Jarvis House

Winter Flowers, Berries, and Leaves February 2012

2012-02-09T11:25:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe but we are almost half way through February here on Long Island, and we haven't had a very hard winter, at all. Plants here are a little ahead of schedule as a result. This is my Japonica out back with lovely orange-pink blooms.

This is a small sprig of Winter Jasmine that survived the tree cutters this December. Hopefully it will fill out this year.

Out front, a huge American Holly is loaded with berries, and shiny leaves.

The Callicarpa is loaded too. Last year with all of the snow, Robins and Cardinals feasted on the berries, but I haven't seen them do this to date.

An evergreen shrub with orange berries.

The Sage plant is still steely green-gray and fuzzy.

The Mahonia is heavy with yellow blossoms that will turn into grape-like berries later in the year. Birds love these.

Over time the Snowdrops have multiplied, and I plant them as boarders.

This is a Lenten Rose that I purchased last fall. No flowers yet.

A lovely blue flower on the Vinca Minor, Periwinkle, or Myrtle, ground cover.

I added a photo of a variegated Holly because the leaves were so interesting. They can also show a edge of pink.

This is a very large male Japanese Holly out back. It pollinates the others in the garden.

This is how the male holly looks close up. It never berries.

Something that surprised me was the Bamboo because it is an evergreen here.

The leaves are very large, but I wouldn't advise planting a Bamboo unless you have a lot of room to let it spread, and it isn't near a pool or lot line.

This is another surprising plant, a Vinca, Apocynaceae, Dogbane Family, that I thought tender and only used in planters for the summer. Then I saw it in someone's garden growing all over. It had escaped from a summer pot and planted itself, so I tried some and it grew! I hope that I got the name right.

Daffodils trying to come up and bloom next to the warm foundation.

This is a photo of Marsh Marigold leaves. This plant has invaded my garden, probably from a nursery plant that I purchased. Although it has a pretty yellow flower later in the Spring, it spreads like crazy and is impossible to eliminate. People have come to the Jarvis House garden to dig it up. I warn them but they want a ground cover and they see it here, in all of its glory. *Sigh*

This is a white and pink vairageted Euonymus that is growing up the Walnut tree. In another location there is another miniature Euonymus that is lime green and dark green. They are lovely plants and grow slowly. Can't wait until Spring! Surprisingly there is a lot of color in the Jarvis House Garden, even in February!

Nick the Boxer, N.Y. Giants Fan, Plays Football

2012-02-03T17:27:00.001-05:00

This is Nick the boxer, my son's three year old rescue dog.

Sometimes I am called upon to let him out during the lunch hour, while my son is at work.

For months we have been playing football with a Giants ball.

This is a really wonderful boxer who was left at a Pennsylvania shelter. My son always wanted a dog, especially a boxer, and he e-mailed Adopt a Boxer Rescue.

Nick is a really healthy and strong animal, and loves to run around protecting the ball.

Nick is fierce football competitor, but a really gentle dog.

He loves to keep the ball away from me. Our family got lucky when my son adopted this fabulous dog.

Who could not love this face and spirit!

Cream of Vegetable Soup

2012-01-29T12:45:00.001-05:00

I grew up eating soup for breakfast instead of cereal with milk. Cream of vegetable soup seems great on a winter's day, no matter which meal.

Gather fresh and frozen vegetables, and a large cooking pot.

I keep recipes in a binder in clear sleeves. Most of the time I alter recipes, maybe it's due to being left-handed, or because I was trained in art school by wonderful abstract expressionists.

Love red potatoes with the skins on. Cut into chunks. The original recipe directed me to puree everything, but I like chunky soup. Either was is fine.

I nuked them in my Corningware casserole until they were half cooked.

Chop up those darling fresh carrots that are now sold in large bags.

A large can of chicken broth, 49.5 Oz's., speeds things up.

I had a bag of corn,

and string beans in my freezer.

When I buy fresh parsley, I freeze most of it. So I needed to chop it a little and remove some of the large stems.

The supermarket in town, often puts one sort of vegetable on sale. Usually there is too much to eat right away. I cut up and freeze the rest, this time zucchini.

I had broccoli heads frozen, and they too needed to be chopped.

Spoon in the cooked potatoes with the skins on.

Chop around four or five stalks of celery.

Add to the pot.

Chop onions, and add. I used two large ones.

Now it is time to make the Roux, which thickens the soup.

I use my Lodge cast iron small frying pan, marked "5sk" on the bottom. Melt a stick of butter and spoon in two tablespoons unbleached flour slowly.

Using a flat wooden mixing stick, I work the flour into the melting butter.

It is almost smooth, but it's hard to do this and take photographs at the same time!

Pour 1 1/2 cups half & half slowly into the roux.

Stir.

Pour roux into the soup.

Season with salt

and fresh ground pepper.

Simmer for half an hour or until you like the consistency. this is my large stainless Revereware pot, with its copper bottom.

I made this much soup and it is ready to take for lunch, (small containers) or pull out for the family, (large containers.) It freezes well.

This is a book that I got from my sister-in-law. Food Cures. Quite interesting reading, considering that I prefer a "back to basics" approach to health; food rather than prescriptions. This soup is worth a try, and the book is worth a read. Cheers from the Jarvis House.

Cream of Vegetable Soup

1 1/2 cups vegetables,
(your favorites, depending on the vegetables and how thick you like the soup)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup celery
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 large can chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups half & half

First Snow of the Year 2012

2012-01-22T10:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we had the first snowfall here in Western Suffolk County, Long Island, NY. Compared to last year this was just a small amount of snow, 3-4 inches.

