Author: Ed

Charlie Cards, Pass It On…

These are the two extra, empty Charlie Cards that I carry with me as I travel on the MBTA. I've noticed how elusive Charlie Cards have become so I picked up some extra ones. Now, when an MBTA attendant tells someone, "We actually don't have Charlie Cards at this location," I have a solution.

I can hand over one of these with a request that the passenger pass on the kindness to someone else by picking up an extra card when they are at a station where the cards are available. I write, "Pass it on… " with a Sharpie so I won't give out my loaded card by mistake. It may also encourage the recipient to pay it forward.

If you can find an attendant, they are supposed to have Charlie Cards at these locations. I have found the booth between the westbound tracks at Park Street usually has them. But note the hours, 7 am – 7 pm. For some locations, the hours are shorter.

This post was inspired by a conversation over on Universal Hub. At the 5th comment down, the conversation changes to Charlie Cards. I shared my solution there but figured I should pass it on to the BostonZest community as well.

Even if you're not going to use a Charlie Card all that often, you should have one in your card collection because each year there is a book full of discounts you can have for flashing your Charlie Card. Those discounts are particularly good for visitors since they included attractions and museums.

Our household also has a guest card that we mail to friends coming into Boston or let them use while they are here. If they can't find a card at the airport or train station, we have them covered. We started it off with $5 and our guests have kept it filled for us. That one is marked with "Guest Card" on the front.

What do you know about Amazon Prime? We use it and love it. You pay once a year for free 2-day shipping delivery charges. Amazon throws in access to instant streaming movies and TV shows and they let you borrow a free ebook each month. They will even give you a one month free trial. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 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 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 and links out of comments.

October 15, 2013
Columbus Day Inspiration from Christopher Himself…

This portrait of Christopher Columbus is attributed to Ridolfo Ghirlandaio.

"By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination." Christopher Columbus

Columbus kept journals which are the source of many of the quotations attributed to him. Today, you can read The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Classics)
in book form or on your Kindle.

What do you know about Amazon Prime? We use it and love it. You pay once a year for free 2-day shipping delivery charges. Amazon throws in access to instant streaming movies and tv shows and they let you borrow a free ebook each month. They will even give you a one month free trial. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino, and Christopher Columbus

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 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 and links out of comments.

October 14, 2013
Columbus Day Inspiration from Christopher Himself…

This portrait of Christopher Columbus is attributed to Ridolfo Ghirlandaio.

"By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination." Christopher Columbus

Columbus kept journals which are the source of many of the quotations attributed to him. Today, you can read The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Classics)
in book form or on your Kindle.

What do you know about Amazon Prime? We use it and love it. You pay once a year for free 2-day shipping delivery charges. Amazon throws in access to instant streaming movies and tv shows and they let you borrow a free ebook each month. They will even give you a one month free trial. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino, and Christopher Columbus

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 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 and links out of comments.

October 14, 2013
Tips for Zipping around in Rental Cars with Your Dog

Poppy is ready to go in the back seat of a Zipcar. Both she and the car are protected.

This is a wonderful time of year to take day trips or weekends away that include your canine pals. I know we love to take Poppy along when we have adventures. But, we also need to keep the rental car or Zipcar clean. And, if you have your own car, these tips will work for you too!

Zipcar is very specific on what they require if you take your dog in one of their vehicles. The rules say,

"Can I take my pet in a Zipcar?

Yes, but only when it's kept in a locked pet carrier. Many members are allergic to pet hair so if any happen to escape the pet carrier, please clean it up before your reservation comes to an end.

Service animals used by disabled members or passengers with disabilities are an exception. These animals are allowed in the car without a pet carrier."

Traditional rental company's each have their own statement on this. We use Budget and here is what they say at the time of this writing.

"Do you permit pets in the rental car?

Answer: Housebroken pets are invited to travel in your rental car, just as they do in your personal car. Although Budget doesn't assess an extra fee for pets, pet owners will incur an additional charge for any damage caused by animals, or any special cleaning required as a result of shedding or accidents."

Poppy Loves Car Rides

Poppy loves going with us for car rides. But, we have had other dogs who suffered from motion sickness and in the past have transported rescue dogs we didn't know well. We learned that a few layers of protection and a couple of precautions were smart.

Protective Enclosure

A crate or pet carrier snugged in place with the car seatbelt will help keep your dog safer in a sudden stop or accident. It will also keep your dog from distracting the driver. We didn't take it on the short trip with Poppy (shown in the photo), but we have a great water cup that clamps on to the crate
and won't spill easily.

