Tag: Massachusetts

Sunday Dog, Rose– Her Search Is Over!

Sometimes it takes more than one try to get what you really need in life. And sometimes, no matter how much effort you put into the search, there’s has to be a certain amount of luck involved. Just ask Rose!

This gentle two year old Australian Shepherd/Jack Russell Terrier mix has a nose for tracking, especially when it comes to finding a safe and loving home. It was only about a year ago that Rose found a new family with the help of the folks at Save A Dog in Sudbury, MA.

She’s still a little afraid of men, and not fond of loud noises, but is adapting well to her new digs in Quincy. The day we met on the Greenway in Boston (she was playing ambassador for the MSPCA) this adorable little girl warmed-up to us in no time.

But, there’s no doubt that Rose is happiest melting into the arms of her loving person– safe, secure, and by the look in her eyes, exactly where she really wants and needs to be. Nice …

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

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

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July 8, 2012
Bosun’s Chair Connects Window Washers to Boston’s Maritime History

All over the city, you look up and see window washers suspended from buildings in bosun's chairs.

It reminded me of what we owe to the maritime legacy of this city. I'm sure these are used around the world, but here they seem fitting and proper.

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

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July 7, 2012
North End Waterfront: Our Friday Link

When we want to know what's happening in the North End or Waterfront area, we click over to NorthEndWaterfront.com.

For Locals

If you live in or near the neighborhood, it is essential reading. Or, if you are simply devoted fans of the area and want to know all the details of new restaurants, festivals, people and places, it's a perfect daily visit. For example, here's a link to the 2012 Feast Schedule.

If you live in a different neighborhood, it's good to see the issues that these neighbors face and how they are dealing with them. Sharing information between Boston's distinct communities can be powerful.

For Visitors to Boston

When we visit a new place, Penny will read the local papers and community websites. This gives us a sense of what's going on around us as we walk the streets and sit in the cafes.

For anyone who wants to make the North End an important part of their Boston visit, this is one site to research before you arrive. You'll find listings of Attractions and Tours plus maps showing WiFi hot spots, parking, and restaruants.

We admit to being a bit addicted to the site. We subscribe to the site's RSS feed, follow it on Twitter, and Facebook. We are great admirers of the dedication and skill that Matt Conti puts into this site and hope you will click over, explore, and find that you enjoy it too.

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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 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.

July 6, 2012
How’s the Patient Doing? Air Spading Project Update!

Just as you might require further tests after a medical procedure, there is a Boston landmark park getting a follow-up health exam of its own. So, how’s the patient doing?

After undergoing a thorough air spading one year ago, a block of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall is beginning to show signs of recovery.

We had a chance to follow arborist Chuck Sherzi Jr., this spring, as he performed a series of tests to assess the health of this historic park between Mass Ave & Hereford Street. (map)

(Once the video starts, you can select the HD video option for higher quality viewing.)

Using Cornell University’s Soil Health Assessment guidelines, Sherzi demonstrated how he checks the physical, chemical, and biological condition of the soil with special emphasis on compaction– a major threat to this area. He stressed the need for turf management that includes: irrigation, mowing, reseeding, aerating, and a yearly top-dressing with compost, to help minimize the problem.

As we await analysis of all the data gathered, Sherzi told us he was encouraged by what he’d found during his day of testing. And, what’s more, he said results from this demonstration project will benefit not only parks like this, “but also smaller spaces, the backyard garden, commercial sites, among others.”

For a look at how this pilot restoration effort began, see the first video in this series: Air Spading a Boston Landmark.

If you are a serious gardener, parks advocate, or farmer, here are links to download copies of two publications that Chuck Sherzi recommends:

The Cornell Soil Health Assessment Training Manual

Building Soils for Better Crops: Sustainable Soil Management

To donate to this project or for more information, click this link to: Send an email to the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee @CommAveMall@verizon.net.

The Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee is a joint effort of the Friends of the Public Garden and the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny Cherubino
Videography: © 2012 Ed Cherubino
Written, Produced, and Narrated by Ed Cherubino

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July 5, 2012
Popping a Bollinger Champagne Cork for July 2012

Tomorrow, we'll pop the cork on a bottle of Bollinger to celebrate July! "Happy New Month" to all.

