Judy – Page 167 – Dear Liza

Cowboy Up!

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

Here in Salinas, the biggest event of the year is the Salinas Rodeo, which happens in July. Salinas was founded as a ranching and farming town and horses, cows and cowboys have always been a big part of it. Today, our school got a visit from Janice Lemons. She brought our Cowboy assembly as part of the national “Cowboys for Kids” program.

First, Janice gave us interesting information about rodeo riding. A cowboy needs to stay on a bucking bull for 8 seconds to qualify for a win, and since every contest is only 8 seconds long, each bucking bronco bucks for about a total of five minutes in a whole year. She also showed us what equipment cowboys use to stay safe and keep their horses, and even the bulls, safe.

The sport of rodeo is the only sport based on a real life profession. Janice told us about rodeo clowns and how they distract the bulls and horses so cowboys can get out of the arena safely.

Then Janice got to what was, for me, the important part of the assembly. She introduced us to the expression “Cowboy up”, which means to be tough and resolute in your heart and mind, to do what you know is right even when it’s hard. It means standing your ground against drugs, gangs, and bullying.

I enjoyed the assembly very much. I am not a fan of the sport of Rodeo, but I like Janice’s presentation style and her message about inner strength. The kids were very engaged and polite. My students who needed to sit to the side did multiplication tables while they listened.

We went straight from the assembly to recess, and then to our room next door to finish up the movie, “Island of the Blue Dolphins”. This is a movie my co-teacher, Leslie Carter, has been using for years…for so long, in fact, that it is on VHS video tape. Three classes of kids sat, really riveted, watching a small television set and technology that was old when they were born.

This afternoon my students went, in small groups, to other classrooms to perform their Reader’s Theater plays. They are enjoying it very much, and the classes seem to like it, but having groups coming and going makes for a fragmented afternoon. Mostly, the kids colored and I packed books into boxes for the end of the year move to Room 26.

We only have seven more days of school, and then I come back home to Portland!

Love,

Grandma Judy

End of the Year Projects

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

We now have eight days until the end of our school year. For me, it is my last school year, and I want to have some fun. My class, the Dragons, have been writing stories.

They created characters and drew them. Then they made an eight part story map, outlining what their hero would do in the story to achieve his or her goals. Now they are writing, in Google Classroom, the final drafts of their stories.

**An Outline for a story about the character**

They are also turning their characters into action figures! Using a bunch of thin cardboard given to us by Annette Agee, our wonderful cafeteria lady, we drew, glued, and ‘dressed’ our characters, and have even used more cardboard to make background for these characters to stand in front of.

It was been a long process and has taken a lot of planning, patience, and figuring stuff out, but the final products are looking so good! It is good to have a project where the children are so invested in the final product that they want to stay in and work on it, and moan when the recess bell rings.

I know I will miss many parts of teaching. This is surely one of them.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Royal Wedding, Salinas Style

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

This morning I woke up early and started more bread. It takes a while to make, and I wanted some soft bread for our celebration of the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry of England to his American bride, Meghan Markle.

Once the bread was started, our friend and hair stylist, Shanoa Perez, came by to cut everyone’s hair. She doesn’t have a shop anymore, and has lots of other projects, but she is sweet enough to come by every few months and make the whole family beautiful. She does good work!

The bread rose, got punched down and put into buttered pyrex dishes, and rose again. Then in 20 minutes, we had two loaves of lovely soft white bread. Some of this, and some heavier whole grain bread, was sliced, buttered, cream cheesed, yogurt spread, and finished with slices of cucumber and smoked salmon. Some even got strawberries! These tiny open faced sandwiches were placed on Auntie Olga’s best tiered serving dish and, along with mimosas, became our lunch.

Uncle David found the replay of the Royal Wedding on youtube.com, and Auntie Olga and I ate our high tea and enjoyed the church, clothes, songs and sermons of the wedding. Cousin Liza had her lunch and watched too, but didn’t have the patience of young Princess Charlotte, and went off to play with her robot for a while.