Protect the Car

A waterproof mat
under the crate will protect the car from water spills or any other puppy problem. We still add a disposable puppy pad
to the front of the crate from years of traveling with a car sick dog.

Do you have a tip for traveling with a dog? Please share in the comments below.

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

Here are a few of our favorite car travel items that are available on Amazon.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:
Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 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 great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

October 13, 2013
Tips for Zipping around in Rental Cars with Your Dog

Poppy is ready to go in the back seat of a Zipcar. Both she and the car are protected.

This is a wonderful time of year to take day trips or weekends away that include your canine pals. I know we love to take Poppy along when we have adventures. But, we also need to keep the rental car or Zipcar clean. And, if you have your own car, these tips will work for you too!

Zipcar is very specific on what they require if you take your dog in one of their vehicles. The rules say,

"Can I take my pet in a Zipcar?

Yes, but only when it's kept in a locked pet carrier. Many members are allergic to pet hair so if any happen to escape the pet carrier, please clean it up before your reservation comes to an end.

Service animals used by disabled members or passengers with disabilities are an exception. These animals are allowed in the car without a pet carrier."

Traditional rental company's each have their own statement on this. We use Budget and here is what they say at the time of this writing.

"Do you permit pets in the rental car?

Answer: Housebroken pets are invited to travel in your rental car, just as they do in your personal car. Although Budget doesn't assess an extra fee for pets, pet owners will incur an additional charge for any damage caused by animals, or any special cleaning required as a result of shedding or accidents."

Poppy Loves Car Rides

Poppy loves going with us for car rides. But, we have had other dogs who suffered from motion sickness and in the past have transported rescue dogs we didn't know well. We learned that a few layers of protection and a couple of precautions were smart.

Protective Enclosure

A crate or pet carrier snugged in place with the car seatbelt will help keep your dog safer in a sudden stop or accident. It will also keep your dog from distracting the driver. We didn't take it on the short trip with Poppy (shown in the photo), but we have a great water cup that clamps on to the crate
and won't spill easily.

Protect the Car

A waterproof mat
under the crate will protect the car from water spills or any other puppy problem. We still add a disposable puppy pad
to the front of the crate from years of traveling with a car sick dog.

Do you have a tip for traveling with a dog? Please share in the comments below.

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

Here are a few of our favorite car travel items that are available on Amazon.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:
Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 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 great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

October 13, 2013
Where to Buy or Rent Costumes near Boston 2013-2014 Party Season!
Whether you only think of altering your appearance on Halloween or also like to dress up for holidays, special events, parties, or other reasons, this post is for you.

This is an outdated Post view our new resource page for costumes at this link.

Each year, we make a list and check it twice to help you locate places to buy or rent costumes for most any occasion. Costume season gears up at Halloween and continues for New Years, Saint Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras, and beyond!

This year, our list-check discovered New Millennium Costumes at 155 Tremont Street (map) across from the Boston Common. Penny made a visit to check it out, and we're happy to add it to our collection.

Owner Terry Anderson has more than 20 years experience managing a company that supplied Boston fun seekers with costumes. Realizing he missed the downtown vibe, he decided to opened his own shop.

When Penny visited the building, it had scaffolding hiding his signs and entrance so you may have to work a little to find it.

Google has been in to create an interior view of the shop and told him that it should be up soon. We'll post an update when it appears. Update: Here's a link to the Google inside view.

It's worth considering this as an option. Since it's newer and not everyone has discovered it yet, the lines may be shorter. And, check with them for details on a 10% discount to those showing a college ID.

By the way, this shop has a small section of costumes for dogs with some very clever saddle-style options for big dogs. (Seen in the lower right photo of the collage.) These sell out quickly, so shop soon for a good selection.

Check out these Costume Haunts:

Please let us know if we've missed one of your favorite sources of costumes and accessories. And, tell us about your all-time favorite Halloween Costume in the comments below.

The Garment District in Cambridge is probably the best known spot to outfit yourself for any costume party.

It's open seven days a week. And, "Open 'til Midnight ALL of October!"

They sell and rent costumes and have lots of vintage & secondhand clothing if you want to create your own.

They also sell items to finish the look, like:
- washout hair color in tones of atomic turquoise and cotton candy pink
- prosthetics like scars, bullet holes, horns, pointed ear tips, and witch noses with the materials to attach them
- masks from simple gold or black eye masks, to elaborate Venetian designs or feathery carnival styles
- heads to transform you into a bear, lion, or gorilla
- an endless selection of wigs includes: mullets, afros, clown colors, pigtails, geishas, ragdolls, cornrows, dreadlocks, flappers, and glam styles
- accessories include: hats, boas, go-go boots, and wings
Their "Boston Costume" division rents full rigs for the likes of Batman, Green Hornet, and Marie Antoinette. Or, you can be a minute man, cowgirl, knight, or belly dancer.

