Resident Parking Permits - Homeowner`s Rehab, Inc.

January 2008
80 Auburn Park
Cambridge, MA 02139
Hours
Monday-Friday............. 8:30 am-5 pm
The office will be closed on Tuesday,
December 25th, for the holiday.
Important
Numbers
Winn Residential
Office............................... 617-491-5466
Fax................................... 617-497-9410
Homeowner’s Rehab, Inc./CNAHS
Office............................... 617-868-4858
Fax................................... 617-868-1022
Staff
Winn Staff
David Blumberg........Senior Property
Manager
Brian Starr.............Property Manager
Andrew Leichtman............. Assistant
Property Manager
Patricia Newicki......Manager Trainee
Khim Kou, Mark Vakovsky,
James McNamara,
Miguel Marinez................. Mechanics
Homeowner’s Rehab, Inc./
CNAHS Staff
Hilary Smith............Resident Service
Coordinator
Resident Parking Permits
Don’t forget to renew your resident parking permits if you haven’t
already! Current stickers expire January 31st. You must have proof
of residency and have paid all outstanding tickets in order to get a
permit. There is an $8 fee for most resident parking stickers, although
this does not apply to seniors and drivers who hold a disability plate
or placard. For further information or to download the application, go
to www.cambridgema.gov/traffic/ResidentPermit.cfm.
Green Cleaning Practices
Most standard household cleaning products contain toxic chemicals
that are not only bad for the environment, but are also not safe to
get on your skin or to breathe. Try some of these gentle, safe, and
environmentally friendly alternatives for your cleaning in the new year!
• Baking Soda: You can use a baking soda and water paste for
effectively getting stains out of clothes, cleaning the stove and
other kitchen appliances, cleaning pots and pans, and to eliminate
odors in the fridge, freezer, garbage, and elsewhere. When mixed
with Borax you can use it as detergent for your dishwasher. Mixed
with vinegar and rubbing alcohol it can be used for a streak-free
mirror cleaner.
• Vinegar: Mix one part of vinegar with one part water in a spray
bottle for cleaning use in place of harsh chemical sprays. It can
be used on toilets, sinks, bathtubs, highchairs, countertops, and
kitchen appliances but should never be used on marmoleum or
marble surfaces.
• Lemons: Adding lemon juice to baking soda or vinegar will increase
its cleaning power!
You can also purchase many “green” non-toxic cleaning agents from
your local market. Look for the “Green Seal” or other certification that the
product is actually environmentally sound. For more information, visit
www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/greenaction/clean.html.
Health Corner: Childhood Asthma
Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood, affecting
nearly five million children in the United States. The symptoms of asthma
typically include a cough, wheeze, tightness in the chest, and shortness
of breath. If you notice that your child has a frequent cough after running
around, at bed time, or when excited, or if your child has recurrent
bronchitis or reactive airway disease, he or she may have asthma even
without a noticeable wheeze. Common environmental irritants such as
pets, many cleaning products that are not non-toxic or “Green,” cigarette
smoke, and diesel exhaust can make asthma symptoms worse. For a full
evaluation contact your primary care physician.
scooba
ask leasa
armchair adventures
®
the big
Gloria R. recently asked our designer, Bonnie Ryan, for help putting together
-dub-dub
her bedroom. Here’s an excerpt of her question and Bonnie’s suggestions.
Thanks, Gloria, for the great question!
You’ve got your Roomba®, the robotic vacuum
all sorts of features, including a system that applies
“I am ready to decorate my bedroom, but I am at a loss as to what to do.
cleaner from iRobot®, to tackle the carpeted
only clean water to the floors and dumps dirty water
My bedroom is a square box, but… one wall features a double window that
into a separate tank.
