Author: Judy

Dear Liza,

My momma, your great grandma Billie, was a gardener. She had gardens that grew flowers and fruit, roses and rhubarb, and she loved coaxing things from the soil. When she was a child in Oklahoma, she struggled against marauding chickens, drought and dust storms to raise a crepe myrtle bush to the ‘majestic’ height of two feet. She even got a few blooms.

When she moved to California during World War II, she had window boxes in her apartment, then she and great grandpa Lowell bought a half finished house in Manhattan Beach and made it into the home of my childhood. After they had gotten the walls and roof on, momma started on the garden and kept working on it for thirty five years, complete with flower garden in the front and veggies behind a rose covered fence. She continued this magic at her last home in Lompoc, where she and great grandpa Lowell turned a wild mustard field into a garden that was featured in a city tour.

I learned gardening from her, and have been happy to play in the dirt at whatever home I found myself. Our new home in Portland doesn’t have much in the way of acreage, but I am finding ways to have fun with it.

The other day, I walked a mile down Stark (stopping for lunch at the Belmont Station) to choose the right pot for a new project: a bonsai forest. Last winter I picked up a few birch and maple seeds and stuck them in pots, and now I have seedlings. It seemed like a perfect time to begin.

Portland Nursery has a huge selection of pots. I needed a shallow, not too big place, so the roots would stay small and the trees could grow in proportion. I found just the right one and spent a happy afternoon building my new make believe place. I have decided to call it The Hundred Acre Wood, after Winnie the Pooh’s home.

Now I will nurture and trim and watch it develop, maybe adding a ceramic snail or fairy along the way.

I will never be the gardener my Momma was, but that’s okay. I am the gardener I have become.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

After I had seen all the wonderful art, Grandpa Nelson and I headed across the street to the Oregon Historical Society. They have a fun exhibit on the history of beer that he hadn’t seen, but I was there for an exhibit that is more art than history… contemporary quilts!

The theme of the exhibit was “On the Edge”, and was interpreted by about two dozen artists in beautifully different ways. The quilt above was called “On the Bluff Where I Live”, and looked sort of like the quilt I made for you a few years ago, being a map of our old neighborhood in Salinas, except that the artist’s neighborhood is on a bluff overlooking the Willamette River, and she used embroidery for names instead of beads. My quilt is below.Other quilts showed different edges…technology, sanity, shorelines, day and night. They all were interesting in different ways, encouraging me to finally get out the fabric I bought months ago to make a quilt about my new neighborhood here in Portland. I get nervous, because once you cut fabric, you are committed. But, really, what have I got to lose?

Full of art, history and inspiration, we were hungry again! We headed to Kenny and Zukes, the best Jewish deli Downtown, and had a nice kugel and root beer floats. Then, headed for home to watch the Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds.

Hooray!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

This past Sunday was Mother’s Day. My Momma Billie and Grandpa Nelson’s Mother Mona have passed away, and Auntie Bridgett’s Mom Donna is in San Diego. Since I didn’t have any mother’s to honor here, I decided to BE the Momma and go help Auntie Katie with her new shop.

First, of course, was breakfast. I met Katie and cousins Jasper and Kestrel at Genie’s, a friendly, delicious diner just a few blocks away. Kestrel and I read together and Jasper and Katie had fun being silly. Katie gave me a card that she wrote and Kestrel made (it was beautiful) and Jasper gave me a coaster he had decorated. It was beautiful AND useful.

Then the cousins headed off with their Dad Dave and Katie and I headed to her new building. We spend a few hours sweating and prying and hammering, taking down a plywood panel that was covering a back door, so she could use the door. It will allow her and the kids to go upstairs to the apartment without having to go through the book shop.

After we declared victory over the door, Katie’s friend Patrick and his son Arlo came to help. Patrick ripped out an old bookcase and Arlo removed random screws and nails from the walls with his power drill.

I hauled wood out to a pile in the backyard as Katie started working on removing a heater…. but had to stop when she realized she needed more electrical expertise. Sparks are a very good reality check!

We all ate a bunch of Snickerdoodles I had brought and then Katie walked me home. It was a perfect Mother’s Day, spent with a Mother I respect and doing that work MY mother would respect.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

This past Sunday was the last day of a wonderful exhibit at the Portland Art Museum, called PAM for short. The exhibit was by artists who live in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Alaska) and whose work is directly affected by where they live. It is called The Map is not the Territory.