Dorothy's Boutique

Soon, you'll find people lined up (above) waiting to enter Dorothy's Boutique on Mass Ave. near Symphony Hall. They call themselves "Boston's Halloween Headquarters" and display masks, scary arm stumps, strange shoes, and accessories in the window. The website makes it clear that these are costumes for adults. Risque is their specialty.

If you want a quick look before you get in line, you can click over to the Google view of the store's fully stocked interior.

Army Barracks
Across the street from Dorothy's is the Army Barracks store. With a little imagination, you can use their surplus gear to create a costume for that upcoming party.

Party City has a store at 356 Boylston Street in Boston. (map) Last season, it was an iParty store.

And, remember to visit the Halloween Shop at Blackstone's of Beacon Hill. They have a fabulous selection of fun and tasteful decorations, masks, and accessories for the holiday.

Party Favors in Brookline not only has the main store in Coolidge Corner with lots of holiday party goods, but also for Halloween they've opened a satellite store in Washington Square. Hours for the rest of October 2013 are at that link.

If you're more of an internet shopper, you can find costumes for the entire family from this one page. Visit the Costume Store At Amazon.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Ed & Penny Cherubino plus a screenshot from The Garment District

Related articles

Halloween For Your Pet

Big Bird Costume One Of Hottest This Halloween!

Costume Swap: A Greener Halloween

When offered the choice between being a banana and a Mario Brother, he'll take Luigi every time

Flu Shot Information Update for 2012 – 2013 Season
October 11, 2013
Where to Buy or Rent Costumes near Boston 2013-2014 Party Season!
Whether you only think of altering your appearance on Halloween or also like to dress up for holidays, special events, parties, or other reasons, this post is for you.

This is an outdated Post view our new resource page for costumes at this link.

Each year, we make a list and check it twice to help you locate places to buy or rent costumes for most any occasion. Costume season gears up at Halloween and continues for New Years, Saint Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras, and beyond!

This year, our list-check discovered New Millennium Costumes at 155 Tremont Street (map) across from the Boston Common. Penny made a visit to check it out, and we're happy to add it to our collection.

Owner Terry Anderson has more than 20 years experience managing a company that supplied Boston fun seekers with costumes. Realizing he missed the downtown vibe, he decided to opened his own shop.

When Penny visited the building, it had scaffolding hiding his signs and entrance so you may have to work a little to find it.

Google has been in to create an interior view of the shop and told him that it should be up soon. We'll post an update when it appears. Update: Here's a link to the Google inside view.

It's worth considering this as an option. Since it's newer and not everyone has discovered it yet, the lines may be shorter. And, check with them for details on a 10% discount to those showing a college ID.

By the way, this shop has a small section of costumes for dogs with some very clever saddle-style options for big dogs. (Seen in the lower right photo of the collage.) These sell out quickly, so shop soon for a good selection.

Check out these Costume Haunts:

Please let us know if we've missed one of your favorite sources of costumes and accessories. And, tell us about your all-time favorite Halloween Costume in the comments below.

The Garment District in Cambridge is probably the best known spot to outfit yourself for any costume party.

It's open seven days a week. And, "Open 'til Midnight ALL of October!"

They sell and rent costumes and have lots of vintage & secondhand clothing if you want to create your own.

They also sell items to finish the look, like:
- washout hair color in tones of atomic turquoise and cotton candy pink
- prosthetics like scars, bullet holes, horns, pointed ear tips, and witch noses with the materials to attach them
- masks from simple gold or black eye masks, to elaborate Venetian designs or feathery carnival styles
- heads to transform you into a bear, lion, or gorilla
- an endless selection of wigs includes: mullets, afros, clown colors, pigtails, geishas, ragdolls, cornrows, dreadlocks, flappers, and glam styles
- accessories include: hats, boas, go-go boots, and wings
Their "Boston Costume" division rents full rigs for the likes of Batman, Green Hornet, and Marie Antoinette. Or, you can be a minute man, cowgirl, knight, or belly dancer.

Dorothy's Boutique

Soon, you'll find people lined up (above) waiting to enter Dorothy's Boutique on Mass Ave. near Symphony Hall. They call themselves "Boston's Halloween Headquarters" and display masks, scary arm stumps, strange shoes, and accessories in the window. The website makes it clear that these are costumes for adults. Risque is their specialty.

