Author: Ed

City Pick Up for Good Neighbors to Dispose of Dry Christmas Trees

Photo : by Charley Lhasa used under creative commons license Some rights reserved

It’s time to ring in the new and ring out the old Christmas tree before it becomes a fire hazard or spreads a trail of needles all over your home.

State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said, “Start the new year off right by properly disposing of your Christmas tree. A dried out Christmas tree will ignite quickly and spread a fire very fast.”

For the first two full weeks in January, (January 7-18th, 2013) you can take that dried-up, old Christmas tree and put it out with your recycling in Boston. While the City of Boston doesn’t want you to leave it by the curb in a bag, you may want to take it out of your home and building wrapped, so you don’t leave a trail of pine needles and pine pitch behind.

By the way, if you get pine pitch on your hands, here's how to clean it:

Tip for Cleaning Hands Stained & Sticky from Holiday Greenery

The City of Boston Waste Reduction Division wants you to know that, “Public Works will collect Christmas trees for composting from January 7-18. Remove all ornaments, decorations, and stands from trees and place trees at the curb by 7AM on your recycling day. Do not put trees in plastic bags, and don't forget to recycle your holiday catalogs and wrapping paper as well.”

Here’s where you can look up your Boston recycling day.

Earth911.com has a Treecycle search to find other programs to recycle Chrismas Trees in other places.

Hop over to Amazon and look at Christmas Ornament Storage Options. We'd like to thank everyone who remembers to stop here on their way to Amazon. If you go to Amazon from one of our links or items, they put coins in our tip jar.

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photo by: Charley Lhasa used under creative commons license, Some rights reserved

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.

Related articles

Recycle A Christmas Tree, Help The Environment

The Twelve Days of a Green Christmas…First Day…

Tour Boston's Beautifully Decorated Hotel Lobbies

The Jordan Marsh Christmas display

The Great Phone Book Dump Is Underway!

January 4, 2013
Send Your Eyeglasses & Medical Prescriptions to the Cloud

Where is your eyeglasses prescription? What would you do if your eyeglasses were lost or broken on vacation? Or, if you forgot your medication or someone asked you to prove you had a prescription for it, could you? We have the answer– send all that paper to the cloud.

We send copies of our prescriptions, both eyeglasses and medical, to the cloud. You can send scans of them to Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox.

That way forgetting, breaking, or losing your glasses doesn't have to ruin a vacation or hinder you on a business trip. And, if you need to know exactly what medication you take with dose and exact spelling, you have it a click away.

And, at home, if you stop into your favorite shop and find some really great frames, you have your latest prescription on hand to have the perfect lenses made to order.

Related Post: Send All Those User's Manuals to The Cloud…

Opening a Dropbox account from here is another way to support this site.

If you sign up from this Dropbox link, Dropbox will give both you and us 500MB of bonus storage space. You can sign up for a free account to try it out, and you'll start with 2GB plus your bonus 500MB.

We understand that it also works well on the PC side of the computing fence. Dropbox has received rave reviews from The Economist, Forbes, and Wired. And, the service has been given major awards by MacWorld and PC Magazine.

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino

Photo: Penny Cherubino, Dropbox logo courtesy of Dropbox

Disclosure: We do own stock in Google and Apple. See our full disclosure policy.

Related articles

Are Glasses The Latest Fashion Must-Have?! FashionTag Meets Firmoo Eyeglasses & Reports On How To Style Glasses!

Send All Those User's Manuals to The Cloud…

The year in kvetching: The best complaints filed with Citizens Connect

The year in animals: No lions, no tigers, but bears, oh my!

January 3, 2013
Send Your Eyeglasses & Medical Prescriptions to the Cloud

Where is your eyeglasses prescription? What would you do if your eyeglasses were lost or broken on vacation? Or, if you forgot your medication or someone asked you to prove you had a prescription for it, could you? We have the answer– send all that paper to the cloud.

We send copies of our prescriptions, both eyeglasses and medical, to the cloud. You can send scans of them to Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox.

That way forgetting, breaking, or losing your glasses doesn't have to ruin a vacation or hinder you on a business trip. And, if you need to know exactly what medication you take with dose and exact spelling, you have it a click away.

And, at home, if you stop into your favorite shop and find some really great frames, you have your latest prescription on hand to have the perfect lenses made to order.

Related Post: Send All Those User's Manuals to The Cloud…

Opening a Dropbox account from here is another way to support this site.

If you sign up from this Dropbox link, Dropbox will give both you and us 500MB of bonus storage space. You can sign up for a free account to try it out, and you'll start with 2GB plus your bonus 500MB.

We understand that it also works well on the PC side of the computing fence. Dropbox has received rave reviews from The Economist, Forbes, and Wired. And, the service has been given major awards by MacWorld and PC Magazine.

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino

Photo: Penny Cherubino, Dropbox logo courtesy of Dropbox

Disclosure: We do own stock in Google and Apple. See our full disclosure policy.

Related articles

Are Glasses The Latest Fashion Must-Have?! FashionTag Meets Firmoo Eyeglasses & Reports On How To Style Glasses!

