Author: Ed

Tracking a Boston Marathon Runner 2012

UPDATE: Tracking a Boston Marathon Runner 2016

Here's how to track a friend or any runner competing in the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 16, 2012.

Whether you're following a leader, or a happy middle-of-the-pack pal, the computer chips worn by the runners will allow you follow their progress.

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) Website explains:

The B.A.A. will post split times to its website during the race. This feature, complete with search access directions, will not show up on their official site until race day.

To learn how to Track a Boston Marathon Runner, Click Here then select, “Q: How can family members at home track me in the Boston Marathon?”

Mobile Phone Alert System

The Boston Athletic Association also has set up the "AT&T Athlete Alert Program." It allows you to receive updates on a runner’s progress. Here’s how to sign-up!

Where are the Leaders & Crowd Favorites?

For a rough idea of where the race leaders are, in relation to your viewing position, watch the sky for the helicopters that hover above them.

For favorites (like two-time Boston champion Joan Benoit Samuelson in the 2011 photo above) you must rely on the roar of the crowd as they approach. Or, you can track your favorite by using the mobile alert system.

Related Posts: A collection of tips for Marathon weekends

Parking Your Car for Boston Marathon Weekend 2012

Routes for Visiting Runners – Boston Marathon Weekend 2012

Work Out on a Public Parcouse along the Charles River

How to Get to the Esplanade from Boston

What’s Open in Boston on Patriots’ Day 2012

Do you have enough memory for all the photos you'll want to shoot at the Boston Marathon? Do you need a new camera for the race? Begin your shopping by Click righ here to check the prices at Amazon on great items like Transcend SDHC Flash Memory Cards and our favorite cameras the Canon G12 Digital Camera and the Nikon D300s & NIKKOR 18-200mm Lens.

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Details:
Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) Website
Words: Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

March 19, 2012
Catching Up with a Favorite Sunday Dog, Riley!

It’s no secret (at least not anymore) that one of our favorite Sunday Dogs is a sweetheart named Riley. We hadn’t seen her in quite a while until a chance meeting the other day gave us all some much needed time to do a bit of catching up.

Riley was so happy to see us, that she was willing to give up a tasty stick to say hello. We were honored.

^{Are you going to show them my baby pictures?}

I’ll never forget the first time we saw this gorgeous Golden. She was quite little and hard at play with a Doberman puppy friend named Lola. They were both trying to dig their way to China– and probably would have made it, if we hadn’t distracted them.

At 2 ½, Riley has grown into a beautiful and loving companion with an incredibly gentle soul. Her person told us how she’d lucked out with Riley. But, we think they lucked out with each other.

See Lola & Riley Digging Their Way to China

Lola & Riley – The Sequel

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

What's on your petcare shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

March 18, 2012
Saint Patrick’s Day All Year Round, Adams Village Dorchester
Anytime you feel like wearin' the green or enjoying a taste of Ireland, you can visit Adams Village in Dorchester. Since we prefer our celebrations to be low key and without the crowds, we went last weekend.

Our visit began with an Irish Farmer's Breakfast at Sonny's Pub & Restaurant. Unlike many Irish pubs where Irish breakfast is a weekend brunch special, Sonny's serves it all day, everyday.

Two eggs (the way you want them), 2 slices of brown bread, beans, potatoes, grilled tomato, black pudding, white pudding, sausages, rashers, and a slice of orange overflowed the large plate. Ed proved himself to be a hearty trencherman. He finished his plate, and then went after Penny's leftover brown bread and potatoes.

Sonny's looked like the neighborhood pubs and bars Penny remembers from a childhood with Irish relatives…

…right down to the separate entrances for the bar and dining room and lots of "everybody knows your name" welcomes as regulars moved in and out of the place.

As we reported on Thursday, we stocked up at Greenhills Irish Bakery.
And, we made a stop at the Butcher Shop Market for some Rashers/Irish bacon to take home. The quality of the meat they were offering looked outstanding and this will be a stop to shop for meat, cut to order for us, anytime we're in the area. You can take a peek at the meat cases by clicking on the thumbnails above.

We took a Zipcar and found parking to be very easy. There's a large parking lot behind the bakery and butcher shop, but we just drove up the hill where there was plenty of on-street parking. Our spot didn't even have a time limit.

What's on your Amazon shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.
March 17, 2012
MBTA Apps Our Friday Link

We love knowing when the bus or train is coming and have used those iPhone apps for awhile. Recently, we noticed that the MBTA has added a page for Apps to its Rider Tools section.

And, don't forget that Google Maps also give you live transit updates.

We've used Catch the Bus for a long time but would like to hear what you are using and how well it works.

What's on your green living shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

March 16, 2012
Greenhills Irish Bakery, Adams Village Dorchester
A visit to Greenhills Irish Bakery was one stop on our Saint Patrick's Day shopping run last Saturday. This time of year, we like to have a supply of soda bread and brown bread on hand.
With many places, this is the one time of year they make it. Greenhills has it all the time, and even late on a Saturday afternoon our breads were still warm. Click on the thumbnail views (above) to see more of their soda bread with caraway, brown bread, and scones– blueberry and raisin.

