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Jill Mulry’s photos at Clearwater Fine Arts Festival

Jill Mulry is a photographer who lives in Seminole, and she will be one of the artists whose work will be on display at the Clearwater Fine Arts Festival at the Harborview Center this weekend.

Here is what her website has to say:

“A self taught photographer embracing a wide variety of interests, Jill Mulry is pleased to present her refreshing visions to the world of art.

“Arriving late to the art scene after a full time career as an educator, Jill has combined a lifelong passion of photography with her love of travel. Jill introduces us to the inspiration and surprises of nature through her pictures of flowers and animals, distant mountain and rainforest trails, architecture in its elegant and simplistic forms, and the emotions expressed by her people of character.

“All photographs, some of which have been slightly enhanced through the digital process, are printed by the photographer. To ensure the highest archival permanence of her prints, Jill uses the finest quality archival inks and papers.

“Jill Mulry’s photographs are on display in galleries, botanical gardens, fine shops and tea rooms on both the east and west coasts of Florida.”

You can see examples of Jill Mulry’s work on her website, www.jkatchcreations.com.

Tags: art, Palm Harbor

If it snows, he’ll be ready

Tags: Palm Harbor

We’ve got your key lime pie right here…

How did I almost miss THIS one?

Just a few days ago, on July 1, the key lime pie became the official state pie of Florida, so named by the Florida Legislature.

This is important, so I’m told, because Florida is now only the second state in the entire nation to have an official pie. And key lime pie, GOOD key lime pie, is certainly worthy of being an official state pie.

(I wonder what kind of pie gets the “official” designation in Vermont? Something by Ben & Jerry’s?)

In 1994, the key lime pie was named an Official Symbol of the state of Florida, but I guess that didn’t quite reflect the full honor that a good key lime pie deserves. So the legislature passed the necessary bill, and Gov. Jeb Bush, fresh from signing the Take Your Dog To Lunch” bill, also signed this one.

“Interesting,” you say. “But what does this have to do with Pinellas County?”

I’m glad you asked, because it just so happens that we have one of Florida’s premier key lime pie makers right here in Palm Harbor. J.J. Gandy’s Pies is at 3725 Alternate 19, and it supplies key lime pies (and other flavors) to many of the area’s best restaurants. They also sell their pies over-the-counter, so you can enjoy them at home. Learn more at their website, www.jjgandyspies.com.

(I knew you were bursting to know, so I just checked and learned that the official state pie of Vermont is the apple pie. It’s not mandatory, but when the Vermont Legislature passed its pie bill in 1999, it wrote into the law that people should make a good faith effort to serve apple pie with a glass of cold milk, a slice of cheddar cheese or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. No kidding.)

Tags: Palm Harbor, Things to eat

Try Peggy O’Neill’s in old Palm Harbor

I’m not a huge fan of the Irish pub/pub food concept, but there are times when nothing but a good burger or some fish and chips will do. And when that moment strikes, Peggy O’Neill’s in old downtown Palm Harbor really fits the bill.

Peggy O'Neill's Irish pub

There’s a few important items to mention about Peggy O’Neill’s:

First, Peggy O’Neill was supposedly a young Irish woman who immigrated from Ireland to America in 1912, expecting to reunite with her fiance and get married. Unfortunately, the ship she chose for her trip was the Titanic. More than 1,000 survived the sinking of the Titanic, but Peggy wasn’t one of them.

Another item of interest: Peggy O’Neill’s is located in the old Sutherland building at 1026 Florida Ave. in old Palm Harbor, close to Alt. 19. That old building is pretty interesting from an architectural viewpoint, and the old post office trappings have been left alone in what is now the dining room.

The corned beef and cabbage is worth trying; so is the fish & chips. I had a reuben sandwich on a recent trip, and that was excellent, as well. One of our companions tried the Shepard’s Pie, and said it was great.

Like most Irish pubs, Peggy O’Neill’s is casual and fun. The waitpeople are friendly and helpful, and kids seem to be welcome. There’s live entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays, and Wednesday night is open jam night.

Did you know there is a whole page of restaurant reviews on my website? Take a look — go to www.bethfrederick.com and click on “restaurant reviews.”

Tags: Palm Harbor, restaurants

Strachan’s Ice Cream

I want to tell you about the “Local Partners” section of my web site, where you can go to read about good businesses in the North Pinellas area. But before I do, let me tell you about one of those good local businesses, Strachan’s Desserts. If you like ice cream and good desserts as much as I do, you’ll probably want to give them a try.

Back in 1999, Bill and Susan Strachan probably should have been thinking about retiring from their long-time corporate jobs. Bill worked for an airline, and Susan worked for a large insurance company.

But instead of thinking about leisure time, they were thinking about opening an ice cream and dessert business — something that they had been dreaming about for more than 15 years. So they quit their jobs, sold a lot of their assets, and sunk the money into a new business.

The Strachans admit that they didn’t know the first thing about running a business, and they knew just as much (or as little) about making ice cream. So they took courses, bought an ice cream maker, and starting experimenting in their suburban garage.

And then they opened Strachan’s Desserts on Alt. 19 at Tampa Road in Palm Harbor. The business didn’t make money for three years, but then things started moving in a good direction, and the company is doing very well today.

Besides making and selling desserts and ice cream, the Strachans also run a “school” on making ice cream and desserts as well as on running a dessert business. They say that no one was available to teach then the things they needed to know, so they offer their knowledge to people from around the country who may want to get into a similar business.

So try them out — it’s worth the trip.

Oh… I started out saying that I wanted to tell you about the “Local Partners” section of my web site.

Go to www.bethfrederick.com, scroll down on the front page almost all the way down at the bottom, and on the left side of the page you will see a little rectangular box with two hands shaking and the words “Local Partners.” Click on that, and you will find an entry for Strachan’s Ice Cream, as well as entries for other local businesses that we like and feel good about recommending.

If you have any favorite local businesses that you’d like to see featured, give me a call at 727-643-7100.

Counters

Tags: ice cream, Palm Harbor, restaurants