This piece, called Moving Mountains by Annette Bellamy, goes from the floor to the ceiling and is about ten feet square. It is kinetic, which means the suspended rocks can move. It sways just a little as people walk past. It makes you look at things that seem permanent, like landscape, as something delicate and tenuous. I loved it!

Ms Bellamy made my other favorite piece in the show, called Out of Water. It is made of dried fish skins sewn together in an irregular, changing patchwork. Knowing that she spends her summers making a living deep sea fishing informs her relationship with fish, and shows us her appreciation of this animal, inside and out.After we had enjoyed the exhibit, we had a snack and visited Grandpa Nelson’s favorite room of the museum. It holds the impressionists and modern art. Last time I was here, a wonderful docent named Ted introduced me to Otto. Otto is an almost creepy lifelike resin cast of a dishwasher. He also showed me Muse, and corrected my pronunciation of its creator’s name. It is spelled Brancusi, but pronounced ” Brancoosh”, because he is from Romania.

This visit, Grandpa Nelson pointed out a dark painting I hadn’t given a second glance to, and said to Ted, “I wish we could get a different Van Gough.” I almost laughed… that’s not a Van Gough! But there it was, on the tag.It is called Charette de Bouef, or Ox Cart, and was painted by Van Gough just before he left The Netherlands for Paris, where his life and color scheme changed dramatically. The museum acquired this piece from a Roseburg, Oregon, couple, who had hung over their sofa. Yes, a Van Gough over their sofa.

Since the couple smoked, by the time they passed away and the painting was donated to the museum, it had a thick coat of nicotine and tar, needing a good cleaning. After weeks of delicate work, when the delicate hints of white and blue started to pop, the museum took it to the medical center and had it X-rayed and given an MRI, revealing Van Gough’s own fingerprints in the corners of the work.

I had never cared for this painting, but now that I know the history, I will give it more attention. Like people, the more you know about art, the more interesting it becomes.

On our way up the stairs, we ran into an historic collection of lithographic prints from the 1930s and 40s, by folks I had heard of, like Thomas Hart Benton, and some I hadn’t, like Peggy Bacon. These works were created as part of a government project to depict American life, and show so much humor and movement that they look like sketches, not prints from stone. They were cartoon-y and delightful.We took a little break before heading off to the next part of our adventure, which I will tell you about next week!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

After I had visited Lone Fir, I came home for lunch. Grandpa Nelson decided he wanted to spend some time at Laurelhurst Park, so of course I went along.

We heard music drifting across the dog off leash area from down by the lake, and as we got closer, we realized that on a sunny Sunday afternoon, everyone is at the Park! The music was from the folks who were in charge of the Walk for Water 5 K event, raising money for clean water systems in under developed countries. Invigorating Michael Jackson songs and rhythm and blues bySam and Dave made the whole park vibrate.

But besides the 5 K runners, there were more than a hundred other folks, all doing their own thing. Groups of friends chatted and ate on the grass. Babies crawled between blankets.

Dogs fetched balls and sniffed each other as amateur circus performers flung juggling balls or lifted each other into the air.

In a fir tree above the lake, the osprey perched, keeping an eye out for careless fish. Duck couples swam contentedly.

We found a bench in the sun and read, enjoying the happy hubbub around us, basking in joy and spring and sunshine.

Then it was time to go home and start dinner for Auntie Bridgett, who had been working at the gallery all day.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear LIza,

You know that Auntie Katie has been working very hard to raise money to move her bookshop, Books with Pictures, from the rented building at 1100 SE Division to her 1927 purchased building at 1401 SE Division. Well, today, she made it!!

People all over the country have helped by  buying merchandise and donating,  and they have raised over $30,000 for moving expenses and repairs to the new shop. It is very exciting, and means that she will be able to move the shop to the new building by the end of May!

This evening, after I had visited with my old friend Cynthia and had dinner, Grandpa Nelson and I met Katie at our local science fiction geek restaurant, the Nerd Out. It was also Free Comic Book Day, so she had been very busy, talking to folks and giving away free books.