The new back steps before I swept the snow away.

The beautiful twisting branches of my split leaf maple.

One of the large box wood shrubs. If there had been more snow I would have bopped it with the corn broom to relieve the weight on the branches.

The road looking north.

I keep the stalks on the Miscanthus until Spring so that I can see this.

Old cast and wrought iron chairs.

The back back before footprints.

Terra Cotta flower pots on the potting benches.

This image of the front yard shows the missing large trees on the lot line.

The old sun dial.

Potted Marigolds seed pods from last fall.

Leylands on the north side, which have really done well.

Holly berries out front.

Looking south.

Essentials: corn broom, metal snow shovel, insulated duck boots, and fuzzy warm inside boots.

Lastly, time for tea, chicken soup and a new book written by my friend, Elizabeth Wix. Fortunate Child. What a great Saturday!

Huntington Community Thrift Shop 2012

2012-01-17T13:41:00.000-05:00

What is the best destination on Long Island for a cold winter's day? The Huntington Community Thirft Shop, 274 New York Ave., Huntington, NY. 631-271-4883.

When people ask me where to find this gold mine, I always point out that it is directly across from a huge parking lot with a purple mural of Huntington Harbor, Route 110, (New York Ave., Huntington village). If you walk across the street you will be there,

at the shop.

On the front door there will be signs describing the sale of the day.

Inside there are many, many shifts of volunteer workers sorting donations, pricing items, taking these items out to the floor for display, and maning the cash register up front. Here Joan the head volunteer for the Visiting Nurse/Hospice House charity, works in the back room.

Zelda working for Cancer Care.

Lee is the shop manager on Mondays, Dolly the other days.

The shop has many, many pieces of art, including paintings, watercolors, prints, and sculptures.

There is a cabinet containing fine jewelry, and collectibles.

Piles of housewares including fabulous glassware, dinnerware, and other serving pieces are in the front room,

as well as on display in the back room. Our volunteer Karen artfully puts everything into tableau's of color,

which she changes as per the season.

Classic cookware and bake ware, including vintage cast iron pans, can be purchased.

Quality classic Corningware casseroles and Faberware pots and pans,

and newer homegoods can be found.

Hubcaps?

I am dedicated to using the vintage American products like a Singer sewing machine, mainly because these products have stood the test of time and work better than items imported from Asia. Make no mistake, these items are hard to keep in the shop, because we are realizing that "made in the USA" meant something that would last and perform well.

The shop gets a large amount of woodenware and

baskets of every description. Baskets containing assorted items, are wonderful for creating interesting gifts, and you can match a lovely dish towel, place mat or fabric remnant as a liner.

When you enter a thrift shops, you think women's clothing,

but there are racks of clothing for gentlemen, including the occasional tuxedo, and baby and children's outfits too.

Lighting of every kind can save you money,

as do small appliances.

There is a spearate book room with paperbacks and hard cover books.

Art tiems

from around the world

come into the shop

Collectible dolls are reasonably priced.

Vintage furs,

quality shoes and boots are there for a fraction of their original prices.

We have jeans,

evening gowns, for that one-time use,

and plenty of souvenirs which traveling Long Islanders have donated.

We have an antique expert, Seta, examining jewelry and objects.

and smiling volunteers, such as Nancy, working the donation desk that day for Huntington Hospital.

Sissy Moffet is the lead volunteer for the shop. When you think about what is generated by this thrift shop and the six charities that we work for: Cancer Care, Daytop Village, Family Service League, Huntington Hospital, Planned Parenthood, and the Visiting Nurse Service & Hospice of Suffolk, Inc., you begin to understand how our countless hours of work recycles the "stuff" people no longer need. It benefits the shoppers and hopefully keeps them out of credit card debt, (we only accept cash). We send items to other charities that we are not permitted to accept as an outreach, and support community residents because most of the money collected stays within the township of Huntington.

Our hours are Monday-Saturday 10:00 am-4:00 pm. Donations are gratefully accepted during those times. We give receipts for donations which are handy for your taxes. There is no down side to this venture. If you have larger items, call first to see if we have the room to accept them, and thanks for helping us to be considered the number one Thrift Shop on Long Island.

Apple Crisp Comfort Food for a Rainy Day in January

2012-01-12T20:08:00.000-05:00

I don't know where you are today, but here on Long Island it is rainy and chilly, another day in January. So the perfect thing to make from scratch is a batch of Jane's Apple Crisp, real comfort food for a day like today.

Oil a oven proof baking dish with canola oil.

Using a variety of apples, peel and core.

Cut the apples into thin slices.

Collect the peels and cores for the compost pile.

I added two smaller oven baking dishes for give-aways. Sprinkle a bit of Lemon juice over the apples, and some Cranberry Raspberry juice for a bit of zing.

Into a mixing bowl, measure one (1) cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal.

Melt one (1) cup of butter,

Add one and one-half (1 1/2) cups brown sugar to the dry ingredients,

one half (1/2) cup wheat germ,

one (1) cup unbleached flour,

two (2) teaspoons Cinnamon,

one (1) teaspoon Nutmeg,

one half (1/2) teaspoon salt.

Pour in the melted butter.

Mix well,

and spread over the top of the sliced apples.

Bake until the apples are tender at 350 degrees F. about 45 minutes to one hour.

This is bottom of the cast iron frying pan that I used to melt the butter. Lodge, made in the USA, makes wonderful cast iron and it heats very evenly.

Serve the Apple Crisp hot or cold with Vanilla ice cream. This little dessert dish has a lovely star pattern and a delicate foot, perfect for this treat.

