Happy New Years' Eve

This is who I'm kissing at midnight!

George's Island

This is Fort Warren on George's Island. More on the history of George's Island is HERE.

Playing Games

Well I might get in trouble for this post (Sarah doesn't care for football and I'm not sure how Whitney feels about it) but since I'd wager that most people in Boston and many around the nation were also watching this game tonight, I thought I'd post a picture of it. On my tv. It's not my proudest moment as a photographer but hey, it's history, right?

Milk Bottles and Children's Museums...

I had two options for this post - a picture of the sign for the Children's Museum in Boston, or a picture of the Hood milk bottle that stands outside of the museum. Clearly I went with the milk bottle, and that's because I've associated it with the Children's Museum since I was a little kid. In my opinion it's an iconic part of Boston (it houses an ice cream stand, by the way). The Museum itself is also a ton of fun - for kids and adults alike. My favorite is the bubble room...what's yours?

Christmas Light Overkill?

Here is a daytime (well, dusk) shot of a house that's located on the Jamaicaway here in Boston. It's become pretty well known in the area for its extravagant lighting display (Christmas Vacation anyone?). I don't know how I feel about such a display - I feel like it must be a nuisance to the neighbors, but it's nothing if not festive! If you drive through the area at night you can't miss it (trust me)!

*This shot also taken by my brother Danny - who's birthday is today. Happy Birthday Dan!

The Emerald Necklace

Here's a shot of Olmsted Park, which forms part of what is known as the "Emerald Necklace". The Necklace was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. and is made up of six parks, including both the Arboretum and Franklin Park. This website has a handy interactive map so you can get a better idea of where everything is. If you ever visit Boston (or if you live here and haven't done so), please visit these parks. Whether it's during the very green and flower filled summer months, or during the snow covered winter months, the parks are gorgeous and a stone's throw from several T stops!

Christmas, Christmas Time is Here....

Merry Christmas everyone!

Holiday Rush

Shot from the Jamaicaway (by my brother Danny - thanks Dan!) on our way to mom and dad's for Christmas Eve dinner. We had mild weather in Boston today, considering all the snow we've gotten over the past couple of weeks. The sunset was really soft and calming tonight - you can see the sun glistening off the Hancock Tower way in the background there, and in the corner you can see the traffic as other people also headed home early tonight. I'm in my jammies, ready and waiting for Santa. Hope you've all been good this year!

The Endicott Estate

The Endicott Estate is a big mansion on a lot of land (it looks like a big front yard in the picture, but trust me, it's even bigger than it seems), smack in the middle of Dedham, MA (about twenty minutes outside of Boston). I wish I could give you more historical information but it seems that their site is password protected so here's what I do know:

1)We used to drive by it all the time on the way to and from my grandparents' and I remember always thinking it was so beautiful, particularly with all the Christmas lights up.

2)They do host weddings and other types of events, so if you're planning something be sure to check them out - we were interested in booking it for our wedding but they were in the midst of renovations at the time we would have needed it.

Harbor Islands

These are some of the Boston Harbor Islands, and if you look to the top of the photo you can make out Logan Airport as well.

Click to enlarge!

First Day of Winter

We got more snow Thursday, and the result is that everything has this beautiful cover of fresh white snow again! I love this picture - it amazes me how much softer everything looks with a blanket of snow. Here's a shot of the same thing, with less snow. I'm leaving this weekend for warmer weather (only 10 degrees warmer, but 40 degrees is way better than 30!), so everyone cross your fingers that the winter weather doesn't strike again while I'm trying to fly back next weekend!!!

Snow (hey oh)

It's been snowing all day today - going on about 15 hours now. Every time I looked at the weather online throughout the day, they had added another inch to the forecast. This morning it said 1-3, by the time I left work they were saying 4-6! We've had quite a few mild winters in a row, so all the snow this year is causing quite a fuss.

Artists' Lofts

The Walter Baker Lofts are across the street from my building. The building was originally the administration building for the chocolate factory, and now has eight (I think) lofts designated as work/living space by the city. Tenants must be certified by the city as artists.

Only a hippopotamus will do!

Someone had painted over the graffiti on this old railway bridge, and it didn't last long - someone came along and used the shape of the grey paint to create new graffiti!

All is calm, all is bright

Throughout the holidays, Downtown Crossing has a lot going on. There's a petting zoo on the weekends (I don't know what exactly there is to pet and how impressive it is, but I've seen the signs), and there's musical entertainment throughout the week. Whit has already shown you the New Liberty Jazz Band, and I enjoyed these strolling carolers during my lunch break one day last week.

Miss Daisy

Down the street from my house there's a great garden center - Cedar Grove Gardens. It smells deliciously of Christmas trees right now, and they've got all kinds of beautiful plants and wreaths and also do cut flower arrangements. There's also a store with heaps of beautiful gifts, where you might just come across Miss Daisy! The first time I was in, Miss Daisy followed me through almost the entire store soliciting pets. When I was in yesterday, I almost missed her curled up and blending in with this blanket.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

We went for a walk through the Neponset River Reservation to scope out the pretty snowiness.

Oh the weather outside is frightful

Here's another one from the storm yesterday. This is the tree outside 100 Federal - the Bank of America building.

Snow Freezing Fog

We got our first storm of the winter today - 11.2 inches reported in Dorchester, which is the south end of the city. The snow started around 1:00, and I took this picture around 6:00 and there were at 6-8 inches by then. This is the intersection outside my building - you can see the top of a small hill that cars were struggling up. Some people had given up and abandoned their cars half off the side of the hill.

