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Poppy Says, “Keep Your Dog Safe and Secure in the City”

If our little Poppy looks a bit pensive in this photo, it's because she was thinking about what she needs to explain to all the new dogs she's meeting as we walk around Boston. She is especially worried about the ones who were country dogs, like her, before they came to live in the city.

We told her we'd be happy to pass along a few tips to help dog families with less urban experience.

City drivers may cut corners and run traffic lights. Stand well back from the curb and be sure all traffic has stopped before stepping onto the street.

And, speaking of cars, when maneuvering around cars, keep your pup clear of tailpipes. They may be hot – even on parked cars.

People on skateboards, bicycles, and inline skates can move dangerously fast. Try to position yourself between them and your pal.

On congested sidewalks, pups need observant and protective friends. When you can, put your pup between two people. Be careful rounding corners and avoid smokers swinging cigarettes and flicking hot ashes at doggie eye level.

City litter can be dangerous to paws. Guide your little one around broken glass, gum, and smoldering cigarette butts.

Horns and sirens can startle and frighten the most self-confident dog. Shorten your lead and provide lots of pats and reassurance.

And, feel free to ask the families you meet for referrals to the people and supplies you need for your dog. When you keep hearing good things about a shop, vet, groomer, or service, you can try it out.

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

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:
Words: Penny 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.

September 29, 2013
Poppy Says, “Keep Your Dog Safe and Secure in the City”

If our little Poppy looks a bit pensive in this photo, it's because she was thinking about what she needs to explain to all the new dogs she's meeting as we walk around Boston. She is especially worried about the ones who were country dogs, like her, before they came to live in the city.

We told her we'd be happy to pass along a few tips to help dog families with less urban experience.

City drivers may cut corners and run traffic lights. Stand well back from the curb and be sure all traffic has stopped before stepping onto the street.

And, speaking of cars, when maneuvering around cars, keep your pup clear of tailpipes. They may be hot – even on parked cars.

People on skateboards, bicycles, and inline skates can move dangerously fast. Try to position yourself between them and your pal.

On congested sidewalks, pups need observant and protective friends. When you can, put your pup between two people. Be careful rounding corners and avoid smokers swinging cigarettes and flicking hot ashes at doggie eye level.

City litter can be dangerous to paws. Guide your little one around broken glass, gum, and smoldering cigarette butts.

Horns and sirens can startle and frighten the most self-confident dog. Shorten your lead and provide lots of pats and reassurance.

And, feel free to ask the families you meet for referrals to the people and supplies you need for your dog. When you keep hearing good things about a shop, vet, groomer, or service, you can try it out.

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

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:
Words: Penny 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.

September 29, 2013
Boston Resident Parking Permits for Rental Cars Available Online

Once upon a time (just a short time ago), you had to go to city hall to obtain a resident parking permit for a rental car. We learned that you can now apply and get a permit online so we tried it for our recent Provincetown trip. If you don't own a car, like us, and plan a few fall weekends away, this new service may come in handy.

We rented this Passat with New Jersey plates. Once we had the car, we went online to the city's page for "Resident Parking Permits for Rental Cars," read the instructions, filled out the form, faxed a copy of our rental contract, proof of residencey (our cable bill), and the confirmation of our application to the city. They emailed a copy of our permit which we printed and put in the car's rear window.

Better, But Can Be Improved

This is much easier but still way behind the times. You should be able to carry out the entire process by email. You can grab a pdf of a cable, utility, or tax bill. The rental company probably sent you a copy of the rental via text or email. And, the city should be able to accept those forms via email.

What's more, they should be able to handle a simple transaction like this 24/7. We applied on a Saturday morning and had to wait until Monday to get our permit. That left us vunerable to parking tickets and ticked off neighbords over the weekend. Our solution was to leave a rear window note – explaining that the car was a rental belonging to a resident – along with a copy of our confirmation of applying for the permit.

If the mayor's hot line can operate 24/7 so can many more city services.

The city says,

"At this time, the new system is not available weekends and residents who pick up their vehicles after 3 PM will not be able to go online for a temporary permit.