If you want a quick look before you get in line, you can click over to the Google view of the store's fully stocked interior.

Army Barracks
Across the street from Dorothy's is the Army Barracks store. With a little imagination, you can use their surplus gear to create a costume for that upcoming party.

Party City has a store at 356 Boylston Street in Boston. (map) Last season, it was an iParty store.

And, remember to visit the Halloween Shop at Blackstone's of Beacon Hill. They have a fabulous selection of fun and tasteful decorations, masks, and accessories for the holiday.

Party Favors in Brookline not only has the main store in Coolidge Corner with lots of holiday party goods, but also for Halloween they've opened a satellite store in Washington Square. Hours for the rest of October 2013 are at that link.

If you're more of an internet shopper, you can find costumes for the entire family from this one page. Visit the Costume Store At Amazon.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Ed & Penny Cherubino plus a screenshot from The Garment District

Related articles

Halloween For Your Pet

Big Bird Costume One Of Hottest This Halloween!

Costume Swap: A Greener Halloween

When offered the choice between being a banana and a Mario Brother, he'll take Luigi every time

Flu Shot Information Update for 2012 – 2013 Season
October 11, 2013
At The Market: Central Boston Farmers’ Markets Closing Dates
Every year, I’m surprised when I see fewer shoppers at area farmers’ markets after Labor Day. Many farmers’ markets run well into autumn, with a few open until Thanksgiving. So, make time in your week to support these good people who bring fresh food to the city.

Here are closing dates for markets you can reach via the MBTA:
- Charlestown, October 16th (Wednesdays)
- East Boston, October 17th T(hursdays)
- South End/SOWA: October 27th (Sundays)
- Copley Square: November 26th (Tuesdays and Fridays)
- Cambridge Center (Kendall MBTA): October 23rd (Wednesdays)
- Prudential Center: October 24th (Thursdays)
- Boston City Hall Plaza: November 27th (Mondays and Wednesdays)
- Central Square, Cambridge: November 25th (Mondays)
- South Station/Dewey Square: November 26th (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
- Davis Square, Somerville: November 27th (Wednesdays)
- Union Square, Somerville: November 23rd (Saturdays)
- Roslindale/Adams Park: November 23rd (Saturdays)
- Harvard University Farmers' Market, Cambridge: October 29th (Tuesdays)
- Brookline/Coolidge Corner: October 31st (Thursdays)
To find the closing dates for other markets visit Mass Farmers Markets and use their Find or Market button to bring up your market. They will have the closing date on the market's information page.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 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 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 and links out of comments.
October 10, 2013
At The Market: Central Boston Farmers’ Markets Closing Dates
Every year, I’m surprised when I see fewer shoppers at area farmers’ markets after Labor Day. Many farmers’ markets run well into autumn, with a few open until Thanksgiving. So, make time in your week to support these good people who bring fresh food to the city.

Here are closing dates for markets you can reach via the MBTA:
- Charlestown, October 16th (Wednesdays)
- East Boston, October 17th T(hursdays)
- South End/SOWA: October 27th (Sundays)
- Copley Square: November 26th (Tuesdays and Fridays)
- Cambridge Center (Kendall MBTA): October 23rd (Wednesdays)
- Prudential Center: October 24th (Thursdays)
- Boston City Hall Plaza: November 27th (Mondays and Wednesdays)
- Central Square, Cambridge: November 25th (Mondays)
- South Station/Dewey Square: November 26th (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
- Davis Square, Somerville: November 27th (Wednesdays)
- Union Square, Somerville: November 23rd (Saturdays)
- Roslindale/Adams Park: November 23rd (Saturdays)
- Harvard University Farmers' Market, Cambridge: October 29th (Tuesdays)
- Brookline/Coolidge Corner: October 31st (Thursdays)
To find the closing dates for other markets visit Mass Farmers Markets and use their Find or Market button to bring up your market. They will have the closing date on the market's information page.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 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 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 and links out of comments.
October 10, 2013
Declaring Soup Season Open with….

… a melty bowl of French Onion Soup from Petit Robert Bistro.

And links to a few of our favortite soup posts.

Chicken Soup for a Sick Friend

Roasted Squash Soup

Soup Exchange– more flavor, less work

This Is A Chicken Soup Week

Hearty, Herby Split Pea Soup

Variations On A Soup Theme

For A Great Fish Soup or Chowder…

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 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 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 and links out of comments.

October 9, 2013