Bed and Breakfast in Concord MA - Bettina Network's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Bed and Breakfast in Concord MA’

Who Won the Prize at the Bettina Sale?

Sunday, August 12th, 2012

copyright Bettina Network, inc. 2012

The Bettina Scattering Sale for Dr. Alice Amsden has come to an end.  It was a great experience.  Many lessons learned to carry forward to the next sale and many, many people to thank.

First, we want to thank all of you who came, looked,  bought and those who clicked into the ‘on-line’ part of the sale and put in bids.

As you know, everytime you put in a bid your name was put into the computer box which keeps such and today we had the computer tell us who it picked to win the night at a bed & breakfast in a Bettina Network home in Concord, Massachusetts.

That person was Christine Gilbert.  Congratulations!  We will be in touch with you to tell you how to collect your prize.  The family of Dr. Alice Amsden and the Bettina Network, inc. thank you for bidding. We appreciate your participation and we appreciate everyone who helped to make this a success.

We look for you at the next sale.  Make sure you are registered on the Bettina Network’s web site so you can be the first to be notified when the next sale takes place.  Lots of changes coming with the next sale.  This was our first sale using the new software and it worked beautifully.  We had a couple glitches in the beginning, but it took only a few minutes to get it fixed.  Susan Buck and Nicole Noll of Web Start Women did an outstanding job with the software.  They are off putting their heads together to make the program we use that they wrote – better, easier, and of course,  elegant.  You must come to the next sale to see their changes.

We also want to thank Louise Botero and Alexandre Hawley for playing wonderful duets on the viola da gamba on Sunday afternoon at the Amsden house.  We have security cameras that we set up all over the house during our sales.  Maybe we will try to figure out how to use one to make a video that we can post to the blog to share with all of you.  A small buffet followed the recital and in the process we learned how to make the next event, at the end of a Bettina Sale, a really special time.

Thanks also to all of you who inundated us with suggestions for the next sale.  I had no idea we had so many friends who want us to succeed and who have taken a special interest in what we are doing and how we are doing it.  It will take time to sort through all of the suggestions, but I know you will see some of them implemented soon.

________________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

 

 

More on Apple Cider Vinegar

Monday, July 23rd, 2012

copyright Bettina Network, inc. 2012

“Thanks for your information on Apple Cider Vinegar.  I remember it being around a lot when I was growing up and then it disappeared.  In fact, white vinegar, which I believe is a petroleum derivative, has replaced a few of the uses for vinegar which are still around – mainly as an ingredient in salad dressings.

I remember being afraid to have anything with white vinegar in it because of the stories which circulated in my community about of how it was made.

I was so happy to read about Apple Cider Vinegar in your blog that I decided to go back to it, do some research and see if I couldn’t bring it back as one of the staples in my eating and cosmetic life. I remember a weight-loss diet that was popular several years ago which was Vinegar, Vitamin B6 and something else – or maybe it was B12.  It was hugely popular, but I didn’t lose weight on it because I couldn’t keep it up.  Friends of mine lost quite a bit of weight on this diet and one developed the habit of having a tablespoon or two of Apple Cider Vinegar in water when she woke up instead of coffee.  I don’t know what its done for her because we haven’t talked in years.

Taking your suggestion about putting a bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar in the bathroom for those who think the tub isn’t clean enough led to my putting two bottles in the bathroom.  One with a rag on a small plate to be used to clean the bathtub and/or other places in the bathroom.   – if its good for the bathtub, what about the toilet?  I put the second bottle in the bathroom after I found a pump which fit the top and which made my Apple Cider Vinegar bottle ‘pumpable’ for cosmetic purposes.

I use this second bottle to rinse my hair; after I’ve used vitamin A, dried milk and vitamin E on my face and before going out I put a little Apple Cider Vinegar in my cupped hands and wipe my face with it being careful to avoid my eyes.  My skin has a glow which makes me look years younger.  On the days I don’t want that shiny look, I use dried milk as a powder to tone down the oily look left from the vitamins and it looks great.  I got all of that from your blog under the ‘health and beauty section.’

You were right about being able to keep my face looking fantastic all during the day by simply splashing on cool water periodically when I wanted to refresh and that looks better than any foundation because you can’t refresh it – foundations just begin to make you look tired and old after a few hours, and if you try to refresh the foundation with more powder, you begin to get that ‘caked’ look, which isn’t healthy because your pores are very clogged by that time and your looks take a direct hit.

