Judy – Page 114 – Dear Liza

French at Home

Dear Liza,

For most of my life, cities like Paris, Nantes, and Bordeaux were unimaginably far away. Not just in miles, but in culture, language, and history. The family I grew up in liked to travel, but didn’t care much for languages that weren’t English or countries that weren’t the good old U. S of A.

I studied Spanish as part of preparing to teach in California, which made sense to them. But when I started studying French to enjoy our trips to Europe more, their eyes sort of glazed over, as though I were learning how to chat with bumblebees. “They’ll speak English if you just go to the right places,” they said, with a knowing nod, as if other countries were just being stubborn.

When I first met Auntie Bridgett, one of the things we had in common was that we both wanted to learn to speak French. My school district offered discounts on Rosetta Stone, a wonderful online language learning app, and I used it for a year. Then we took a class at Hartnell College, and Shawn Quione made the lessons fun and interactive. We also met our friend Donald, whom we still hold dear.

The semesters ended, classes got canceled, but our French was improving. When we traveled to France, we could order lunch (granted, there were a few misfires) and read the memorial plaques and museum signs.

When we moved to Portland, we thought about attending a French class at Portland Community College, but we kept putting it off. And now we are in shut down.

Enter Duolingo! This free online app has been allowing me to keep learning and practicing French even when there is no way to take a class. It is easy, encouraging, and just repetitive enough to drill things like indirect object pronouns into my thick head. There is a silent mode, so I can practice and not bother anyone, and also a mode to listen to the spoken French.

I have now been practicing for a half hour every day for 155 straight days, and am working my way through the French translation of “Harry Potter et La Coupe de Feu”.

I love being able to keep learning. It is good for my mental and emotional health to struggle a little, as well as plan for a time when we can get on planes and travel again. And maybe the next time I travel to Paris, I can take you with me!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Nelson!

Dear Liza,

This past Sunday was Grandpa Nelson’s birthday, and we celebrated it inside. He is still weak from the bit of sort of Covid he’s had, which has been mostly fevers and fatigue, so it was a slow day.

But even a slow birthday needs some celebration. Auntie Bridgett had made him a beautiful painting of our beloved Laurelhurst Park, so he can visit even when he isn’t feeling well. It isn’t quite done yet, she says. It needs three people (us!) walking along the path. She also made one of her delightful, hand painted cards. Handy Hand was so pleased!

I made a new type of ginger cookies, and they turned out very well. Grandpa had some after breakfast and some more after dinner, because a nutritionally balanced birthday is important.

We ordered ice cream online from Fifty Licks, a local ice cream chain, and Auntie Bridgett went to fetch it. We got two pints for us to share and a chocolate milk shake for the birthday boy.

Auntie Katie and the cousins came by, after she had closed the bookshop, and stood just below our balcony. They banged cowbells and held up a great “Happy Birthday Grandpa Nelson” sign the the kids had painted. I wish I had taken a picture of their smiling, masked faces looking up, but I was too busy laughing and crying at the same time. It was wonderful, raucous, and celebratory.

I lowered some of the cookies and one of the pints of ice cream down in a basket-and-yarn rig that was half Rapunzel and half Swiss Family Robinson, and got the job done with just the right amount of whimsy.

We were chatting, and just then your Daddy David called us for a ZOOM video chat with the whole family! After a few minutes’ adjustment, and Auntie Katie and family dashing back to their own house, we had the three of us, both our kids and all their kids, looking at each other. It was so nice.

Us, you and your daddy and mommy, and Auntie Katie and the cousins, all Zooming along

Auntie Katie and the cousins ate their ice cream and cookies, and you all had your dessert there in Salinas. We talked about what art and video games we had been doing and how tall the kids were. Everyone was even able to toast Grandpa Nelson with a glass of whatever they were having. The call went on for two happy, silly, hours.

By then, Grandpa Nelson was pooped. Everyone logged off and we three sat quietly for a while, listening to our nervous systems as they quieted down. I showed Grandpa Nelson the slide show I had made of photographs of him from when we has a little boy to now, and it was a nice walk down memory lane.

The Birthday boy, his dog Sky and sister June, a few birthdays ago.

When we finally had to let go of the day, we ambled upstairs and drifted off to a happy, exhausted sleep. I am so glad you all got to celebrate with us.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Another Quarantine First

Dear Liza,

I’m sure, after we are all free from the threat of Corona virus and free to wander about as we please, this part of our story will be a short, odd, chapter. But for now, it is where we are, every day.

Last night, Auntie Bridgett’s art gallery, SideStreet Arts, had their first ZOOM First Friday. Folks logged on at their houses with their own snacks and drinks, and we got to talk with artists Amy Rudinger and Michelle Sabatier about their art. Amy is a talented metalworker and Michelle is a gallery member and wonderful encaustic artist. That means she makes pictures by melting wax onto a surface.

