BostonZest

What's Happening Around Boston in March 2015

Time to start a new month of information to share with visitors and locals. What are your favorite March activities in Boston? This year, I think watching snow melt will be high on the list of many Bostonians.

(Photo by Raymond Larose used under this creative commons license be sure to check his photography blog.)

On Sunday, March 1st, head to Chinatown for the Lion Dance celebration from 10am to 5pm. That's always fun and most of the businesses in that neighborhood are small family run places that could use our support. What's more, you can be entertained, feast, and do your grocery shopping in one afternoon.

March Tips on Trip Advisor

Over on the Boston Trip Advisor Forum, Destination expert, forgotmypword started a conversation on this topic back in December when someone asked about hotel rates this month.

"St Patrick's Day (March 17) is a popular time to visit Boston. The parade is the 15th. On top of that, there is a large convention. The Seafood Expo/seafood processors convention is from the 15th-17th and is expecting 18,000 attendees."

And, I've begun my monthly topic about, What's Going on in March 2015 Around Boston. As the regular volunteers who answer questions on that space share their ideas, you will find topics that we never cover on BostonZest and things to do that are beyond our interests.

Do you remember Diamond Jim's Piano Bar at the Lenox hotel? It will reappear for one weekend in March.

Who are all these People? (or, Conventions in Town in March)

Here are the numbers on conventions and large meetings that will impact hotel prices and in some cases make dinner reservations harder to find in certain areas of the city.

From March 12th -14th, a meeting will be held at the Hynes with 6,000 in attendance. But the rest of the big events are out in the Seaport district and won't be noticed by most locals and visitors except in restaurants.

From the 15th -17th, 18,000 visitors at BCEC and the 28th to the 31st there are two events in that area with a total of 18,000 attendees.

If you need a restaurant reservation for those dates, make it now. 

March Events

There is always a lot of information about St. Patrick's Day in Boston but in the North End, St. Joseph's Day, March 19th is important because all the bakeries make Zeppole di San Giuseppe in honor of the day. These are delightful fried pastries filled with cream and cherries. Seen above is our favorite at Modern Pastry.

You could go from Modern to Maria's and so on down the streets tasting different versions. These are also made by bakeries throughout the area this time of year. Please share your favorite spots for Zeppole.

The parade is on Sunday the 15th. This is one day when we avoid using the MBTA since it's usually full of people going to and from that event. 

Sometime during the month, you could support an Irish Pub by enjoying an Irish Breakfast. The one above is from Sonny's Pub in Adams Village. 

Or, you can buy Irish soda bread from an area bakery. It Looks like we're going to have to do a lot of walking this month with all these seasonal offerings. You can honor the Irish while you walk. Here's a link to the Irish Heritage Trail.

Your Turn

We hope you'll join in and make this a conversation here. Add your comments below or follow us on Twitter and send your ideas to us there. Just put @BostonZest in your message and we'll get it.

Who's next?

What are your favorite March pastimes?

What events are you planning to attend this month?

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2011-2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino or as marked below photo

Snow, Freeze, Thaw, Freeze, Snow in the Back Bay

It has been a very photographic February with the cycle of snow, freeze, thaw, and freeze we've endured. Ed said it was as if Mother Nature wanted to add a fresh coat of makeup to the snow piles so they wouldn't look dirty. 

Icicles added a touch of frosting to the Victorian townhouses along Commonwealth Avenue.

On Newbury Street, some took on the look of waterfalls.

On Boylston Street, the stonework and icicles set off one another beautifully.

Here's a view of icicles from inside one of the glass crossovers at Copley Place.

Bacchante does not seem to mind the snow at all and just continues to dance in the Courtyard of the Boston Public Library.

As much as we may complain about the endless snow and cold, it's hard to resist photographing the way it changes our neighborhood. 

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

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Blue Tape for Marking First-In First-Out Produce

Top quality fresh fruit and vegetables are expensive and tossing them in the trash hurts. But sometimes you can forget to rotate your supplies and an item spoils right in plain view. First-In First-Out (FIFO) is a smart way to save money and waste less food.