Jane's Apple Crisp (with additions)

Sliced and cored apples to fill baking dish

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal

1 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 cup unbleached flour

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

sprinkle lemon juice and Cranberry Raspberry juice

Baking Basic Muffins

2012-01-05T10:59:00.000-05:00

The last few days on Long Island, we have gotten our first taste of really cold weather. So I decided to bake some "Basic Muffins" to go with tea and jam.

The first ingredient was four (4) cups of unbleached flour. I sifted it too.

The next ingredient was 1/2 cup granulated sugar.

After that I added two (2) tablespoons of baking powder,

one (1) teaspoon of salt,

two (2) cups of milk

2/3 cup vegetable oil

and two(2) eggs.

I mixed up the batter,

then I whisked it a bit to reduce some of the lumps, but not all of them.

I greased the 12 cup muffin pan with vegetable oil and a brush,

then I poured the batter into the cups 2/3 full.

The batter also filled my six (6) cup pan which makes a larger muffin.

The oven was pre-heated to 400 degrees F.

I put the two pans in to bake.

This recipe came from a book by Dimetra Makris, from 1987. Since I volunteer at a community thrift shop several days a week, I look out for older cookbooks because they have time tested recipes and a more "back to basics" approach.

When the muffins are brown around the edges they are done, 20-25 minutes.

As a tea drinker, and a thrift shop volunteer, I have a collection of English bone china teacups and small singleton serving plates. Since It is January I used this pattern with the snowdrops.

This special cup and saucer is made in England by the Royal Albert company, and is part of a series of monthly patterns.

The small plate that I served the muffin on has a lovely transfer print.

This is the mark on the reverse side.

A little jam and a cup of tea can't be topped on a cold January day.

The remaining muffins are stored in plastic bags and put in the freezer since I use one or two at a time. It's like having money in the bank!

Basic Muffins

(I doubled this recipe)

2 cups unbleached flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/3 cup melted unsalted butter or vegetable oil

1 egg

Walking the Beaches of Long Island in the New Year 2012

2012-01-02T16:43:00.009-05:00

Even in the winter months, the beaches on Long Island are wonderful places to walk, think, and spend some alone time.

A walk on the beach, late afternoon, December 31.

Some views of a Town of Huntington beach, Fleets Cove Beach, in Huntington Bay, near to the Jarvis House.

People walk with their children and dogs.

During the winter the water is crystal clear.

Sea Gulls float by.

I walked with a girlfriend.

Phragmites reach for a very cold blue sky.

January 1, another view of Long Island beaches, this time from a beach just east of the Jarvis House.

This is a beach where private homes pop up from the shoreline.

In order to keep the sand from washing away in storms, and helping with erosion of the coastline, large stones have been brought in by barges.

Some of these stones have curious perfectly round holes and other markings.

The stone wave break.

This is a Jetty, which is covered with algae and barnacles. It keeps the beach from eroding.

A brave sailor, who kept his boat in the water at this late date, hoping for a day like this!

Another strange hole. A friend, recently sent me a message about the holes and explains that, "those round holes were probably drilled in the rocks to take the blasting caps. How else do you think that they got those small pieces of rock." Sue Historian GSSC. (The rocks are huge.)

This stone had a series of long machined markings.

Some stones on the Long Island shoreline were deposited there during Ice Ages, by glaciers. Other stones were brought in from other places by man.

This sea wall, beautifully constructed, must have been quite costly.

Another sea gull.

This stone looked like a muffin, a very large muffin.

While on this walk, we noticed more of the plastic wagon wheel shapes that spilled out of a waste water treatment plant in Mamaroneck, NY last March.

We collected 29 plastic debris shapes in minutes, covering just a few feet of the high tide line.

Some looked like they had been around for a while, and some looked rather clean. We wondered how many were under the sand.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2011-12-20T11:34:00.003-05:00

'Twas the night before Christmas,

when all through the house

not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug

in their beds,

while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.

And Mama in her kerchief

and I in my cap had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave a luster of midday to objects below.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, and he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now Prancer

and Vixen!

On Comet! On Cupid! On Donner

and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

so up to the housetop the coursers they flew,

with a sleigh full of toys,

and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head and was turning around, down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes, how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. He spoke not a word but went straight to his work

and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk, and laying his finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!"
Originally written by Clement Moore in 1822, a New Yorker.

Home Maintenance Replacing a Lens on an Overhead Fluorescent Light Fixture

2011-12-13T10:35:00.002-05:00

Early in November, on the 6th, Daylight Savings Time ended. I attempted to change the time on my kitchen clock, and unfortunately knocked out the plastic lens on the fluorescent light fixture above. It was old, and I saw it shatter as it hit the floor, because old plastic gets really brittle with age.

I knew this meant a lot of trouble for me because the fixture was around thirty years old, and I had replaced the lens once before. At that time I went to a high end lighting gallery and it had to be custom formed to fit this fixture. Most lighting manufacturers create overhead lighting to their unique measurements. the products are not standardized. You cannot go to a large "orange" hardware store and purchase a lens to fit, because the ends are rounded and shaped. For some reason I looked inside the fixture and a manufacturer's label was there! It read LaMar Lighting Company, Inc., Farmingdale, NY! I live a few miles from Farmingdale. So, I took a chance and Googled this name to find the company.

As luck would have it they were still in business.

I phoned them and went over.

The two things that I always do when looking for replacement parts, is to bring along the original part, even if it is broken, and I always carry cash. Even with the end in tatters, this company recognized the lens part.

Although they did not have this piece in stock anymore, they knew who did!

Again luck was with me because Diversified Lighting Diffusers, Inc., was also located in Farmingdale. The woman behind the counter told me that they didn't usually sell to individuals, but if I could pay exactly the correct amount I could purchase replacement lenses. I bought three, two new ones for the kitchen fixtures, and one spare.

I replaced both lenses although one was not broken, because they yellow over time. The woman at the diffusers (a fancy name for a lens) store mentioned that many contractors try to keep the prices of lighting down by buying fixtures from Asia, out of the country. The fixtures are created and delivered, but not replacement parts. Each fixture is so unique that her entire business caters to creating the replacement plastic parts for overhead fluorescent lighting. Now imagine whole factories, schools, motels, places of business , with hundreds of fixtures that might lose their lenses. The moral of this saga is buy local, at least buy American made , because you will eventually need to find parts. The cost of replacing the fixture would be much greater; electrician, dry wall worker, etc. than the cost of parts. All of that went through my brain as the lens crashed to the floor. When you start something think of the end, and the end always requires replacement parts. I was very lucky this time.

Rustic Old Fashioned Apple Pie Making Part II Pie Filling

2011-11-10T15:20:00.007-05:00

This is part two of the Jarvis House "back to basics" Apple Pie making. If I can do it then anyone can. For the pie filling I used a combination of Marianna's recipe, and added some details from my mother's, Rose Guglielmino, pie making.

Gather the ingredients and kitchen toolks necessary for the filling. One of the things that I consider essential for a great Apple Pie is combining many different varieties of apples in one pie. This works out well because my grocery store, Waldbaums, often puts in the quick sale basket, packages of not so perfect apples. They put together all sorts of varieties into one package. Works for me.

Something that my parents taught me was that a cook needs really top notch knives. Each knife has a distinct purpose and here I have a Henckels serrated knife, for quartering the large apples, and a Sabatier carbon steel blade knife for paring and cutting out the core. I have many wooden cutting boards.

Slice the peeled apples into thin slivers.

Mix up a coating mixture consisting of 1/2 cup sugar, two teaspoons Cinnamon,

and I added one teaspoon ground Nutmeg for a really great flavor.

Pour sugar mixture over apple slices.

Add two teaspoons lemon juice.

Combine the coating ingredients and toss the apple slices well.

This is a tray of apple peels and cores, a with the lemon skin which I put into the compost pile.

The pie dough was in the freezer, so unwrap it and let it soften.

Meanwhile "flour" a pure cotton dish towel which makes a great surface for rolling out the dough. You can use waxed paper, if you prefer so that you can lift the dough up.

I flipped the pie dish upside down and placed it on the circle of pie dough.

Then I just turned over the whold thing and the dough goes into the pie dish nicely.

Make a few pricks with a fork on the bottom crust before filling.

Pile the coated apple slices as high as possible, arranging the slices so that they do not stick out of the pie crust. Dot with small pieces of margarine, or butter. Sometimes I add raisins to the top if the family likes raisins, some don't. Ask first.

Somewhere I found a small cookie cutter that looked like a turkey. You can use any small shape to make the steam vent. Do this before flipping the top crust on to the pile of apples.

After rolling out the top crust on the floured cloth, just like the bottom crust, flip it over the apples.

Adjust the top crust to center it on the pile of apples. I also take the paring knife and make several wheat marks for additional steam vents. (Mom's touch) Pinch the top and bottom crust together and flute the edge with fingers.

Brush the top crust with a mixture of one egg and one teaspoon water.

Sprinkle top with sugar.

Bake at 425 degrees F. for the first 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. for about one hour. Depending upon how high the apples are stacked, test them for doneness with a wooden pick.

Cool the pie slowly. The filling may drop a bit when cool,but the crust will be fine. I'm never going to win a pie making contest, but it's the effort that counts.

These are some of the pie crust tools, wheels that cut interesting strips in case you are making a lattice top pie crust. The tins contain small seasonal cutters for the steam vents or you can use them to make leaves etc. which may be applied to the top crust for interest, and my trusty wooden rolling pin. Have fun with this and amaze your family with a pie that could can never be equaled by anything a store can produce. Cheers from the Jarvis House kitchen. Happy Thanksgiving.

Marianna Davison's Pie Crust from the Jarvis House Recipe Book

2011-11-06T15:22:00.011-05:00

Making a holiday Apple Pie from scratch is often considered a daunting chore.

It's making the pie crust that puts people off. Buying a store ready pie crust in a pan, or worse, a stick of pie crust dough, to me seems yucky!

A wonderful lady from Old First Presbyterian Church, Huntington, Marianna Davison, used this recipe to make "tops" for huge pans of Apply Pie desserts for their Fall Fair. I asked her to write it down for me and I have in her original hand the ingredients.

I assemble the necessary things for pie crust making.

The original recipe is doubled in order to make three pie's worth, one top and one botom for each pie. I unwrap seven sticks of margarine, for three and one half cups, and two tablespoons of sugar.

I add four teaspoons of salt.

Then eight cups of flour.

I found a beautiful chrome plated pie crust blender, by Ekco, made in the U.S.A.

The blades of this fine tool, blend the flour mixture with the shortening, so that little "pea" sized lumps are formed.

Next the recipe says to combine in a small dish one cup of water,

two tablespoons of white vinegar, and two eggs.

I use a whisk to blend the wet ingredients.

Next I poured that into the bowl with the flour mixture.

Marianna recommends mixing the dough with your hands.

I also used the blender.

