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Beanstock Coffee’s Ethiopian Amaro Gayo
We have been trying to expand our coffee horizons by selecting one special blend each time we reorder our coffee from Beanstock Coffee Roasters. This month, they were featuring Ethiopian Amaro Gayo and it was an instant hit around the BostonZest office.

Beanstock says:

"This outstanding coffee is full-bodied and juicy with luscious notes of blueberry and blackberry, but it's best feature may well be that it is exported through Ethiopia's only female miller/exporter, Asnakech Thomas. Many social programs are in the works though support of this coffee including job creation, school creation and medical care. A high end coffee and certified organic."

We Say:
- Smooth, rich, nice crema
- Penny likes it for her second cup in the morning after her favorite Black Fish Creek robust blend wakes her up for the day.
- Ed is a big fan of the flavor notes in Ethiopian coffees. His regular blend is Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. So, this falls right in his sweet spot.
- We're both happy that Beanstock tells us the story of the people they support so that we can enjoy the coffee knowing about the producers.
Here it is made into a cortado for Penny with equal amounts of steamed milk and espresso.

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 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 22, 2013
Beanstock Coffee’s Ethiopian Amaro Gayo
We have been trying to expand our coffee horizons by selecting one special blend each time we reorder our coffee from Beanstock Coffee Roasters. This month, they were featuring Ethiopian Amaro Gayo and it was an instant hit around the BostonZest office.

Beanstock says:

"This outstanding coffee is full-bodied and juicy with luscious notes of blueberry and blackberry, but it's best feature may well be that it is exported through Ethiopia's only female miller/exporter, Asnakech Thomas. Many social programs are in the works though support of this coffee including job creation, school creation and medical care. A high end coffee and certified organic."

We Say:
- Smooth, rich, nice crema
- Penny likes it for her second cup in the morning after her favorite Black Fish Creek robust blend wakes her up for the day.
- Ed is a big fan of the flavor notes in Ethiopian coffees. His regular blend is Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. So, this falls right in his sweet spot.
- We're both happy that Beanstock tells us the story of the people they support so that we can enjoy the coffee knowing about the producers.
Here it is made into a cortado for Penny with equal amounts of steamed milk and espresso.

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 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 22, 2013
Would You Love Taking Care of Roses?
Did you know there are roses in Boston just waiting for you to volunteer some time to deadhead, prune, and care for them?

One thing people miss when they move from the suburbs to the city is gardening. Yes, some folks have a small front or back yard garden area, but others find themselves without plants to tend.

Community gardens are one answer if you have lots of time to tend a plot of land. However, there are alternatives for those who would enjoy an occasional garden chore in the company of other rose lovers.

The Boston Public Garden Rose Brigade

The Friends of the Public Garden has a group of volunteers called the Rose Brigade that has cared for the four rose beds for decades. Click on the link to learn how to join this group on a one time or regular basis.

Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens
Here, it's the Emerald Necklace Conservancy that organizes the volunteers. You can join them deadheading and pruning roses and weeding the rose beds and borders on Tuesdays. Details are at this link.

If you know of other opportunities for the occasional gardener, please share in the comments below. It doesn't have to be a rose garden, some folks might like to grow tomatoes or tend hostas!

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 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 21, 2013
Would You Love Taking Care of Roses?
Did you know there are roses in Boston just waiting for you to volunteer some time to deadhead, prune, and care for them?

One thing people miss when they move from the suburbs to the city is gardening. Yes, some folks have a small front or back yard garden area, but others find themselves without plants to tend.

Community gardens are one answer if you have lots of time to tend a plot of land. However, there are alternatives for those who would enjoy an occasional garden chore in the company of other rose lovers.

The Boston Public Garden Rose Brigade

The Friends of the Public Garden has a group of volunteers called the Rose Brigade that has cared for the four rose beds for decades. Click on the link to learn how to join this group on a one time or regular basis.

Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens
Here, it's the Emerald Necklace Conservancy that organizes the volunteers. You can join them deadheading and pruning roses and weeding the rose beds and borders on Tuesdays. Details are at this link.

If you know of other opportunities for the occasional gardener, please share in the comments below. It doesn't have to be a rose garden, some folks might like to grow tomatoes or tend hostas!

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 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 21, 2013
Would You Love Taking Care of Roses?
Did you know there are roses in Boston just waiting for you to volunteer some time to deadhead, prune, and care for them?

One thing people miss when they move from the suburbs to the city is gardening. Yes, some folks have a small front or back yard garden area, but others find themselves without plants to tend.

Community gardens are one answer if you have lots of time to tend a plot of land. However, there are alternatives for those who would enjoy an occasional garden chore in the company of other rose lovers.