These residents are eligible to have "Resident Parking Only" tickets cancelled by forwarding a proof of residency at their Boston address and a copy of the vehicle rental agreement to the Office of the Parking Clerk."

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. It doesn't cost you any more but they put a few coins in our tip jar.

What's on your Fall Shopping List? Click here for Fall Season Savings over at Amazon.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 BostonZest

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.

September 27, 2013
Boston Resident Parking Permits for Rental Cars Available Online

Once upon a time (just a short time ago), you had to go to city hall to obtain a resident parking permit for a rental car. We learned that you can now apply and get a permit online so we tried it for our recent Provincetown trip. If you don't own a car, like us, and plan a few fall weekends away, this new service may come in handy.

We rented this Passat with New Jersey plates. Once we had the car, we went online to the city's page for "Resident Parking Permits for Rental Cars," read the instructions, filled out the form, faxed a copy of our rental contract, proof of residencey (our cable bill), and the confirmation of our application to the city. They emailed a copy of our permit which we printed and put in the car's rear window.

Better, But Can Be Improved

This is much easier but still way behind the times. You should be able to carry out the entire process by email. You can grab a pdf of a cable, utility, or tax bill. The rental company probably sent you a copy of the rental via text or email. And, the city should be able to accept those forms via email.

What's more, they should be able to handle a simple transaction like this 24/7. We applied on a Saturday morning and had to wait until Monday to get our permit. That left us vunerable to parking tickets and ticked off neighbords over the weekend. Our solution was to leave a rear window note – explaining that the car was a rental belonging to a resident – along with a copy of our confirmation of applying for the permit.

If the mayor's hot line can operate 24/7 so can many more city services.

The city says,

"At this time, the new system is not available weekends and residents who pick up their vehicles after 3 PM will not be able to go online for a temporary permit.

These residents are eligible to have "Resident Parking Only" tickets cancelled by forwarding a proof of residency at their Boston address and a copy of the vehicle rental agreement to the Office of the Parking Clerk."

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. It doesn't cost you any more but they put a few coins in our tip jar.

What's on your Fall Shopping List? Click here for Fall Season Savings over at Amazon.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 BostonZest

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.

September 27, 2013
Boston Resident Parking Permits for Rental Cars Available Online

Once upon a time (just a short time ago), you had to go to city hall to obtain a resident parking permit for a rental car. We learned that you can now apply and get a permit online so we tried it for our recent Provincetown trip. If you don't own a car, like us, and plan a few fall weekends away, this new service may come in handy.

We rented this Passat with New Jersey plates. Once we had the car, we went online to the city's page for "Resident Parking Permits for Rental Cars," read the instructions, filled out the form, faxed a copy of our rental contract, proof of residencey (our cable bill), and the confirmation of our application to the city. They emailed a copy of our permit which we printed and put in the car's rear window.

Better, But Can Be Improved

This is much easier but still way behind the times. You should be able to carry out the entire process by email. You can grab a pdf of a cable, utility, or tax bill. The rental company probably sent you a copy of the rental via text or email. And, the city should be able to accept those forms via email.

What's more, they should be able to handle a simple transaction like this 24/7. We applied on a Saturday morning and had to wait until Monday to get our permit. That left us vunerable to parking tickets and ticked off neighbords over the weekend. Our solution was to leave a rear window note – explaining that the car was a rental belonging to a resident – along with a copy of our confirmation of applying for the permit.

If the mayor's hot line can operate 24/7 so can many more city services.

The city says,

"At this time, the new system is not available weekends and residents who pick up their vehicles after 3 PM will not be able to go online for a temporary permit.

These residents are eligible to have "Resident Parking Only" tickets cancelled by forwarding a proof of residency at their Boston address and a copy of the vehicle rental agreement to the Office of the Parking Clerk."

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. It doesn't cost you any more but they put a few coins in our tip jar.

What's on your Fall Shopping List? Click here for Fall Season Savings over at Amazon.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 BostonZest

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.

September 27, 2013
Bees Keep Working into Autumn

The seasons change but the bees don't care, they keep working.

Gathering goodness to bring back to the hive.

Sending out signals to their hive mates, when they find a new patch of pollen and nectar. And, providing us with a fascinating subject to photograph.