As in the opening photo I gathered the dough in the bowl into one large ball. Then I turned it out onto a piece of waxed paper and cut it into six equal wedges.

Each wedge becomes one pie crust as I shape the wedge into a smaller ball.

Each ball gets wrapped in waxed paper,

then I put two balls of dough into a plastic bag, and seal with a twist tie. This will make one pie.

So, now here we have enough for three pies, two for Thanksgiving, and one for Christmas!.

I place the bags of pie crust into the freezer. Since this is something you can do ahead of time, it takes the stress off part of making an Apple Pie. In another post I will roll out the dough and ready the apples. Having ready to use home made pie crusts in the freezer, is like having money in the bank.

By the way. I was given these two books by my daughter and son-in-law. The first, World Made by Hand, by James Howard Kunsler, is a story about people in a town, up state from New York City, and how they cope in a postapocalypic world. The first book I was finishing up when we had a power out after Hurricane Irene, this Fall. The second book, the sequel, The Witch of Hebron, 2010, continued the saga. There are interesting accounts of "back to basics" living which greatly appeal to me. Living in the Jarvis House has inspired me to approach some tasks in a rather "low tech" way. These stories by Kunstler detail many such activities, and "apples" are one of the subjects that seem to repeat throughout both books. Like I have said, "back to basics."

Marianna Davison's Apple Pie Crust Recipe (double this)

Combine:

4 cups flour

1 3/4 cups shortening ( I used margarine)

1 TBS sugar

2 tsp. salt

Beat:

1 TBS white vinegar

1 egg

1/2 cup water

Makes 3 tops for 9" x 13" x 2" pans or makes two 9" tops and one bottom

Chill 15 minutes before rolling

Apple Pie Filling

1/2 cup sugar mixed with 2 tsp. Cinnamon

2 Tsp. lemon juice

Sprinkle over apples and dot with 1/4 stick of butter or margerine. Brush the top of the pie crust with one egg mixed with 1 tsp. water, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for fifteen minutes at 425 degrees F. and then continue baking at a reduced 350 F. for another 35-45 minutes, until done. For the large pan Apple pie, Marianna used 3 pounds of apples. I prefer to combine all sorts of apples, which makes for the best pies ever.

Weather Predictions for the Winter of 2011-12 North East Region

2011-11-02T18:51:00.004-04:00

Well here he is again. The Woolly Bear is all black!

As he wanders off, I wonder is he correct? Will the winter weather be harsh? Black foretells really bad weather, brown indicates a lesser severe winter, and when they turn up both black and brown, the weather changes during the season, sometimes bad, sometimes better.

The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a wet but warmer winter for us.

Does anybody really know?

Another source says this:

AccuWeather.com Winter 2011-2012 Forecast: Another Brutal One

Well you know what they say about the weather on Long Island? If you don't like the weather when you walk out the front door, walk out the back door. Our weather changes by the minute. A weather diagonal line cuts across the island. Last week New York City, Connecticut, and parts of the Hudson Valley had an unusual Halloween snowfall, which was considered much worse than Hurricane Irene. Here in Huntington, which is in western Suffolk, we didn't see any snow at all, only buckets of rain!

Other bloggers consult the stripes on the Woolly Bear Caterpillars. I guess that we will have to see, but mine was all black! Yikes. I better make sure all the drafts in this old house are covered. What do you think will happen? Make a prediction too.

Check out Joe Bastardi's predictions on AccuWeather.com. He seems to have the long range views better than anyone else. Here's hoping that we all survive.

Halloween at the Huntington Community Thrift Shop 2011

2011-10-31T21:50:00.002-04:00

Had to post this photograph that I took today at the Huntington Community Thrift shop. One never knows what will be walking in the front door. A lovely volunteer, Harriet, greets a Raven named Glenn. Can't make this stuff up.

The Thrift Shop had been hopping all week with high school and college kids looking for elements to be used in costumes. Next, we will be saving "ugly" sweaters for their next bout of holiday parties .

This mantle was designed my daughter in Virginia. She saw the unbleached coffee filter rosette garland on a black ribbon, in a crafts magazine, and completed her Halloween tableau with black candles, a spray painted terra cotta flower pot and branch, decorated with black birds, white bird house and bat, antique black ink engraved prints, skeleton, snow globe, and very old silhouettes. Great job!

Of Plywood Forms, Knee Walls, and Three-Quarter Inch Blue Stone Gravel Basement Foundation Infastructure

2011-10-24T19:10:00.005-04:00

After Hurricane Irene, the foundation of the Jarvis House needed to be reinforced with a concrete Knee wall.

Substantial plywood forms needed to be constructed on site.

The original foundation of the 1838 Jarvis House is built from rock and then hand made bricks. Water coming into the basement has denigrated the foundation over time. Fortunately a general contractor Robert Rexer of Huntington, knew what to do and who to entrust the job.

Before the concrete forms were made the steam pipes had to be reoriented about twelve inches from the existing configuration, to accommodate the plywood forms.

If you live in a house with three toilets, two showers, and four sinks you need a really good plumber,and my friend Jeff Kleverweiden came to the rescue. Not only did he come on short notice to meet with the concrete foreman, Joseph Fiorella of JGF Concrete, but he re-configured the pipes a few days, shortly thereafter. Everyone was impressed with his work.

An original locust post was too close to a basement window and had to be moved out of the way of the knee wall forms.

Old drainage pipes, no longer connected to anything were cut short.

Large metal rods were pounded into the existing portion of another knee wall that had been built years before, to join the two sections.

Extra reinforced forms went up.

A cement truck makes its way backwards into the driveway.

