Author: Ed

May Is Preservation Month, Here’s What’s Happening!

Each May, the city of Boston turns its spotlight on preservation. Safeguarding the precious structures left in our care is difficult, even in a city like Boston where so much of the tourism is related to history.

The photo above is from the Boston Public Library Collection. They identify it as "Newbury Street looking east from Clarendon to Arlington Streets." (Map) It was taken circa 1898. Today, the only structure you can recognize is the Church of the Covenant which has just been added to the National Historic Registry.

Take some time this month to attend one of the many Preservation Month events and learn more about our history, architecture, and how you can help protect the essential character of Boston.

Here's a full list of events from the city. Some are free, others have a fee, and some require reservations.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one? It's the perfect gift for Mother's Day, a graduation, or wedding! Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Boston Public Library Collection © 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.

May 9, 2013
He’s Testing Groundwater Levels

We came upon Christian Simonelli, the Boston Groundwater Trust's Technical & Recharge Coordinator, measuring the groundwater level in a Beacon Street test well. He admitted he's been receiving some curious looks in recent days so we decided to tell everyone what he's doing. If you notice him at work, you'll see that he is identified as a Boston Groundwater Trust worker.

Wells are monitored in areas of Boston where groundwater levels may endanger the integrity of building foundations. How that happens is a long story but you can read all about it under the FAQ here.

Here's a map of the wells around the city. You can find the ones near your home or a property you are preparing to purchase. Then, you can keep track of the levels of groundwater.

Here's a real estate shopping tip. In Boston, you should ask about the groundwater implications of any building as a part of your due diligence. Replacing or reinforcing the pilings that hold up a building is a very expensive project and you will want to know if it has already been done or if it is likely to be done during your ownership.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Mother's Day, graduation or wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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.

May 8, 2013
He’s Testing Groundwater Levels

We came upon Christian Simonelli, the Boston Groundwater Trust's Technical & Recharge Coordinator, measuring the groundwater level in a Beacon Street test well. He admitted he's been receiving some curious looks in recent days so we decided to tell everyone what he's doing. If you notice him at work, you'll see that he is identified as a Boston Groundwater Trust worker.

Wells are monitored in areas of Boston where groundwater levels may endanger the integrity of building foundations. How that happens is a long story but you can read all about it under the FAQ here.

Here's a map of the wells around the city. You can find the ones near your home or a property you are preparing to purchase. Then, you can keep track of the levels of groundwater.

Here's a real estate shopping tip. In Boston, you should ask about the groundwater implications of any building as a part of your due diligence. Replacing or reinforcing the pilings that hold up a building is a very expensive project and you will want to know if it has already been done or if it is likely to be done during your ownership.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Mother's Day, graduation or wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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.

May 8, 2013
Patio Season Launched At Coppa

Living each day to the fullest means taking advantage of our freelance lifestyle and launching "patio season" when a beautiful day presents itself. That means, we spent one afternoon last week enjoying the sunshine and culinary delights on the patio at Coppa in the South End.

We can never resist Coppa's, "Meatballs al Forno / Wood roasted meatballs with tomato gravy." Every speck of that zesty sauce was sopped up with good bread.

To salute spring we selected both their, "Bruschetta di Fave / Fava bean crostini with feta and pecorino," and "Asparagi al Forno / Wood oven asparagus with Lebanese tahini vinaigrette and za’atar." Again, the plate was wiped clean and experiments with tahini as a base for salad dressing have begun in our kitchen. You have to love a chef who sends cooking inspiration home with you.

Plates of Duck Prosciutto, and "Tuna Crudo / Sicilian olives, radishes and olive brine dashi," are two more repeat favorites from past visits.

With a bit of prosecco left in our glasses and a desire to linger in the sun on this beautiful day, we finished the meal with a lovely selection of cheeses.

Earlier this year, a Boston visitor on Chowhound asked where to go for one lunch in Boston and Penny recommended Coppa. The follow-up comment from that poster said, "We went to Coppa… I think this was about the closest thing to a perfect lunch that I've ever had. Wish I had a second stomach."

For more about our food adventures, visit Food & Drink.

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 with detailed food descriptions from Coppa's menu.
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.