Send All Those User's Manuals to The Cloud…

The year in kvetching: The best complaints filed with Citizens Connect

The year in animals: No lions, no tigers, but bears, oh my!

January 3, 2013
Watching the Frog Pond Skaters…

Watching the Frog Pond skaters is always good, free fun. Even if you don’t want to skate, you can grab something warm to drink, pick a sunny bench, and watch the skaters glide by.

You can make up stories for each pair and group you see. Is this a teaching professional or are they a couple?

For some, it seems to be a great place to have a good, long talk. Especially one of those conversations that seems to go round and round in circles.

For others, it’s a fun way to get some winter exercise.

And, we were not the only ones taking photos, but this guy was in the middle of the action, not on the sidelines.

And, if you want to skate, it will only cost a little more. For more information visit The Boston Frog Pond website.

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: © 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 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.

January 2, 2013
Watching the Frog Pond Skaters…

Watching the Frog Pond skaters is always good, free fun. Even if you don’t want to skate, you can grab something warm to drink, pick a sunny bench, and watch the skaters glide by.

You can make up stories for each pair and group you see. Is this a teaching professional or are they a couple?

For some, it seems to be a great place to have a good, long talk. Especially one of those conversations that seems to go round and round in circles.

For others, it’s a fun way to get some winter exercise.

And, we were not the only ones taking photos, but this guy was in the middle of the action, not on the sidelines.

And, if you want to skate, it will only cost a little more. For more information visit The Boston Frog Pond website.

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: © 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 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.

January 2, 2013
Happy New Year, Boston!

We hope 2013 is a year when your dreams come true.

We plan to work less, play more, explore more, enjoy our friends, and share the fun with our BostonZest circle of regular readers, twitter followers, and occasional visitors to the site.

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: ©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 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

Savoring the Boston Public Garden Lagoon

Boston Common Foliage as a Backdrop

Picking Your Point of View on the Tower

Red Leaf: Photo of the Week

January 1, 2013
Happy New Year, Boston!

We hope 2013 is a year when your dreams come true.

We plan to work less, play more, explore more, enjoy our friends, and share the fun with our BostonZest circle of regular readers, twitter followers, and occasional visitors to the site.

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: ©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 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

Savoring the Boston Public Garden Lagoon

Boston Common Foliage as a Backdrop

Picking Your Point of View on the Tower

Red Leaf: Photo of the Week

January 1, 2013
Uncorking 2013 with a Grower Champagne, Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs
The most intriguing thing about crossing the threshold into a new year can be the uncertainty of what lies ahead. So to help improve our odds of success, we’ll be uncorking 2013 with a Grower Champagne, Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs.

Since we’ve discovered some astonishing examples of these artisanal wines during 2012, why stop now? We’ll ring-in the new year with this bottle from Cédric Bouchard, a producer who’s gained an almost rock star status in the wine world.

He’s known for “single-vineyard, single vintage and single-grape bottlings.” (Imperatrice Fine Wines) Bouchard founded his own champagne house, Roses de Jeanne, in 2000 looking “to produce the unique and recognizable champagne wines different from all [of] others.”

Inflorescence Champagne Blanc de Noirs 2010 (from Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors) is described as …
- “sweet red berries … flowers and mint … a weightless, crystalline finish” (Wine Library)
- “hand harvested … crushed by foot … unfined … unfiltered” (Polaner Selections)
- “stunning textural elegance … fabulous balance” (56 Degree Wine)
The drinking window for maximum enjoyment is open through 2018, but after reading these comments, we just couldn’t wait. We’ll uncork this bottle on the eve of 2013, see if it lives up to the hype, and report back in this post – watch our tweets for an update notice.

Update (1.2.13) Our Tasting Notes: Inflorescence Champagne Blanc de Noirs 2010
- “scent of sugary caramel … loved the back-of-the-throat grab”
- “good, long finish (can still taste that sip long afterwards)”
- “appley, citrus character on first taste”
- “yin-yang on my tongue (sweet in front, tart in back)
- “All the terroir is here. This is what 2010 tasted like at this vineyard.”
- “No one messed with this wine, they just delivered the best of the vineyard’s flavor to our glasses, with a dash of sparkle!”
Not surprisingly, this special Champagne benefits from not being over-chilled. We enjoyed it more as it warmed and opened over a couple of hours. It was the perfect complement to our New Year’s Eve plates of salumi, cheeses, and breads – even holding its own with our favorite Boston Cream Pie from Flour Bakery.

We were impressed and can’t wait to discover more gems from the vineyards of Cédric Bouchard – the search is on!

Related Posts:

It’s New Year’s each month with Our Sparkling Resolution

Here’s Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover’s Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover’s Companion

The Wine Bible

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed 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 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

Shopping for Champagnes for the Holidays: 10 Favorite Bottles Under $60

DeRusha Eats: Grower Champagne

5 Reasons to Have Cider on Your Holiday Menu

Where to Dine on New Year’s Eve 2012 in Boston

Argyle Brut Rosé – a Treat to Greet November!