I haven’t walked more than thirty feet today, compared to the three miles yesterday, but I am still going to have a lay down. Being royal, even a day late and in jeans, is tiring!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Accidental Monterey

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

Today was a Saturday, and I had no obligations! First, Liza and I woke up and played a game that her Baba Alla had brought from Russia. The fun part was, the rules were in Russian, so we couldn’t read them. We got to figure out how to play by looking really closely at the cards. Turns out, it was an “opposites” game. Black,white, long, short, fragile, durable, things like that. It was fun to watch Liza figure it out!

Then Liza and her Momma went on an adventure to The Monterey Bay Aquarium and to visit with some friends. I figured that I would go for a walk around Salinas. I bundled up and headed off. As I was walking, I was chatting with Auntie Bridgett on the phone. “Why are you walking around Salinas?” She asked. “Head for the ocean and walk on the beach!” So I did.

The Number 20 bus runs right down West Alisal, and goes to Monterey, but I got off in Seaside. I wanted to walk along and beach and end up in Monterey for lunch. Stopping at Starbucks (which I never do!) to get warmed up, I headed under the freeway and walked on the sand. Heading south, in one of those wonderful accidental miracles, I ran into my old friend Barbara Snell, who was heading north. She is a beach-walker, too, and had a bag of trash she had collected. We caught up and chatted and then went on our ways.

Once I got to Monterey, there was a lot to see. There was a Jade Festival, where people were selling beautifully polished stones of all sorts…jade, quartz, hematite, and even iron pyrite, which is called “fool’s gold”. There was a jazz combo with a singer, and I listened to them for a while. They were delightfully smooth, even in the blustery grey weather. Of course, the historic architecture is always fun to look at.

**Classy architecture at Franklin and Calle Principal**

For lunch I decided on The Crown and Anchor, a wonderfully kitchy English- Style Pub on Franklin. They were decorated for the Royal wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, and I watched some of the wedding re-plays on the news broadcast and I had roasted corn soup and bread.

While I was eating and realizing how tired I was, I checked my phone and saw that I had walked about 3 miles along the sand. It was time to go home. I walked up Alvarado to the Monterey Transit Plaza and caught the good old Number 20 back home.

Tomorrow, Auntie Olga, Cousin Liza and I plan to celebrate (belatedly) the Royal Wedding and get haircuts!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Retirement Festivities, Part 2

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

This afternoon was the next party celebrating retirement. This one was given by my teacher’s Union, the Salinas Elementary Teachers’ Council (SETC). I’ve been a member of the Union for my 30 years teaching, and was even on the Board for a while. For teachers, the union is a big deal.

We met at the Grower’s Pub, an old-time Salinas establishment. It is downtown on Monterey Street. The decor is very Rodeo themed, with ranch brands burned into the walls (with notes of which ranch used this brand) and photographs of old rodeo riders. There was even a Salinas Rodeo advertisement from 1937!

There was yummy food, buy-your-own beer (or whatever) and some dear friends. I saw Kim Crook, whose son Michael I taught my third year of teaching, and Chris Mollenhoff, who was a new kid about the same time I was. Linda Serrano, one of my oldest teaching friends, (but who I’ve never taught with) helped organize the party. The room was full of loud, fun conversations.

Jane Parrish, a dear friend who left University Park a few years ago, showed up and we had a nice chat. She is helping pull together the third leg of this retirement relay, which will happen next Friday. We even got presents! Our staffs had signed cards (which I get all teary when I read) and there was lovely local chocolate from Lula’s and a Starbuck’s card.

When I had enough of everything and had hugged everyone, Uncle David came and fetched me home. I’m worn out and ready to crash, and Cousin Liza isn’t even home from shopping at the mall yet! She is getting nice new summer clothes for her big vacation this summer.

More about that later.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Retirement Festivities, Part 1

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

Today was a fun day at school. My students are still working on their story maps, getting things organized before they start writing. It is hard work, making all your ideas come together and make sense!

After school I walked down to the District Office on Main Street. They were having a party, a small celebration, to recognize the teachers like me who are retiring this year. There weren’t a lot of people there, but my dear friend Amy Ish, who is now on our school board after retiring a few years ago, was one of the board members who came to say a few words.

