Judy – Page 151 – Dear Liza

Harold the Traveling Stufftie, Part 1

Dear Liza,

You have met Harold, Auntie Bridgett’s stuffed friend. He has had a very active life. While most of his stuffed relatives spend their days in toy boxes or on pillows, Harold has been an artist’s model, a world traveler and an ambassador.

When I first met Harold, he was a bunny. Bridgett drew him into her comic strip, Squid Row, telling the story of how he lost his ears to some marauding raccoons. Her comic strip character, Randie, adopted Harold.

Being an social sort of stufftie, Harold enjoyed going to all of Auntie Bridgett’s art shows. He gave hugs to everyone, regardless of which universe they came from.

He helped organize her work and congratulated her when her books were printed up and ready for sale.

delivery of DA BOOKS 008.jpg — **Helping Unpack the Books!**

When we traveled, Harold came along. He enjoyed meeting cousins in Houston and going to the art museum there. He even applied for astronaut training, but they decided he could do better work here on Earth.

And, of course, he got to be friends with Cousin Madilyn, having some small adventures with her and Auntie Bridgett. I will tell you more about Harold, his past and future adventures, tomorrow.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Farewells

Dear Liza,

Well, we left San Diego Friday to come home to Portland. First, Auntie Bridgett and I went to the gym at the Hilton Gardens Hotel and walked for half an hour. It’s good to start travel days, which involve a lot of sitting, with some exercise.

We had breakfast and then headed to Esther’s house, where we visited with Maddie and Jaxson. There were trains and tea parties, and the kids and Bridgett built museums out of blocks.

After a while we headed to Michael’s house, called Casa de Penrose, for lunch and more visiting. Leftover Thanksgiving never tasted so good! The warm sunshine on the patio was very relaxing. We even got some extra goodbye hugs from Yukie, Chris, Aya and Kion.

Harold Abroad

While we were there, Auntie Bridgett asked Maddie if Harold, Bridgett’s favorite stufftie, could stay in San Diego. Harold hasn’t gotten out much in Portland, and he would be able to give more love and comfort, which is what stuffties do best, with Madilyn. This made that little girl so happy! She has always loved Harold.

We had a wonderful visit and then had some sad farewells, to family, kidlets, stuffties, and sunshine. We had a long, layover-filled flight ahead of us.

We finally got home at 10:00, had some couch time with Mousekin the cat, and went to bed. It’s always good to come home.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Day After

Dear Liza,

I hope you and your family had a wonderful, fun Thanksgiving filled with new experiences and friends.

I enjoyed being with Auntie Bridgett’s family. The small children are fun to be with until their inevitable melt downs around 5:00. Maddie and Jaxson, Aya, Kion, and Owen were good company, mostly. They shared toys, helped set tables and kept us grown ups out of trouble.

A new (to me) board game called Kids on Stage was a great hit. You roll dice, move pieces and draw cards. Each card gives you something you need to act out… a snake, a wristwatch, kicking a ball. It was perfect for the 18 months to 5 years old range of our crowd.

The small people’s parents are fun, too. Yukie works for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and is always asking questions that make me ask myself questions, which is a very nice thing. Yesterday she asked me what I had learned about First Nations people in Portland while researching for my story, and I had to admit I didn’t know much. “Wouldn’t that be an interesting layer?” She asked. Well, of course it would be! Back to the Oregon Historical Society. Thanks, Yukie!

Michael, whose house we were at, has done wonderful work in his back yard. The yard faces a steep ravine, so we had always been a little nervous having the small people out there. But this year, with the kids being a bit bigger and a new set of paving stones and a nice fence, it was much less nerve-wracking. Auntie Bridgett was a very good kid watcher.

Looking forward to next Thanksgiving!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Liza,

Yesterday we got to play with cousins Jaxson and Maddie. First we went to to their house, where we played with Brio trains with Thomas the tank engine and had tea parties. Then we went to one of the wonderful parks by Mission Bay. We played hide and seek, tag, and just climbed all over the toys. It was so much fun, but boy, was I tired!

Last night we helped Auntie Bridgett’s Mom, Donna, get their house ready for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a little crazy, with four children 5 and under, but between baths, dinner, and Dr. Seuss’s Christmas, it all got done. The table looks so pretty.

This morning Auntie Bridgett and I walked a mile or so on the treadmill downstairs at the hotel’s gym, then had breakfast. Our waitress, Roxie, was chosen as employee of the year last year, and is a funny, quick serving lady.

We are now watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, happy that when we go out, it will NOT be 28 degrees like it is I. New York City, but a pleasant 59. We will head over for food and family later today. I am looking forward to Donna’s bourbon pecan pie and yams, and Michael’s turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Grandma Judy

OPKS

Dear Liza,

OPKS stands for Other People’s Kids.

One of the best things about holidays is visiting family. This year the Druedings are in three different cities while Grandpa Nelson, Auntie Bridgett and I are all together, visiting Auntie Bridgett’s family in San Diego.

Also visiting are adopted family Chris, Yuki, and their kidlets, which means when we are all together there are four children age 5 and under. That’s a lot of energy! Last night when we were all together, the kids were arguing about blocks, crawling under sofas (but that was my doing, really) , and making noise for noise’s own sake, as kids do.

In my teacher’s heart, I knew this was the sort of evening that happens in houses with small children, that should happen. But in my RETIRED teacher’s heart, I realized it was way more noise than I was used to. Let’s face it, for six months I have had exactly as much peace and quiet as I wanted.

Sigh. The desire for quiet while visiting homes with small children is a natural, unavoidable conflict. So, for the next two days, I will be conflicted.

My father would say it is probably good for me. I will try and see it just that way.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Thankful

Dear Liza,

Having more time to think about life is such a blessing. For most of the thirty years of my teaching career, Thanksgiving was experienced as class art projects that needed to be finished in time to send home, massive cooking projects, and long drive to Great Grandma Billie’s.

This year there are no class art projects…just my fiddling with embroidery.

There is no massive cooking project…we are eating elsewhere.

There is a flight to San Diego….but I am not doing the flying.

We will see family and friends, eat good food, drink some wine, cuddle babies, and go for walks in the autumn sunshine.

And that will be quite a blessing.

Love you very much,

Grandma Judy

Friday Night In Woodlawn, Part 2

Dear Liza,

After we had finished our dinner downstairs at the Oregon Public House, we went upstairs to The Village Ballroom. This is a large open space with a lovely old wooden dance floor and small stage, which was used as a grange hall in the 1920s. We were there to see and hear the Ne Plus Ultra Jass Orchestra.

If this name sounds familiar, it’s because we went to the Clinton Theater before Halloween to hear this same group perform spooky, silly tunes from the early part of the 20th century. They specialize in vintage band music and are a joy to behold. The Village Ballroom is their home turf, where they have played show every month for two years. In keeping with the charitable intent of the Oregon Public House, half of the money from every show goes toward local charities.

Playing with them last night was Jennie Spada playing something you almost never see, a Theramin. This is an instrument that was invented by Leon Theramin in 1928, and relies on radio waves. You don’t touch it to play, but hold your hands just right, and the distance between your hands and the antennae creates interference which makes the eerie, science fiction-y sound. Jennie played with the band on a few tunes, and it was fascinating to watch, but clearly not what the Theramin was designed to do.

Samuel Murray Hawkins, as band leader and vocalist, was charming as ever, wearing a top hat and tails. The 10 piece orchestra all did very well at such tunes as “Louisiana Lullaby” and Duke Ellington songs like “Black and Tan Fantasy”, “The Mooch”, and “Black Beauty. ” Hawkins’s favorite novelty song, “Don’t Bring Lulu” was funny and delightful, telling all the mischief a young lady gets into and advising boys not to invite her along…then says that the singer will bring her himself.

At our table by the dance floor was Lily, the young lady we met at the Halloween concert, and some of her friends. Except for joining in the conga line, none of us got up to dance during the evening, but many other folks did!

It was so much fun watching young, nimble footed couples dance by elderly pairs who had been obviously been dancing together for decades. The dance floor had room for about 14 couples, and for many songs, it was quite full.

The couple that caught my attention, though, was a man and his grand daughter, who was about five years old. Their contrasting sizes were no impediment to their fun, with Grandpa swooping to lift her up into a swing, or spinning her gently by the hand. The little one was a good sport, too, remembering where the other dancers were so as not to trip anyone up.

After 2 hour-long sets and an encore, the band was tired and so were we. Grandpa Nelson called for a Lyft car and we were home and in pajamas by ten o’clock. What a fun evening!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Friday Night In Woodlawn, Part 1

Dear Liza,

Last night Grandpa Nelson had an evening of music planned, but first we needed to have dinner. He isn’t fussy about food, but gave us some ideas we hadn’t thought of.