Auntie Bridgett and I set up at the dining table, with wine, crackers, nifty goat cheese, sausages, and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone wine. Grandpa Nelson is still feeling tired from the fevers he’s been having, so he escaped upstairs.

It was fun to see familiar faces, and in their own homes! We saw one lady’s family heirloom sofa, another’s bookcase, and our dear Alicia Justice sewing away on one of her delicate, personable dolls.

We learned about how Amy goes to Mexico every year to gather the special coppers they mine there, and how she has learned from the artisans there. She says that her copper vessels and their wonderful patinas are ‘part chemistry and part magic,’ and I believe it. They are lovely.

During the event, a lot of folks logged on, listened for a while, and chatted. Even my friend Ruth Inman joined us from Illinois. I became aware, slowly, that pieces were being sold. Ruth noticed it, too, and said, “How do I log-on to buy before something ELSE I love goes away?” I’m not sure if she did make a purchase, but a lot of folks did! It was a very big sales night.

Actually, this shut down hasn’t been as bad for business as we all expected. Businesses that have figured out how to stay in front of their customers online and continue selling, like Auntie Katie’s Books with Pictures and SideStreet Arts, are having really good months. It is harder work, to be sure, with mailing and delivering, but if the alternative is going out of business, it’s worth it!

Hoping we can look back on this time knowing we did our best.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Opposite of SAD

Dear Liza,

Seasonal Affective Disorder, called SAD for short, is a term for when people get depressed during long dark winters. It is a common thing here in Portland, and people work to counteract it by taking their vitamin D supplements, visiting brightly lit places like the art museum, or even flying to Palm Springs for the weekend.

I thought I was immune. I had come through my first full Portland winter happy and busy, writing, reading, cooking and sewing. No depression here!

But once the sun came out and the entire world woke up into color and joy, I did, too. I had been maintaining, keeping my head down and keeping busy. But now I was celebrating every delicate tree blossom, every snooty daffodil, every fat robin. On my walks, I keep stopping to stare at Every. Single. Flower.

So I need to come up with another term, the opposite of SAD.

Maybe Hysterical Appreciation for Pink, Purple and Yellow, or HAPPY.

Yep, That’s what I’m calling it. You’re welcome.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Sewing Another Map

Dear Liza,

Basic map, showing West Hills, downtown, Willamette River with Hawthorne Bridge, and the East side

This lockdown is very odd. Some days I sit like a bump on a log, my mind a blank, until I am needed to do something. Other days I wake up motivated and DOING… studying Duolingo or softening butter for cookies, being useful and having fun.

I have picked up a project I started last year, an appliqued map of Portland. Making maps is one of my favorite things, but they always require so many decisions! How much of the city should I show? How big should everything be? How much artistic license can I take?

The West Hills getting forested, with room for roads

For this one, I decided to show the parts of the city I know and love best, running east-west from the West Hills to Laurelhurst Park, and north-south from the Steel Bridge to Ladd’s Addition. I am trying to stay true to distances, while allowing myself to make actual locations and objects bigger if needed.

Downtown and Eastside parks getting some trees

When I sew, I call it “working” on the map, but it’s really playing. The artistic process of “do this thing, walk away, come back, have a look, change it, come back later…” is definitely happening, and it is nice to be so completely in charge of something at this odd, “out of my hands” time.

I hope you are having fun, too.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Coming Home to Roost

Dear Liza,

We seem to have gotten a touch of Covid here in the house. Last Winter, Auntie Bridgett had a few bad weeks with no energy and a cough, supposedly before Covid-19 had hit us. We now know that it was certainly in the country by then, and that could have been our first wave.

Auntie Bridgett in consultation with our in-house medical professional

Now Grandpa Nelson has a small cough, evening fevers and body aches, and no energy. Last night was his first bad night, and we used a cool washcloth to keep him comfortable before it was time for more fever-reducing aspirin. We are keeping him hydrated and fed, even though his doesn’t have any appetite.

If all goes well, he will be mildly uncomfortable for a week or so, and won’t need to see a doctor or get tested. This would be good, because any distance you can maintain from medical locations is a good one. But what that also means is he won’t be added to the “Who has had Covid” count. Neither will the other thousands of folks dealing with this at home. They are under the radar.

And as a person who reads the daily updates for Covid-19 cases tested, hospitalized and deceased, this bothers me. How can we learn anything from numbers we know are wrong? How can statisticians look at what they have and create percentages? Do they just shrug and add “a bunch more?” They must be pulling their hair out.

I’m sorry I don’t have any fancy photos of flowers for this post. I have included pictures of two of my most precious possessions.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Shakespearean Corona Sonnet

Dear Liza,

I have studied a lot of Shakespeare‘s writings, and I love how his plays tell human stories that haven’t changed much since the 16th century. Forbidden romances, jealous siblings, and greedy politicians are all very contemporary.

