While walking around Somerville yesterday, I made a few observations unrelated to Tropical Storm Irene. Like that crews have finally started working on 270 Cedar St. (check out an article I wrote about the property a few months ago):
And that there’s a Museum of Modern Renaissance on College Avenue:
And that Jesus is hanging out on Hall Avenue:
Yesterday Irene struck Somerville, Massachusetts and the rest of New England. Although it was just a tropical storm (not a hurricane as everyone predicted), it still caused a fair amount of damage. Here are some pictures I took in Somerville during the late afternoon.
A damaged car on Murdock Street
A snapped tree on Broadway (near Trum Field)
A fallen tree on Hall Avenue
We didn’t lose power at our Cedar Street apartment, but folks in Magoun Square did. Inside Olde Magoun’s Saloon staff were sitting in the dark, and across Medford Street (around Status Boutique, Marcelino’s Exotic Birds and Churrasco) a generator was running.
Took these pics last night:
I tried Zumba for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Here’s an article I wrote about it for a local news site.
Photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos/edsonhong1/5245297550
People out and about
Flowers
Kids on bicycles
Gardens taking shape
Tulips
Royal White Cleaners just put up this sign.
This past weekend Royal White Cleaners, the troubled dry cleaning business on Somerville’s Cedar Street, replaced an outdated “laundromat” sign with one for its tailoring service. You can access this part of the business through the building’s main door.
Royal White Cleaners' main door
The company’s self-service laundromat has been closed since at least August (when I moved to Cedar Street). This signage improvement might be one indication the company’s seriously trying to improve its finances. According to the Somerville Journal, Royal White Cleaners owes the city over $240,000 in unpaid taxes; as a result, the city recently seized the property.
Royal White Cleaners can only reclaim the property if it repays its debts within a year, the article states.
At least it was here on Thursday and Friday. I took advantage of the nice weather by walking around my neighborhood. Here’s some of what I saw:
Snow melting
Dirty snow
A bike path with no ice or slush
Crews working on this new residential building
High snowbanks
Clear sidewalks
The sun
Trash that had been hiding beneath snowbanks
During my outing, I had a delightful feta avocado salad at the Joshua Tree in Davis Square. In addition to marinated feta cheese and ripe avocado, it had toasted pistachios, mixed greens, white beans, and citrus vinaigrette.
And later in the day I got a surprise from my fiancee!
Tulips are my favorite flower.
This weekend I also picked up my engagement ring from Shreve, Crump & Low in the Back Bay.
They had resized my ring and made a new setting. Here it is now:
When I left the house at 7:15 a.m. to go to the gym, the roads were clear. When I got out of the gym at 8:30 a..m, they were covered in snow and ice. Not only that, but snow was streaming down, vehicles were moving slowly (good thing!), and pedestrians were struggling to get to work. Here’s some of what I saw:
On Elm Street in Somerville
An ambulance headed out of Davis Square (toward Elm Street)
A woman walking in the road on Willow Avenue
A vehicle being towed on Willow Avenue
A guy with an umbrella (smart idea!) on Highland Avenue
People crossing the street on Highland Avenue
Vehicles backed up on Cedar Street (right before the intersection with Highland Avenue)
Home sweet home
Talk about a lot of action for before 9 a.m., huh?
Well I’m not really thinking about it (yet), but my neighbor is! I love these lights!