Related articles

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Five Quick & Easy Meals I'm Loving Lately: #3 Gigantic Salads

Patio Gardening

May 7, 2013
Patio Season Launched At Coppa

Living each day to the fullest means taking advantage of our freelance lifestyle and launching "patio season" when a beautiful day presents itself. That means, we spent one afternoon last week enjoying the sunshine and culinary delights on the patio at Coppa in the South End.

We can never resist Coppa's, "Meatballs al Forno / Wood roasted meatballs with tomato gravy." Every speck of that zesty sauce was sopped up with good bread.

To salute spring we selected both their, "Bruschetta di Fave / Fava bean crostini with feta and pecorino," and "Asparagi al Forno / Wood oven asparagus with Lebanese tahini vinaigrette and za’atar." Again, the plate was wiped clean and experiments with tahini as a base for salad dressing have begun in our kitchen. You have to love a chef who sends cooking inspiration home with you.

Plates of Duck Prosciutto, and "Tuna Crudo / Sicilian olives, radishes and olive brine dashi," are two more repeat favorites from past visits.

With a bit of prosecco left in our glasses and a desire to linger in the sun on this beautiful day, we finished the meal with a lovely selection of cheeses.

Earlier this year, a Boston visitor on Chowhound asked where to go for one lunch in Boston and Penny recommended Coppa. The follow-up comment from that poster said, "We went to Coppa… I think this was about the closest thing to a perfect lunch that I've ever had. Wish I had a second stomach."

For more about our food adventures, visit Food & Drink.

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 with detailed food descriptions from Coppa's menu.
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.

Related articles

No Fooling! A New Boston Food Truck Schedule, April 1st

Cod Squad Truck Makes Our Day!

Five Quick & Easy Meals I'm Loving Lately: #3 Gigantic Salads

Patio Gardening

May 7, 2013
Pansies In Spring: Back Bay Sun Cover Shot
We are hearing from friends and neighbors and BostonZest readers who have left the area, that they like us connecting to copies of The Back Bay Sun. We plan to make this a regular feature to remind you of this great collection of local papers from the Independent Newspaper group.

Penny provided this week's cover shot. It's of the side garden at Zero Marlborough Street, across from the Public Garden. Take a walk by if you're in the area. That block of Marlborough is bursting with great floral displays.

You can read some of the stories at the newspaper's website www.backbaysun.com and download a copy of the paper by clicking on the "Full Print Edition" icon in the left hand column. The new issue is usually on the website by Wednesday of each week. Since that icon only lasts until the next paper is pubished, we have uploaded a copy to this link, so that you can find it anytime.

Here's a list of the places where you can pick up a copy of The Back Bay Sun. We usually get ours in the Circulation Room at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. There, you'll also find copies of the The Beacon Hill Times and the The North End Regional Review.

Here's a list of the other places where you can find copies of this local paper.

Disclosure: The Independent Newspaper Group, owner of all three of these papers, is one of our freelance clients and you'll see our photographs, columns, and articles in their newpapers. Here are links to all their local papers.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny Cherubino (Location list courtesy of the Back Bay Sun.)

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.

Related articles

High Back Booths or Irish Snugs, a Solution to the Noise Problem?

Early Spring: Henry Thoreau and Climate Change at The Concord Museum

Magnolias for Respite: Boston at Its Most Beautiful

Back Bay Sun Our Friday Link

Painting the Town: Fresh Paint Event from the Copley Society
May 6, 2013
Pansies In Spring: Back Bay Sun Cover Shot
We are hearing from friends and neighbors and BostonZest readers who have left the area, that they like us connecting to copies of The Back Bay Sun. We plan to make this a regular feature to remind you of this great collection of local papers from the Independent Newspaper group.

Penny provided this week's cover shot. It's of the side garden at Zero Marlborough Street, across from the Public Garden. Take a walk by if you're in the area. That block of Marlborough is bursting with great floral displays.

You can read some of the stories at the newspaper's website www.backbaysun.com and download a copy of the paper by clicking on the "Full Print Edition" icon in the left hand column. The new issue is usually on the website by Wednesday of each week. Since that icon only lasts until the next paper is pubished, we have uploaded a copy to this link, so that you can find it anytime.

Here's a list of the places where you can pick up a copy of The Back Bay Sun. We usually get ours in the Circulation Room at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. There, you'll also find copies of the The Beacon Hill Times and the The North End Regional Review.

Here's a list of the other places where you can find copies of this local paper.