This month, we have a few extra reasons to celeberate, so we are splurging with a great bottle of French Campagne: Bollinger Special Cuvée. This is the standard that we use to measure all other French Blanc de Noir Champagnes.

One of the nice things about Bolly (as the Brits call it) is the consistant taste through the years and its wide availability. The photos here were taken in Provincetown where we usually find it at Perry's Wine and Liquors. But, I also recall buying a bottle, years ago, at an A & P in a small town in Maine.

This month's bottle is a treat. It is something we will enjoy at home or in a vacation cottage. If you hesitate to buy and enjoy a moderately expensive bottle of wine at home, think about what you have paid for wine in a restaurant.

This is a toasty Champagne, full bodied, and ready to take on whatever you're serving with it. The blend is 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Meunier. And, each release has been blended with reserve wines from the Bollinger cellars to achieve the famous Bollinger house style.

The next time you're in a special place or have a special reason to celebrate, invite Bollinger to the party!

Portrait from Bollinger's Life Can Be Perfect site. You can read more Bolly stories there.

We close with one of the great quotes about Champagne from Lily Bollinger (above) who managed this great house for many years and established its world-wide reputation.

"I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it—unless I’m thirsty." Lily Bollinger

Related Posts:

Here's a video that will tell you more about this great Campagne House.

Check out more of our Sparkling Resolution Winners among our Wine Posts. For years, we've kept our sparkling resolution to begin each month by toasting with a glass of sparkling wine. Some are special, some are bargains, all are delcious!

More about Our Sparkling Resolution

Finally, more of our Provincetown Posts!

We have a new, favorite wine book that we are not only recommending to our readers, but buying as a gift for wine-loving friends. It's a treasure and we expect it to look a bit worn and well-used pretty quickly. It may even suffer a few wine stains but we doubt that Karen and Andrew will mind.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

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Here are more books from this team:

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs

What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea – Even Water – Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers

Becoming a Chef

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

June 30, 2012
Esplanade Concert Stages before the Hatch Shell

Since 1940, Boston Pops Concerts on the Esplanade have been held at the Edward Hatch Memorial Concertorium, better known as the Hatch Shell. But, there have been concert stages along the river since July 4th, 1929.

(Photo courtesy of the Massachusetts DCR Archives)

The Hatch Shell replaced temporary music stages that had been used for Arthur Fiedler’s Esplanade concerts since the inaugural event. The first concert stage was a small platform backed by a shell-shaped sounding board made of wood. This structure was erected and dismantled for each season’s concerts.

In 1934, this was replaced by a temporary steel structure. While it was designed with an open back, it was described as, “insufferably hot” by Linda Cox in, “The Charles River Esplanade, Its Fascinating History.”

In 1939, the trustees of Maria E. Hatch’s estate entered into an agreement to give the Commonwealth of Massachusetts $300,000 to build a concertorium or music shell on the Storrow Memorial Embankment in Boston. It would be a memorial to her bother, Boston real estate auctioneer, Edward Hatch.

The agreement was very specific as to the use of the structure. It would be for “musical and artistic purposes… of general public interest and entertainment, except, however, that it shall not be used for sectarian, political or controversial purposes.”

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Postcards are from a private collection

June 28, 2012
Greenough Lane, Then and Now….

Today, we nominate Charter Street Park and Greenough Lane (map) in the North End as a delightful pocket of serenity. Ever since we met Lynn Schweikart author of Peaceful Places Boston, we've been taking note of places to nominate for her consideration in a future edition.

Running through Charter Street Park is Greenough Lane. Early records of Boston’s streets listed this as Greenough's Alley. In 1732, it was called Greenough’s Lane, which changed to Greenough's Avenue in 1848. Finally, the apostrophe "s" was dropped and it has been Greenough Lane, since 1858.

From the BPL collection used under this creative commons license.

As we were researching Greenough Lane, we came across this Henry Blaney sketch of the scene as it stood in July 1891. It is part of the Boston Public Library Collection.

We'd also like to encourage our readers to stand up for and protect a few of these little gems. We need a few places where you can sit and enjoy nature without organized events, street performers, or other diversions planned by all the sad, little, busy minds who need constant distraction to keep from thinking.

