Judy – Page 16 – Dear Liza

Sketching with the Dead People

Dear Liza,

You know how much I love visiting the dead folks at Lone Fir Cemetery!

Well, yesterday Auntie Bridgett and I joined a sketching group there. It was led by a lady named Jen whose full time job is elementary school teacher (just what I used to do!)

Jen is also a fan of Lone Fir, and wanted to find a way to earn some money to help maintain this fragile old space. She put a notice on The Friends of Lone Fir website, and people pay $10 a head to join the group. The money goes to Friends of Lone Fir, the same non-profit organization that runs the Twilight Tombstone tours I will be helping with later this month.

Being a ‘real’ teacher, Jen has a ‘real’ curriculum, this book by John Laws. It lays out a lot of steps and philosophy about nature jour along, and I’m sure it is a fine book.

But I was interested in a quick guide to start with. Once our group of thirty (!) people were gathered, Jen gave us just that.

She suggested quick info about day and weather and then prompts of “I notice” “I wonder” and “It reminds me of”, and really close looking at whatever you choose to draw. It could be a tree or a leaf, a patch of ground, or anything in the area.

“If you think it’s boring,” she said, “keep looking and you’ll be amazed how much you see.” We all went off to our own areas and had one hour to draw.

I chose this wonderful old chestnut tree by the rose garden. If I got far enough away to see the whole tree I’d miss the detail, so I could only draw part way up the trunk. I was fascinated by the dappled light and how the patches kept shifting as the sun went down behind me.

When our hour was up, we assembled back at the Soldier’s Memorial and did a “gallery walk” of everyone’s journals. I was impressed by the variety of drawings and the close observations.

We shared our experiences and said what we liked about other folks’ sketches. I liked that we were complimenting the sketch, not the artist… it was less personal, less embarrassing, and more meaningful.

We all enjoyed our time at the cemetery, and being able to share it with other folks made it even better. And next month, Auntie Bridgett and I get to join Jen and the sketchers again!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Bookin’ It

Dear Liza,

When we moved from Salinas to Portland seven years ago, we brought way too many books. I mean, we loved them, but they just wouldn’t fit in our new house. We sold what we could to second hand shops and gave dozens more away to local libraries.

Eventually, we culled down our collection to much-loved books that would fit in our space. Compromise triumphed, and Peace was at hand.

But they kept coming in! Years of Birthday gifts, book shop purchases and Tiny Free Library finds trickled in, squeezing into spaces, and before we knew it, we were up to our literary eyebrows in books again.

Time to cull some more. Over many weeks, I pulled books off the shelves and into a box in the garage. One box became two, and it was time.

Auntie Bridgett and I chose a bright, dry day, loaded up the wagon, and headed down to Belmont Books. Joe will pay cash for books, but is more generous with store credit. And, though it sets of a self-perpetuating cycle, we take it.

Because, you know… books. A cumbersome, but mostly harmless, addiction.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Real Rain

Dear Liza,

After the Belmont Street Fair ended with rain, we had a weird Summer redux week of sunshine and warm weather. My garden’s lettuces kicked back into gear, more tomatoes got ripe, and the last dahlias bloomed.

Then Wednesday, it all broke loose again. A sprinkle caught Grandpa Nelson as he walked to Zach’s for lunch, and by the time Auntie Bridgett and I wanted to get out of the house, it was a deluge!

Still, we bundled up, layered on the hats and water-repellant coats, and headed out.

I do love the world when it is wet and drippy… fresh, shiny, and always moving. The wind and rain takes dust from the air and trees and just washes it away.

In our neighborhood, this means lovely rippled rivers as gutters flow into bioswales. The bioswales hold the rainwater and let it filter slowly into the aquifer, keeping our Willamette River clean.

I was appreciating all this engineering as my coat was soaking through and my completely-inadequate sneakers filled with water. “I’m turning around at the next corner,” Bridgett said. I agreed.

Because an adventure is only an adventure if you live to tell about it.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Stumble Upons

Dear Liza,

One thing I love about living in Portland is that you never know what you’re going to find. In our time here, we have “stumbled upon” Shakespeare’s plays being performed at Lone Fir Cemetery, comedy shows and Johnny Franco’s music at Laurelhurst Park, and Jazz trio performing on somebody’s front porch.

Last evening, we were coming home after a longer-than-expected walk, just a few blocks from home, when we noticed people forming a crowd in the middle of the street by Sunnyside School’s playground.

It was too quiet for a political demonstration, and everyone seemed to be settling in for a show of some sort. Camp chairs and take out containers were in evidence.

Taking a closer look, we noticed a small amplifier set up by an open window of a re-purposed industrial building. A home-made sign hanging below the window spelled out HEY POET LAUREATE!!

Turns out, this was a semi-regular concert by these two folks. Danielle has a sweet singing voice, and Kyle plays guitar and harmonizes with Danielle. There was some mention of an old Poet Laureate ‘passing the torch’ to the new one, but I didn’t understand it. I didn’t want to bother anyone for details during the show.

As I said, we were returning from a long walk, and my feet were letting me know it was time to head home. We listened for a bit longer and headed out. We saw Steph from Happy Anyway and her buddy Jen in the crowd, so we know who we can ask.