I love the Nerd Out! It always has science fiction movies showing on the screen (this evening it was the early Star Wars) and has drinks like The Adam West and The Spider Man-Hattan. Mitch, who runs the place, makes tasty food and encourages everyone to enjoy themselves. I wanted to get a picture of Auntie Katie in her Captain Marvel costume, but she was really tired. So I took a picture of a lady in a very cool R2D2 suit.

Once we had visited and gotten Auntie Katie fed, we headed back home to cuddle on the couch.

Another lovely day.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

This weekend I got to visit with an old friend from Salinas, Cynthia Lott. She is a teacher at Laurelwood School in Salinas, and we have known each other for years. She was in town for a celebration, and between Grandpa Nelson’s Birthday, the wedding, and her flight home, we managed to juggle some time together.

I walked over to where she was staying, the Jupiter Hotel, and we had breakfast together. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a big crowd! Usually, trying to eat out on a weekend morning is a several hour, reservation only situation. But not so! Good food and friendly service, and off we went.

Cynthia likes to walk, so we had a tour through the neighborhood so she could visit Auntie Bridgett, who was working at the SideStreet Arts Gallery. The spring flowers were showing off! Peonies are huge, amazing, and look almost make believe.

We had a nice chat, then I needed to put her in the bus back to her hotel so she could head off to the airport.

It was so nice to see her and catch up! Life never stays the same, but with old friends, it’s fun to be able to go along for the ride.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Last week we got to celebrate Grandpa Nelson’s Birthday. I won’t say how old his is, but the Beatles wrote a song about it…

The day started with presents on the couch and snuggles with Mouse. Bamboo straws, left-handed soap (” Smells like weird scissors!”) and a book about wine from Auntie Bridgett’s Mom, Donna. Also, a new Irish cap to replace a lost one from Trinity College.

On our trip to visit Aunt Bea a while back, Grandpa Nelson had noticed all the wineries south of Portland, so off we went to Mcminnville. Spring has made the country even more beautiful, a hundred shades of green accented with pink dogwoods.

We found the closest McMenamin’s establishment, the Hotel Oregon, built in 1905, and enjoyed a good lunch. The building was old and quirky, with the good food, friendly, easy service and artsy touches we have come to expect from the McMenamin brothers. The views of the Willamette Valley from the rooftop bar were lovely and green.

Walking the streets of the delightfully funky Old Town area, we saw a turn of the century Elk’s Lodge and other historic buildings, housing art galleries, cafes and wine tasting rooms, as well as stores selling books and art supplies for students at nearby Linfield and George Fox Colleges. Also, founding fathers hanging out in the sun.

Grandpa Nelson enjoyed a flight of red wines from Willamette Valley Vineyards and we watched people go by and thought about how lucky we both felt to be alive, happy, and together.

We found the Currents Art Gallery, and chatted with Sharon Cook, the artist staffing the place. She and Auntie Bridgett talked about art and the art business, for quite a while. It’s always good to hear other people’s ideas.

Feeling the need of some greenery, we headed for the local park and had snacks…fruit, water (to combat all the wine) and peanuts. We saw historic grist mill stones from the mills that helped establish McMinnville back in the 1840s. Loving the history, we were also delighted to see a tiny maple seedling starting to grow in a crevice in the stone.

Heading back north we stopped at Walnut City Winery. McMinnville used to be a major walnut growing area until the famous 1962 Columbus Day Storm literally ripped many trees from the ground and threw them around. New trees would take 10 years to produce, while filberts, also called hazelnuts, can be ready in 3 years. Needing to make a living, the folks planted filberts. Now Oregon grows almost all of the filberts in the country, and 30 percent of all the filberts in the world! So it was a good move.

We enjoyed the last wine for the day and continued on our way, stopping at Newburg for a tasty dinner, then drove home….tired, over-wined, and ready to be done. We had a quick video chat with you and your family, watched the Giants win their game against the Reds, and we all went to bed.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

Last night we went to two activities. The first was a Belmont Business Association “Mixer”, which is like a party where you meet folks you might want to do business with. I am not in business, but Auntie Bridgett is, so we went along for dinner, drinks and conversation.

The Mixer was held at Crush, an informal bar/restaurant on Morrison. It is in a beautiful old building and the folks are friendly. We had fries, quesadillas, Absinthe, wine, and cider.

