Do you have a favorite people watching place? Share in the comments and we might just share photos from your place with our readers.
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With or without a Boston area college graduation in your family, you'll likely need to coordinate your dining and travel plans around the spring 2015 commencement ceremonies. We're running this very early because so many readers have been making their way to last year's post.
Our list also helps vistors to Boston understand why hotel rooms are so expensive and restaurant reservations so scarce on some dates in May. The local destination experts who guide Boston visitors over on Trip Advisor are busy answering questions about the cost of visits to our city.
Reservations at area restaurants will be harder to find May 8th through 11th with Mother's Day and 5 commencements, and scarce May 15th through 18th when 17 schools, including BU and BC, will hold ceremonies. Harvard commencement is May 28th and MIT June 5th – each of these schools is large enough to have an impact on its own. Harvard can also interfere with traffic as they move busloads of people from one place to another around event time.
To help you plan your dining options in May and early June, here are the dates of the major commencement ceremonies for your 2015 calendar.
If you know of a college or university graduation date that we've missed, send us a comment.
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Food safety and avoiding unnecessary clean up is important when we make our dog Poppy's raw diet. One thing that saves a lot of picky, detailed cleaning is using ScotchBlue Painter's Tape to help protect the controls of our LEM Meat Grinder and Cuisinart Food Processor.
Penny tapes a plastic sandwich bag over the switches, and then her raw meat hands never touch those electrical components.
The same thing is done with our old food processor even though we use it to shred and chop only the fruit and vegetables that are added to the raw meat Poppy eats. The base of the machine is simply easier to clean if you don't have to pick gunk out of the spaces around the switches.
Grab a roll of this tape the next time you're at a hardware store or order it from Amazon at this link. You may be surprised at how many uses you'll find for it at home. The tape clings well, even after freezing, and then comes off cleanly when you want to remove it.
When neighbors move away, they always say they'll come back to visit. Well, Sunday Dog Sidney really did. We ran into her bouncing down the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.
We would know that busy, waggin' tail anywhere. She was a full-of-fun, affectionate puppy when we first met her.
Now, two years later, she's grown into a charming young dog with a big smile for her old friend Poppy.
The two dogs shared some stories about the good old days. Sidney had a good laugh about something Poppy said.
After posing for some photos, Sidney finally decided to move in and investigate that big eye that was pointed her way.
Hope we see you in the park again, Sidney!
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
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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.
At the beginning of the summer, we received a press release from the Boston Public Library (BPL) full of great information. With lots of new residents joining the BostonZest readers each September, we decided to save this list of resources until now. We're turning the keyboard over to our friends at the BPL for today's Friday Link.
(These photos are from the BPL App-see #5 below.)
"Boston Public Library’s collections can be easily accessed from home, a local coffee shop, or even the beach. Anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Massachusetts can have a Boston Public Library card. Many residents of the Commonwealth start with an e-card, available online at www.bpl.org/ecard, which grants immediate access to the BPL’s digital resources.
Here are seven ways to sync with the Boston Public Library’s collections and services – all while on the go:
1. Download e-books. Search for e-books – including Kindle titles – and audiobooks in the Boston Public Library’s catalog alongside printed books. Watch a brief tutorial about how to download the books to your e-reader, computer, or mobile device via www.bpl.org/collections/downloadable.htm.
2. Stream music, movies, television shows, and audiobooks. Use your library card to borrow videos, music, and audiobooks for your tablet, smartphone, or laptop. Get started via www.bpl.org/collections/hoopla.htm.
3. Read digital magazines. Enjoy more than 170 popular consumer magazines in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Portuguese via www.bpl.org/collections/zinio.htm. Find titles like Cosmopolitan, Us Weekly, Rolling Stone, and Newsweek.
4. Learn a new language. Boston Public Library offers free access to online language-learning tools such as Powerspeak and Mango, which includes a language-learning tool for children called Little Pim. Learn more via www.bpl.org/electronic/language.asp.
5. Use the BPL app. Renew books, place hold requests (and have them delivered to any BPL location), browse new items, view hours, and more. Download the app via www.bpl.org/mobile.
6. Discover electronic databases. Find newspapers, journal articles, classical music scores, and more. Electronic resources include everything from the archive of the Sunday Times (London) to National Geographic’s virtual library. Go to www.bpl.org/electronic/.
7. Get social. Follow the BPL via social media channels like Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, and Facebook for information on the latest library happenings and to view digitized images of the library’s collection. Boston Public Library’s Twitter and Instagram handle is @BPLBoston."
Panini from Scoozi on Newbury Street are a regular take out order for lunch around here. But, this post is not about the great options on the menu but the small kindness we've noticed during the hot days of summer. On the counter, near the chairs where you can sit and wait for your order, is an icy carafe of water with lemon and a stack of cups.
Often, when out walking, we've stopped into Scoozi to place our order and welcomed this silent offer of a cool drink. Once, Penny thanked the woman at the register, who replied that it's part of their hospitality. She's right. It's a signal that this place is in the hospitality business.
We certainly run into enough restaurants that are in the celebrity business, the investment business, and the ego business. We appreciate it when we find places that are in the business of offering hospitality to their customers.
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We've used china markers for years. They come in handy for all sorts of writing projects. You can put a thank you note right on a wine bottle, scribble a reminder on the bathroom mirror, or mark the nail in a tire so you can find it at the service station.
These wax filled pencils (also called "crayon pencils," "grease pencils," or "wax pencils") write on glass, china, mirrors, tires, car windshields, etc. without damaging most surfaces. The markings rub off of slick surfaces with a dry cloth or you can use soap and warm water. (The wax is more difficult to remove from plastic.)
