Jarvis House Gets a New Survey 2016

 

 This is my surveyor, Paul Ruzenski.  He possesses the paper surveys of my house going back a  hundred years, plus.  The original map of the Jarvis House property, which I got in 1975, was drafted by  Edward Pizanelli.  When you go to the Town's hall of records, the town clerk, they give you a list of surveyors that came before and later having to do with your property.  Amazing!

 I have always protected a locust post the is on the north west corner of my property.  When workers digging up the side walk for new gas lines or water lines or telephone lines are about I try to steer then around the locust post.  There was a county sign placed near by as pictured above, but the locust post remains.

 

 I thought that he could start there, and after digging a bit down into the soil, sure enough there was a cement monument (marker)  with a flash of orange paint.  He thought that that one was created when the flag lot next to my house was being created for a new house.  All along that side of the property were other cement markers, underground, which Paul found that corresponded to that construction.  The Jarvis property goes back a bit farther than the flag lot, so Paul used the 1975 map and measurements to complete that side and mark the north east corner of my lot. 

 There were so many high tech instruments that Paul brought to the job.

He found other cement markers along the north lot line.

 Although this marker was on the other side of the flag lot driveway, I took a photo of it because the marker was a sort of nail.

 Cement markers

A pipe which corresponded to the original map.

Paul made marks or reference for his calculations in the street and around the neighborhood.  He obtained property maps from adjoining properties to check for accuracy.

 This was a reflective device.

 After he found the monuments he hammered in a piece of lathe with an orange plastic ribbon.

 On the extreme north east corner I had put a metal pipe for a wire fence, but I was a bit shy of the actual corner.

 There is an extremely huge tree on the south east corner of the lot.

Paul hammered in markers on either side of the tree.  Old trees a common exactly on the lot lines.

 While I was waiting for my new property map, showing all of the essential buildings and features, I went to the big Orange Home store for some paint and PVC pipes.

I found a spray paint that would adhere to the plastic pipes and be visible for the markers.  I spread a piece of plastic to protect my bricks.

 But how to dry the pipes?  I stuck them in between the slats on my antique Salterini bench!

 They needed to dry at least one hour.

This is the mark out paint.

Now I have to use my rubber hammer to drive them in near the lathe markers.  Whew!

Mort Kunstler Long Island Artist Telling the American Historical Story

The amazingly precise art of Mort Kunstler, Oyster Bay Artist, is being presented at the Long Island Museum in Stonybrook, featuring American History, Art, and Carriages.

 This exhibit fits in beautifully with the mission that I have come to know regarding their emphasis on teaching and  displaying Long Island Art and artifacts.

 Carriages.

Mort Kunsler is a Brooklyn born artist that lives in Oyster Bay.  His work is outstandingly faithful and accurate due to his artistic excellence, and to his pursuit of actual objects and places that he renders in each of his compositions.

 His work had been on display at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge , Massachusetts.  But a collection of his art, incredibly varied, is on display at the Long Island Museum in Stonybrook. until May 30, 2016.   Mort Kunstler has the ability to portray historical events and themes with super real drawing and rendering.  The works are researched for authenticity.  He graciously smiled for me and was so charming and kind.

 The Art Museum housed in a separate building on the property, is up on a hill.  It has a majestic entrance.

 Inside the Mort Kunstler exhibit was presented.  It included illustrations, paintings for Movie poster art assignments, commercial art, historical oil paintings on canvas, gouache paintings ( an opaque form of watercolor,) a sculpture of a horse, preparatory drawings in pencil and charcoal, covers for magazines, and toy model kits, and  patriotic renderings of American History, and so much more.

 This is a composition of his 1942 Brooklyn Dodger team with their actual autographs.

 In this series of three paintings, Kunstler parodies a famous painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware 1851, Metropolitan Museum of Art,  by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze.   The assignment was commissioned by the Yellow Pages Directory.  

My favorite painting in the exhibit was The Culper Spy.   It depicts Robert Townsend of Oyster Bay sitting in a room in Raynam Hall.  Abraham Woodhull, the first spy, signed his letters to Washington as Samuel Culper Sr., and Townsend  signed as Samuel Culper Jr.  This had special meaning to me because a few hundred feet from the Jarvis House stood the Widow Platt's Tavern.  Washington stopped there for lunch on his 1790 tour of Long Island.  He made that tour to inspect the topography, the soil conditions, the crops that could be grown here on Long Island,  but the subtext of his trip was to thank the Culper Spys that helped him win the Revolutionary War.  His lunch at the Tavern is noted by him in the journals that he wrote on this tour.    Kunstler went to Raynam Hall to authentically recreate the image of Townsend and Long Island history.

Anyone interested in a remarkable Long Island Artist should visit the Long Island Museum in Stonybrook.  People at this show were lovingly standing up close to the detailed paintings, in wonder that this artist could capture history in such a thorough and exquisite manner.

Eric Burdon And the Animals at the Paramount February 6, 2016

This is the front of the promotional post card that the paramount put out advertising the Eric Burdon & the Animals concert that was presented on Saturday, February 6, 2016.  

Thinking that photographs were discouraged, I did not bring my camera.  But my friend has his phone with him.  I've got to get used to the idea that event photos are welcomed.  There was a notice on one of the Jumbotrons stating the Paramount's  eagerness to put still photos on their web site.

 Anyway, here are the two pics that we got of the really energetic Burdon having a great time flying around the stage and singing like fifty years has not ever passed!  The Conga drums, the Bongo drums, the two drum setups were amazing, and their beat brought us all back to the days.

I have to remark that the keyboard man, was amazing.  Some of their songs that were refreshed and revived were: House of the Rising Sun, Don' Let Me Be Misunderstood, pit the Wine, Boom Boom, We Gotta Get out of this Place.  

Next month Meat Loaf will play the Paramount and  I will bring my camera to that concert.  The audiences at the Paramount really get into and behind the performers.  They sing, jump around, and generally appreciate the longevity of the careers these artists  seem to have achieved gracefully.

The reverse of the promotional card.  This one should be another main event!  Go Paramount.  So glad that you came to Huntington, Long Island!

Cheesy Meat Sauce and Pasta Casserole

This is another back to basics recipe for the winter, and possibly a take along to a friend's house for lunch or dinner.

Gather together "twistie" pasta, shredded cheddar cheese, bread crumbs, olive oil, and basil.

 Also red tomato pasta sauce of your choosing, and one and one half (1 1/2) pounds of ground beef chopped meat

Render the chopped meat in a heavy cast iron frying pan.

Drain off any extra liquid.

 Stir in red tomato sauce

 Cook for a short time.

 Fill a large sauce pot with cold water, and sprinkle in salt.

 Prepare casserole dish with a coating of olive oil.

 Cook pasta until almost done.

 Drain pasta

On arrange casserole elements before starting to combine sauce and pasta.

 Spread a bit of sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish.

 Add a layer of pasta,

 then sprinkle  a layer of shredded cheddar cheese,

 next a layer of meat sauce.

 Continue layering pasta,cheese and sauce until casserole is full.

 End layering with a top layer of shredded cheese.

 Sprinkle a small amount of bread crumbs on top to add crunch.

 Add basil flaked on top for flavor.

Bake at 350 degrees F until cheese, sauce, and pasta are combined until well melted.

Now you can carry the casserole to a friend's for a comfort style meal.