Tag: MA

From the River to the Dome

Springtime view across the parkland,

From the Charles River Esplanade,

To the Massachusetts Statehouse,

Sunlit like a Beacon on the Hill.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Ed Cherubino

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April 14, 2012
Peaceful Places Boston, Book Review

Last month, we had the pleasure of attending a Boston Society of Architects Placemaking presentation by Lynn Schweikart, author of Peaceful Places: Boston: 121 Tranquil Sites in the City and Beyond. She is a kindred soul who enjoys, promotes and, with her book, will help preserve havens in our area.

As Lynn showed slide after slide of some of our favorite spots, she must have noticed us nodding in unison and smiling at one another in agreement. We've shared some of these places with you, our readers, over the years and hope you will consider adding this book to your Boston books collection.

Lynn lists 121 sites and tells you what she feels is special about each one. She also includes: directions to reach them, times they're open to the public, and reasons to go there.

Here are a few of the place that we have covered that Lynn has included in her book.

Allandale Farm

Arnold Arboretum

Boston Public Library Courtyard

Boston HarborWalk

We could go on and on but, even for us, there are new places to visit and new ways to think about other places as urban escapes. We highly recommend this book and plan to make it a list that we'll explore in the years ahead.

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

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Cover art © 2012 Lynn Schweikart

April 5, 2012
Meet the Hellebores, Winter Blooming Perennials

We were noticing more and more of these blooms in Back Bay gardens. A friend with plant expertise told us they are Hellebores and are also called Lenten Roses and Christmas Roses because they bloom in winter.

We are grateful for any plant that brings the thought of spring our way in the darker months. So think about adding a few of these as you plan additions to your garden. This year, they've had lots of company with some pansy, crocus, and snowdrops springing up early. But, in colder years these will bring smiles to the faces of winter weary neighbors.

But, since we were just formally introduced to the Hellebores, we'll let them star alone today as our photograhy models. Above is a carpet of them that we found on February 5th.

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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 26, 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.

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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
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.

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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
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.

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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
When Saint Patrick’s Day (March 17, 2012) Falls on a Saturday…

For the latest information, go to:

When Saint Patrick's Day (March 17, 2013) Falls on a Sunday

This year, Saint Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday so I was curious, would city and state workers in Suffolk County get Friday off or Monday? And will parking, trash, and liquor sales change for the day. You'll find those answers below.

I do know that a lot of people will be taking advantage of the weekend date to come to Boston. Questions about where to stay, which Irish Pub to visit, and how to get around the city have popped up over on the Boston Trip Advisor forum. It looks like visitors are coming here from all over the country and especially from Ireland.

Do you celebrate Saint Patrick's Day?

What are your traditions for his yearly festival of all things Irish?

Who makes your favorite brown bread or Irish soda bread? Scones?

Are you going to the parade on Sunday?

(Here's how to get there via the MBTA.)

Will you be wearin' the green?

(Here's a post on where to buy or rent all sorts of wearables!)

Here are a bunch of Friday Links for Saint Patrick's Day

Boston Chowhounds had two recent conversations about where to find the best, full Irish breakfast.

Full Irish Breakfast

Boston area breakfast recap (for this one, start from the bottom since Irish breakfast discussion is there)

And, they're talking about Corned Beef & Cabbage.

About your holiday questions…

According to the Secretary of State's website,

"All holidays falling on Sunday must be observed on Monday, under state law. Saturday holidays are observed on Saturday." That means this year, no deal. Next year, they get Monday off!

The day is not listed on Boston's list of holidays that change parking regulations or trash pick up, so feed those meters and stick to your trash schedule.

Basically, everything is open. But, in the past the city has asked South Boston liquor stores and bars to cut off sales early. Here's a Boston.com story on that from last year.

Related Posts:

Irish Breakfast at the Squealing Pig

Matt Murphy's Pub Saves the Day

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Details:
Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2011 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 9, 2012
Ring for the Gardener!

Our Saturday photos this week were taken while walking through the Victory Gardens in the Fenway. We spotted something that seemed a bit out of place.

Guess this is one gardener who wasn't about to get away from it all.

We couldn't quite follow where this cord was going or "growing."

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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.

February 25, 2012
Free Open House at Washington HQ in Cambridge on the 22nd

Today may be the Federal holiday called Presidents' Day, but in Massachusetts today is officially Washington's Birthday.

And, this year, on Thursday the 22nd, you can tour the house in Cambridge that served as Washington's headquarters during the Siege of Boston. While the building is officially closed for the season, it will be open on Washington's birthday to celebrate the new designation of this National Parks Service property as the Longfellow House – Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site.

Details of the change are here.

The Parks Service Invites You to:

"Celebrate George Washington's birthday! Join NPS staff as they guide visitors through General Washington's Brattle Street headquarters. Washington used the house at 105 Brattle Street as his headquarters during the Siege of Boston in 1775-1776.

Tours given every half hour, starting at 11:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m."

Related Posts:

Did you know that anyone age 62 and over can get a lifetime Senior pass to our National Parks for $10?

And, check: What's Open On Presidents' Day in Boston 2012 and MBTA Schedules

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Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photo of Washington statue in the Boston Public Garden: © 2012 Ed Cherubino
Photo of the House: From the collection of the Library of Congress, taken February 1963.

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.

February 20, 2012
Black Willow Frame

All texture and tones, an Esplanade black willow frames walkers on the pedestrian path along the water.

Need some Valentine's Day gift ideas? Click over to Amazon and do some planning, and if you do buy something there, they'll put a few coins in our tip cup.

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

February 4, 2012