I walked the .75 miles home from the T instead of taking the bus (traffic was B-A-D bad everywhere, and I made it home faster than the bus anyway!). I saw at least half a dozen abandoned vehicles, and I also got to see the awesomest thing: A woman was sitting in a disabled car in the middle of the road with her hazards on, and a gentleman walked up to her window and knocked on it. When she rolled down the window, he asked if she was okay and made sure that she had a cell phone to make any calls she needed to make. He asked her again if she needed anything, and was still chatting with her as I walked out of earshot.

Oh! And the title for this post? That was the description on Weather Underground for most of the afternoon. Also interesting: we got more snow today that we got all of last winter - and our first snow last winter didn't even come until the end of January!

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

This guy was greeting visitors outside of the SoWa Holiday Market last weekend.

Fairy Lights

Here's a shot of all the trees lit up with fairy lights along the middle of Commonwealth Avenue. For those of you unfamiliar with the term fairy lights, many countries use it to refer to white Christmas lights.

Hockey Fans Hit the Ice

I didn't realize that it's been cold enough for the Boston Public Gardens' pond to be frozen enough for ice hockey! I photographed these brave souls hitting the ice this past Friday (I know, I know, I've been slow to actually post it online!).

Bostonia

Sorry for the delay in posting, folks! This time of year tends to get a little crazy and we've fallen behind on posting. The above picture is a wintry shot of the Boston Gardens.

Frog Pond's Icy Treat

The Zamboni smoothed the ice on the Frog Pond in the Boston Common yesterday while hoards of children waited patiently on the sidelines. I've never skated on an outdoor pond...perhaps if I'd had the opportunity to try it as a child, it wouldn't seem so nerve-wracking now as an adult!

The New Liberty Jazz Band

The New Liberty Jazz Band was jamming away in dowtown crossing at lunchtime today. They attracted a large and varied audience including some traditionally dressed carolers.

District 8

These are the guys from the District 8 (E18, L6) firehouse directing their driver into a parking space in Peabody Square. Normally the garage door would be open and they'd back it in, but I took this picture the day of the Peabody Square tree lighting, so they had the garage filled with snacks and warm beverages for the holiday party after the tree lighting!

Wang Theater: Part Dos

Here's another one from the Wang Theater - this is the ceiling in the foyer (lobby?).

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

This is one of the Baker Chocolate Factory Apartments buildings, along the Neponset River. The flag is always there, but the lights are a new (and pretty) addition. If that little bridge wasn't fenced off, I'd try to find a way to put lights on the tree that's growing out of the bridge supports. Also, note the ice on the left hand side of the river there...it's already proving to be a MUCH colder winter than it was last year. This time last year it was 50 degrees out and we've been lingering in the 20s for a while now.

Stay Inside

Folks, it is a very windy, very cold, very icy day here in Boston, so here's a picture to make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That's my cat Barley, who is a complete and total pain in the butt, but is so cute that you always forget what a jerk he was and fall in love with him all over again.

Today there was snow, sleet, rain, and lots and lots of wind, so I kept my mittens on and my hands in my pockets, which makes it hard for taking photos! ;)

All Saints' Church

All Saints' Episcopal Church sits just a block from the Ashmont T Station, in Peabody Square. The church was founded in 1867 to serve Church of England members who were working the Old Colony Railroad. In 1872, a wood frame structure was built on this property. Over time, the church's population grew, and soon members were standing outside windows and on the porch during services. In 1892, the cornerstone was laid for a church designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram, and funded by Colonel Oliver Peabody. The church was the first designed by Ralph Adams Cram, and started a trend in American church design. And of course, the church was built using granite from nearby Quincy!

ETA: Just looked at this and realized that the picture isn't showing up - I will fix when I get home tonight! Please let me know if there's a problem viewing the picture - I think it's fixed now!

Zakim Bridge

In honor of today's daily photo theme being bridges, we thought we'd post a photo of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge. Lenny Zakim was an American religious and civil rights leader, and since he was known for "building bridges" between Boston's racial and ethnic communities it seemed only natural that an actual bridge be named after him. The bridge opened to traffic in 2003 and since that was before I lived here, I asked Sarah if she had any local knowledge of it...

"The first winter after it opened they discovered the flaw in the design—snow/ice froze on the suspension wires and then when it got warm and started to melt, chunks came crashing down on to cars. I can't remember details, but I remember there being a few accidents. I don't know if the chunks actually broke windshields or damaged the cars themselves, but it scared the bejesus out of people when big chunks of melting ice crashed onto their cars and caused accidents that way even if there was no damage."

There are currently 128 City Daily Photo blogs participating in today's Theme Day:

Boston (MA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Inverness (IL), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Stockholm, Sweden - Setúbal, Portugal - Brussels, Belgium - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Hyde, UK - Manila, Philippines - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - London, England - Austin (TX), USA - Toulouse, France - Weston (FL), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Selma (AL), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - North Bay (ON), Canada - Arradon, France - Paderborn, Germany - Durban, South Africa - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Portland (OR), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Wichita (Ks), USA - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Grenoble, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Arlington (VA), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Cheltenham, UK - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Saratoga Spgs. (NY), USA - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Nashville (TN), USA - Toruń, Poland - New Orleans (LA), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Melbourne, Australia - Moscow, Russia - Trujillo, Peru - Château-Gontier, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Joplin (MO), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Brookville (OH), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Baziège, France - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Detroit (MI), USA - Riga, Latvia - Nelson, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Cape Town, South Africa - Sydney, Australia - Dunedin (FL), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Radonvilliers, France - Turin, Italy - Montpellier, France - Kansas City (MO), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Wailea (HI), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Terrell (TX), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Budapest, Hungary - Montréal (QC), Canada - Sharon (CT), USA - Le Guilvinec, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - London, UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Orlando (FL), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Paris, France - Mainz, Germany - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Darmstadt, Germany - Naples (FL), USA - Torino, Italy - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - The Hague, Netherlands - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Melbourne (VIC), Australia - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand