Big traditions, little wanderers

On Nov. 28, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and WCVB-TV's Liz Brunner kicked off The Home For Little Wanderers' Gift Drive and Online Auction with a reading of The Night Before Christmas to more than 20 children in the home's Jamaica Plain location. Although it is the auction's third year of fundraising, the home's gift drive has been a Boston tradition since 1865.

The drive, then called "ThanksgivingInGathering," called upon the community to give to those less fortunate. "The Sunday before Thanksgiving," recounted Heather MacFarlane, public relations manager of The Home For Little Wanderers, "[The home] invited people to bring food, but also toys, clothing, and all types of things" for children in need. The community answered the call, and has been doing so ever since.

"People come in and say 'my mother or my grandmother came here and used to give, and I want to as well,'" said MacFarlane. "We had our kick-off last week, people from the neighborhood were coming in immediately when the sign went up."

The drive, MacFarlane emphasized, is not just about toys. "We call it a 'gift drive' because things as simple as toiletries to gift cards are important to these people," she said. "The simple items that we take for granted are things these kids really need."

In addition to giving, supporters can also receive. Gifts ranging from a spa package for six people at Emerge Spa & Salon on Newbury Street to a chance to meet celebrities such as Stephen Colbert and Ellen DeGeneres are being auctioned off on the home's website. According to MacFarlane, celebrities have been more than willing to support the cause. While some of them are sought out by the home, many celebrities, such as local comedian Jay Leno, "have a relationship with the home, and they donate every year."

The gift drive will run through Dec. 21, with drop-off points at the home's Toy Room at 161 South Huntington Ave., as well as all Bernie and Phyl's Furniture or Coldwell Banker locations. Toys can also be donated online at BigWishesForLittleWanderers.com. The online auction runs through Dec. 16 at TheHome.org.

Article originally appeared in BostonNOW on December 6, 2007.

Stay safe while decorating

By this point, you should be pretty much out of cold turkey. That means it's time to roll out of your food coma and get decorating for Christmas. Here are some ideas for a safe holiday.

Inspect your lights. Old strands can wear out over the years, and cables can get cut in storage. Make sure all your bulbs are in working order and that there are no exposed wires to avoid setting a yuletide blaze.

Keep hazardous decorations secure. Did you know that mistletoe makes cats sick? That chocolate kills dogs? That your 4- year-old can swallow ornament hooks? If you can't avoid using harmful decorations and foods, make sure that they stay out of reach.

Get a fake tree. Some people think it's blasphemous, but the fact is that trees and candles are the leading causes of fires during the holidays. If you must have a real tree, keep it watered, or within a few days you'll have Christmas kindling in your living room.

Go around and check everything at night. Did you unplug all the lights? Blow out the candles? Turn off the oven? Common sense doesn't get a winter break.

This article originally appeared in BostonNOW on November 29, 2007.

Invest in a clutter-free desk

Sick of your 9-to-5 job? Want to prioritize your day by what you think is important? Feel like working in your pajamas? There are endless reasons why Americans want to work from home. According to WorldatWork, a human resource company that specializes in employee retention, 12.6 million Americans work from home at least one day a week.

According to Moira Allen, editor of WritingWorld.com, workspace is the key to efficiency at home. "I found that the most important feature in my home office was a layout that gave me a sense of pleasure in 'coming to work,'" she explained. "If your office is awkward, or dark, or poorly laid out, or just plain ugly, it can be a deterrent." She recommends quality furniture and a comfortable chair.

Function is also important. If you can dedicate an entire room to working, you'll be much more able to block out the world and focus on your work. As an added bonus, you can also write a home office off on your taxes. If this isn't possible, try for a dedicated section. Make your workspace off-limits to family members, and set up a system to inform them when you are working and not to be disturbed.

Finally, have the tools of the trade readily available. "Things that you use less often can be stored in some other part of the house," Allen said. "But you don't want to have to jump up and run to a closet every time you need to load paper in the printer. Eventually you'll sort out those things that need to be close at hand, and those that don't."

This article originally appeared in Boston NOW on November 15, 2007.

Pair wine with holiday fare

The date of your holiday party has arrived, and you need to find a seating arrangment for 25 of your friends and relatives in a dining room that a realtor would call "intimate." You feel stressed, and yes, you could use a drink with dinner.

There are plenty of alcoholic offerings this holiday season that will compliment a variety of traditional holiday fare.

From the vine
Martignetti Liquor in Boston's North End offers an excellent array of wines to accompany your turkey dinner, including Chalone Vineyard's Pinot Noir. This dark red, priced reasonably at $15.99, offers a "beautiful fruit flavor," says Bob Goodwin, Martignetti's resident wine expert, with a "soft, very nice finish."

If you're serving ham, Goodwin recommends McLaren Vale's Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne. This Australian blend enjoyed a 90-out-of-100 rating from Spectator Magazine, and costing under $20, Goodwin called it "an elegant wine at a reasonable price."

Treats on tap
For those of us more partial to drinks of the grain-and-hops variety, turn to Boston's local beers. Harpoon's Winter Warmer is an excellent holiday brew. It pairs well with pies as well as poultry, and somehow manages to taste just like Christmas.

Harpoon's Munich Dark is also delicious. This Munchen Dunkel style beer has a chocolaty flavor with a slightly bitter, hoppy finish that is reminiscent of a porter, but a bit more crisp.

Don't forget the Boston Beer Company's Samuel Adams Winter Lager. This modern day classic offers a strong but manageable cinnamon and ginger taste, with an underlying citrus flavor uncommon to winter beers.

Originally published in Boston NOW on November 12, 2007.

Go fall with fiscus

Leaves are falling off of the trees, and in no time flat, the multicolored view from your windows will transform into multiple shades of grey. With depressing seasonal color changes en route, now might be a good time to start considering house plants.

Although some plants are difficult to grow in the cold season, you have numerous options for your indoor garden, the simplest including the rubber plant. The Ficus elastica is easy to maintain, but make sure to care for and prune it, because it can grow up to ten feet tall if you're not paying attention.

Ivy is another good bet. Those frosty windows can be cheered up immensely with lush, green leaves and vines growing around them. These plants also grow fast, though, so be sure to pay attention.

A more challenging plant is the poinsettia. This holiday favorite is still relatively easy to maintain, but temperature is key. Although these beautiful red blossoms are associated with Christmas, temperatures below 60 degrees is bad news.

These simple plants, like many others, can be easily maintained by watering regularly and giving minimum sunlight. Keeping a temperate climate at home is important, so make sure not to have your heat shut off. The end result is a fresher air, and a fresher looking home.

Originally published in Boston NOW on October 25, 2007.

Rebuilding Plan Draws Criticism

An artist's rendition of the proposed construction. Image supplied by Forte, which is responsible for the design.

JAMAICA PLAIN — A community meeting to discuss the proposed construction of 615-619 Centre St. drew a dozen neighbors to hear and voice their opinions of the building’s additions.

The single-story building, which was victimized by arson last summer, will maintain its current footprint, but will add a second story if owner Christ J. Stamatos gets what he wants.

Some neighbors expressed their concerns at the meeting, held at Stamatos’s Century 21 office at 660 Centre St., last Wednesday, ranging from blocking the sun to adversely affecting their property values.

Perhaps most impacted by the proposed construction would be Michael Tang, the new owner of 609 Centre St., Unit 2, who would have a side of his condominium, which currently enjoys large amounts of natural light, come within three feet of a wall, should the second floor be added. Stamatos hopes to reach a compromise with Tang, in which both parties will be "reasonably unhappy."

Neighbors of the building on Centre Street and Pond Street, which is behind the building, seemed aggravated that Stamatos approached the meeting without much wiggle room.

"I think people are generally supportive of redeveloping this block," explained Laura Vanderleeden of 2 Pond St. to the property owner, "but I’m not hearing a ton of flexibility from you." Another neighbor echoed the sentiment, saying, "It’s interesting that the zoning laws [prohibit this type of construction], because they seem pretty logical to me." Zoning regulations for the property currently allow for a two-story building with only 3,500 square feet of floor space. Further, any new additions on the right side of the building must be at least ten feet away from the neighboring building. The first floor, which is grandfathered into its location, is only three feet from the neighboring building. The proposed structure would maintain the outside of the building as is but would change the interior of the first floor, in addition to the second floor, which would serve as extended office space for Stamatos’s Century 21 office. The office had resided in the building, along with a clothing store and nail salon, before the fire. Permission from the city’s zoning board is required, due to the proposed building’s proximity to its neighbors as well as its square footage being increased to 48 square feet. Stamatos, who owns numerous other properties in the neighborhood, can still go ahead with construction, if the plan is not approved, but will have to comply to zoning requirements. He worries that if he complies with those requirements, the building will be aesthetically unappealing while the newly created space won’t be cost-effective.

"It will cost me just as much to add 2,400 square feet as it would to add 1,100," he said on his plan’s behalf. "I’d rather put up a nice looking building." Stamatos and his architect, Edward P. Forte, are scheduled to meet with the Boston Zoning Board in November, and in the meantime, will continue to discuss possibilities with neighbors as well as the Jamaica Pond Association.

This article originally appeared in The Boston Bulletin on September 27, 2007.

Give Life To Your Bottles

Containers can be expensive, particularly glass ones. Regardless, people fork out loads of money on glassware made to look like spaghetti jars while filling their recycling bins with the real thing.

Instead, make a habit out of keeping those glass containers, like salsa jars and liquor bottles. You can use them throughout your house for storage, which will not only save you money, but it will also add some color to your kitchen compartments.

While some containers have paper labels that take some elbow grease and steel wool to remove, other bottles and jars, like those from higher-end products, have well designed labels, which are often painted onto the glass. This can look even better than a blank bottle because it gives you the opportunity to color coordinate the food being stored with its packaging, or to purposely clash colors to draw more attention to the objects.

Bottleneck containers, particularly wine bottles, are excellent for dry goods that you will need to pour, such as rice or popcorn kernels. Although it would be a good idea to invest in a funnel to put the foodstuff into the containers, the bottle's design allows for slow, easy to control release.

And you can alos use old, label-free bottles for serving purposes. A wine bottle is a classy container for water, and an old Jack Daniels bottle can shift the image of your discount barbeque sauce from cheap to chic in no time.

This story originally appeared in the Abode section of BostonNOW on September 6, 2007.