Once again, the roll of blue tape that hangs on the side of my refrigerator is my means of identifying which piece of fruit to use first. In this case, the two tomatoes with bits of blue tape are the oldest. When I added the new package of tomatoes to the dish on my counter, I tagged the older ones with tape. That way, anyone taking tomatoes from the dish, will know which ones were the First-In and therefore the next to be used.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2015 Penny Cherubino 

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Colorful, Bright, New Community Workspace at the Boston Public Library

What a difference a renovation makes. The second floor of the Johnson Building at the Boston Public Library (BPL) in Copley Square has been transformed in spectacular before-and-after fashion.

Last week, I took a tour of the changes with Michael Colford, Director of Library Services. He is understandably proud of the look, convenience, and user friendliness of this renovation. 

I choose these bar seats along the arched window overlooking Boylston Street as my favorite spot. 

Michael pointed out that the library’s circulating nonfiction collection is located here. Amid the book stacks holding 200,000 books is a community reading area and places for individual and group work. This will be a lively section of the building where conversations will take place. The McKim building will provide quiet space for those who prefer a place to work without distractions.

Lower book shelves open up the area allowing the light from the windows and from many new fixtures to provide a bright and welcoming workspace. I was also happy to see some of the materials like the lovely Windsor chairs reconditioned, recycled, and fitting beautifully into the new setting.

And still, there are spots where you can get off by yourself for a bit of quiet texting. 

Lots of new electrical outlets also give you a place to charge up your phone, laptop or tablet.

There are new airport-style restrooms on the floor and multi-function water fountains with a separate station to fill your water bottle. And, yes, water bottles are allowed in this section of the library. 

Along with the new look, you will also find some changes in the way the library and librarians communicate with patrons. The bookshelves will be marked not only in traditional Library of Congress Classification fashion, but also with signs and banners that let you know, for example, that this section houses books on Politics and Law. 

When the flow of traffic at the information desk allows, librarians will move around the floor to answer questions and assist patrons as they search for materials. The openness of the new design will allow staff members to see when they are needed back at the desk. 

Digital displays around the floor will highlight items from the BPL's renowned Collections of Distinction. This will remind patrons of all the resources, beyond the books on the shelves, that are available to them within the walls of this building. 

A press release from the BPL explained that service kiosks like this one (now found in other parts of the library and branches as well), "are part of the library’s upgraded pay for print system and have several features, including the introduction of paying for printing via standard credit and debit cards. Boston Public Library cards will now store up to $21 for use on the system." 

Along with opening this floor last Saturday, the Boylston Street entrance has also reopened. A corridor has been built for library visitors to move through the first floor where work on the next phase of this renovation continues. For those of us who are in the habit of using that entrance, this is most welcome. 

I look forward to using this workspace, both when I need a change from my home office and when I want to collaborate with friends and associates on a project.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny Cherubino,  Patron using the kisoh courtesy of the BPL
 

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Lend Your Support to Allowing Dogs & Cats on Amtrak

We know that our family would travel more if the entire family were allowed to travel by train. Right now, there is a pilot program under way in Illinois and a bill pending in the US House (The Pets on Trains Act of 2015, or H.R. 674) that would begin to allow some people with dogs and cats to ride on Amtrak.

Poppy waiting for a ride on the MBTA

Our Westie Poppy is welcome on the MBTA outside of rush hours. All our dogs have been passengers on ferries in Boston Harbor, Provincetown, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and in Portland Maine. We have never witnessed an incident with dogs on any of these trips. And, on ferries, there is no size limit and no carrier is required.

If you think opening the rails to people with companion animals is a good idea, please contact your representatives in Congress and the President to ask for their support and quick action on the Pets on Trains Act of 2015, or H.R. 674.  You can find the addresses here.

Responsible Access Only, Please

Not all dogs are appropriate passengers on all mass transit systems. And, it is often the worst case scenarios and most irresponsible people who ruin something like this for the rest of us. We would love to see a registry for dogs and cats allowed to participate, with microchip scanning as a part of the ticketed access.

This way you would only have to sign the responsibility waiver once and any person with a dog who jeopardizes the future of the program could be barred. It would be much better to have barriers to behavior than to size. 

Here's Poppy in the back of a Zipcar. We do all we can to be sure her presence is not a problem for the next member to reserve the car.

Learn More and Take Action

Please take the time to learn a bit more about the value of this program to: those of us with companion animals, the environment, and businesses, then contact those who can make it happen. (As of this writing, our Representative, Michael Capuano of Massachusetts, is a co-sponsor of the bill, so we'll be sending him our support and thanks.)

• The sponsor of the bill, U.S. Representative Jeff Denham has said, “Last year I worked in collaboration with Amtrak, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and a small working group to launch a six-month pilot program to test the idea of having pets on trains,” said Rep. Denham. “This legislation builds on the success of that pilot program and would help families nationwide save money and time in traveling with their pets while bringing in much-needed revenue for Amtrak.”
• The original Co-sponsor, U.S. Representative Steve Cohen said, “For many Americans, pets are simply part of the family—and all of us lucky enough to have pets are incredibly blessed by the companionship they provide.” “I am proud to work with my friend, Congressman Denham, on this important legislation to ensure families can bring their pets when traveling on Amtrak and that pets aren’t left behind to fend for themselves.”
• The working group for this bill includes:  the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), the Federal Railroad Administration, and Amtrak.
• Allowing people to leave the car behind and travel by Mass transit helps with the congestion on the highways and is less polluting. 
• Businesses (like hotels, shops, and restaurants) that cater to people who travel with companion animals could see an increase in business if this passes.
• Thanks to our friend Amy Burkert over on Go Pet Friendly for inspiring this post. There is more background on this at her link.

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

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny Cherubino for Poppy on the MBTA and istockphoto for the traveling dog image.

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Here's My Favorite Weather App – Dark Sky

Weather has been the topic of the month for February 2015. So, today, I'm going to share my favorite source for weather information.

Here's a temperature screenshot from Dark Sky on my iPhone.  

Ed, with his background in radio, still checks to see what various stations are forecasting. On the other hand, I have narrowed down my primary weather advisor to a favorite weather app. 

Dark Sky

The app that talks to me all day, sending me notifications about weather changes that I can use, is Dark Sky with Weather Radar, Hyperlocal Forecasts, and Storm Alerts. It has been very busy this month letting me know that flurries, light snow, heavy snow, or snow was coming soon. It also has simple, sensible, easy to understand visuals that let me plan my day and my week.

While alerts are often something you knew was going to happen, occasionally weather changes pop up without warning. Last summer, we were walking our dog about a mile from home when Dark Sky alerted me that heavy rain was coming, soon.

We turned for home and caught up with a neighbor and her dogs along the way. We told her it was going to rain hard and how we knew. She doubted the prediction but walked along with us. We were nearly home when the sky opened and the rain came down. Naturally, she wanted the name of the app. 

Dark Sky is a paid app, but you can get the same information on any computer at the Forcast.io – their web version. One thing I love about this app is the "Time Machine" option. It lets you see what the weather was any day in the past. 

Here's what the weather was on this day in 1971. Go ahead and look up your birthday, anniversary or this date last year.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Screenshots from Dark Sky and Forcast.io

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Our Improved Dog Boot Drying Hack

A couple of years ago, we showed you our system for drying dog boots. Our Westie Poppy's Pawz Dog Boots are still drying on chopsticks, but we've improved on the container we're using to store them between trips outside.

Now, the chopsticks holding the wet boots are secured at a good angle by a daisy Mason jar lid. This lid was designed for scented candles or for drinking with a straw. But we think it's perfect for our purpose. You can even find them in colors to match the boots – if your dog is fashion forward. 

You can use this same system for gloves or mittens with wood dowel rods and some sand or beans to add weight to the mason jar.

 

Click here for more of our tips and how to posts.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny Cherubino

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