If you qualify for what is actually an interest free loan, provided by the Federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 you may be able to take advantage of the current lower housing costs and jump into the real estate market.  Read the rest of this entry »

Seeking a luxurious home in the Country Club neighborhood in Wellesley?  Read the rest of this entry »

All Dog Rescue needs more foster homes for the countless dogs in need

Thank you for your interest in helping Massachusetts’ dogs who find themselves homeless. Our foster homes, many of which have been with us from the beginning of our program, experience great joy and deep satisfaction when they see that through their efforts an abandoned or neglected dog gets a second chance at life and a new opportunity to share his or her unconditional love with people who care. Not only do foster homes have the joy of seeing their foster dog placed into a new, great, forever home, but also there is the additional joy of seeing the happiness of the new family. Many of these homes need the dog as much as the dog needs them. Unfortunately, many wonderful dogs are put to sleep every day because they there are not lucky enough to be placed in a foster program or adopted from shelters. Four million dogs are abandoned every year in the United States. Two million of those dogs are put down. Overall, an estimated 5 million cats and dogs are killed in shelters each year. That’s one about every six and a half seconds. According to the Humane Society of the United States, the public acquires only 14% of pets from shelters.  Many dogs only have a chance of being adopted if they are taken in by a rescue organization. All Dog Rescue gets calls every day from shelters, Animal Control Officers and individuals who cannot keep their dogs anymore. We desperately need more foster homes in order to save these wonderful dogs. Please consider joining our team by offering your home as a temporary safe haven for an unfortunate dog that is in desperate need of help. Apply to become an All Dog Rescue Foster home now! What is Foster Care? Being a foster home means sharing your home with a rescued dog: providing food, shelter, toys, walks and lots of attention, as if the dog were your own, until a permanent home for the dog is found. We count on our foster homes to observe behaviors in a variety of situations, and we welcome those updates so we can enhance the description on Petfinder and the web site. Positive reinforcement training is encouraged. We also need to set limits for dogs that are new to our homes. You can always get more lenient, but it’s important to start out strict. Dogs will be more comfortable if they know what rules are, too. Most foster care situations require 2 weeks to a month of residential foster care, and in some cases where the dog is older, several months. Who can foster? The most important requirements are time and attention. You must be willing to include the dog in family activities, allow the dog to live as a house dog with much human companionship, and provide some daily one-on-one time with your rescue, including cuddles, play, and walks on leash.Crates are an invaluable piece of equipment for rescue people. We will loan foster homes a crate, if you don’t have one you can use. The dog may not be completely house-trained, in which case you can use the crate and take the dog out on leash, giving praise and treat rewards when the dog is successful. Apartment or condo homes can also be excellent foster homes, with proper attention to providing several leash-walks daily for the dog or off-leash exercise in a safe area like a fenced yard. If you live in an apartment, you must get permission from your landlord before applying to become a foster for All Dog Rescue. If you are unable to accept the long-term commitment of giving a dog a permanent home, but miss the companionship of a dog, then fostering may be for you!liv Apply to become an All Dog Rescue Foster home now! How we decide to take a dog into our program: First, we try to get as much information as possible about the dog. If the dog sounds like a good candidate for our program (friendly to people and dogs, no resource guarding, no awful behavior problems, etc.), and if we have a foster home open, we will schedule a temperament evaluation. Several of our volunteers are evaluators. If the dog passes the evaluation, the evaluator sends an email to our group, describing the dog’s size, behavior, etc. If someone feels this is a dog they can take in, they will arrange to get the dog. Dogs taken into our program are given a tag with an ADR #. The dog’s digital photo and a written description are put on Petfinder.com.  The dog will be put on our web site too.  Fostering with All Dog Rescue: New fosters are assigned a foster mentor, someone to answer questions, give advice, etc. We also maintain an active Google Groups’ email list where fosters can exchange information or ask for help. Foster homes are reimbursed for expenses like special food, medical supplies, etc. when you submit a reimbursement form to the treasurer.  We have donations of toys, leashes, food, etc., so it’s better to ask the group (by email) if we need anything before going out and buying it. Whenvener we can, we have a backup foster home available, in case of emergency. If the dog needs to be spayed or neutered the foster will take the dog to a vet recommended by the group. All Dog Rescue is billed directly by the vet in many cases. If not, the foster will be reimbursed for all medical expenses. The foster will review the adoption applications with the help of their foster mentor. For further information on the adoption process, please go to our “How to Adopt” page. The foster will make 1-2 follow-up contacts with the adopter after they’ve adopted to check in, see if there are any problems/good things happening, offer support/information /encouragement. Very often wonderful new friendships are formed between the adopter and foster. We encourage our adopters to continue to use All Dog Rescue as an information resource and are happy to help with any dog-related questions. If we do not have the answer, we have many resources in the dog behavior and other training fields we can ask. What to do next: If you would like to foster for All Dog Rescue, please fill out the Foster Home Information form which you will find on our website: http://www.alldogrescue.org/ and fax or email it to us. If you would like more information, please email: foster@alldogrescue.org.                                                        Ann Burford, Pinnacle Realtor, Accredited Buyers Representative Cell: 781.910.1419 Office: 781.237.5000 aburford@PinnacleHouses.com

Dinner and Silent Auction to Benefit Teen and Youth Summer Programs

The Natick Community Organic Farm is hosting its annual Harvest Dinner on September 10 at the Sherborn Inn. Enjoy a feast of local, organic foods prepared by General Manager and Executive Chef Brian Corbley and staff. Call for tickets today at 508-655-2204. You will enjoy the first ever Green Silent Auction featuring items to nourish and educate a healthier way of life.