There were speeches, and music, cake and cider, and goodies! Each retiree got a lovely glass plaque with our name on it, a framed resolution of appreciation, and a frame with two photos: One that we gave to the District when we were hired, and one of this year’s school pictures.

We took pictures, hugged, laughed, got a little teary, and then the board meeting (which was going to be a lot less fun) was getting ready to start, so I headed back to Uncle David’s house.

I dropped off my goodies and then walked up to school. It was “Pick up your Yearbook” evening! I got mine, talked with some friends and former students, and got back to the house just as Auntie Olga and Liza came home with the groceries. We unloaded and put them away, and had dinner.

I’ve worked a full day, walked 2 and a half miles, and I am ready to lay down. But I wanted to let you know how my day went. I will be back in Portland in 19 days!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Fun Friday, Busy Saturday

Dear Liza,

This Friday was fun at school. We started off with coloring instead of Imagine Math, which was probably against some rule, but sometimes you just need to color. Then came a spelling test, with really hard words the kids chose for themselves, like ‘algorithm’ and ‘sedimentary’.

Then we continued work on student stories. They started creating their characters a few days ago, deciding what their characters would like and dislike, what their goals were, and what their abilities and disabilities would be.

Having gotten to know their characters, we started making a map of what would happen in their story….how would the character go about achieving their goal? That lead to lots of conversations. “A time machine? Neat! Where’d to come from?” “What happened next?” “Did your character know about that?” Many of these questions elicited shrugs, which were met with “Well, you’re the author. Figure it out.”

Then came library time, our last of the school year, and lunch. In the afternoon the students began drawing their character, to get to know them better. And of course, in drawing and thinking about them, the actions in the story became clearer. Kids were pulling their story maps out of their desks to write ideas down. “She’s going to fall off the horse! She won’t be hurt, just scared.”

Fun Friday always ends with free time PE outside. We had a huge game of tennis baseball with kids from three grades and about 5 classes, and a smaller group doing gymnastics on the lawn.

When school was over, your daddy David drove me to the San Jose Airport again. Grandpa Nelson’s surgery from last week had been postponed to this Saturday, and I wanted to be in Portland to help.

This morning we woke up at 4:30 to get to the Oregon Health and Science University, just across the Willamette River and up a hill. Grandpa got checked in, had his surgery (he is still fighting kidney stones), got awake enough to come home, and is now sleeping. While he was in the operating room, Auntie Bridgett and I enjoyed the views from the ninth floor…. the river, hills and city below, as well as construction work just below. Always something going on in a big city!

Now we are all resting and reading. The sun is out, as Spring has come to Portland with lots of flowers and beautiful bright weather. We may even go out for a short walk later, if Grandpa Nelson is up to it.

See you soon.

Love, Grandma Judy

Ouch!

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

Yesterday I did a dumb thing. You know, the kind of thing that if you asked your Mom if you could do it, she would say,”That sounds like a really bad idea.”

It all happened just before school started, when I was taking artwork off the walls. We are getting the end of the year, and my classroom will be used by Kindergarten next year, so everything has to come down. I didn’t want to go hunting for the ladder, so I dragged a chair over to a bookcase and stood on that to be tall enough to reach. As I was pulling off the banner asking “Who? What Where? When? Why?” to remind students important points to cover in their writing, I stepped backwards…onto thin air.

I felt like a windmill. Arms flailing, trying to catch balance somewhere and failing. I ended up sitting down very hard on my bottom and left wrist, with my head just barely missing one of my students’ desk. Well, I thought, it certainly could have been worse.

Taking inventory, I checked to see what felt good and what hurt. My left wrist was hurt but I could move all my fingers, so I figured nothing was broken. My back and head were good. Just then, the bell rang and two students looked in and saw me sitting on the floor. They banged on the door to make sure I was all right. I explained what happened, calling it “a big stupid thing”.

