School Daze....drenched!

Living in a small town was easier! My commute got longer this week as children returned to school and parents reverted to school year hours.

The first day of school brought a downpour of rain. For the first time, I couldn't take a group photo of all of the neighborhood children at the bus stop.

DD1's big complaint is that one of her teachers is ..... too happy! DD2 loves both her regular classroom teacher and her enrichment teacher. Her mother wishes she could watch the interactions in the classroom!

It was a busy week for Olive Oil --especially Tuesday. The day was spent catching up on the long weekend's orders. The next three days were spent placing orders for the olive oil we expect to sell in the next few months.

I had more fun cooking with Olive Oil this week. Wednesday was our best dinner of the week, even with DD2's soccer practice and DD1's field hockey practice. I started cooking after 4:00PM and got dinner in the oven before we started running around at 5:00. Our Chicken Mediterranean begins with sautéing boneless skinless chicken breasts in olive oil until golden in a Dutch over or other ovenproof pan. Add 2T capers, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 clove garlic, 1 or 2 sliced bell peppers (preferably orange), basil, oregano, herbs de provence, 10-12 Greek olives, add 2 chopped tomatoes (or on 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes). Cover and bake at 350F for 1-1/4 or 1 -1/2 hours. Mmmmm.

The Stuffed Artichokes were also started on top of the stove and moved to the oven when time ran short. This bit of serendipity resulted in even better stuffed artichokes. Trim and clean 3-4 large fresh artichokes. Rub all surfaces with a cut lemon. Make a fresh breadcrumb mixture with Italian bread, parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, black pepper, and salt. Place stuffed peppers into a pan with 1" simmering chicken broth. Top the stuffed artichokes with a drizzle of a good olive oil. They were crispy on top and the leaves were perfect. For both recipes, I used Gianfranco Becchina's Olio Verde from www.olio2go.com.

Getsemani is the new favorite in the house. The web site is currently out of stock and this one bottle couldn't be sold. We were happy to give it a try. We've ordered more and it should be in soon.

The world of medicine provided some great olive oil news this week. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-09/acop-tsa082906.php Simply put: Virgin Olive, High in Polyphenols, Reduces Heart Disease Risk Factors as published in the Annals of Internal Medicine

We spent today painting DD1's bedroom with Gator Green and Bahama Blue Glazes from Sunny's Goodtime Paint. It's mostly blue with two large areas of green. Those will set off artwork and her dresser. We've added new bold striped linens and curtains. The right curtain rod and artwork will be added next weekend. She's thrilled and we're glad she's thrilled and it's done. Bittersweet: She says it's the last time we'll do her room before she goes to college. It's her third iteration in the 10 years we've been in this house.

It's been a fairly slow week for reading and knitting. I've spent more time reading A Thousand Days in Tuscany (Di Blasi) and less time reading Good to Great. With two soccer games yesterday, I spent a couple of hours knitting. The knitting time was neither efficient nor effective. It was far more fun to chat with the other soccer parents. We haven't spent our Saturdays together since June.

On Saturday night the girls and I attended the high school football game. DD1 joined her friends, while DD2 and I sat behind a bunch of unsupervised 9th graders. I found myself studying the crowd, wondering who they would each be when they grew up. Does demeanor indicate who they might become? Will their lives be filled with joy or sadness? Do they understand they might have to work for success? Is high school the pinnacle of their lives, or will be a rich time for forming memories? At the same time, I observe their parents and other adults at the game.... Why do those Moms wear their sons’ jerseys? What did they look like in high school? Were they the cheerleaders? Who was in the band? Has everything turned out the way they hoped and planned? Are they happy? Do they value the richness of their lives?