Disclosure: The Independent Newspaper Group, owner of all three of these papers, is one of our freelance clients and you'll see our photographs, columns, and articles in their newpapers. Here are links to all their local papers.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny Cherubino (Location list courtesy of the Back Bay Sun.)

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.

Related articles

High Back Booths or Irish Snugs, a Solution to the Noise Problem?

Early Spring: Henry Thoreau and Climate Change at The Concord Museum

Magnolias for Respite: Boston at Its Most Beautiful

Back Bay Sun Our Friday Link

Painting the Town: Fresh Paint Event from the Copley Society
May 6, 2013
Thanks to the Comfort and Therapy Dogs

Thank you to all the comfort and therapy dog teams who came to Boston to help in the healing process.

The crew in the photo above is from The Good Dog Foundation’s Disaster Response division. They deployed seven certified therapy dog teams to Boston to aid in the healing process of victims, first responders, and residents. Here's their report on their visit to Boston. They will be sending additional teams here throughout the month of May.

Along the way, we also saw some beautiful Golden Retrievers from the Lutheran Church Charities’ K-9 Comfort Dogs. They were here at the request of the First Lutheran Church on Berkeley Street in the Back Bay. You can read about their time in our city here.

Amy McCullough, national director of animal-assisted therapy for the American Humane Society, was interviewed on Boston.com. She explained how important this type of therapy can be in situations like the Marathon bombings. She and her dog Bailey were here partnering with Tufts Paws for People.

If you know of, or were part of, another group that has served the people of Boston, please add a comment below or send us an email
and we'll add a link to update our thank you list.

And, remember, all of these groups are non-profits and can use your donations to make sure they are ready to travel the next time they are needed. You can find links for donations on their websites.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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.

Related articles

Therapy dogs to offer comfort after Boston bombings

Therapy dogs travel to Boston to offer comfort

The awww-some therapy dogs who went from Newtown to Boston get love on social media

Therapy Dogs Arrive in Boston to Comfort Survivors of Marathon Bombing

May 5, 2013
Thanks to the Comfort and Therapy Dogs

Thank you to all the comfort and therapy dog teams who came to Boston to help in the healing process.

The crew in the photo above is from The Good Dog Foundation’s Disaster Response division. They deployed seven certified therapy dog teams to Boston to aid in the healing process of victims, first responders, and residents. Here's their report on their visit to Boston. They will be sending additional teams here throughout the month of May.

Along the way, we also saw some beautiful Golden Retrievers from the Lutheran Church Charities’ K-9 Comfort Dogs. They were here at the request of the First Lutheran Church on Berkeley Street in the Back Bay. You can read about their time in our city here.

Amy McCullough, national director of animal-assisted therapy for the American Humane Society, was interviewed on Boston.com. She explained how important this type of therapy can be in situations like the Marathon bombings. She and her dog Bailey were here partnering with Tufts Paws for People.

If you know of, or were part of, another group that has served the people of Boston, please add a comment below or send us an email
and we'll add a link to update our thank you list.

And, remember, all of these groups are non-profits and can use your donations to make sure they are ready to travel the next time they are needed. You can find links for donations on their websites.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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.

Related articles

Therapy dogs to offer comfort after Boston bombings

Therapy dogs travel to Boston to offer comfort

The awww-some therapy dogs who went from Newtown to Boston get love on social media

Therapy Dogs Arrive in Boston to Comfort Survivors of Marathon Bombing

May 5, 2013
No Mayo Lobster Roll from James Hook & Company

The lines at the Food Truck Throwdown today were way too long so we stopped by James Hook & Co. to grab a cup of chowder. I was looking longingly at the lobster rolls when one of the crew came up and asked if he could get something for me.

I said, "I'd love a lobster roll but I can't have mayo." He said, "Tell me how you'd like it and I'll make what you want." And, he did!

Ed and I each had a toasted bun filled with fresh, chilled lobster topped with just a drizzle of melted butter. Perfection!

This adds one more place where you can get a lobster roll without mayo. What you have is pure lobster pleasure. We'll continue the lobster roll hunt and keep reporting back to you.

Related Posts:

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Belle Isle Seafood Lobster Rolls

Bubala's Lobster Roll- Lobster Roll Chronicles

Lunch at the Bristol Lounge Is a Special Treat

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

May 4, 2013