opens from the floor and is framed in muted red brick with a mushroom, taupe
chili cookoff
areas of your apartment, but what about the kitchen
tackles sealed hardwood, tile,
250 up to a generous 850 square feet. Each version
leaves around the middle. My favorite color is pink. I want a contemporary/
Why not spice things up this winter and
and linoleum floors. Its four-
includes the Virtual Wall® feature, which allows
romantic space.” system
you to establish an invisible barrier to keep Scooba
to whip up their own original recipes or scour
promises to prep, wash,
out of embargoed areas. This little gadget also “sees”
dear gloria,
the Web for new ideas. At www.chili.org, you
scrub,
squeegee
and steers clear of rugs, carpets, and dangerous
you have a pulled-together look that’s not too “matchy matchy.” In your case
can even find recipes from past winners of
your floors to sparkling
precipices. Scooba scoots under tables, chairs, and
(planning around a Hawaiian chocolate vase with muted pink flowers and
the Chili Appreciation Society International’s
perfection. Scooba boasts
cabinet edges too.
including a red brick wall), you would want to paint your walls* a chocolate
and bathrooms? Never fear, Scooba® is
There are three models to choose from based on
grout. I am thinking of working with colors from a vase I purchased in Hawaii.
here. Roomba’s scrubby cousin
the square footage that needs scrubbing — from
It is a rich, dark brown mango wood with carved-out muted pink flowers and
host your very own chili cookoff? Invite friends
stage
cleaning
and
in these colors would be your bedding, lamps, drapes, and so forth.
Enlist your favorite chili afficionados to choose
the spiciest, tastiest, most exotic, and most
possibilities are endless! Prizes need not be any
more elaborate than homemade certificates —
When basing your room around a favorite piece, try to make sure that
color to bring out the brick and use light pink and dusty rose accents. Accents
annual cookoff.
likely to knock out a head cold chili — the
— Gloria
Panini grills are
wetriedit—welikedit
hot stuff
You would not want everything in the room to be brown with pink flowers.
The base of the bedding could be nice a dusty rose color with chocolate brown
and light pink pillows, even with a damask print thrown in. If you want to pull
in another color like your lilac, you could tie it in with floral prints; just make
sure that the lilac or purple is present three noticeable times in the room.
DeLonghi Retro panini grill:
Amazon.com
Krups panini maker:
chefscatalog.com
rights until next year’s bean-eater bout. A trip to
The rundown: There’s room on the underside for cord
The rundown: Unlike the other two grills
into your room through your artwork, lampshades with chrome bases, or a
your local party store for a fun crown could make
storage, and a locking mechanism keeps the grill from
tested, the Krups grill bottom doesn’t have
simple floral arrangement. If you stick with these colors and floral accents, you
the coveted title of Chili King (or Queen) even
flipping open when stored in an upright position. All of the
a runoff spout for liquids. The bottom grill
grills tested featured basically the same locking system.
plate is completely contained. This model
DeLonghi comes with a small cup that catches drippings as
features two indicator lights on the
they run out of one side of the grill.
top — red to let you know
Upside: This is a heavy-duty grill that presses sandwiches
it’s heating up, and green
which can be easily done using templates on
your home computer — or plain old bragging
more appealing.
Unless you have some undiscovered Crockpot
prodigies in your midst, you’re likely to end up
with more chili than you know what to do with.
Fret not. A quick Internet search yields a wealth
of innovative uses for leftover chili — chili pie,
chili mac, a new twist on spaghetti sauce, or a
hearty topping for baked potatoes. Or invest in
some festive but inexpensive plastic containers
and send the surplus home with the winners.
Either way, this is sure to become an annual event
among the chili lovers in your life!
with little effort. The hinged lid adjusts to accommodate
food of various heights. As with all the grills tested, the Retro
can cook other foods such as meats and vegetables, but only
sandwiches were tested on the grills.
The bottom grill plate has wide grooves, the widest of the
three tested. You can slide your fingers through the grooves,
making the plate fairly easy to clean if you need to scrape
out stubborn bits, but very little is likely to stick on this
slick nonstick surface. It also has a control panel below the
handle, and a shiny knob lets you adjust the temperature,
The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of Cox CustomMedia or its staff. Cox CustomMedia assumes no
responsibility for any materials submitted for publication or for any loss or personal injury arising out of the publication
of such materials. Any action taken in reliance on the views contained in such materials is taken at the risk of the
reader. Persons submitting materials represent and warrant that they are authorized to do so and that such materials
are in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations and agree to indemnify and hold
harmless Cox CustomMedia from any and all liability arising out of publication of
such materials. THIS COMMUNITY DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE,
COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, SEX, DISABILITY OR FAMILIAL STATUS. Copyright
©2008 Cox CustomMedia, Inc. Cox CustomMedia’s
Printed on
toll-free number is 1-800-245-1666. Some
Recyclable
Paper
content courtesy of Cox News Service. (01)
When going for a contemporary/romantic look, the key is to keep it as
simple as possible, having floral prints just as accents. You can pull the flowers
should have your perfect romantic Hawaiian oasis in no time.
