushi. I am totally into figuring out how to do things and I am in the mood for a new culinary challenge. I had also thought about trying to make my own phyllo dough, but I really feel like that stuff takes patience. Maybe I will research that soon. Anyway, back to sushi! I know I cannot get sushi grade fish, but I could always get creative with the California roll. So, if any of you readers out in cyberspace have any ideas, leave a comment. I would love to hear from you!

On the art front, I started a big scrap stuff box. My goal is to create something using the contents of this box everyday, even is it is just a small thumbnail sketch. We'll see how this works out. I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and start project 365 again. That way I get photos for this here blog of mine as well as some potentially cool art! I had started project 365 sometime in January. I should call it project 50-ish or so. Hence the reason to start over.

So, now I am going to do some bedtime reading without the internet or a computer. I checked out "The Naked Chef" by Jamie Oliver from the library and want to read some of it. Is it weird that I love to read cookbooks? I also checked out a Rick Bayless cookbook that I have only skimmed through. I do love Mexican food.

Growing Up

Well...it is official. I have waited and waited and waited and waited for this moment and it has finally arrived. Eli is TOTALLY potty trained. YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He even told dad not to pee on the floor when he needs to go to the bathroom. Timeless and practical advice from a four year old.

In more growing up news, my Ammon is eight. EIGHT! It seems like only yesterday that he was four years old dressed as a pirate and eating a fudgsicle at my kitchen table. Where does the time go? I also know that he is getting older because he did not want to buy a costume with some birthday money from grandma. Wow. That is huge! Instead he wanted a skateboard ramp for his new skateboard that cool Aunt Courtney and Uncle Pat got him. Unfortunately the only ramp we could find at the store was not much longer than his skateboard, which would be no fun at all. So, dad and Ammon have their first boy construction project to finish: the skateboard ramp. Pretty soon it will be a half pipe in my backyard.

In more skateboarding news, Eli uses Ammon's old short skateboard. He looks too cute for words in that helmet while carrying the skateboard under his arm. The best part about this is that, right now, he is HOOKED (and I do mean HOOKED) on Back to the Future I and sings the "Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News while pretending to be Marty McFly skateboarding. HILARIOUS! I am going to have to try to capture that on video.

Also, my sister came to visit this weekend and we had a wonderful time. It is so wonderful to have a younger sister who is sassy enough to tell me to get my rear in gear and make some art. I feel like I have to now or she will bug me about it. Plus, we have some ideas up our sleeves. More to come on that later. It made me wish that she lived closer to me or that we lived closer to her, one of the two. We had a great time talking about embarrassing stories, cooking and eating great food and watching the boys play with their birthday presents. I am definitely going to make it more of a priority to have more of those moments with her.

BTW I rock at the Star Wars Force Unleashed game for the Wii. I totally kicked Nathan's butt the other night. Well just once but it was the first time I had played against him. I had practiced on some Wookiees before he got home. So I am excellent at throwing the lightsaber and repulsing things. I even have Star Wars terminology now. How geeky is that? I do live in a totally male dominated household, though. I am surrounded by Jedis, super heroes, pirates, ninjas, etc. You already knew that, though.

Anyway so sorry for the long periods of inactivity here. Oh...I almost forgot! I fixed the camera reader situation, so pictures to come soon. I have the perfect idea for the first picture post over here at Blanco Bunny. I also have elephant pictures, zoo pictures and hopefully some hot-of-the-press artwork pictures. Fun! So stay tuned!!!

Where do the days go?

If I could only answer that question....well I have been a busy little bunny over here. I got some freelance work, which is awesome, and now I have to determine how much my time is worth. This is so hard for me to do and sort of strange, too. You want to make enough money and yet be affordable at the same time in order to make money, have clients/following. Blah, blah, blah. I will get to that again later. I am also going to, hopefully, participate in a holiday craft/art show so I better get my rear in gear...soon. I figure that if I do not sell anything at this show, then I will have some awesome things to give as Christmas gifts or swap or something.

For now, updates. I made these AMAZING apple pecan muffins from this book here, except I added cinnamon and ginger to the muffin batter and did not have pecans, so I used walnuts. Delicious. I have also made the ranch dressing from this book and the buttermilk mashed potatoes. All were a hit with the family. This is slowly becoming my new favorite cookbook.

Well, I have to go get my little Eli from preschool now. All I have to say is that four is a magical age. I truly love four year olds. They are fabulous little people. So full of excitement, curiosity and a little bit of attitude, but not much. I love how they can just dive into something new and not worry about the outcome. I think that I need to adopt that attitude. Yup...four it is!

It's been too long

It has been too long since my last post...summer ;) I do love summer. We went on a mini vacation, which was great and then the boys and I went on a series of hikes through the woods, which were also great. Then I sewed some stuff for some swaps and cooked and baked like mad for 82% Serious's bridal shower. I made this AMAZING bread from this book for her shower and will definitely have to make it again...soon.

The boys started school last week and my little Eli is going to preschool! He loves it so far, plus it gives me five hours a week to myself, which I am looking forward to. I promised myself that I would do no cleaning or laundry or things of that nature during this time. Only things that I want to do, like print on some fabric or whatever! Right now I am enjoying a cup of tea and blogging, which I intend to do much more often:) Also, I need to figure out how to get the pictures off of my camera. You see card readers do not like it when certain three year olds shove pennies into them. Sigh. I have fabulous pictures I would like to share and I cannot get to them. So frustrating! At least I know that the card still works, just not the card reader. I think I will have to bite the bullet and pay some store to do it...or maybe I could borrow a reader. We'll see.

Well, ta-ta for now dear bunny readers. Enjoy the day and celebrate the little things.