Poetry has rhyme schemes and beats, called “feet”. The sonnet form I am playing with has ten feet per line, four lines in each of the three stanzas, and a rhyming couplet at the end. The rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. It is called the Shakespearean Sonnet.

Someone else’s take on Trump via the Bard

Many talented authors have been inspired to write parodies of President Trump, because of his personality and seemingly endless need for attention. He seems to have the same “tragic flaws” as many of Shakespeare’s characters. I have been inspired to use a Shakespearean Sonnet to write a poem about our current situation. Here it is:
**********

ODE TO A REAL TRUMP

Corona virus has us locked inside
To try and let the scientists learn more
Though some, inspired by His foolish pride
Head out to let their childish voices roar

But most of us, seeing the greater need
And following directions as we should
Allow the pace of life to go half-speed
And take it easy, for the common good

Now locked away within our cozy homes
We spend our days alone, or with our clan

Imprisoned in our stately pleasure domes
We see our leader as a worthless man

This is the lens through which we see so clear,

It’s Trump, more than the virus, we should fear.

***********

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Different Kind of Drift…

Dear Liza,

When I tell you we have weather up here in Portland, understand that I mean WEATHER. Real, crazy swings of temperature and precipitation that can take your breath away.

For example, here are four pictures taken in our neighborhood.

These pink ones, showing the cherry blossom drifts covering everything in sight, were taken this past Wednesday, the 22nd of April.

These freezing cold white ones, showing snow coming down and creating sufficient drifts for small snowmen, were taken just five weeks ago, on March 15.

Now, these are both wonderful sights to see and even be out in, but I never expected to see them just over a month apart. Portland puts on a good show, even when the theaters and art galleries are closed!

And I am enjoying it no end.

Love,

Grandma Judy

McMenamin’s, Socially Distanced

Dear Liza,

Giant painted tapestry in the Backstage Bar

I’m sure I have told you about our chain of restaurants and pubs owned by the brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin. These two fellows started buying cool historic buildings in 1985 and turning them into places to sell their good food, beer and wine, and have concerts. They have been incredibly successful, now having more than seventy places, large and small.

Speaking of size, Brian once said, “You can’t have too small a bar. We know. We’ve tried.” Inside their Kennedy School Hotel venue here in Portland, there are bars in hall closets, called “Honors” and “Detention”, which are about fifty square feet each. Tiny. Cozy. Delightful.

Whimsical school kids at The Kennedy School

The coronavirus has temporarily shut them all down, of course. No sunny afternoons at Edgefield. No pinball at the Back Stage Bar. No celebrating Harry Potter’s birthday at the Kennedy School. Big, sad sigh. Seriously.

Then we got some good news. Some of their restaurants, including the Bagdad Theater just half a mile way, were re-opening for take out! Hooray!! Not only could we get some yummy food and wine to celebrate Friday, but we could support our local guys and do our part to make sure they could weather this crisis.

We called, ordered, and walked down. Like most things they do, they had planned their partial re-opening well. Social distancing guidelines were taped on the sidewalk and a desk was set up for getting your order to you. Sterilized pens were there to sign your credit card receipt. The managers running the place were masked, cheerful, and efficient.

It felt so good to have this little bit of normalcy, to eat a great Communication Breakdown Burger and tater tots, and drink the brothers’s yummy Black Rabbit wine, even if we ate it at home instead of their delightful dining room.

A toast! To Mike and Brian and their whimsical empire!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Getting off the Couch

Dear Liza,

Before we all had to stay inside so much, Grandpa Nelson and I would take long walks all over the city. We walked eight miles to Sellwood one day, and four miles up to Klickitat Street on a regular basis. But now, with social distancing and not wanting to spread the virus, we are staying inside. We sit on the couch with the cat, reading or talking or watching television.

With all that sitting, I got bored, so I baked some cookies. And bread. And marble pound cake. And then it was right there, going stale every minute, so I ate it.

I was getting chunky, and developing butt roots. You know, where your butt grows roots into the couch.

This week I decided to start exercising. I put on some music and jogged in place for a few minutes. I stopped when I got out of breath, but in an hour or so I got up and did another few minutes.

Auntie Bridgett found the five pound barbells upstairs, and I started jogging around the house while carrying them. It’s been four days now, working out for about twenty minutes a day, and I am feeling better than I have in weeks. I look forward to my three times a day ‘music and moving’ sessions.

I choose the music for pep and happy connections. Vince Guaraldi, Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life,” most of the Hamilton soundtrack, or anything by ABBA, get my heart singing and my blood pumping.

My body is happier, my mind is more rested, and I don’t feel the need to eat everything in sight. It’s good to know that when I am allowed to go for a long walk again, my body will be able to.

Love,

Grandma Judy