*P
lease remember to check with your management team before painting your home. Some
would rather you not paint your home; others may offer to do the work for you!
E-mail Leasa at leasa@coxcustommedia.com, or snail mail her at Ask Leasa, 122 Smith Hines
Road, Greenville, SC 29607.
to alert you that the grill
Upside: It’s the slimmest of
VillaWare UNO Pro-Press panini grill:
surlatable.com
the three grills tested. If space is an issue,
The rundown: It features a side spout and a small cup to catch
this one might take up a bit less when it’s in
liquids. UNO is designed with a temperature-control switch below the
a standing position. The Krups has fat feet, which
handle. It’s the only grill we tested that also includes a cleaning tool.
is ready.
is a good thing when you’re pressing down on the
handle — it’s well-balanced, so you won’t have to
worry about it flopping around. The nonstick grilling
Upside:
Because the handsome exterior has a brushed surface
that’s ridged rather than smooth and shiny, this grill isn’t as easily
scratched as the other two tested. The adjustable lid easily and
evenly pressed the fullest sandwiches. It heated up quickly, and the
which you can see through a small window.
plates also have very shallow ridges, making cleanup
Downside: That handsome, shiny chrome exterior can get
pretty easy. It heats up quickly, and sandwiches get
scratched easily. Try not to store it next to anything sharp or
hot and toasted in just a few minutes.
a fair amount of storage space. UNO’s bottom plate has pretty narrow
rough. This isn’t the best balanced grill of the three. Also, as
Downside: It doesn’t have a temperature regulator.
grills, and they’re also the deepest, making it slightly more difficult to
with all of the grills tested, the plastic grips stayed cool, but
And, like all of the other grills tested, there’s no
clean than the others, especially if you end up with lots of sticky cheese
the rest of the unit got very hot. Keep young children away
off-and-on switch. It has to be unplugged to turn off
or other food on the surface. But the cleaning tool with teeth that fit
from these appliances. They’re not kid-friendly.
the power.
between the grill strips does make the task somewhat easier.
temperature selector came in handy.
Downside: This was the bulkiest of the three grills tested, so you’ll need
Resident Issue: Basic Budgeting
Kindergarten Registration
With the holidays just behind us, many people find themselves
struggling to keep up with their mounting bills. Use these simple
budgeting tips to make sure you don’t fall behind on your basic
monthly expenses like rent and utility costs.
• Calculate the total amount of money that you earn/receive each
month including money from paychecks, disability, child support,
etc. to determine your total monthly income.
• Add up all of your regular monthly bills such as gas, electric,
telephone, Internet, credit cards (use the minimum payment due
at this stage), cable, loan payments, car and health insurance, etc.
You can use your previous months’ bills to get an estimate of the
costs, but keep in mind that some bills, such as your gas bill, may
be higher in the colder months if you have gas heat.
• Add up all of your additional monthly expenses such as gas for
your car, your T pass, food, co-pays for medical appointments, etc.
• Subtract your total monthly bills and expenses from your total
monthly income to see how much “extra” money you can expect
to have each month. Use this to figure out how much additional
money you can put towards credit card payments, loan balances,
or to save. Remember, the faster you can pay off your credit cards
and loans with high interest rates, the less you pay in total!
• If you end up with a negative number when you subtract your
total monthly bills and expenses from your total monthly income,
see where you can trim back on your costs. For example, you
may need to cut back your cable coverage, use the Internet at the
library, or buy generic brand food at the grocery store. In some
cases you can set up a payment plan for bills you can’t pay in full
such as your phone, electric, or medical bills. Also, simple things
like lowering your heat at night, turning off lights when you are
not in the room, and not going over the minutes on your cell
phone plan can make your monthly bills shrink!
