Linda Blondheim Art Studio Newsletter June 4, 2009

Panes Prairie Early Morning
24x36 inches
acrylic on Birch panel
Purchase HERE

Linda Blondheim Art Studio
Landscapes of the South

http://www.lindablondheim.com

lindablondheim@gmail.com [mailto:lindablondheim@gmail.com]
Studio: 386.462.5726

Please forward my newsletters to your friends. I need to grow my business. I'll
reward you with a tiny abstract painting.

Don't forget that I offer 10% of the sale referral rewards when you send a new patron
to me who purchases.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Linda Blondheim Art Studio
Art Lover Salon
Why Should You buy Art?
1. An original painting is entirely unique. There will never be another like it.
2. Original paintings bring beauty, power and emotion to your living and working
space.
3. Original paintings provide prestige, focus and enhancement to the decor of a
room.
4. Original paintings provide a window to another place and time, allowing you to
travel to all of the places you remember with pleasure. My patrons often think
of my paintings in terms of a portal to nature in their homes.
5. A well crafted original painting is a timeless gift to pass on to future generations.
6. Patrons who buy art now in tough times, are helping to choose the direction of
art movements for the future.
7. Purchasing small works allows you to have art to fit your mood and rotate it
as you choose. Small works are more flexible in your decorating scheme, making
it fun to move little collections around.


8. A large painting will be a signature element in a room, drawing everone's interest.
It is a statement about your vision for your living space.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We All Scream For Ice Cream

I think most of us have a history with ice cream. When I was a child ice cream was
available in drug stores. Most drug stores had a lunch counter in those days and
the "fast food" there was really good and homemade. I remember visiting my grandparents
every year, where they lived in a small town. There was a pool hall down the street
from the drug store. Granddaddy loved to hang around in the pool hall but knew my
grandmother disapproved. He would take me down to the drugstore telling her we were
going out for ice cream. He would bribe me with a double scoop and admonish me
to say nothing to Grandmother. We would go across the street and I would sit on
the bench outside of the pool hall and eat my ice cream while he was inside with
his buddies. In those days adults thought nothing of leaving children unsupervised.
How thing have changed. The ice cream was rich and creamy, no low fat nonsense in those days. I can almost taste that combination of rich cold cream and crunchy cone. There were no waffle
cones then either.


When I was in my early 20's I was a starving artist and took a job as a soda jerk
at Howard Johnsons Restaurant. What an experience that was!! It takes real talent
to do that well. You have to be a showman for the crowds. It took me awhile to catch
on but once I had a rhythm, I was a demon behind the ice cream counter. Making
a soda is a fine art in itself. The presentation is precarious indeed. The scoop
of ice cream has to balance on the edge of the glass and the bubbly soda mounds
up around it. It's like being a TV chef or a fancy bartender. Everything must be
done with a flourish to be a good soda jerk., Dozens of people are waiting and watching
you. You are an entertainer.


I'm sad to see that old style ice cream parlors and lunch counters are rapidly disappearing
these days. They have been replaced by chain parlors like Cold Stone and TCBY. There
are a few around though if you know where to look.

My mother, sister and I meet my daughters once a month at Sweet Dreams in Gainesville.
It's tucked into a corner in a strip shopping center. There are a few tables scattered
outside in front and booths in the shop. It doesn't have much charm in decor, but
it makes up for that with outstanding homemade ice cream, served very efficiently,
but without panache.

They serve some very interesting flavors like bacon and green tea ice cream. I'm
afraid I'm not hip enough to enjoy those. I stick with the old favorites.


My favorites include:
Chocolate
Mint with Chocolate Chips
Peach
Vanilla
Strawberry
Butter Pecan
Pistachio
From Wikepedia:


Precursors of ice cream

Ancient civilizations have served ice for cold foods for thousands of years. Mesopotamia
has the earliest icehouses in existence, 4,000 years ago, beside the Euphrates
River, where the wealthy stored items to keep them cold.] The pharaohs of Egypt
had ice shipped to them.] In the fifth century BC, ancient Greeks sold snow cones
mixed with honey and fruit in the markets of Athens.] Persians, having mastered
the storage of ice, ate chilled desserts well into summer. Roman EmperorNero (37-68)
had ice brought from the mountains and combined with fruit toppings. These were
some early chilled delicacies.

