Renovating in the Land of Stones, How Bunnies Came to symbolize Easter, Ebby is Going Back to Slune (Slunj), and Ebby's Spring and Easter Sale is Going on Now.

Every so often I pack my bags and head East or West, (depending on where I am going). At the beginning of March, my husband and I headed due east, over Greenland, to Croatia, which I refer to as "the Land of Stones" in my book, Ebby the Magnificent. As they say here, "dobro došli, priatelji", or "welcome friends".

I am a bit later than normal in sending this out, but I have been busy traveling, painting, walking, etc. In this newsletter, I will tell you about the recent house renovations we did on our stone house in Croatia. I'll then explain how bunnies came to symbolize Easter. Next, Ebby is going back to Slunj, and taking some new artwork with her. Last, I want you to be the first to know about Ebby's Spring and Easter Sale going on NOW. 25% off all books and card exclusively on my website. Let's hop to it!

Renovating in the Land of Stones.

Do you have a favorite place to be--a physical place--not an emotional or metaphysical place? I'm not talking about In-n-Out Burger. I mean a place that embraces you and holds you in its bosom. Our home in Croatia is my favorite place in the world to be. I enjoy exploring other places and cherish our American home, but I adore this place; it feels like an extension of myself. John's mother was born in this house. Her father, mother, and grandparents all lived here. We're not sure if it goes back in time beyond that given the dearth of historical documents from the Austro-Hungarian, Roman, and Venetian Empires, but it's been part of his mother's family for over a century and a half.

First, the house is built of stone. The walls are nearly two feet thick and it is built into the side of a mountain. This house has survived World War 1 and 2. It has had Mussolini's fascist soldiers bivouacked in its garage (a food cellar at the time). It has been rumbled by earthquakes and has survived hurricane-strength winds. It has evolved over time. Nothing changes too quickly in this house. "Malo po malo" (little by little).

In the beginning, the bottom floor of the two-story structure was where the farm animals (cows, pigs, chickens, etc.) lived. The family lived on the upper floor. Later, an "outdoor kitchen" was built so they could cook without heating the house in the summer. (Fun fact: We used the woodstove in the outdoor kitchen the other day to make tea). John's grandfather built a 2-story stone barn in 1952 and the house was renovated to allow the family to live on both floors of the house. We're not sure when electricity came to the house, but sometime in the 1950s after World War II. Indoor plumbing was brought into the house in the 1970s and a proper modern bathroom was built in the house.

We took over the care and tending of this amazing home about 12 years ago and have been lovingly renovating it since then. You know how real estate agents talk about the "bones" of a house when referring to its structural integrity? Well, our house has "good stones." :-)

The main bathroom served four generations of John's family. The height of the bathtub made it difficult for our older guests (ah heck, who am I kidding--ME) to safely get in and out of the shower. During our stay in the US over the winter, John's cousin Darko gutted the bathroom. He prepared the room for the electrician, plumber, and tiler, then oversaw the job of renovating it--hook, line, and sinker. Or should I say toilet, shower, and sink?

There wasn't a square surface in the bathroom. New wiring and plumbing was brought in (built into the rock walls and under the cement floor), and the enormous window was bricked in and replaced with a smaller, modern window.

Our 1970's era bathroom got a complete remodel!

Besides the bathroom renovation, we replaced the entire front patio with new concrete since we had to tear up the 50+ year old ceramic sewer pipe to install new PVC pipe. John's family had been adding bits and pieces of concrete since 1962, with each patch having the date engraved in it. Darko powered out the old concrete with a jackhammer and hauled it away. It took two full concrete trucks to redo the patio--18 cubic yards.

Here are a couple more pictures I took in the past few days of our neighborhood. I think you can see why I set Ebby's home of Fluffle Valley here. It's Magnificent!

How Bunnies Came to Symbolize Easter.

Easter is on April 20 in both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Calendars this year. I'm probably misnaming the Christian Calendar, but if one is Orthodox, the other one should be Unorthodox, right? Have you ever wondered how the Easter Bunny became a secular symbol of Easter? I did, so I looked it up for you. Some of this is "true", but I made up some of it after I got blurry-eyed trying to keep the pagan and Christian stories straight.

According to Dr. Hans Wiki Pedia, the Easter Bunny, or Easter Hare, was introduced to America by German Lutheran immigrants in the 1700s who brought their ancient pagan folklore of an egg-laying hare named "Osterhase" to Pennsylvania. Ancient Greeks thought hares were hermaphrodites that could reproduce without having sex, which somehow became associated with the Virgin Mary. At any rate, this egg-laying hermaphroditic bunny morphed into a clothes-wearing bringer of colored eggs to little children at Easter if they had been good. Are you sensing a pattern here? It seems some rules of logic were hopped over and National Geographic eventually got video footage that disproved the hermaphrodite school of thought.