For other budgeting tips, contact Hilary Smith at 617-868-4858 x210.
SUN
MON
January
2008
TUE
First Cycle of
Kindergarten
Registration,
Rent Due
617-349-6551
New Year’s Day (2nd-31st)
6
7
13
14
Farinelli, Boston
Lyric Opera,
617‑542‑6772
20
1
21
8
28
Cambridge
School
Royal Fireworks!; Committee
Symphony Hall; Meeting, CRLS
Library, 6-8 pm,
617‑266‑1200
617-349-6630
(25th, 27th)
2
9
ESL
Employment
Training, MBHP,
5:30-7 pm,
617-425-6700
Deadline for
Applications
for Spring Session
of Public Art
Youth Council,
617-349-4380
15
16
Resume
Writing
Workshop,
MBHP,
5:30-7 pm,
617-425-6700
22
Martin Luther
King Jr. Day
27
WED
29
Basic
Budgeting
Workshop,
MBHP,
5:30-7 pm,
617-425-6700
Last Day for
Voter Registration
for Primaries,
www.massvote.org
23
The first cycle to register your child for
Kindergarten in the city of Cambridge will be
from January 2nd-31st. If your child will be 4 by
March 31st he or she is able to begin kindergarten
in the fall of 2008. Early registration will increase
your chances of getting your child into the school
of your choice! For a copy of the registration booklet
or more information on the process, you can
contact the Family Resource Center at 617-349-6551
or Hilary Smith at 617-868-4858 x210. This
information can also be found at the following link:
www.cpsd.us/FRC/K_reg.cfm.
Scholarship
Calling college-bound residents! Homeowner’s
Rehab Inc. and Cambridge Neighborhood
Apartment Housing Services are announcing
the 2008 Scholarship Fund. HRI/CNAHS will
be awarding multiple scholarships that range from
$1000 to $2500 to current residents of our rentassisted housing units. Eligibility requirements
include upcoming attendance at a 2- or 4-year
accredited, degree-awarding undergraduate
institution of higher education, financial need,
academic promise and achievement, and
demonstrated community service involvement.
Priority will be given to students entering their
first year of school but all are encouraged to apply!
Please contact Hilary Smith at 617-868-4858 x210
or hsmith@homeownersrehab.org for
further information.
THU
Bruins Home
Games, TD
Banknorth
Garden,
617‑624‑BEAR
(3rd-29th,
Select Dates)
3
10
Area IV Coalition
Meeting, 7 pm,
617-868-4858 x210;
Danceworks CRLS
Theater, 7:30 pm,
617-349-6630
17
Silent Auction
for Boys and Girls
Club of Middlesex
County, Marriott
in Kendall Square,
617-628-4665 or
ceng@kidsclub.org
24
Celtics Home
Games, TD
Banknorth
Garden,
866‑4CELTIX (2nd31st, Select Dates)
Elgar,
Symphony Hall,
617‑638‑9289
(24th‑26th)
30
31
“Rhythms of
Modern Life”;
Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston;
617‑267‑9300
(30th‑31st)
Current
Resident
Parking
Permits Expire
FRI
4
11
18
Mozart and
Schubert,
Symphony Hall,
617‑266‑1200
(16th‑19th)
25
Green Streets,
Wear green
and Leave Your
Car at Home!
617-868-4858 x210;
SAT I & II Exams,
617-349-6630
SAT
Third; BU
Theatre,
Mainstage;
617‑266‑0800
(4th-31st,
Select Dates)
No Child...;
American
Repertory
Theatre;
617‑547‑8300
(3rd-31st,
Select Dates)
5
12
19
Monty Python’s
Spamalot, The
Opera House,
800‑447‑7400
(22nd‑27th)
26
For further information on
any posted events, contact the
number provided or your Resident
Service Coordinator Hilary Smith
at 617-868-4858 x 210.
Calendar is correct at time of publication. Call numbers listed to verify.
E Q U A L H OU S I N G
OPPORTUNITY
*37679* 37679/Q-500/S-2/CSC/SPEC