True ice cream

Ice cream recipes first appear in 18th century England and America. A recipe for
ice cream was published in Mrs. Mary Eales's Receipts in 1718.
Ice cream was introduced to the United States by Quaker colonists who brought their
ice cream recipes with them. Confectioners sold ice cream at their shops in New
York and other cities during the colonial era. Ben Franklin, George Washington,
and Thomas Jefferson were known to have regularly eaten and served ice cream. First
LadyDolley Madison is also closely associated with the early history of ice cream
in the United States. One respected history of ice cream states that, as the wife
of U.S. President James Madison, she served ice cream at her husband's Inaugural
Ball in 1813.
Around 1832, Augustus Jackson, an African American confectioner, not only created
multiple ice cream recipes, but he also invented a superior technique to manufacture
ice cream.
In 1843, Nancy Johnson of Philadelphia was issued the first U.S. patent for a small-scale
hand cranked ice cream freezer. The invention of theice cream soda gave Americans
a new treat, adding to ice cream's popularity. This cold treat was probably invented
by Robert Green in 1874, although there is no conclusive evidence to prove his claim.

The next time you are out and about, look for an old fashioned ice cream shop and
take the heat out of summer with a sweet treat!!

Florida Ice Cream Shops:

http://kitchensicecream.com/index.htm
http://www.bigolaficecream.com/
http://www.jaxsonsicecream.com/
http://www.icecreamjunction.net/ice-cream-cocoa-beach-menu.php

There are a lot more but not with web sites.

The Station is a favorite with my family.
Station Bakery & Café
(386) 454-4943
20 NW Railroad Ave
High Springs, FL 32643
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



How about a Recipe?

Roasted Summer Vegetables


2 yellow squash-sliced
2 zucchini squash-sliced
2 tomatoes-sliced
1 onion-sliced
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
3 T olive oil
1/4 tsp chopped leaf thyme or dried
salt/pepper
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 cup bread crumbs
2 T butter

Combine all vegetables in a bowl and coat with seasonings and olive oil.

In a separate bowl combine parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Mix lightly with melted
butter until mixed.

Place vegetable mix in a greased baking pan and top with breadcrumbs cheese mixture.

Bake at 350 for about an hour or until top is nicely browned and vegetables are
tender.

Cook's Tip:


These summer vegetables are full of water. before you make the recipe , salt the
vegetable slices, including the tomatoes and lay out on a sheet pan with paper towels.
Lay them out individually in rows. Cover the tops with more paper towels and let
them sit for a few hours before assembling the recipe. The vegetables will have
better flavor and the casserole will not be mushy or soggy.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hurricane Season Has Arrived

Hurricane Season has rolled around once again. After 2004, when Florida was manhandled
by 5 hurricanes in one year, I prayed to never go through a year like that again.
We spent most of that season without water or electricity and believe me, that
is no small problem. I remember spending hours at laundry mats, waiting in line
to wash clothes. I remember the faces of people I saw there. It was so depressing.
We lost all of our food in the chest freezer and refrigerator. Many roads were under
water, so going to the dump was not an option for awhile. I kept a camp fire burning
to burn all the food and then cook hot dogs and hamburgers. This wasn't a lot of
fun because we were burning in 96 degree temperatures with 100% humidity. I looked
like a leper from the hundreds of bug bites. We ate canned food from the pantry
for awhile until we realized there was not going to be a quick fix of our utilities.
The stores had no camping equipment left.