Portland always has something going on, you just need to get out and look for it!
Love,

Grandma Judy

Mr. Bones, Horsing Around

Dear Liza,

That big skeleton we got has been inspiring all sorts of shenanigans. He’s been rocking out with my new headphones, or maybe he is studying French on Duolingo, like the rest of us.

Since he is as big as a human adult, he can sit at the table. (Looks to me like the service is pretty slow around here…)

But he did get in on all the tasty baking going on!

No such thing as too much fun.
Love,

Grandma Judy

Getting Spooky

Dear Liza,

It was a perfect Fall day Sunday, so Auntie Bridgett and I walked out to see the sights.

We found a whole bunch of Halloween-y yards! Just above Laurelhurst Park, this cheerful skeleton welcomes you to his graveyard. My favorite headstone reads, “I Told You I Was Sick.”

As we headed north across Burnside, we nearly a dozen or so inflated decorations all in one yard! This dragon had a tiny motor that made his wings flap. Very cool.

These three witches (Thanks, Mr. Macbeth!) looked more friendly than scary, as did their bulldog.

But the detached giant hand? Definitely creepy.
Ditto the eyeball-stealing ghost.

And there, keeping an eye on everything, was this OSU baseball rooting skeleton.

I love that everyone is getting an early start on Halloween decorations! It gives us more time to find them all.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Yummy Gluten Free Blondies

Dear Liza,

Auntie Bridgett has been trying to change her diet lately, so there has been some experimental baking going on. She found this recipe for gluten-free blondies (like brownies but with less chocolate).
We used the recipe as she wrote it in her sketchbook.

Feeling up to the challenge, I jumped in, helping and photographing.
First, a can of chickpeas got drained and dried. We saved the juice!

Then some oats got ground into a rough flour in the food processor and everything else got added to that.

In less than a minute, it was a nice smooth paste. We added a handful of walnuts and chocolate chips,(because of course we did.)

The whole batch got poured into a greased and parchment-lined pan and put in the oven at 350 F for half an hour.

While it was baking, we tried what seemed like a very unlikely task… making meringue from the chickpea juice!

Amazingly, with some agave, a pinch of cream of tartar, and whole bunch of whisking, zbridgett turned this into a tasty topping.

The hardest part of the whole process was waiting for the blondies to cool so we could eat them!!

Though not anywhere near a health food, these are a nice baked treat for folks who are sensitive to gluten.

Yummy, too!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Garden Update September 2024

Dear Liza,

Our time in the vegetable is just about over for this year. The weather is cooler, the rain is more insistant, and the plants know it is time.

The zucchinis were the first to go. The plant looked so sad that I pulled it out by the roots and hung it up on the trellis to dry. It was only then I noticed a small, late-season zuke hanging on. It will get pan-fried with some garlic, as is the destiny of all zucchini.

Tha dahlias have just about given up the ghost, and the heavy rains knock their large blooms around. I’ll go pick the last of them this week.

And the tomatoes! The three plants have grown well, but just started bearing a month ago. There are still dozens and dozens of green fruit, and none of them are ripening. Our wet Fall seems to have signaled their demise, as well.

Finally, the lettuces. My end-of-season gamble to get more salad didn’t pay off, and they just sit there getting muddy. So sad.

So once things are a little less goopy, I will take my wagon over and pull the plants up. I do love Fall, but endings are always a little melancholy.

Love,

Grandma Judy

French Map Quilt Update

Dear Liza,

I have been working on the French map quilt a little bit every day. Sometimes it goes smoothly and I get lots done. Other days, I hate every stitch and snip out the day’s work.

Such is the artistic process, I am told, and I am making progress!

I have laid in all the vineyards around Bordeaux, pastureland by Brest, and am now putting in all the apple orchards in Normandy.

The apple trees were very challenging. I tried several different shapes, but they all looked wrong. Finally, I just ‘sketched’ a few with stitches, and found what I was looking for.

I like that each tree has three colors! (….Now maybe I need to go back and add more texture to my other icons?)

Moving forward, I have about half the country to go, and look forward to the next set of conundrums.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Tombstone Twilight Walkthrough

Dear Liza,

I get to volunteer at the Lone Fir Cemetery again! This year the event is called Tombstone Twilight, and will be held every Saturday in October from 4 to 7 in the evenings. (Buy tickets online at FriendsofLoneFirCemetery.com)

This should be an easier to manage, mostly-daylight activity, in contrast to last year’s event. The Tour of Untimely Departures was one, very long, very dark, evening.

I am looking forward to being part of the show, and this year, Auntie Bridgett is getting involved!

We met up with J Swofford and other volunteers at Lone Fir the other day, for a walk-through of the tour. We got to ‘meet’ such interesting folks as Julius Caesar, a formerly enslaved man who made a name for himself as a political orator for progressive causes. He was also a local baseball fan, and on his tombstone, along with his name and dates, are the words “Play Ball”.

Walking in Lone Fir always gives me peace and perspective, and learning about the lives and accomplishments of the folks there shows me the possibilities of the human spirit. (There are also a lot of cute squirrels.)

I will be making the walkabout a few more times before the tour, so I will not get lost escorting folks around, and I’ll tell you about it as it happens.

Love,

Grandma Judy