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. It doesn't cost you any more, but they put a few coins in our tip jar.

What's on your Fall Shopping List? Click here for Fall Season Savings over at Amazon.

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.

September 26, 2013
Bees Keep Working into Autumn

The seasons change but the bees don't care, they keep working.

Gathering goodness to bring back to the hive.

Sending out signals to their hive mates, when they find a new patch of pollen and nectar. And, providing us with a fascinating subject to photograph.

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. It doesn't cost you any more, but they put a few coins in our tip jar.

What's on your Fall Shopping List? Click here for Fall Season Savings over at Amazon.

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.

September 26, 2013
Bees Keep Working into Autumn

The seasons change but the bees don't care, they keep working.

Gathering goodness to bring back to the hive.

Sending out signals to their hive mates, when they find a new patch of pollen and nectar. And, providing us with a fascinating subject to photograph.

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. It doesn't cost you any more, but they put a few coins in our tip jar.

What's on your Fall Shopping List? Click here for Fall Season Savings over at Amazon.

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.

September 26, 2013
The Apple Lover’s CookBook by Amy Traverso
As the displays of apples grow abundant at local farmers' markets and farm stands, I've pulled my copy of The Apple Lover's Cookbook by Amy Traverso from the shelf. In addition to page after page of tempting recipes, this book is just plain good reading. What's more, it's a perfect reference book for apple season.

Food lovers are familiar with Amy Traverso's writing from the Boston Globe, Salon, Travel + Leisure, and Yankee Magazine where she was Lifestyle Editor.

The Apple Lover's Cookbook begins with an in depth reference section including an "Apple Varieties Primer" that has me reaching for apples I've never tried before with a surprising degree of skill.

Next comes a section of "Cooking Tips and Pantry Notes." This will answer many of the questions that will run through your mind as you begin cooking or baking with the recipes.

Here are a few of the recipes that already have Post-it flags permanently in place on my copy:
- Autumn "Coleslaw" with Dates, Apples, and Pecans
- Cider-Glazed Root Vegetables
- Squash and Apple Gratin
- Sausage with Braised Cabbage and Apples
- Baked Apple Oatmeal Pudding
- Apple Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce
- Lowfat Gingerbread Applesauce Cake
Sprinkled throughout is the background information Amy gleaned visiting orchards and meeting the people who grow this splendid fruit. This is a book you will want to add to your collection and that you will pull out and keep at hand each autumn.

If you like this book you might also enjoy Amy's work in Yankee's Lost & Vintage Recipes.

What else is on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Coverart from W.W. Norton & Company, Publishers
September 25, 2013
The Apple Lover’s CookBook by Amy Traverso
As the displays of apples grow abundant at local farmers' markets and farm stands, I've pulled my copy of The Apple Lover's Cookbook by Amy Traverso from the shelf. In addition to page after page of tempting recipes, this book is just plain good reading. What's more, it's a perfect reference book for apple season.

Food lovers are familiar with Amy Traverso's writing from the Boston Globe, Salon, Travel + Leisure, and Yankee Magazine where she was Lifestyle Editor.

The Apple Lover's Cookbook begins with an in depth reference section including an "Apple Varieties Primer" that has me reaching for apples I've never tried before with a surprising degree of skill.

Next comes a section of "Cooking Tips and Pantry Notes." This will answer many of the questions that will run through your mind as you begin cooking or baking with the recipes.

Here are a few of the recipes that already have Post-it flags permanently in place on my copy:
- Autumn "Coleslaw" with Dates, Apples, and Pecans
- Cider-Glazed Root Vegetables
- Squash and Apple Gratin
- Sausage with Braised Cabbage and Apples
- Baked Apple Oatmeal Pudding
- Apple Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce
- Lowfat Gingerbread Applesauce Cake
Sprinkled throughout is the background information Amy gleaned visiting orchards and meeting the people who grow this splendid fruit. This is a book you will want to add to your collection and that you will pull out and keep at hand each autumn.

If you like this book you might also enjoy Amy's work in Yankee's Lost & Vintage Recipes.

What else is on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Coverart from W.W. Norton & Company, Publishers
September 25, 2013