Discover more peaceful places here and around the country. And, please nominate your favorite pockets of serentity for one of our upcoming posts.

For those who read us from other parts of the country, the publisher has some peaceful books for other cities.

Peaceful Places: Boston: 121 Tranquil Sites in the City and Beyond

Peaceful Places: Chicago: 119 Tranquil Sites in the Windy City and Beyond

Peaceful Places: San Francisco: 100+ Tranquil Sites in The City and the Greater Bay Area

Peaceful Places: Los Angeles: 100+ Sites for Tranquility Across the City of Angels

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Cover art © 2012 Lynn Schweikart

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.

June 27, 2012
Get Your Fresh, Local Strawberries While They Last

We heard the first warnings that strawberry season may be short this year from Barbara Hamilton of Hamiliton Orchards last Friday at the Copley Square Farmers' Market.

We were telling her how much we've been enjoying this year's crop of super sweet, juicy berries when she said that with the heat, hers may be gone soon. (But, her blueberries are almost ready and a few may show up this week.)

As you can see from the photo, these strawberries are totally ripe and very delicate. Penny carefully carried this container home because she wanted to photograph these plump, rosy jewels in their wooden cradle.

But, most of the time, we tuck our own covered containers into our market backpacks to protect delicate items like berries, ripe tomatoes, or delicate pastries. We pick out the container of berries we want and dump them into a sturdy, sealed bowl for the trip home.

We're also coming to the last week of the Mass Farmers' Market Association Strawberry Festival fund raising event. Choose a special strawberry dessert from a participating restaurant and they will donate to the group that helps our farmers and farmers' markets.

And, speaking of farms, here's a link to find the MassGrown map where you can search for places to pick your own berries.

Related Posts: Here are our Local Food & Farmers' Market Posts

What's on your Summer Food shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site! Here are the containers we use for berry transport. Perfect to keep in your market cooler or tote bag.

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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 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.

June 26, 2012
Romancing the Rhubarb

It was a rhubarb spring for me. Looking at the photos I took during an early season trip to Provincetown, a big smile crossed my face as I recalled taking these pictures early one morning in our Chandler House kitchen, before enjoying a perfect breakfast.

That little, lovely jar, shining in the morning sun, was full of rhubarb preserves from PB Boulangerie in Wellfleet.

We always stop there on our way into P-Town to supply ourself with their crusty baguettes, buttery croissants, and bike trail cookies.

These oh-so-satisfying, sweet/tart preserves (made by the owner's mother when she visits from France) inspired me to seek out rhubarb in other forms all spring.

I bought fresh rhubarb at the Copley Square Farmers' Market and, following my Grandpa's lessons, turned it into a rhubarb compote. He didn't actually use recipes. He just cut the rhubarb in his back yard, removed the leaves, washed it, chopped it, and then cooked it down with a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of water.

Here is a basic recipe. But, read the comments. There are great ideas there that I'm going to try.

I've spotted strawberry rhubarb pies at the markets. Barbara Hamiltion of Hamilton Orchards said she's planning to make some rhubarb preserves and may even make some with low sugar or honey for those who like a touch of sour.

On my tasting list are Fee Brothers Rhubarb Cocktail Bitters, Rhubarb soda, and– when she makes them– Vianne Chocolat's Raspberry Rhubarb Truffles!

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

June 25, 2012
Our Collection of 7 Cooling Tips for Hot Days!

With years of posts behind us, we sometimes forget how many tips we have for something like a heat wave. Here's what you need to know for the temperatures they're forecasting for the next few days.

Bonus tip: go find a cool place to sit and relax like a dock along the Charles!

Cool Summer Sips – A couple of cool drink ideas to welcome summer to Boston

Someplace Cool to Walk… If you still want to get some exercise, we have some air-conditioned paths to follow.

Surviving a Heat Wave – What You Need to Know – Tips from everyone from the city to the CDC.

Cool Food for a Hot Day - One of our favorite hot day suppers

Miss lilibeth and Gisselle are Issuing a Hot Car Alert – Be sure to protect your pets inside and out!

Poached Chicken Becomes Curried Chicken Salad – Another cool supper and you can make it with take-out chicken too!

Maggie says, “Drink Up!” – Tips on giving your dog a drink when you're out and about.

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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 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.

June 19, 2012