The Natick Farm is open year round, 9-5 weekdays and during chore time on the weekends. It provides hands-on education through organic agriculture and productive land. The Natick Community Organic Farm is a non-profit, certified organic farm providing productive open space, food to the public, and education for all ages, year-round.

Jane Neilson, CBR

Be the First to Shop Nordstrom in Natick, MA at a very special event on September 5!

Be among the first to help Nordstrom celebrate its first store in the Boston area at an elegant evening devoted to all things fashionable. Enjoy dinner and dessert buffets, live entertainment, a runway fashion show and, of course, incredible shopping. Cocktail attire requested.

Tickets are $150. All proceeds will benefit the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Boston Ballet.

Nordstrom is located in the Natick Collection in Natick, MA.

To RSVP or for special accommodations information,
call 617.369.3851. Tickets are limited.
Complimentary valet parking available.

Have a fabulous evening! 

Jane Neilson, CBR

Grand Opening of the Nordstrom at the Natick Collection Just in Time for Fall Fashions!

Nordstrom is hosting a series of special events to celebrate the opening of its first Boston area store.

Located at the Natick Collection, Nordstrom hosts its Grand Opening September 7, 2007. Get ready to experience the best brands, designer collections, new cosmetics shops and restaurants—all from Nordstrom, all at Natick Collection.

Nordstrom Natick Collection

290 Speen Street
Natick, MA 01760
(508) 318-2600

Jane Neilson, CBR

This new restaurant offers delicious food and a relaxed atmosphere

When someone suggested that we go for dinner at The Biltmore, we were skeptical having recalled driving by this neighborhood bar many times at 1205 Chestnut Street in Newton Upper Falls. As Boston’s Hidden Restaurants says, “For those of you who remember the old Biltmore Cafe…a few years back and beyond, get ready to be shocked.” And, shocked we were. The Biltmore reopened last winter under new owners who have transformed it into a delightful “upscale bistro.”

According to Wikipedia, a gastropub is…”a British term for a public house (pub) which specializes in high quality food a step above the more basic ‘pub grub.’” Indeed we would agree. We started with the Farmhouse Platter - a tasty selection of fried green tomatos, pickled peaches, kalamata olives and capanata ($12). For the main course, most in our party had the special: Grilled Swordfish with Sicilan capanata and a lemon herb pasta ($20) which was cooked to perfection. Someone had the Half Chicken Under a Brick with rosemary, lemon and garlic ($16) and someone else had the Biltmore Burger ($10). Everyone was very pleased with their choices.

Sheryl Julian, food critic for the Boston Globe, wrote in her review, “…the menu here is terrific…[they] are compulsive about fresh ingredients…produce comes from A. Russo & Sons, meat from John Dewar & Co. and fish from Captain Marden’s Seafoods — some of the best suppliers in town.”

The atmosphere is casual. We sat at a high top table in the first room where there is a handsome mahogany bar. Here we could keep track of the Red Sox game which was on all three flat screen TVs. The second room has a combination of booths and tables and is a little quieter.

As The Biltmore website suggests, go “…for drinks after work, dinner with the kids, or for a night out with friends — you’ll be a regular in no time.”

Curious about what technology might look like in the future?

iPhones are the newest gee whiz gadget that I am sure you have all seen. But how would it affect your life if it were as big as your desk or a wall and thousands of times more powerful? A new user interface that is being developed by MicroSoft is so amazing that we thought that it may be of interest to our readers. We became aware of this remarkable video by Popular Mechanics through the Real Estate Cyber Society web site. I am sure that you will be stunned at the technology and its future possibilities.

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See the video

Massachusetts Horticultural Society to Host 150 Antique Dealers

This weekend over 150 antique dealers will gather under tents in the gardens of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Elm Bank for the New England Antiques Show.  The show will be open on Saturday the 28th, 9am - 5 pm and on Sunday the 29th, 10 am - 4 pm. There will be a chance to preview the antiques at an 8 am breakfast on Saturday - the charge will be $25, the proceeds of which will benefit the Horticultural Society. Tickets for the show are $10.

The Wellesley Townsman reports that organizer Martin Getman, who has been putting on shows for over 25 years, is very selective in what dealers he chooses for his shows and attributes this to his success. “The dealers he invites to the show are part of the reason people continue to attend his events. Getman only brings dealers he knows or has done business with in the past. The ones he doesn’t know are scrutinized before they are allowed to participate.”

For more information, visit the Massachusetts Horticultural Society web site.