The service was warm and friendly, like we walked in there every day. The staffperson explained they only had soda bread with caraway seeds. We said that was the way we wanted it and other customers joined in the seeds vs no-seeds discussion.

In addition to fresh baked goods (and they do have far more than breads), they had a small display of favorite products for Irish ex-pats and those who love to try things from other lands.

What's on your Amazon shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Greenhills Irish Bakery

780 Adams Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts 02124 (map & reviews)

617-825-8187

greenhillsirishbakery.com

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.
March 15, 2012
Out and About from Paris to Boston

Last week, Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris was in Boston for a few days and we met for lunch. She had been following our food truck coverage, so my friend Laurie and I met her at The Dining Car in front of the library.

After a lingering lunch and some good conversation in the courtyard, we took Mary Kay on a brief tour of a couple of our favorite spots in the McKim building: the main staircase, the Puvis de Chavannes Gallery, the Abbey Room, and Bates Hall.

With a spectacular day outside, this appetizer was enough to tempt Mary Kay to explore more of one of my favorite buildings on her own. The three of us took to the outside world. We made a quick stop at the Society of Arts and Crafts and then strolled down Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

It is such fun to meet the people behind blogs. Mary Kay is as warm, friendly, and interesting as her persona on the web.

What's on your "dreaming of a trip to Paris" shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are some ideas!

From another great blogger Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris

From the wonderful Patricia Wells, The Paris Cookbook

Learn to Speak French

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

March 14, 2012
Irish Truffles From Burdick Chocolate for Saint Patrick’s Day
Did you know that Burdick Chocolate makes special truffles and shamrock cookies for Saint Patrick's Day?

We were walking by yesterday and stopped in to ask about the prospective opening date for the cafe part of the new shop on Berkeley Street. While waiting for the staff to take care of other customers, we noticed a bit of green.

Need to make some Irish eyes smile? How about:
- Irish Coffee Bonbons made with dark chocolate, coffee, cream, and Irish Whiskey coated with dark and white chocolate to look like an Irish coffee.
- Irish Whiskey truffles made with Black Bush Bushmill's Irish whiskey
- Baileys Irish Cream Truffles dusted in cocoa powder
- Shamrock cookies– pistachio-orange shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate.
Ah, the joy of having our own Burdick shop in the Back Bay. We took home a small box of chocolates and are diligently trying to choose our favorite of the three flavors.

Related Post:

Boston, Say "Welcome" to Burdick Chocolate on Valentine's Day

What's on your Saint Patrick's Day shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Burdick Chocolate

Back Bay Boston Chocolate Shop & Café

220 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA 02116 (map)

www.burdickchocolate.com

617-303-0113

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.
March 13, 2012
Irish Whiskey Taste Off: Redbreast vs Tullamore Dew

A while back, we did an Irish whiskey tasting as the dessert course with a BBQ supper. The results still hold for us and this seems the perfect week to repeat the findings.

Our favorite Irish whiskey had been Redbreast. We stopped at Marty's where they have a good spirits selection. We picked up a bottle of 12-year-old Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey and did a blind tasting against the Redbreast.

The two are so alike, we nearly had a tie. After sipping and sniffing, we decided we like both but gave the Redbreast a lead for a hint more sweetness.

They both come from the same distillery and really are very close. So, if cost is a factor, you can feel safe saving the difference and buying the one with the lower price.

Here's a great Guide to Irish Whiskey from our friends over at Serious Eats.

What's on your whiskey tasting shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! If you'd like to learn more about spirts, here are a couple of our favorite books and a link to the glasses we love for tasting them.

Related Posts:

Squealing Pig for Irish Breakfast

For St Patty’s Day, corned beef on rye!

Food & Drink

Food: Wine

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2008 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads out of comments.

March 12, 2012
Meet Hudson, He Doesn’t Need a Dog License!

That's because this adorable Chihuahua puppy is only four months old. He has settled into the Back Bay with his special person and is filling her heart with joy. He will need a license once he reaches six months.

For the rest of the pups, applications for the 2012 Boston Dog Licenses have been arriving in area homes. If your dog is currently licensed, you should receive the application in the mail. Under state law, all dogs over the age of six months must be licensed by April 1st of each year.

If you didn't get a Boston Dog license application in the mail, you can download one here.

The list of 2012 Boston Low-Cost Rabies Vaccination Clinics around the state is now posted. This includes the clinics in Boston and those where you can get your license at the same time.

If you get to meet Mr Hudson, you'll quickly learn that he's a charmer who probably should be given a special license for stealing hearts– because he's gonna do that anyway! I'm sure you'll be seeing more of this little guy in our Sunday Dog files.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

What's on your dog walking shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! How about some walking shoes from Amazon's own free shipping, free U.S. return shipping shoe site, endless.com.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

March 11, 2012
Alley People

Each alley has a community.

Trash pickers and trash haulers.

Car parkers and shortcutters.

Workers working and workers on breaks.

Fire escape gardeners and window people.

The alley is part of their lives.

What's on your Amazon shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:
Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

March 10, 2012