Read some of the reviews on Amazon to find how many ways people use the pencils. Department stores used to use them to mark chips on china or glass that was scheduled to be removed from inventory. You can use them to mark yard sale prices on anything like that.
Because they are wax, you can use them on plant markers and the label won't fade in the sun or wash away in the rain.
For a party, you can put everyone's name on their wine glass. This works much better than a wine charm or colored ribbon since you don't have to remember which one is yours.
Having an assortment of colors can be handy because this is a light mark, and opposing colors – like white on a green wine bottle or black on a clear container – will show up better.
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Finding the right sparkler to help ring in the new month was an easy choice for September. In its tasting notes, Granit Réserve de Lavernette is described as a “wine of pleasure and discovery,” a “wine to party,” and a “wine to celebrate” – just what we had in mind when we began Our Sparkling Resolution.
While I’m not one to blindly succumb to a descriptive phrase, Granit is surprisingly good. I say that because we did have some reservations about a sparkling wine made from 100% Gamay (Beaujolais Villages grapes) with no added “liqueur de dosage.”
The winemaker goes on to say …
“the color is a very, very delicate salmon … ”
“nose of melon, a gentle touch of strawberries, warm biscuits, a whisper of spring flowers …”
“on the palate … full-bodied and zesty, a good core of fruit, bright acids and sneaky length, well balanced and focused finish … ”
Perhaps, reviewer Joe Appel (Portland Press Herald) said it best, “… the “Granit” is testament to how exciting, culinarily useful and flat-out delicious a no-sugar-added wine can be when it’s in balance.”
Despite this wine’s “no dosage,” we didn’t miss it. Granit impressed us enough that we’ll go back for another bottle. And, that alone makes this French sparkler a worthy choice to welcome September, 2014.
We purchased our bottle (around $30) at Urban Grape, South End.
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.
Penny was writing one of her City Paws newspaper columns on High Tech for pets, when she came across Pet First Aid: for Your Dog, Cat, Puppy, or Kitten – Jive Media LLC. She reviewed the options, compared the offerings, and bought this one because it seems to have exactly what we would want in an emergency.
Here is her review …
While having these instructions in an emergency will be wonderful, it was the time I spent going through the app that will stand me in good stead, if the time comes when I need it.
The app provides instructions for CPR, rescue breathing, and what to do if your pet is choking. It also has sections on safely caring for a sick or wounded animal, what is normal, disaster preparedness, and a host of specific emergency situations.
We do have a complete Doggie First Aid Kit packed into our Poppy's little red travel bag. It has only been used in an emergency situation once. We were staying in Provincetown when we noticed a neighbor trying to deal with a cut paw on the beach in front of the house. I grabbed the bag and offered cleaning solution, gauze, and pet bandages to help with the dog's first aid.
Poppy Tested
As it turned out, Poppy gave the app a trial run a week after we bought it. She was coughing and gagging after eating a piece of a dog treat. Now, we have a lifetime of experience with dogs so we didn't panic. We figured she had a small piece of the biscuit caught in her throat. But it was reassuring to pop up the section on choking and review the situation.
The app takes you through the incident step by step. On the second screen, we had a check list of symptoms that would indicate that a dog is choking. She wasn't drooling, pawing at her mouth, looking anxious, didn't have labored breathing, bluish mucous membranes, and had not collapsed. (When you touch the bluish mucous membranes item on the list, you are taken to illustrations that help you identify normal and abnormal.)
What we had was a simple case of clearing her throat and within a couple of hours she was free of symptoms. But, it was good to have had that checklist right on the phone.
We plan to have a few meals at Hamersley's Bistro before Gordon and Fiona Hamersley turn over the keys for the space at the corner of Tremont and Clarendon Streets to a new restaurateur in October.
It will be hard to order something other than the chicken. I wonder if we could convince the Hamersleys to train young food professionals on a food truck that specializes in that wonderful lemon, garlic chicken?
In 1992, we bought our first pied-à-terre in Boston and quickly made Hamersley's Bistro our favorite restaurant. We loved eating at the bar and many Friday nights you would find us in the two seats near the window. Janet Livingston was the bartender most Friday evenings, back then. Penny used to say that she could do an exercise video titled, Work Out Like a Bartender! We have discovered that today she is a certified fitness trainer.
We see a lot of staff we've recognized for years, when we visit. And, we have to be sure to spend some time with bartender Tim. His warm hospitality makes us smile when we walk in and find him behind the bar. We know we'll have a great time in his space.
We usually just relax and enjoy our time at Hamersley's, but we've been moved to write about a special aspect of the food, service, ambience, or excellence from time to time. Here are a few posts:
While we are sad to have one of the restaurants we've always used to measure others by close, we wish Gordon and Fiona Hamersley great happiness in the next phase of their lives.
Do you have a great Hamersley's story? Share it in the comments below or send us an email. We'd love to publish a collection of them for those who will miss out on this wonderful experience. And, we hope many of you will have one more meal at this wonderful place before it closes.
, they put a few coins in our tip cup
to help protect the controls of our 
and Cuisinart Food Processor.
for years. They come in handy for all sorts of writing projects. You can put a thank you note right on a wine bottle, scribble a reminder on the bathroom mirror, or mark the nail in a tire so you can find it at the service station.
can be handy because this is a light mark, and opposing colors – like white on a green wine bottle or black on a clear container – will show up better.