When folks started showing up, we chatted and met a real estate agent named Tina who loves Auntie Katie’s Books with Pictures and also loves Side Street Arts! Hooray for business camaraderie.

After the mixer, we headed (via Lyft) down to Division to see the release of the new Nib Cartoon books at Books with Pictures. I love the Nib because it is smart and funny, political and sharp, but not vulgar.

We got to met Matt Bors, Eleri Harris and Sarah Mirk, who are some of the many editors and artists for the magazine.

They walked us through the process of making a comic book…how they decide on, research, and write the stories, how they edit, illustrate and format them. The whole process showed me, once again, that one single mind can’t get things done. It takes different points of view and different areas of expertise. Understanding this helps me let other folks work on my story.

Since I’m not an artist, I was most interested in how the text, the writing, was worked on. It turns out, it is mostly written and then cut, cut, and cut again. Eleri’s story of turning a 1,600 word interview into eleven sentences was painful but familiar.

We got to hug Auntie Katie, whom we will see again on Mother’s Day. We will head over to her apartment for breakfast, then downstairs to the new shop to sweep, paint, and whatever else needs doing.

Love, Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

It was another pretty day! This makes three in a row! It might really be spring this time. But we aren’t taking it for granted.

Auntie Bridgett needed to do art work, so Grandpa Nelson planned an adventure for he and I. We started by boarding the “Magic Bus”, the number 15, and heading downtown. I needed to put some money in the bank, and it is always nice to walk around downtown, taking time to notice the old buildings.

This one, The American Bank Building, was not the bank we needed to go to, but is pretty just the same. It was built in 1913 by A.E. Doyle, the same fellow who designed Reed College. I love how he makes huge buildings pretty but not garish and dark. He used white glazed terracotta for the decorations, so they have stayed bright all these years. We took the train to Washington Park, then the number 63 through the park to the Rose Garden. We have seen a few roses blooming in town, and hoped for a good show.

We looked and looked, but out of the 10,000 rose bushes at the garden, we found two, count them, two, tiny miniatures in bloom. Debut, a lovely dark pink, and Dee Bennett, a bright orange, were the only bright spots in acres and acres of green. The view of Mt. Hood was fantastic, however, and the azaleas were nice. It’s hard to have a BAD day at a garden.

Grandpa Nelson, after he got done chatting with this statue of a Royal Rosarian, looked at the map and found a trail to lead us down the mountain. It was sunny, warm, and everything smelled wonderful. Wildflowers, crows, even a few butterflies, were all out celebrating spring.Coming off the trail, we found ourselves just across the street from an old friend, the beautiful statue of Sacajawea and her son, Jean-Baptiste. This statue was commissioned from artist Alice Cooper for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. Besides city funds, it was paid for by school children who sold buttons to raise money for it. I have seen articles in newspapers of the time about contests between grade levels at local grammar schools. Apparently using school kids for fund raising is a time honored tradition.

Nearby is the less-beautiful column that memorializes Lewis and Clark, who were appointed by President Jefferson in 1804 to travel west from St. Louis, Missouri, and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to Sacajawea, a Native American woman they met in North Dakota and who knew the land, plants and animals of the area, they made it through the mountains and to the coast safely.

After we rested a bit and enjoyed the breeze and the views of the city, we headed down about a million steps to West Burnside Street, where we bought lunch at Zupan’s. This is a very upscale grocery store, and it sure smelled good! The deli had pulled pork tamales and the bakery had cinnamon rolls, so we both ate just fine!

On the way down the hill we found a giant redwood tree in front of an elegant 1920s apartment building. At the foot of the tree was a brass plaque:

Hmmmm…. The tree is beautiful, and probably older than the building, but Portland’s FAVORITE tree? We have trees in our park that we have named, for goodness sake! We get very attached to trees.

As it turns out, during the 1987 Rose Festival, the Oregonian newspaper held a popularity contest, and this redwood, (a native Californian, I must note) growing in the west hills, won. Since the contest hasn’t been held since, this is the reigning champion.

Smiling about how silly, and beautiful, the world is, we caught the magic bus just a block from the market, got home, and crashed. Views, hikes, art and lunch…we had had a full day.

I wonder what adventure we will find tomorrow?

Love, Grandma Judy