I wish more places would keep that cosmetic bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar in their bathrooms – food quality Apple Cider Vinegar.  When I travel, I can’t carry it because the airlines would take it away from me. – Probably to take home and use it themselves.

I found when I first started to use it I would get this little burning sensation in places on my face.  When I checked in my magnifying mirror, it was in places where I had ‘sitz’ or had been picking my face.  Now, that’s all gone because whatever sensation made me scratch or pick my face is gone.

Thanks for the information.  It led me to another place, with which I am delighted.  I especially love it when I have guests and they come downstairs to breakfast asking about the Apple Cider Vinegar in the bathroom and I am able to spout my new found knowledge.  What is great about that – they usually have a few things from their youthful remembrances or current readings to add so I am pulling myself up out of a great pit – and the money saved is amazing.  I used to spend $300 plus per month on cosmetics, which weren’t doing anything for me except I felt as though I was doing something when I bought them.  The ambiance of the cosmetic areas, the way the sales people treated me when I went in to buy my cosmetics – all made me feel great, but when I got my big purchases home, they made no difference whatsoever in how I looked nor did they stop aging nor my penchant to pick my face.

So once again, thanks.  Keep up the good work and seek out all of these things so I can benefit.”

________________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

A Wonderful Concord Christmas Story

Saturday, December 31st, 2011

copyright Bettina Network, inc. for Barbara Marden 2011

A few days before Christmas I was giving a friend’s out of town visitor a tour of the house.  My friends six year old son David was with us and did he get excited when I showed him  a secret place to store treasures.  It was in our main bed and breakfast bedroom above the fireplace mantelpiece. Our “restoration” carpenter from New Hampshire created that little cavern when he tore down the wall above the mantelpiece and put shelves in the recess. David was less impressed by my description of what we found when the wall was torn. The major items were a ladies button boot, a breast pump, and some letters, each offering consolation for the death of a child.  Losing a child was apparently a common event for families from the time our house was built in the early 1700s through even later times.

 

One of the letters, three pages long, and now in the Concord library, showed beautiful handwriting similar to our forefathers’ writing of our Constitution. It was a letter from Cyrus Barrett to his sister Sally, who had married into the Wood family living in our house. The Barrett family house is now being restored as part of Concord’s historical park.  The Minutemen had ammunition hidden in the Barrett’s cornfield the day of the shot heard round the world. Written in New Orleans in 1819, Cyrus first offered condolences over a son’s death  and continued by describing a familiar theme, an economic downturn. I have not corrected the spelling in the following quotes:

 

“I was much affected by the maloncholly intelligence contained in your letter of the sudden death of your affectionate and much loved little John.  I recollect him perfectly and have often been amused by his innocent playfulness.  I am not surprised that his death should occasion the deepest sorrow in you, yet at the same time you are left with the comfortable assurance that he is happier than your fondest wishes and care could have made him.”

 

“New Orleans has for some time past been suffering under a heavy weight of commercial embarrasement.  Many of her most enterprising Merchants have failed and those who continue in business are constantly complaining of heavy taxes.  The Produce of the country is extremely low. Cotton which formerly sold for 30 cents now sells for 16 cts and other articles have suffered the same depression in values, but notwithstanding the times look so gloomy we are looking forward for a change.”

 

Thinking about the letters makes me glad to be alive today.  In spite of all the economic and political problems, we are saved the grief of losing so many children.

And of course so many of our tasks are much easier, for instance baking these Russian tea cakes I gave my friend to take home.  They make excellent cookies for any occasion.

 

INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS FOR BAKING RUSSIAN TEACAKES:

 

1 cup butter                           1 teaspoon vanilla (or brandy)

½ cup confectioners sugar        ¾ cup chopped pecans

2and ¼ cup sifted flour             1 cup confectioners sugar

 

Cream shortening and sugar. Stir in vanilla.  Add flour and then nuts.  Form 1” balls and bake 14 to 17 minutes in 325 oven. While still hot roll carefully in confectioners sugar.