We would go to the movie theater in the afternoon when it was hot just to get away
from the sweltering heat and bugs. We ate out a lot, took bucket baths and relied
on more fortunate friends in the city for a shower now and then. The heat and bugs
were utterly oppressive. I developed a clear understanding of what it must have
been like to live here in past generations.
I found myself sliding into a severe depression, along with everyone else in my
neighborhood. Living in the country is a clear disadvantage during a hurricane.
We are the last to have utilities restored. We watched the mold and mildew creeping
into our homes and sleeping at night was nearly impossible. A hotel was not an
option for that long a time. They were full anyway. People don't realize how expensive
it becomes to go through a hurricane season with no power or water. We bought gallons
and gallons of water for weeks. My dog Anchor and I set up housekeeping in the front
yard under a large tree. We mostly lived there for about 3 weeks. Florida is not
where you want to live with no power or running water. I can only imagine how hard
it was for the people of Miami and New Orleans when Andrew and Katrina hit.


I've been around hurricanes all of my life and have seen their devastation. As a
child, I remember my parents driving me over to Daytona Beach and seeing all of
the hotel sprinkler pipes hanging out in the air where the lawns used to be. They
were swept away during a hurricane. It was a powerful image indeed. They are not
to be underestimated and that seems to happen with each new influx of residents
from other parts of the country. Katrina brought a lot of national attention to
hurricanes, but long before Katrina, they have been flattening parts of Florida
fairly regularly.
I thought it might be useful to share some information about the preparation for
hurricanes and other natural disasters, since the season officially started a few
days ago.


Good Advice from http://www.gulf-coast.com
KNOW SOME OF THE DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH A STORM.
· Flooding
Can occur from heavy rains,rivers,drainage ditches.
· Storm Surge
Typically associated with the land falling hurricane.
Depending on intensity of storm, can cover extremely
large areas of coastline, as Katrina demonstrated.
The storm surge typically causes the most deaths associated
with a hurricane.
· High Wind
Roof damage,falling trees,power lines, can demolish entire
homes.
· Tornadoes
Often occur with land falling hurricanes. Can cause tremendous
wind type damage very far from the center of a hurricane in
unexpected areas.

Know what potential hazards may affect you or your home. Flooding potential, storm
surge susceptibility. If your home or residence may flood. LEAVE. Katrina has
given us many stories of people who stayed in their homes and were flooded due to
unexpected storm surge levels.


Step 2.
Start collecting material and supplies NOW. Wood / Shutters for boarding up windows.
Dont wait until the last minute to try to aquire wood and then cut and mount it.
Have it precut and ready to mount. Store it until needed. I know from experience
that trying to hold a 8x4 plywood sheet on a ladder in gusty wind is very difficult.
Who would have guessed that the ply-lock clips used to mount plywood sheets on windows
would disappear off the shelfs as a storm approached.. Prepare Early.
Test your generator NOW and perform any repairs. A generator that doesnt work properly
after the storm is not very helpful.

Step 3.
Have an evacuation plan. While you can not easily say where exactly you will evacuate
months in advance. Have maps available and write down your plans. Ensure your friends
and family know where you plan to evacuate. (Its very difficult to reserve motel
rooms in some areas once people start evacuating. Rooms as far as Memphis, TN become
scarce during large mass evacuations. So make your reservations early. If you plan
to evacuate).


Step 4.
If a hurricane developes. Stay Informed! Do be caught by suprise if a storms path
or intensity changes. We know that a storms path and intensity can change dramatically
in hours. In sometimes, unexpected manners. OBEY your local governments recommendations.
If they suggest you leave the area..seriously consider leaving. Know where local
shelters are setup. Know what is allowed to take to a shelter. Dont just show up
without food or water or blankets. They may not be setup to provide them. They
will be providing a place that's safer to stay in than your home in most cases.

http://www.miamidade.gov/hurricane/
http://www.savannahga.gov/cityweb/SavannahGaGOV.nsf/47b9dd27b9097a5485257296007391cc/7e193ce91809d3f7852573220049d192?OpenDocument
http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/index.shtm
http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/hurricanes.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4511001_prepare-hurricane-season.html
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~