Plywood plates made a runway to the basement window, where Joe had made a flume, rather like a coal shoot for the wet cement.

Out it comes into wheelbarrows.

A finished portion of the wall behind the boiler.

Joe guides the cement into the forms and distributes it evenly.

The knee wall facing the front of the house. A perfect match!

The knee walls will never keep out the water, but might slow it down a bit. Joe advised me to pour three-quarter blue stone chunks on the floor to make it more level and easier to walk on.

The sump pump is in the background. Water is aimed at this well and will flow through the loose stones, that is if the electricity is flowing too.

A really old cast iron radiator, left over from a past renovation was put up on blocks, just in case someone in the future needed it for another re-do.

The North wall which was the most compromised from water.

Now some women might get excited about jewelry or cars, but this old house owner is thrilled with the wonderful new knee wall!

Posts supporting the staircase were reinforced.

A job many will never see or appreciate, but one that will help the Jarvis House to live on for another two hundred years.

Having Fun at a Beading Class at Beads & Stitches

2011-10-16T21:08:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, I attended a silk thread knotting class at the Beads and Stitches of Hicksville shop.

As a lover of knotted strands of beads, some of the silk threads on the necklaces in my collection have broken over time.

The only way to inexpensively repair the beads was to learn to knot them myself. Maryann Olson is the shop owner of this delightful establishment.

She guided me in the acquisition of the correct tools for beading.

A kit for a lariat was supplied with the lesson for a very modest price and we were off.

As we worked on our projects, Maryann expertly created samples of much more ambitious beading projects, which were coming out in current journals.

At the start an example of the project was displayed for us.

A photocopy of the bead arrangement was our "map."

The shop is filled with beads, and threads of every conceivable color, with jewelry findings of every description.

The possibilities for a beaded necklace, earrings, or a bracelet design were endless.

She had style and direction books.

Examples of projects.

All in all the work was fun, the company of other students was cheerful, the instruction was excellent, and I went home with a completed lariet for a young friend who wore it today. I would encourage anyone who wishes to start a wonderful hobby to checkout Beads and Stitches of Hicksville. For more info click there.

Small Wagon Wheel Plastic Debris Washes Up on North Shore Beaches

2011-10-03T22:51:00.005-04:00

Have you ever seen something like this?

It reminded me of Wagon Wheel Pasta that I used to eat as a kid, but it wasn't pasta but white plastic.

The original Wagon Wheel pasta.

This was Sunken Meadow Beach, a New york State Park, located just east of me on the North Shore of Long Island. The weather last Sunday was chrystal clear.

I had walked the beach last Thursday and noticed many little wagon wheel shaped things in the high tide debris.

They seemed to be tangled in amongst every clump of reed and shells.

They were sort of cute, but I couldn't figure out what they were, or why so many of them were on the beach.

The little plastic disks are about one inch in diameter. I collected them as I walked along.

From a distance the beach looks perfect,

but taking a closer look, the little disks were everywhere.

In just a few minutes I collected a handful. I placed them on the front desk in the beach office.

The first day I enquired about these little guys,the young student employees knew nothing about them. Later on Sunday the office director explained that they did indeed know about the disks and the beach had been checked out twice this Spring before the season started.

I learned from the Internet, late Thursday evening that they had escaped from a waste water treatment plant in Mamaroneck, NY which is about 25 miles across the Long Island Sound as the crow flies, or as a small disk would travel in water. I have since been contacted by State authorities about these disks. They showed up in other North Shore Beaches, including Glen Cove, and Northport. Thousands hit Sunken Meadow after being spilled into the sound in March, but were cleaned up. I am not sure if these that I saw were just coming in, or leftover from months ago. These were placed in the trash can.

To read more about this spill go to : http://www.longislandpress.com/2011/03/26/small-plastic-disks-wash-up-on-north-shore-beaches/

and: http://www.empirestatenews.net/News/20110328-5.html

and http://theloopny.com/2011/03/28/plastic-disks-from-mamaroneck-found-on-east-li-beaches/

I had been going to Robert Moses Beach all summer, which is on the South Shore and did not know about the wagon wheel disks. It didn't take me long to find out where they came from. Sort of ironic that they came from a waste treatment plant.

The Ribbon International Group goes to Ground Zero, New York City

2011-09-30T17:37:00.001-04:00

The Ribbon International went down to Ground Zero this week after ordering tickets on -line: http://www.911memorial.org/visitor-passes.

We all walked through airport style security checkpoints and then through an overpass.

Fortunately we had reservations for 4:00 pm, the last slot of the day.

I peeked at the construction site through the chain link fence.

The garden within.

The first square pool with its waterfalls and stone boarder inscribed withthe names of the lost.

Something I had wished that I had done, was to look on-line a head of time for the location of particular names.

We gather in front of the first pool with the Ribbons.

We joined the Ribbons and said the Interfaith Prayer together.

Many people leave touching tributes.

Flowers,

notes, and tokens of faith.

The new Memorial Museum under construction opening 9-11 2012.

Pool number two.

This is one of the rescued original trees from the Trade Center.

The fog covers the building crane on top of the new tower. Take the time to visit this Memorial site. It is a special place.

Deep Purple Flowering Shrubs in September at the Jarvis Garden

2011-09-27T20:05:00.002-04:00

Here is the Obedient Plant, in all of its glory, sometimes called False Dragonhood.

It is easy to plant and propagate, easy to pull up and share with friends.

A late blooming Hosta boarder with glorious stalks of purple bells.

Ever faithful Phlox.

Perennial Ageratum.