Since none of this made sense to me, I asked Ebby the Magnificent where the Easter Bunny came from. This is what she told me:

"Bunnies have been a symbol of kindness and love since the beginning of Bunnydom. One can hardly see a bunny without feelings of joy and happiness bursting out of their hearts immediately. Bunnies are soft, fluffy, and adorable. Most bunnies stay in their burrows during the winter, but come Spring they are out in "a Bunny dance" (subsequently shortened to the word we now use "abundance"). Trees start budding, flowers start growing, and big bunnies start making little bunnies. The only thing sweeter than a full-grown bunny is a baby bunny. What better way to make children and their adults feel better after a long, dark winter than to remind them about the joy of bunnies? Since not everyone can have a bunny for themselves, what brings almost as much joy as bunnies? Candy. The Easter Bunny is a non-threatening, non-judgmental figure who brings joy to everyone in the form of chocolate and pastel-colored candies. Hence, the Easter Bunny."

For the record, Ebby asked me to specifically refute the incorrect and unsavory portrayal of bunnies contained in Watership Down. Bunnies are not warmongers.

Ebby the Magnificent is a story about an elusive baby bunny who spreads joy and kindness everywhere she goes, not unlike the Easter Bunny. Her story is the perfect story to share with your friends and family, especially during the season of "a Bunny Dance."

Ebby is Going Back to Slune (Slunj).

Slunj-Rastoke is one of the most beautiful villages in the world. It is one of the first places Ebby visits on her journey in the Land of Stones. I wrote about Slunj in earlier newsletters, but here is the gist:

The village of Slunj sits on top of and along the river Slunjčica, which cascades through 23 waterfalls into the river Korana. In order to harness the natural force of water to start a millstone, mills were built directly on waterfalls and ground corn, rye, barley, wheat, millet and other grains into flour for centuries. Families lived on the upper floor, with the mill built into the lower level of the building. There were still over 20 mills in operation as late as 1967. All the houses in Rastoke are built in a similar way; square two-story houses with a distinctive ganjak (a wooden balcony), which extends along one side of the house.

One lesser known fact about Slunj is that in the early 1800s Napoleon Bonaparte (not to be confused with Napoleon Ponyparte) conquered this part of the world and established huge warehouses of grain confiscated by the people of Slunj to feed his army. You can read more about and see lots more pictures on the Tourism Board Website.

I took Ebby the Magnificent to Slunj last year where Jasmina Mrkonja, the director of the Tourist Board, and the Elementary School principal and English teachers welcomed it enthusiastically. They asked me come back to visit this year and formally introduce Ebby to the people of Slunj. I also I offered to paint some scenes of the village for them to use in their advertising and promotional materials.

On May 1, the village of Slunj-Rastoke is holding its annual festival called "Mostovi Plešu" or Dancing Bridges and I will present Ebby the Magnificent a part of the celebration! You can read all about the event and if you are in the area, I invite you to come to this most beautiful of villages. I've spent the last several weeks painting scenes of this amazing village for the people of Slunj. I want to share these two paintings with you before anyone else in the world gets to see them. The first painting is based on a photograph I took on one of my many visits. It shows the water coming through the lower levels of two of the mills.

This second painting is based on a photograph taken by Vedran Božičević. The photo took my breath away and inspired me to paint a second painting. In my opinion, this is one of the best paintings I have ever done. First is the reference photograph, then my painting. What do you think?

A book about a kind, adventurous bunny and Art Greeting Cards with bunnies are the perfect way to celebrate Easter and my book and cards are on sale for a limited time exclusively on my website!

If you are looking for a way to celebrate Spring or Easter with your friends and loved ones, look no farther than Ebby the Magnificent and my art greeting cards. You can find my book and art greeting cards on my website for 25% off until April 30. You can also find them at several wonderful local businesses in Vancouver, Washington like Ingrid's Good Street Food, OMW Market, and Urban Barnhouse, and at several independent bookstores listed here.

Shown here are the newly improved "Ebby the Magnificent" Card Collection and the "Sunset" Collection, two of the new sets of cards exclusively available at my online store www.jwjulian.com. All books and cards are on sale for 25% off during the month of April. Now is the perfect time to stock up with my personally made art greeting cards.

Now there's even more in "store" for you!

Last month I introduced you to my new handmade art greeting cards. I switched from the craft paper cardstock to a new cream colored cardstock and personally added more colorful rhinestones to each card. The cream background really makes the pictures POP. With over 60 original paintings to choose from, and 8 different card sets, picking your new favorite has just gotten more fun! The cards are blank inside, making them perfect for any occasion. I am still in the process of updating my website, so although the images on the website are still being tweaked, the cards are stunning.

You will also find more Giclee prints, available in 11 x 14" prints or you can custom order the size you want.

Additionally, all hand embellished canvas prints in stock are on sale for 50% off while they last!

Don't see your favorite paintings (including my most recent ones) in a card or print on the website or you would like to create your own card set? No problem! Just contact me and tell me what you want and I will make it especially for you at no extra cost. Now is the perfect time to stock up in Elusive Baby Bunny merch for every Bunny on your list!

We LOVE our readers and LOVE getting reviews!!

Reviews are a great way for you to tell other people about the book and are extremely important for independent self-published authors. If you enjoyed Ebby, please consider sharing your thoughts with your friends, your book club, your colleagues, on Amazon, Goodreads, with me, or wherever you write reviews. As an independent, self-published author, word of mouth is my BEST advertisement. Want to have your review featured here? Just write one up! This is a past review from Judy.

Happy reading and hoppy adventures!

J. W. Julian