Framingham

January 25, 2012

Basement Cleaning

We are in the process of cleaning the basement of our house. It hasn't had a good cleaning since we moved into the house, and after a couple of flooding incidents, its time to do some house cleaning.

To help better organized some of my clutter, I just signed up for Shoeboxed. Which according to them, is the easiest and fastest way to organize Receipts, Business Cards & Bills online. I am hoping that I can get rid of several bins/boxes that have a lot of paper in it. There's no need to have the original copies any more. I'll let you know how that process goes.

I'll continue to investigate other Web 2.0 services that might be able to help out with the decluttering the basement. Lifehack has all sorts of great creative ideas on removing clutter and such.

A year ago I saw a post in the Post Office saying, "everyone has at least $2000 of stuff lying around the house." I don't know if that's true, but we'll soon find out!

December 06, 2011

Pearl Street Garage

The town is offering commuters a deal this winter: Park at the Pearl Street Garage for $50 a month.
 
The special rate is available for December, January and February. It is normally $80 per month to park at the town's garage, or $65 for Framingham residents.
 
The garage is across from the old RMV, a short walk from the downtown train station.
 
Commuters can see the lot attendant for more details and a discount pass.

November 22, 2011

Natick Collection Santa

Santa Clauses has returned to the Natick Collections again this year. You can find Santa in the "expensive" part of the mall near the Coach store and Neiman Marcus. First off they do have a good Santa, no pulling on the beard to see if its real!

We went to see Santa on the first day he arrived at the mall, November 17, 2011, and were disappointed how unorganized that Santa helpers were. They were having all sorts of problems with the camera and some of the digital equipment and had to retake some customers photos because they were missing in the computer. We also had to wait longer because of the technical issues.

We were disappointed with the photo that we got and found that the photo that we took with our own point and shoot digital camera came out better than their digital SLR camera.

If you plan on seeing Santa at the Natick Mall, just be patience while you wait and be sure to bring an extra camera along with you.

We found that the photo prices are a little expensive for the quality of photos, but I guess that the cost of having a good Santa.

October 27, 2011

Pearl Street Parking Garage

The distance from Framingham's Pearl Street Parking garage to the main waiting area of the MBTA train is .35 miles. Walking rapidly it takes about 6 minutes.

October 18, 2011

MBTA Parking in Framingham

In Framingham there are various choices when it comes to finding a place to park when taking the MBTA. There's a couple of things to consider. Monthly cost, and the location of the parking lot to the train station in bad weather and those days when you might be running late to catch the train.

The main MBTA parking lot, which is operated by the Central Parking, is near Howard Street and the train station. Parking is $4 a day, and you can get monthly pass which costs $70 a month. The biggest problem with this parking lot is that it is always full. Monthly parking doesn't guaranteed you a parking space!

The Town of Framingham operates the following public parking facilities:

Pearl Street Garage - 289 parking spaces, located on Pearl Street, (across from the former Registry of Motor Vehicles).   Spaces are sold by monthly permit.   Rates are $65.00 per month for residents and $80.00 per month non-residents.   There is an attendant on duty from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday.   This is the best option, but a long walk to the train station.

Waverly Street Commuter Lot - 65 spaces located next to Republic Plumbing, directly across the Framingham commuter rail station.   Spaces are sold by monthly permit, rates are $90.00 per month.  Since this is the most expensive lot there are always spaces available.

Hollis Court Lot - 89 parking spaces located near commuter rail station.   Spaces are available for daily parking on first come, first serve basis.   Lot is lighted at night. Rates are $4.00 per day.

Alternative Parking Lots:

Silton Glass - Parking is within easy walking distance of the Framingham MBTA Station Rates: $5 daily, $20 weekly, $50 monthly, $550 annually 612 Waverly St., Framingham, MA

Columbus Club - on Fountain Street Carl D'Aveta, president for that organization, says the club has offered parking for at least five years at $40 per month. About 20 commuters park there.

Orlando Enterprises Dumpsters and Demolition Site - on Cedar Street, is also offering discount parking for commuters. They are located right across from the Train Station. There's a sign in the window to call them about the Commuter Parking rates.