Callicarpa shrub that I pruned which resulted in massive clusters of purple berries. Winter birds feast on them.

Crepe Myrtle, also a candidate for harsh pruning each year.

I had to add this photo, because the yellow flowers were such a contrast to everything else that was purple.

Sedum

These foxy grasses have a purple tint.

The ubiquitous roadside Loosestrife.

Hydrangeas turning their fall purple.

Japanese painted fern.

A lovely Rose of Sharon.

The darker Butterfly bush bloom.

With so much rain on Long Island this August and September, the lawn out back is an emerald green.

Veronica still sending out spikes of purple.

After this bloomed, I realized that this too is a form of Perennial Ageratum.

The usual Butterfly bush, still flowering.

Day Number One at the Arthur Dove- Helen Torr Cottage, Centerport

2011-09-20T14:46:00.005-04:00

This is the loft space in the Artur Dove 1880-1946)-Helen Torr(1886-1967) cottage on the Titus Mill Pond in Centerport. It had served as a post office and general store prior to becoming the home of these two American Modernist painters.

When I arrived the painters were working on the exterior of the cottage.

My friend and co-volunteer, was beginning the re-building of the rustic staircase.

I jumped in prepared with plaid shirt, work jeans, denim apron, and work gloves.

Everyone who visits this site exclaims that they wish to live there. The view is stunning and tranquil.

He checks the level on the first tread.

A while later, Michael W. Schantz, Ph.D. the executive director and CEO of the Heckscher Museum of Art which owns the cottage, came to look around and help out. Here he takes the first steps on the stairs to see if they feel right.

Because the cottage is right on the Mill Pond, the basement was wet from Hurricane Irene, something I know a lot about. A hose is syphoning out the water.

Another view of the Mill Pond.

The interior of the cottage has suffered some damage, and

fixing it will be another project, a long project.

Original wainscoating, which was behind wall board, was installed in two directions.

A very nice feature, maybe leftover from the general store?

The staircase under construction.

The volunteer adjusts the concrete footing.

Volunteers usually bring their own tools, including power tools.

He clamps the uprights for the railing.

A messy re-do of the trim around the front door, when a screen door was previously hung, wasn't right. So he replaces the trim and improves the door way.

Although we were tired after hours of work building the staircase, it had to be primed with paint left for us by the house painters. Good thing that my knees still work well! Eventurally they will paint it the dark green.

We cleaned up the debris around the workplace,

and called it a day. Day one at the Dove Cottage.

9-11 Memorial Ribbons 2011

2011-09-12T22:00:00.001-04:00

This was the tenth anniversary of 9-11. The Ribbon International project, an NGO from the United Nations, made a tribute to the fallen people of Huntington at the town's Memorial in Heckscher Park.

I decided to make a special panel for the event.

Working on my kitchen table, I cut large numbers from Manila paper, then cut out the fabric from white and red cotton.

The two towers represented the number eleven. I wanted them to look three dimensional, so I downloaded a photo.

I happened to have just the right patterned fabrics for the job.

Using my old brown Singer from 1957, I stitched the two and the zero.

I reinforced the pieces for the towers.

I pinned them in place.

The T. V. tower was added next, and stitched down. The photo showed the bands on the top of the towers, so I mitered them and sewed them to the towers.

The design was sewed to one half of the blue panel, then I folded it and sewed it right sides together, leaving a small opening so that I could turn it right side out.

I ironed the panel,

then top stitched the boarder, and the small opening closed.

Ties were added to the four corners

The panel needed something more, so I sewed down a small cotton flag.

The finished panel on the kitchen table, with the words "Never Forget" and "Tenth Anniversary" the dates "9.11.01-9.11.11."

The Huntington Memorial to the lost of 9-11.

A sculpted metal beam from the World Trade Center rubble was placed for each person lost.

The ladies from the Ribbon International group. Although we usually go to NYC with the ribbons on 9-11, we decided to stay in Huntington because of the heightened threat warnings. We plan to go to Ground Zero later in the month with the Ribbons.

Later in the day I hung the Ribbon on my corner. Never Forget.

Huge Waves and Rip Currents at Robert Moses Beach from Hurricane Katia

2011-09-10T00:04:00.000-04:00

Today the waves were really up and the rip currents made it very dangerous to go into the water. Surfers may have liked it but the red flags were posted

which meant that swimming was not permitted.

It is the end of the summer and Hurricane Katia way out in the Atlantic, roughed up the surf on the south shore beaches of Long Island.

The life guard stands were turned over and the beach was empty.

A few life guards watched over their territory.

The Fire Island Lighthouse off in the distance.

As we came up from the parking lot, we could see that this was a wild day with waves much higher than we had seen all summer.

The waves were breaking way out, much farther than usual.

The tropical storms had eaten away the beach and the dunes.

People walking through the foamy tide.

A last look before we ride home over the causeway bridges.

Late Summer Blooming Plants in the Jarvis Garden 2011

2011-09-06T10:00:00.002-04:00

Late Summer or the beginning of September on Long Island is usually windy, cloudy and wet. We are just getting over Hurricane Irene, and expecting a week of rain from other southern storms that make their way to the north east. Here is an old concrete planter with lovely drooping seedum flowers. The small green trailing plant beneath we call angle eyes.

What would we do without the Knockout roses, ever loyal ever blooming.

This is a favorite late summer bloomer, Physostegia Virginiana, False Dragonhead, or Obedient Plant. It does well in poor soil, but can get out of control easily. It is easy to pull out when the plants spread too far.

This is a wild form of Clematis that I trained to grow on the Quince tree.