What’s Open in Boston New Year’s Eve and Day & MBTA Schedules 2012 – 2013
December 31, 2012
Uncorking 2013 with a Grower Champagne, Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs
The most intriguing thing about crossing the threshold into a new year can be the uncertainty of what lies ahead. So to help improve our odds of success, we’ll be uncorking 2013 with a Grower Champagne, Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs.

Since we’ve discovered some astonishing examples of these artisanal wines during 2012, why stop now? We’ll ring-in the new year with this bottle from Cédric Bouchard, a producer who’s gained an almost rock star status in the wine world.

He’s known for “single-vineyard, single vintage and single-grape bottlings.” (Imperatrice Fine Wines) Bouchard founded his own champagne house, Roses de Jeanne, in 2000 looking “to produce the unique and recognizable champagne wines different from all [of] others.”

Inflorescence Champagne Blanc de Noirs 2010 (from Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors) is described as …
- “sweet red berries … flowers and mint … a weightless, crystalline finish” (Wine Library)
- “hand harvested … crushed by foot … unfined … unfiltered” (Polaner Selections)
- “stunning textural elegance … fabulous balance” (56 Degree Wine)
The drinking window for maximum enjoyment is open through 2018, but after reading these comments, we just couldn’t wait. We’ll uncork this bottle on the eve of 2013, see if it lives up to the hype, and report back in this post – watch our tweets for an update notice.

Update (1.2.13) Our Tasting Notes: Inflorescence Champagne Blanc de Noirs 2010
- “scent of sugary caramel … loved the back-of-the-throat grab”
- “good, long finish (can still taste that sip long afterwards)”
- “appley, citrus character on first taste”
- “yin-yang on my tongue (sweet in front, tart in back)
- “All the terroir is here. This is what 2010 tasted like at this vineyard.”
- “No one messed with this wine, they just delivered the best of the vineyard’s flavor to our glasses, with a dash of sparkle!”
Not surprisingly, this special Champagne benefits from not being over-chilled. We enjoyed it more as it warmed and opened over a couple of hours. It was the perfect complement to our New Year’s Eve plates of salumi, cheeses, and breads – even holding its own with our favorite Boston Cream Pie from Flour Bakery.

We were impressed and can’t wait to discover more gems from the vineyards of Cédric Bouchard – the search is on!

Related Posts:

It’s New Year’s each month with Our Sparkling Resolution

Here’s Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover’s Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover’s Companion

The Wine Bible

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed 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 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

Shopping for Champagnes for the Holidays: 10 Favorite Bottles Under $60

DeRusha Eats: Grower Champagne

5 Reasons to Have Cider on Your Holiday Menu

Where to Dine on New Year’s Eve 2012 in Boston

Argyle Brut Rosé – a Treat to Greet November!

What’s Open in Boston New Year’s Eve and Day & MBTA Schedules 2012 – 2013
December 31, 2012
Sunday Dog New Year’s Resolutions for 2013

Our puppy Poppy has been frantically picking up her P-mail on every corner in the neighborhood and she tells us a few of this year's Sunday Dogs have made New Year's Resolutions. (And if they haven't, she's making some for them.)

Now & Future Sunday Dog, King! is growing up to be a big, strong German Shepherd. He has resolved to stay as sweet as he was as a pup and to always remember that he and Poppy are no longer the same size and so to play gently with her.

We told you that Chiquita Loves to Dance! Poppy tells us that Chiquita has resolved to open her own dance studio in 2013 and teach you and your dog how to cha cha, foxtrot, and jitterbug together!

Not only is it true that, Odis “Loves Everyone!” but everyone loves and misses him too. Poppy has sent him a message that he has to get back to his old neighborhood more often. She says we have a great selection of places to get presents!

Not only can Sunday Dog Ollie give Tips on “Being,” but he's also going to spend 2013 writing a book on how to respond like a mature and sensible gentleman when a young neighbor girl has an enormous crush on you.

It should be a best seller among dark and handsome guys like Ollie who have to deal with problems like this from girls like Duchess Poppy.

When you first met Hudson, He didn't need a dog license because he was too young. But, now that he's grown, he has a fan club and people who come to visit him in his shop, Q Optical on Newbury Street. His goal for 2013 is to move up the corporate ladder, become the top dog, and have everyone at Q Optical working for him. And, he intends to win his way with sweetness and love. Good Boy!

Finally, in a species by herself is Sophia Cat, last seen playing "Her Glass Harmonica". She also works on Newbury Street at Bauer Wine & Spirits.

She has resolved to form an association to represent the Newbury Street shop cats and dogs and make sure their rights as workers are protected.

At the moment, Sophia would like to organize a protest against the holiday window display that's keeping her from sunning herself in her favorite spot. And, if you want to join her picket line, she won't even care if you are of the canine persuasion.

Happy New Year to all our Sunday Dogs and Cats!

May you all have a happy and healthy new year and may you succeed with all your resolutions.

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

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: © 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 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.

December 30, 2012