Swiss Hibiscus is a Swiss restaurant up on NE 14th and their Online menu looked good! Onion soup, raclettes (bread with melted cheeeeese) and escargots all sounded like just the thing for this cold, almost-winter evening. But when we got there, we realized that we should have called for reservations. The tiny restaurant was booked up with no relief in sight. Sigh.

We were on Alberta Street, which is a main drag in the northeast, but places were filling up for dinner. The Tin Shed, which is more of a bar with food, was also full. Across the street was a highly decorated (seems a bit early for Christmas…) shop called Frock, but no food.

We finally decided to make life easy and get a Lyft to our final destination, The Oregon Public House, and eat there. It wouldn’t be escargots or raclettes, but that was fine.

The Oregon Public House is a special place. Its motto is “Have a pint, change the world.” It is the only non-profit pub in the whole country. Let me explain.

You order drinks and food from the bar. Burgers, sandwiches, fries and sweet potato tots are the fare, all tasty and inexpensive. You pay and then decide which of the charities you want the profit from your meal to go to.

Food for Families, The Northeast Portland Tool Library, Keep Oregon Well, and Carpe Mundi, are just a few. There is even a Give-O-Meter, a small wooden counter fitted with beer steins and clear plastic tubes, that lets you donate cash to the different charities if you feel like it.

The pub itself is family friendly and lively, with small people making laps of the place accompanied by their patient parents, as well as hipper folks chatting at tables. All the employees were young and cheerful.

After dinner, we went upstairs for the second part of our adventure. I’ll tell you about that tomorrow!

Love, Grandma Judy

City Crows

Dear Liza,

For such a big city, Portland has a large animal population.

We see this when the ‘dog parade’ heads from the neighborhoods to Laurelhurst Park for their evening walk. Cats greet us from sunny porches as we pass, and chickens talk amongst themselves when we go by Sunnyside School.

The squirrels, of course, have the best commutes ever, up trees and across power lines, chittering at everyone who will listen, but freezing on tree trunks to become invisible.

But by far the most vocal and numerous animals are the crows. Unlike their more reclusive cousins the ravens, crows thrive in close proximity with humans, and some even enjoy our company. And it’s not just people in general; studies show that crows remember certain humans, reacting positively to those who feed them and negatively to those they see as a threat.

There is a lady who walks every day in Lone Fir Cemetery, bringing a large bag of dry cat food, just to feed the crows. She loves their attentions, and they love her, too! She is like the crow’s queen.

The art in Portland reflects this affection (some might even say a fixation) with crows. This painting greeted us last week at The Artbar downtown.

And Laurelhurst hosts a fair few of the feathered fellows, as well.

I like having all these living critters in the neighborhood. Since I have fewer small people to talk with, crows and cats can be good conversation. Also, learning how critters get by and help the area (eating all that fallen fruit, for example) lets me see the neighborhood as an ecosystem rather than just a bunch of houses.

Love, Grandma Judy

Another Transit Adventure, Part 2

Dear Liza,

At Tanner’s Spring Park, we all enjoyed the undulating fence made from old railroad rails and the paths paved with ballast from sailing ships.

The Spring itself rises through a paved circle and meanders along tiny streams on its way to the Willamette, creating an environment enjoyed by birds, insects, and lizards, and us! We imagined our characters shrinking to one inch tall and adventuring on the tiny “river” and flying between the tall grasses. My delight in this nature preserve surrounded by glass high-rises must have been contagious.

At lunch time, the kids agreed on sushi. We stopped at Sinju, where the ladies were very accommodating and made Kestrel mango sushi. Though she ended up mostly lunching on the crackers and fruit I had brought along, her roll didn’t go to waste: Jasper enjoyed his California roll AND his sister’s lunch. He’s a growing dragon, after all.

Walking toward the streetcar home, we watched it go by…but no harm done. It went by just in front of Cool Moon Ice Cream! A wonderful snack, Shel Silverstein poems (I always bring books on adventures) and interesting knit cow heads helped pass the time until the next streetcar.

Our energy was starting to fade as we watched the city pass by the windows. Crossing the Tilikum Crossing Bridge, we had incredible views of Mt. Hood with a fresh frosting of snow, rising like a ghost over the east side of Portland.

We switched from the streetcar to the Orange line at OMSI and rode it just one stop down to get off by Books with Pictures. We were all pretty much out of gas. The kids tucked in with books on the beanbag chairs, and I walked home and napped for an hour. Adventuring is exhausting!

Love,

Grandma Judy