A mystery perennial.

The pods of the Butterflyweed, Asclepias tuberosa.

The Hydrangeas are turning bronze.

Another Knowkout rose, this one peachy.

The small fox tail grass after the hurricane.

I grew these from seeds for the front porch.

Golden Tiara hosta for the metal planters. They will winter over and come back next Spring.

The Weigela today.

Late blooming Rudbeckias under the shade of a Leyland.

The new white Butterfly bush.

Sedum, as it turns pink. This is a must and very east to propagate.

Because we have had an unusual amount of rain for august, the Painted Fern never looked better.

These are pernnial Ageratum just about to open up. They are faithful, easily transplanted, ( I use a screwdriver, make a hole and stick the plant and roots in,) and always remind me that they open the first week of school here.

A late blooming Hosta row. This is the usual slender common variety.

A deeper purple Butterfly Bush.

The Yellow Butterfly Bush, still going strong. Even after the storm, this plant stood tall and had loads of "corn on the cob" flowers.

The usual purple Butterfly Bush.

After the storm the white Phlox hit the ground, but still tried to look beautiful. It is so white and lovely. A soggy walk around the garden, but nice.

Hurricane Irene August 28, 2011 Long Island Under Water and Trees

2011-08-31T08:13:00.003-04:00

In addition to the most rainfall ever in the month of August, Long Island, Suffolk County and other surrounding areas in the North East got smacked with Hurricane Irene. Town workers clear a giant fallen tree.

Huge old trees toppled over due to the soggy soil and winds.

The park near the Jarvis House suffered broken limbs and fallen trees.

Electric, and phone cables have been out due to down wires as trees fell over. Without electricity for more than a day, cell phone batteries died.

This huge limb, the size of a medium tree, in my back back, fell on the wood pile, missing anything important.

I heard this tip on the National Weather Channel, stuff the freezer with 3/4 full baggies of water before the storm. After they freeze, not only would they keep the frozen food longer, but they would keep the refrigerator below cold longer.

These are my highest rubber boots which I needed.

The back yard flooded, but there between the barn door and the chair, underground is my outside sump pump. It can run with a gasoline generator to empty out the water, and is piped underground down my driveway.

My old, but really good generator.

The generator needed tweaking and two very nice gentlemen from the Greenlawn Centerport Historical Association got it going well.

Water in the basements.

The outdoor sump pump does its job.

The Huntington Volunteer Firemen helped me get half of the water out, because it was coming in faster than the pumps could remove it.

Their pump does its job.

My candle holder that works best during the evening's darkness. Usually I never burn candles in this old house, but I tried to make it a safe as possible.

I have a gas range, so a cup of tea was possible, but no hot water for a shower.

This is a siphon pump that my neighbor had. It worked so well that it is now on order for the Jarvis House.

It works just like the fireman's pump, and no one has to go into a dangerous basement full of water.

The many branches and leaves that were down and needed to be raked up.

The outdoor sump pump.

The only piece of mail on Monday (LIPA, the Long Island Power Authority). They did their best, but it was daunting to get power back to the North shore houses.

With so many people unable to cook, the bagel shop was buzzing.

Fans drying out the furnace which is a steam system with a natural gas heater that I converted to in the 1970's when we had to wait on gasoline lines. Remember that?

I opened the basement windows for cross ventilation.

A tall fan by the Bilko doors leading outside. Here's hoping the water heater and the furnace start up again after they dry out.

Since the Jarvis House was built in 1838, many other things have developed, such as the paved road, other houses, and general development. Only the basement is below grade. The foundation is way above grade and not in any danger of flooding on the first floor. Nothing of value is kept below grade, and with electricity, the two sump pumps in the cellar and the outside pump can handle most rain situations. This is the first time in 35 years that the electricity was out for such a long time during a storm. With the new shopping list of generators and siphons things should not be this crazy again. This old house suffered no tree damage. As with many of the area's historic neighborhoods, huge old trees hit houses. We were lucky this time, but two trees that we removed last spring, would probably have blown down this week. Two older dying and rotted trees are scheduled to come down before the Nor'easters hit this winter.

Goddess of the Market Ayn Rand and the American Right a Book by Jennifer Burns

2011-08-22T22:42:00.001-04:00

When I was in college, in Art school getting a BFA, I spent most of my time in Art studios making paintings, prints, and photographs. I did take Spanish classes during lunch, but I guess I missed out on things like Philosophy, Psychology, and Economics.

I spent most of last year's free time reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Eventually the book fell apart as I took notes on quartered pieces of discarded printer paper.

I did find the film version of the first part of the book, which was only shown in a few sparse theaters. It was done in a cold flat format, straight out of the book's pages, but not in the style of the Fountainhead film. It was panned, for good reason because if you had not read the book, the film wouldn't make much sense. The Fountainhead had wonderful actors and was guided by Ayn Rand herself. She was a screen writer since her youth and came to the United states from Russia and became a successful Hollywood writer.

The book by Ms. Burns was incredibly well researched and skillfully written. There was so much anecdotal information about the personal lives of Ayn Rand, her faithful and long suffering husband, her followers and her critics, I had an renewed understanding about Atlas Shrugged.

An interesting photo, included in Ms. Burns' book was a scene of a street with a large billboard with the "Who is John Galt" slogan. She relates how a young Ted Turner put up 200 of these signs in the Southwest.

If you are open to reading another viewpoint of Economics, Objectivism, and haven't read Atlas Shrugged, (1069 pages) give it a try. If you have read this classic, delve into the world of Ayn Rand as chronicled by Jennifer Burns.