Show Your Kid's Art to Somerville Open Studio's Kid Art Show

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

Hi, Somerville Open Studios is having our first ever Kids Art Show.
Open to all Somerville resident Kids, under 14 years old.

Details and Call to Kid Artists behind the cut, and on-line at somervilleopenstudios.org/visit/kids

There will be a receptions where you can meet the artists and talk to them about their art.
Meet other parents and talk with them about their experiences visiting Open Studios with Kids.

Plus, there will be cupcakes.

The first drop off date is today, Friday April 12, 10am-3pm. Additional dates are behind the cut.

( More details... )

House Swap?

[cerridwynn.livejournal.com]

This may be a long shot, but my California-based brother and his partner are planning an extended visit to the east coast this summer, including several weeks here in the Boston area! Rather than crowd our smallish apartment* while their place in the Santa Cruz Mountains sits empty, they asked me to check and see if anyone nearby might be interested in a house swap!

His place is a perfect vacation spot, easy walking distance from hiking trails and a winery, and a short drive to Santa Cruz.

Their dates are fairly flexible, but they’re thinking the swap would extend from around June 15 through July 22, though they would be willing to go as late as August 1.

( More house details below the cut... )

Comment or PM if you’re interested and I’ll put you in touch with my brother for more information!



*My husband and I are expecting our first child in late June/early July! This is 1) why they’re visiting and 2) why it might not be the best time for them to stay with us!

Creepy Solar Power Enthusiast Roaming Neighborhood at Night

[wobblymusic.livejournal.com]

Rant = ON.

I signed up with Sungevity, the solar power company and it recently went live. OK, they put a yard sign in front of my house, and I suppose that encourages strangers to want to talk to me. But why would someone ring my doorbell at 9:30pm on a weeknight hoping to ask me some questions about the system? It's not just me, right? That's kind of a weird thing to do, right?

If the stranger in question reads this board: Maybe you should leave a note with your phone number or email address instead? If you don't have any paper with you, well, you know where I live and you could always come back later.

Rant = OFF.

Before anyone asks, I paid about $2,900 upfront for a 15 year lease with no additional monthly payments. They also gave me a $500 iPad as a special promotion, so the net cost was more like $2,400. My thinking on lease vs. buy was that, 15 years from now, I won't want to be stuck with what will (hopefully) be very outdated technology.

I haven't gotten my first post-solar electric bill yet (it's due next week), but things look very promising. I've had the system live for 3+ weeks and I'm averaging over 100kWh/week. That should save me close to $100/month at current NSTAR rates which means the system pays for itself in 2-3 years.

And I swear this isn't why I wrote this post (really!), but if anyone is seriously interested in using Sungevity, please use my referral code when visiting sungevity.com. I think we each get $500 if you sign up. My code is 75403.

Somerville 'winter' farmers' markets end tomorrow. Cambridge continues for 2 more weeks

[ron_newman]

Both the Somerville Winter Farmers' Market (at the Armory, 9:30 - 2pm) and the Somerville Mobile Farmers' Market on Powderhouse Blvd (10 am - 1 pm) hold their last events tomorrow. That's it until the Davis and Union Square outdoor markets reopen on May 29 and June 1.

Cambridge's two winter markets will run for a couple more weeks, until the end of April: Cambridge Winter Farmers' Market on Saturdays, and Central Square Wednesday Market.

Reconfirming eligibility for residential tax exemption

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

As home owner who lives in the home I own, I get an exemption saving me about 20% on my property tax. I just got a letter from the Board of Assessors saying that "the Board is requiring those taxpayers who have been receiving the exemption for the longest peiord of time to refile an application for fiscal year 2014.

I started filling out the form, and then my spidey sense started tingling. Although there are no obvious errors or misstatements, there's a level of enthusiasm that I associate more with scams than the city of Somerville. There's an exclamation point at the end of the sentence that says how much I saved in property tax in 2013, and there's a bolded, underlined DO NOT IGNORE!! at the top of the page. There's also a vague sense of threat, in sentences like "Failure to return you application and documention wihtin 30 days of the date of this letter will require the board to remove the exemption for FY2014. You are strongly advised to file now and not delay, (we will send no additional letter)." Most worryingly, they ask for a copy of my 2013 MA tax return.

Has anyone else received something like this? I plan to call 311 on Monday for more information, but figured it might be worthwhile to post here, as it's likely other community members will be receiving similar letters.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who chimed in. It sounds like it's legit. I'm still planning to call Tuesday (thanks Ron for the reminder that Monday is a holiday), both to confirm and also to suggest to them that they may want to tone down the urgency to avoid sounding like a phishing expedition.

Bike racks at Dilboy?

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

I'm planning to go to tomorrow night's Militia game at Dilboy Stadium. Does anyone know if there's bike parking there? I did a Google Maps streetview driveby but didn't see anything obvious.

Where can I find chocolate that looks like musical notes?

[reeborg.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid, there was a local chocolate store near my house that sold real chocolate molded in the shape of musical notes, iPods, etc.

Are there any local candy stores that do similar things? I'm not interested in making my own.

Thanks!

Cambridge Science Festival events in Somerville - 4/14 @ Artisan's Asylum, 4/21 @ Armory

[ron_newman]

The Cambridge Science Festival is going on right now, through next Sunday, April 21. Two of its big events will happen here in Somerville:

Artisan's Asylum Open House and DIY Festival is this Sunday, April 14, from 1 to 5 pm, at 10 Tyler Street.

Come and check out the Artisan's Asylum! We'll be opening the doors of our community workshop to the public all afternoon. Explore exciting fabrication technology, get up close and personal with the work of our resident engineers, inventors, artists, and craftspeople, see examples of things you can make and learn to make here and mingle with our members, instructors and staff! Also come by for hands-on activities and a Do-It-Yourself Festival.

The Asylum's Battlebots Competition will take place on Sunday, April 21, from 4:30 to 8:30 pm, at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave.