davis_square | Recent Entries

I know Watertown is two bus rides from Davis Square, but I figured this information couldn't hurt.

https://www.watertowncommunityfridge.org/

Visit us at at the BWUM Church at 80 Mt. Auburn St. Watertown MA. OPEN 24/7!

Current Mood: hopeful

kathmandu

Can anyone recommend sources of information or legal aid relating to signing up for MassHealth / Medicaid? Seeking someone with knowledge on the current system/requirements, to help a person with zero income but some assets renew their enrollment in the least-damaging way.
Pointers toward nonprofits that answer this kind of question, or anything similar, would be appreciated.

okrablossom

I'm looking for someone to shovel while I'm away for a few weeks next month. Any suggestions for short-period help would be appreciated. Thanks!

lb_lee

Somerville is doing participatory budgeting! Any resident age 12 and over can participate, and they're taking suggestions until November 20th! You can see a list of people's suggestions here; there's a lot of repeats, and you can boost things you would love to have! (Or add a suggestion of your own if it's not on there already!) Lots of suggestions for curb cuts, ramps, water fountains, public bathrooms, and a municipal composting program! ^_^

jadelennox

Three gooseberry bushes. I love the gooseberries, but a tree has shaded them over the years and they barely produce in the shade. They need a sunny spot (I currently have them in a 10' x 2' strip) where you can handle a plant with longish spines. Given the way our climate is these days, you could probably transplant them in fall or early spring; I'm happy to hold onto them until then. (They do require spring and summer maintenance to control sawfly; I'll tell you details if you want the plants.)
Red raspberry plants. The berries are great, we just are planting different things in the spot. We do have raspberry cane borers in the plants, but they're easy to control. Given the way our climate is these days, you could probably transplant them in fall or early spring; I'm happy to hold onto them until then. We absolutely have as many as you want. And more. Would you like more?
Two kits for building nested octagonal garden beds (two larger bases and smaller tops). Pros: Incredibly light plastic, easy to assemble, no tools needed (tongue and groove). Cons: Like to disassemble themselves slowly over the course of a year; we've been known to reinforce them with duct tape and sometimes rope. I can't find a great picture but you can probably extrapolate from this corner shot here. (It's the brown one with tiers and strawberries, not the big piece of bending black plastic.)

redbird

I just learned that they are closing my current dental office (which is in Watertown Square) in about a month. They're suggesting patients either go to Westborough, which is out past 495, or a Gentle Dental in Belmont, but my current dentist will be working entirely in Westborough.

Since I have to change dentists anyway, does anyone have a dentist they'd recommend. I'd like someone in Boston (ideally Allston-Brighton), Cambridge, Davis Square or elsewhere in Somerville, or Arlington, but anywhere near a T station would work.

okrablossom

Anyone know what all the helicopters this morning are for??

jadelennox

Edited to add: Someone has already claimed the kitchen-aid. Thanks!

Good condition wooden two-drawer lateral file cabinet. It's in great shape; I just need space so I went on a scan-and-shred spree. Free to the first person who can pick it up in east Arlington.
A Kitchen-Aid mixer (a 5-quart Artisan series cobalt blue KSM150PSBU), needs repairs. The deal with kitchen-aid small appliances is that kitchen-aid doesn't offer repair services for small appliances anymore (grr argh), and they're supposed to be user-serviceable. And they are! But not if you're a person with disabled hands. So I tried and failed to repair it, and gave up and replaced it, but I hate to waste a gorgeous kitchen-aid that should last decades. The repair options I know of are:
- Maaaaybe you can get it repaired by Kitchen-Aid? Their website still has the info to get a shipping kit for repairs. When I tried it a couple of years ago I ended up in phone rerouting hell and so I don't know if that service really still exists. But feel free to try!
- Do it yourself. Requires buying the right grease, and having fine motor control and hand strength. There's an iFixit guide and tons of youtube videos, I'm just not strong enough to do it.
- Taking it out for repairs. The closest place I can find that does small appliance repairs is Fix Masters in West Roxbury, and I can't drive. But if you drive and are regularly down there, that one seems super easy.

So the Kitchen-Aid is free to the first person who can pick it up in east arlington and also is intending to repair the mixer.

kathmandu

We are clearing out my grandmother's attic in. We found some clothing and other textiles stretching back over a hundred years. There are two accordion-pleated bonnets. There are a couple of what look to be full Victorian mourning outfits (sized for someone less than five feet tall and slender, maybe as big as a modern size zero). There are celluloid (probably) collars and a celluloid shirt-front. Some stuff more recent, as in sometime from the 20th century but it's not clear when.

It is in varying condition: some intact, some torn, some with little holes. I'm guessing its main value would be as examples to make patterns from.

Can anyone here point me toward any individuals or groups who might be interested? I know we have historical-clothing enthusiasts and re-creators around here, I just don't remember any contact info.

UPDATE Dec. 10: Upon examining the fancy Victorian clothes again, they are too fragile to wear. They are now being evaluated by a museum.
Sorry, everyone.

dmaze

Beyond the Neck: the architecture and development of Somerville, Massachusetts, by Carole Zellie. Commissioned by the City of Somerville, this book documents the city's development from the early colonial era up through the start of the 20th century. Find it at the Central or West Branch libraries, Dewey decimal number 974.44.