The Boston Public Garden Rose Brigade

The Friends of the Public Garden has a group of volunteers called the Rose Brigade that has cared for the four rose beds for decades. Click on the link to learn how to join this group on a one time or regular basis.

Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens
Here, it's the Emerald Necklace Conservancy that organizes the volunteers. You can join them deadheading and pruning roses and weeding the rose beds and borders on Tuesdays. Details are at this link.

If you know of other opportunities for the occasional gardener, please share in the comments below. It doesn't have to be a rose garden, some folks might like to grow tomatoes or tend hostas!

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 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 21, 2013
Sunday Dog Gracie Says, “Watch Out for those Brown Trucks!”

Gracie is a very beautiful 2 ½ year old who’s always on the lookout for those brown trucks – that shall not be named. You know, the ones that do such a great job of delivering packages all around the city.

To hear her tell it, some of those boxes can be pretty scary. So, Gracie doesn’t take any chances and barks at any delivery person in a brown uniform. But don’t get the wrong idea. Our Sunday Dog is very friendly.

And, from what we’ve heard, Gracie is also quite the little cuddler! Her favorite spot to sleep is right on her person’s neck.

Oh, and before you ask, we don’t know how Gracie got those stunning highlights in her coat, but we suspect the color is totally natural. See you around, girl!

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: © 2013 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 20, 2013
Sunday Dog Gracie Says, “Watch Out for those Brown Trucks!”

Gracie is a very beautiful 2 ½ year old who’s always on the lookout for those brown trucks – that shall not be named. You know, the ones that do such a great job of delivering packages all around the city.

To hear her tell it, some of those boxes can be pretty scary. So, Gracie doesn’t take any chances and barks at any delivery person in a brown uniform. But don’t get the wrong idea. Our Sunday Dog is very friendly.

And, from what we’ve heard, Gracie is also quite the little cuddler! Her favorite spot to sleep is right on her person’s neck.

Oh, and before you ask, we don’t know how Gracie got those stunning highlights in her coat, but we suspect the color is totally natural. See you around, girl!

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: © 2013 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 20, 2013
Sunday Dog Gracie Says, “Watch Out for those Brown Trucks!”

Gracie is a very beautiful 2 ½ year old who’s always on the lookout for those brown trucks – that shall not be named. You know, the ones that do such a great job of delivering packages all around the city.

To hear her tell it, some of those boxes can be pretty scary. So, Gracie doesn’t take any chances and barks at any delivery person in a brown uniform. But don’t get the wrong idea. Our Sunday Dog is very friendly.

And, from what we’ve heard, Gracie is also quite the little cuddler! Her favorite spot to sleep is right on her person’s neck.

Oh, and before you ask, we don’t know how Gracie got those stunning highlights in her coat, but we suspect the color is totally natural. See you around, girl!

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: © 2013 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 20, 2013
Great Heron by The Myth Makers and Convergence – Last Two Weeks!

The Christian Science Plaza has been a sculpture gallery all summer hosting Convergence, an exhibit by Boston sculptors May 1st to October 31st, 2013. If you haven't visited yet, you only have two weeks to see these works.

Ed waited for a few seconds of calm on the reflecting pool to capture his image of the Great Heron by the team The Myth Makers.

Comments on blog like the one linked to above are often ignored, but Penny tends to read them and was pleased to find one from Lynn Schweikart, author of Peaceful Places Boston. Lynn shared a moment of delightful serendipity when she visited.

"Was admiring this striking sculpture yesterday, and was surprised to hear bird song emanating from it. "How clever!" I thought. "I wonder how the sculptors did that!" Then I noticed that a mockingbird had taken up residence on one of the saplings that make up the head–and was singing away!"

Thanks for sharing your experience Lynn. In addition to recommending a visit to the exhibit, we highly recommend Lynn's book

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
Photo: ©2013 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.

October 18, 2013
Great Heron by The Myth Makers and Convergence – Last Two Weeks!

The Christian Science Plaza has been a sculpture gallery all summer hosting Convergence, an exhibit by Boston sculptors May 1st to October 31st, 2013. If you haven't visited yet, you only have two weeks to see these works.

Ed waited for a few seconds of calm on the reflecting pool to capture his image of the Great Heron by the team The Myth Makers.

Comments on blog like the one linked to above are often ignored, but Penny tends to read them and was pleased to find one from Lynn Schweikart, author of Peaceful Places Boston. Lynn shared a moment of delightful serendipity when she visited.

"Was admiring this striking sculpture yesterday, and was surprised to hear bird song emanating from it. "How clever!" I thought. "I wonder how the sculptors did that!" Then I noticed that a mockingbird had taken up residence on one of the saplings that make up the head–and was singing away!"

Thanks for sharing your experience Lynn. In addition to recommending a visit to the exhibit, we highly recommend Lynn's book

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
Photo: ©2013 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.

October 18, 2013