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Archive for the 'Everything Else' Category
Boston Sightseeing Tours of Yore
Duck Tours have always struck me as a bit goofy and a weak alternative to the Freedom Trail. The tours are popular with tourists however and someday I may just take one if guests are in town who want to sample the local schtick.
Who knew that goofy tours have a long history in Boston? This vintage postcard – “Sight Seeing Auto. The Ride I Took In Boston, Mass.” – gave me a chuckle. It dates from 1908 but bears an uncanny resemblance to today’s Duck Tours.
Vintage Boston Sightseeing Tour Postcard
A man named Frank sent the postcard to his sister Anna in Manchester NH. It was postmarked October 19th. Seems that Frank’s visit to Boston coincided with Indian Summer – he writes “it is awful warm down here, the thermometer registers seventy-eight yesterday. The trees on West Newton Street are in bloom just as on a spring day”.
Cheesy tourist rides. It’s tradition.
Why oh Why Y-Not
Driving down Willow Ave in Somerville near the bike path this afternoon I was sad to see the refurbished Y-Not Variety corner store. Freshly painted, the side wall is now bare. The rusty vintage Coca-Cola and “Submarines” signs that used to hang there were favorites of mine. Here’s a photo to remember them by.
Old Y-Not Signs Are No More
Decorated Wreaths in New England – A Wreath Slideshow
Wreath on a New England door
Wondering how to decorate your wreath? Looking for some ideas for holiday wreaths?
Here’s a slideshow of photos I snapped of decorated wreaths in Salem and Newburyport, Massachusetts. We went on holiday house tours in those two towns this month. While we couldn’t take photos of the extraordinarily beautiful holiday decorations inside the houses the wreath on the door outside was fair game.
We vowed to go back to Salem and Newburyport as soon as we could – or at least when the temperatures warm up a bit. Both towns are filled with architectural treasures – outdoor museums of sorts - and worth a full day to wander.
Enjoy the slideshow – it’s filled with decorated wreaths from New England houses - and a swag or two as well.
Little Wanderers Gift Drive Drop Off
You’ve still got a week left if you want to drop off presents for the Little Wanderers Gift Drive. My office – Coldwell Banker at 171 Huron Ave in Cambridge – is a drop off site. Unwrapped gifts will be accepted through Tuesday, December 14, 2010.
The Home for Little Wanderers is a child and family service agency – the largest in New England. It is the oldest agency of its kind in the U.S. with Massachusetts roots that date back to 1799. Thousands of children are helped through its services and programs each year.
Here are some ideas for gifts.
If you don’t have time to drop off a gift you can buy a gift online from the list of items requested by Home for Little Wanderers programs. The gift will be purchased and shipped for you.
Or – consider a gift card. Gift cards are popular with teens and with families who can use them to purchase basics like clothing, groceries and housewares. Here’s the scoop on the Gift Card Challenge.
Coldwell Banker and Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture are matching up to $5,000 in gift card donations. Gift cards from these stores are eligible for the Gift Card Challenge: TJ Maxx, Wal-Mart, Marshalls, Stop & Shop, Target, Old Navy and CVS.
Presents can be dropped off at Coldwell Banker, 171 Huron Ave, Cambridge, MA through Tuesday, December 14, 2010. Our office phone number is 617-864-8566.
Our Place In Cambridge – Wish List
Our Place is a day care center for homeless children at the Salvation Army in Cambridge. Our Place serves about 38 children daily and there is a waiting list. The program is for kids age three months to 5 1/2 years. Having day care available means that the children’s parents can look for a home, work, or go to school.
The Cambridge Council of Realtors holds a holiday party and fundraiser every year for Our Place. The CCR has been the major donor to Our Place for many years but more support is always needed. The party invitation this year included a list of needed items at Our Place. It’s a worthy cause so I wanted to share the list in case you care to donate.
Here’s what’s on Our Place’s permanent wishlist – items that are always needed:
Our Place Wish List
Why not add some of these items to your cart the next time you’re at the store?
Our Place Daycare Center is located at 402 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge MA 02139.
Wordle Word Clouds – Website Wednesday
I’m finally sending out postcards announcing (belatedly!) the debut of this blog. The image on the front was created with one of my favorite websites – wordle.net.
You use Wordle to create “word clouds” – enter text and it transforms it into a word collage. The size of the various words is determined by the frequency of those words in the text. “Randomize” your entry and you’ll get a seemingly endless variety of Wordles with different colors and fonts.
It’s enormous fun and once you start to play with it you keep thinking of ways to use it – fun texts to play with – perhaps a political speech – and fun things to do with your Wordles – birthday cards for example.
The front of my Centers and Squares postcard – watch for it in the mail! – was created using my first blog post. The Wordle below is the dinner menu from one of my favorite restaurants – the S & S in Inman Square.
Happy Thanksgiving
May you have the best of holidays.
Happy Thanksgiving
from my house to yours.
Let the fun begin!
Union Square Upgrades
New street lights in Union Square
Union Square Upgrades I guess I’ve been so happy to drive on and admire the newly (finally!) paved road on Somerville Ave that I hadn’t noticed some other Union Square improvements.
These handsome street lights are a new upgrade as are the park benches that line the sidewalks in Union Square. Looks great! They remind me of the ones that used to be all over Cambridge when I was little. The brackets for hanging plants are a nice addition.
Check back for a post about some of my favorite things I learned on last weekend’s tour of Union Square led by Edward Gordon, President of the New England chapter of the Victorian Society of America. It was a marvelous tour and a real eye opener – Union Square is filled with interesting commercial architecture.
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