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D’Oliva Olive Oil

D’Oliva and a Silver Medal!

Last week we announced D’Oliva Olive Oil received a silver medal from the California Olive Oil Council. This is big news for my wife D’Aun, and I’m proud of all her hard work to make this happen. Below is her letter to the D’Oliva email list (which you should join here, by the way):

Dear Friends,

We can’t believe it! D’Oliva Olive Oil is still young, so until now the quality of our oil has not been publicly recognized. But we recently submitted a bottle to the California Olive Oil Council competition. Along with many other producers, we …

D'Oliva Olive Oil,

The Olive Oil is Here!

We’re happy to announce that this year’s D’Oliva harvests were far beyond our expectations; so much so that we’re releasing not one, but TWO new olive oils!

The harvest took place over two days, from sun up to sun down, with the help of family and friends who carefully gathered and sorted the olives for the mill.

Since they were harvested on different days, these two extra virgin oils have a slightly different flavor profile. The Estate Harvest (early harvest) has a bold, green, peppery taste, while the Late Harvest has a slightly softer, more buttery taste. And they are …

Apocryphal, Belize, Book Reviews, D'Oliva Olive Oil, Family, Goble Properties, Junkyard Management, PathLight, Random Thoughts, Sabbatical, The SOLD Project, Westmont, Wine Reviews,

Taking Stock

Junkyard Wisdom is 4-years old now. Topics have bounced from leadership ideas to wine reviews, from PathLight updates to family stories, and a wide range beyond all that. All of it has reflected my range of interests and ideas.

After four years of this, it’s time to again ask what you have enjoyed most. I can easily look at the data and see what posts were the most popular, but sometimes popularity isn’t the same as having an impact. A quick example: the most visited post of all time was a book review, but that’s mostly because the author promoted …

D'Oliva Olive Oil,

Olive Harvest

The D’Oliva Olive Oil harvest was this past weekend, so I’ve asked D’Aun to be my guest blogger:

Wow, what a harvest it was for D’Oliva Olive Oil! The trees were looking good all summer, and as young trees we expect a steep upward curve in production in these first few years. Roy and I estimated about 1000 pounds (compared to 280 last year) and we planned accordingly.

Gulp…we were a bit off! At the end of the day — and I mean literally the end of the day with the sun down and the temperature dropping — we …

D'Oliva Olive Oil, Family, Random Thoughts,

Olive Grove Tuesday

Jesus spent a lot of time in an olive orchard this week. What is often called “the Olivet Discourse” was probably a Tuesday evening discussion with His disciples, sitting together in the grove as they viewed the Temple and busy city of Jerusalem across the valley.

That particular olive grove has a spectacular setting and has one of the most photographed views in Israel. I was first there in 1975, staying in a hotel atop the Mount of Olives. A few years ago I returned again with my church. Though bustling with tourists and over developed to handle the crowds, …

D'Oliva Olive Oil,

D’Oliva Olive Oil is For Sale!

The 2011 D’Olivia Olive Oil harvest is bottled, labeled and ready to sell! D’Aun set the price at $20 per 375 ml bottle, which includes a pour spout. I argued for a higher price but she’s too gracious to do that … so this is a real bargain!

Please let me know if you’d like a bottle. Having said that, we are not shipping the bottles, so you must pick it up yourself. Sorry about that.…

D'Oliva Olive Oil, Family, Goble Properties, PathLight, The SOLD Project,

Christmas Letter

I was once known for my hilarious Christmas letters. Or at least I thought they were funny. But life got busy, not to mention less than rosy all the time, and hilarity sometimes turned into the mundane. It can be hard to muster the energy to put out a Christmas letter, much less one with humor.

This year, I stepped back from the brink of seriousness and added a few light touches of humor. Nothing that will cause a belly laugh … but certainly not as serious as in the recent past. I hope you enjoy it.
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Dear Friends …

D'Oliva Olive Oil,

The D’Oliva Olive Oil second harvest!

This past Saturday was the second annual olive harvest for D’Oliva! It was a great deal of fun to have friends and family come out to help. D’Aun did a great job of coaxing 282 pounds of olives out of the grove in a very complex year.

Here’s a link to the story with more pictures: D’Oliva Olive Oil Second Harvest!…