________________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

The Concord Cheese Shop

Saturday, November 26th, 2011

copyright 2010 by Julie – Traveling Taste Buds

Hours Open: Tue-Fri 10am-5:30pm and Sat 9:30am-5:30pm

web site: www.concordcheeseshop.com
email: peter@concordcheeseshop.com

29 Walden Street
Concord, MA. 01742-2504
978 369 5778

One of Concord’s celebrated establishments, a perennial “Best of Boston,” not to be missed by any visitor to the town center, has lured foodies down Walden Street since 1967. Its current (and third) proprietor, Peter Lovis, has been serving out samples of the 150-200 varieties of domestic and international cheeses since 1976. You will never buy a cheese there that you can’t taste first! But cheese is not the only food for sale at the Cheese Shop. There’s a vast and excellent (including some bargain specials) selection of wines; there are many gourmet items including chocolates, pastries, spices, olive oils, holiday treats, nuts, pickles, jams, and more. The Cheese Shop Deli is famous for its chicken salad, for carrying “Famous Phil’s Subs,” for its terrific charcuterie, coffees, and its many fabulous freshly made preparations. Besides its warmth, the overwhelming attribute of the Cheese Shop is its internationalism: indeed, at one count the shop’s offerings represented 80 different countries!

NOT TO BE MISSED AT THE CHEESE SHOP:  Make a note to spend December 1st in Concord so you can be present at the Cheese Shop’s Cheese Parade.  A 400 pound wheel of cheese is rolled down the red carpet with music and rose petals.  Be there for this fun event!  Missed this year?  Mark your calendars and make your reservations at one of the Bettina Network homes in Concord to be present at next years Cheese Shop’s Cheese Parade.

A special feature offered by the Cheese Shop deli is their “Friday night supper” menu. $75 brings home a three course gourmet dinner for two, including a baguette and a bottle of wine. All you have to do is heat up the entree; often as not you’ll have enough for lunch on Saturday, too. Many Concord couples make this a monthly treat, but a “Friday night supper” could also be ideal for those taking advantage of ‘eating dinner in’ at the Bettina Network Bed and Breakfast where they are staying. The hosts are always happy to lend the service of their oven or microwave. Just remember that the meals are not offered during the holiday season, which is an extra busy time for the Cheese Shop.

In short, any visitor to Concord would enjoy doing what concordians do: take a stroll down Walden Street for a taste trip around the world. As Peter Levis says, “don’t come in a rush!”

________________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

Call for Papers – Thoreau Society

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

The annual gathering of the Thoreau Society will be July 12 through 15th.  Its theme – celebrating 150 years of Thoreau’s Life, Works and Legacy.  The Society is asking for proposals for walks, talks, hikes and other events. If you have such an idea please submit it to The Thoreau Society, 341 Virginia Road, Concord, MA. 01742 care of the Annual Gathering Committee or email to info@thoreausociety.org.  If you have questions you may call 978 369 5310.  Their web site is www.thoreausociety.org.

The papers are due by December 7, 2011.

I  was particularly taken with the Walk to Wachusett.  If it is offered this year I think we will join the group.  It is an unusual walking tour taking three days, but extremely interesting, educational with a sense of history and having walked where Thoreau and others walked generations ago.

________________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

La Provence – Restaurant Review

Friday, August 13th, 2010

copyright 2010 The Bettina Network, inc.

105 Thoreau Street………. ….. …….. ……Weekdays: 7am-7pm
Concord, MA. 01742………. ….. ……………Saturday: 7am-5:30pm
phone: 978 371 7428 fax: 978 287 4221…………..Sunday: closed
web site: www.laprovence.us

We spent an incredible day sightseeing in Concord, MA. and then looked around to find someplace to eat which was not too formal, had great food and a nice environment. We found La Provence.

The menu for a deli-type restaurant was great. The food lived up to its reputation. We found La Provence by asking someone on the street, who looked as though they lived in Concord, for a great place to eat. Without hesitation, they said La Provence. We asked if they had eaten there and they said at least two to three times a week. Once we’d finished lunch we knew why they chose to frequent this restaurant.

I was able to have a paté and cheese sandwich. The paté did not disappoint and combined with brie cheese it was a cybarite’s dream and at a reasonable cost. We went back later and had Salmon au Champagne and took home a light and dark chocolate mousse cake which lasted about two hours.

Situated across the street from the train station, La Provence held its own in this place surrounded by so much history. A touch of France in the middle of an English story.

We spent time looking out the large windows watching the people go by and commenting on the incredible diversity of people coming and going. We were tempted to sit at the tables outside under the canopy, but it was hot and it was much better to look out at those sitting outside from an air conditioned space.

We would return to La Provence in a heart-beat and will remember the food for a good long time.
We can recommend La Provence without hesitation or reservations.

________________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.


Bettina's Lifestyle Commnity!

Join us!

Bettina’s Lifestyle Community

Making a difference in this very difficult and changeable world.

Bettina's Lifestyle Commnity!

Join us!