The first edition of the book was published in 1982, so before the Red Line extension into West Somerville. For that, some of the text is eerily prescient: Davis Square developed as a neighborhood with good access to transit into downtown Boston, except in the 1870s it was horsecar service and steam trains connecting to the Boston and Lowell. It was interesting reading how much of the city was developed a little earlier than I had thought, more in the 1880s than post-1900, unless you get into the untamed wilderness beyond Teele Square, which did remain farmland until fairly late.

If you're at all into local history, I found this really interesting. I'm not an architect and can't really tell the difference between Queen Anne and Shingle Style houses, but there are lots of pictures of things the research found historically significant (several of which are still standing!).

elusiveat

Does anyone have recommendations where to shop for sneakers for an 8-year-old, ideally a comfortable bike ride from Davis Square?

Her grandmother sends her shoes regularly, and mostly that's been enough for us, but I think she's at a point where we need to find her something that's a really good fit.

Thanks!

jadelennox

I have an unopened 20 ounce bag of Craisins which I didn’t realize until I got home contains sucralose, which gives me headaches. Free to a good home if you like dried cranberries & don’t mind sucralose.

kathmandu

Can anyone recommend a lawyer or legal bureau/source/etc. with expertise in labor and employment law, from the employee side? Extra points for experience with age discrimination or pension shenanigans.

An offline friend wants someone to evaluate a severance agreement.

Any names or tips (or anti-recs) anyone can offer would be appreciated.

minoanmiss

The Cambridge Health Alliance (Cambridge Hospital, S'ville Hospital, various clinics) offers free confidential reproductive health counseling and services for people aged 12-18. The more kids know about this, the more kids who need it can be notified, so please help me spread the world.

(Yes, confidential means parents/guardians will not be notified. I think this is a good idea, and I'm not going to argue about that.)

Current Mood: hopeful

squirrelitude

I've found it surprisingly difficult to get good information on recent rainfall history for Somerville. Like... how much rain did we get in that storm yesterday? How about all of June? And what's the historical average for June? (Latter might need a different site.) Any tips?

filing_davis

It looks like Skyline dry cleaners has closed; there’s a for rent sign and all the equipment is gone.

Unfortunately, I haven’t heard from them and they still have some of my shirts. The voice mailbox is full, and the social media has been dormant for several years.

Anyone have a contact number or email?

mem_winterhill

Hey folks: I know it's a drag to watch yet another social media site and create new logins and such, but for those who might be interested there's a reddit-like alternative underway in early experimentation.

https://kbin.social/m/somerville

The m/somerville thing is analogous to a subreddit like r/somerville--but they call them "magazines" there. You can post a link to an article, upload an image, all the typical stuff.

It's hard to migrate, and I know that nobody wants to move until there's more content. But there's only more content if people contribute to it. Very chicken-egg status.

I used this FAQ to get started and begin to understand the terminology and functions: https://kbin.social/m/kbinfaqs@kilioa.org/t/20459/A-small-FAQ-to-hopefully-help-new-users-to-kbin

kathmandu

Can anyone recommend a dentist who's good at dealing with damaged and worn teeth? Someone who's up on all the current treatment techniques?
Places that require driving would still count as accessible in this case. Near Davis is ideal, but anywhere inside the I-95 loop could work.
Bonus points for Covid-safe with air purifiers.

Current Mood: hopeful

staccato_tenuto

We're looking for someone to build a custom enclosure for an outdoor heat pump unit we had installed recently, which is about 6 feet high, 3.5' wide. The enclosure would need to be made of something like a lattice to avoid blocking airflow, and it would most likely need to have posts dug into the ground to make it sturdy enough to stand up in the wind.

Do any of you have recommendations for someone who can take on this kind of job? We've consulted local handypersons who have said it's too large a project for them, and carpentry and fencing companies who have said it's too small.

Current Location: Porter/Davis Squares

gingicat

Looking for recommendations (or warnings) for mold remediation services so that my kiddo can use his new room. Thanks in advance!

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Page Summary

minoanmiss - Watertown Community Fridge!
kathmandu - MassHealth signup expertise?
okrablossom - Shoveling help?
lb_lee - the city of Somerville is doing participatory budgeting!
jadelennox - three garden related offers
redbird - dentist?
okrablossom - helicopters
jadelennox - free to a good home: lateral file cabinet, kitchen-aid mixer
kathmandu - Historical costumers and clothing nerds?
dmaze - Book recommendation: Beyond the Neck
elusiveat - kids shoe stores (pref. discount)?
jadelennox - Offering
kathmandu - Labor lawyer recommendations?
minoanmiss - Please Tell Any Local Teens You Know
squirrelitude - Rainfall history?
filing_davis - Skyline Dry Cleaners, Ball Square, closed
mem_winterhill - Social media alternatives
kathmandu - Dentist recommendations?
staccato_tenuto - Carpenter for smallish outdoor project?
gingicat - mold remediation?

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The Davis Square Community

Recent Entries

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Watertown Community Fridge!

MassHealth signup expertise?

Shoveling help?

the city of Somerville is doing participatory budgeting!

three garden related offers

dentist?

helicopters

free to a good home: lateral file cabinet, kitchen-aid mixer

Historical costumers and clothing nerds?

Book recommendation: Beyond the Neck

kids shoe stores (pref. discount)?

Offering

Labor lawyer recommendations?

Please Tell Any Local Teens You Know

Rainfall history?

Skyline Dry Cleaners, Ball Square, closed

Social media alternatives

Dentist recommendations?

Carpenter for smallish outdoor project?

mold remediation?

Profile

April 2026

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Page Summary

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