Home 'n' hearth

Meredith posted her conundrum: The bitter, cranky old guy who lives next door spotted her clearing her driveway this morning in part by tossing it over the fence onto piled up snow on his property - and started yelling at her:

So he was screaming at me from behind his second-story window. I stared up at him, impassive, then shook my head and pointed at my ear. Technically, I wasn't throwing snow on his property, I was throwing snow on the fence and it was falling onto his property. So I continued, and heard a yell of absolute rage. This is an elderly man who has no car and relies on daily visits from his son to get by. Why was he sooooo upset?

Dot rat Tim Smith quotes Dennis Lehane and adds his own reasons for staying in Boston:

The character is unlike anything else. I love that about Boston. I love that our streets reserve the right to stop being themselves then pick up again three blocks over. I love that our pubs have more history than most city halls. I love that we have two JJ Foley's and zero Walmarts. I love that Fenway has only a handful of seats that face the action, but is still the best place in the world to watch a baseball game. I love that wherever you are in the city, you can probably walk home if you really had to. I love that even though we may have the worst architecture, there is no beating the 360 skyline view from the Mass Ave Bridge on a cold winter night. I love all of the different neighborhoods and blocks and corners.

Power finally back on at about 8:15. Has been off since we returned home just before 4:00. Not sure how long it was off prior to that.

Beech Street in the vicinity of the Mozart School.

Wicked Local Brookline reports how a roomie spat spiraled into a police call and a date in court.

Channel 7 reports two Allston roommates discovered they had a third: A 4 1/2-foot long boa constrictor living in their ceiling.

City Hall Annex
50 Evergreen Ave.
Every Thursday starting
November 4
5 to 7 p.m.

Also available during these times and events:
Council on Aging
167 Holland St.
Friday, October 15
9 to 11 a.m.

Council On Aging – Health Fair
167 Holland St.
Wednesday, October 20
9 to 11 a.m.

Properzi Manor
13-25 Warren Ave.
Thursday, October 28
12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Cross Street Senior Center
165 Broadway
Friday, October 29
10 to 11 a.m.

Clarendon Hill Towers
1374 Broadway, Community Room
Wednesday, November 3
2 to 3 p.m.

George Dilboy Post
371 Summer St.
Friday, November 5
12 to 2 p.m.

Ralph & Jenny Senior Center
9 New Washington St.
Wednesday, November 10
10 to 11 a.m.

Winter Hill Community School – Health Fair
177 Sycamore St.
Friday, November 12 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Walnut St. Center (behind Target)
35 Charlestown St.
Tuesday, November 16
1 to 2 p.m.

Ward 5 will be the target area for a single stream recycling program set to start on October 6th. Between September 30th and October 1st, residents will receive a 65 gallon bin, complete with literature and list of recyclable items imprinted on the cover, that will take the place of the blue bins that we have become accustomed to over the years. Residents may continue to use their blue bins if they wish, however, the city is strongly encouraging everyone to use the new barrels. The best part is that if your blue bin is broken, you can recycle it using the new barrel! Once you receive the barrel, you can put your house number on it for easy identification.

On trash collection day on East Broadway in South Boston.
Pasted on various items of trash including mattresses, desks and a wooden door was this notice.
The City of Boston working hard to stop the spread of bed bugs from trash pickers.

http://i.imgur.com/SkbKb.jpg

The Outraged Liberal takes swift action when a bat starts flapping around his house.

My old house.

From a feature on a 736-square-foot house in Dedham to a magazine piece on McMansions, looks like the Globe has all the bases covered today.

John Keith, however, wonders what the big deal is with a 736-square-foot home, noting:

That would be luxury to many of Boston's residents who have to make do with studio and one-bedroom apartments from 300 to 700 square feet – and many do it with partner, baby and/or dog in tow.

Anthony Giacalone makes the suggestion following last week's fatal triple-decker fire in East Boston.

Wicked Local Allston/Brighton reports that when a Kelton Street resident couldn't take the music from her downstairs neighbor anymore, she called police - who found the door open and "junk and debris" piled everywhere, in some places chest high:

The officers had to walk on top of a junk pile and push aside tables filled with items to get to the radio and turn it off.

HGTV's My First Place is looking for prospective first-time home buyahs willing to have a camera follow them around. Taping is this spring and summah in the Boston arear if yoah interested. Contact Ronica Harris at rharris@highnoontv.com.

John Keith reports that 52 Piedmont St., which is now a single-family home, but which used to be the Napoleon Club, is up for sale. Yours for just $1.95 million.

The Supreme Judicial Court today ruled today that condo developments do not have to obey a state law that requires ownership of common areas to be equally split among all owners - provided the disparity is noted in the master deed and other condo documents signed by buyers.

John Ford reports.

If you have a moment, please stop by my blog and wish MY WIFE a Happy Birthday. You can feel free to denigrate ME as much as you want. That may be incentive for some of you, and it would be in keeping with the spirit of the blog, so I won't mind :-)

Sunday Is MY WIFE's Birthday

Thanks!

Suldog

The Boston Regional Challenge takes a look at transportation costs as a cost-of-living factor; basically concludes the farther out you live, the more you pay for transportation (darn cars). The site includes the complete report and a calculator into which you can type in your address and get basic figures (and then you can change some of the assumptions to more closely model your actual costs).

Cowbark reports she has to move out of her apartment in the Chocolate Factory soon:

I'm really really hoping we can find something new in the area, because there are a million things I will miss when we move away. ...

She then lists some of them.

Photo posted under this Creative Commons license and in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

The Jamaica Plain Gazette reports JP is one of the three communities in which NStar will swap in meters that let residents constantly monitor their electricity use - and alert them if they could save money by running their appliances at off-peak hours during certain times of the year.

The tiny little voice you hear calling out from downstairs in the middle of the night: Do you want to play with me?

John Ford reports that 45 Province St., the fancy-shmancy new building where the Littlest Bar used to be, is listing itself on MLS as "Beacon Hill" rather than "Downtown Crossing" - but on a competing service, LINK, as "Midtown."

John Ford reports one Beacon Hill house under agreement recently failed its home inspection because the granite counter tops in the kitchen were emitting more than the safe amount of radon.

Jenn Martinelli, late of Beacon Hill and Fenway, is learning to love her new digs in East Boston:

... In the Fenway and Beacon Hill there were always ambulances and police cars and fire engines screaming past. We're in a quiet residential neighborhood now and have heard no such thing.