During the day I managed to slip and fall against a desk, banging that same arm. Ouch! I went through the rest of the day carefully, using my left hand as little as possible. By the time I got home, it was swollen and very sore. It was useful as a paw or a stick, but I couldn’t grab anything with it. I was able to slowly chop onions to make pasta and meat sauce for dinner.

Auntie Olga got home and checked my wrist and arm, gently feeling it to make sure it wasn’t broken. She made me a lovely sling out of a scarf. It looked very fancy. She suggested an x-ray, but I decided not to go. I was tired and the thought of the emergency room seemed like another big stupid thing. I ate, read some Junie B. Jones to Liza, and went to bed.

Woke up this morning much better. Sore, but I could make a fist and hold things in my left hand. I got the sling on and headed off to school. Everyone asked about the sling, so I got to tell the story a dozen times. Children helped me with doors and carrying things. By the end of the day I was tired again, but less wounded.

I still napped after school, but, hey, I’m a Grandma, right? Looking forward to being even better tomorrow!

Love,

Granma Judy

Back in Salinas for May

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

It was so much fun visiting you in Portland! Grandpa Nelson enjoyed spending his birthday with you, and we got lots of work done on our new house. But I have 19 more teaching days to do, so I am back in Salinas. Yesterday, Uncle David picked me up at the airport and took me to the Club at Crazy Horse for dinner. Good company, very tasty food, and lovely scenery!

Today started out with Liza enjoying her new comics from Auntie Katie’s shop, Books with Pictures.

After breakfast, it was time for a nice adventure. The weather was warm and sunny, so Liza and I packed some snacks and our overdue library books and headed downtown. We had snacks with the Hartnell Panther, who then followed us downtown. Liza says he can sense where we are, so he doesn’t need a leash.

We continued to the Steinbeck Center, and visited the Red Pony, Tom Joad and the Pipe House, as well as fishing for sardines off a small boat. It was a fun imaginary trip.

We were hungry for a snack, but Blue Aces was closed! Liza was so disappointed, but we decided to try Portobello’s…no ice cream. The Cafe and Deli? Closed. Finally, we stopped in at the Monterey Coast Brewing Company and THEY had ice cream! Hooray! And even a lemon tart for me. No beer, though. I’m on duty.

Refreshed, we headed to the Steinbeck Library, played, and got some new books. It was getting windy and cold, and I was grateful for the jackets Auntie Olga had insisted we take along. We had to run for the bus, but we caught it and were home at 2:00…just in time for a nice long nap.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Working Hard

Dear Liza,

Yesterday I worked so hard that by the end of the day, I was too tired to remember what I did! I only realized how much got done by comparing the before and after pictures.

Let me explain. A few days ago, it became really clear that we didn’t have enough shelf space, even for our newly-thinned book collection. A trip to IKEA gained us a lovely modern looking shelf for the dining area and a “bridge” piece to go above some taller bookcases. Both went together easily, because we are experienced IKEA builders. The modern piece fit well and was quickly filled with our prettiest travel and cookbooks

However, the bridge piece was more problematic. It weighed a ton and, when Grandpa Nelson and I excruciatingly lifted it to the top of the other bookcases, it looked awful. Too big. Not matching. I thought Auntie Bridgett was going to cry.

We sat and stared and wondered what to do next. As we usually do, we heard everyone’s ideas and compromised between them. We unloaded all the bookcases, so that the books were running down the hallway and into the master bedroom, and took the bridge down. Then we moved the not-suitable bookcases to the other wall, moved the matching ones to the right wall, and put the bridge back up. Oy and vey.

Then, of course, the books had to go back up. My mother was a librarian and could do the Dewey Decimal system in her head, but space constraints made me less accurate. I am happy if most of the history and biographies are together. I blended humor and children’s books. I even squished my journals in with travel books, on the flimsy justification that I journal a lot when we travel.

And at the end of the day, when my back hurt and I was hungry, thirsty and so tired I could hardly see straight, I looked up and there was a room! Not a pile, a room, with space on the floor. There was still work to be done, but since it was First Friday and Auntie Bridgett’s art was being shown at The SideStreet Arts on 28th Avenue, we had places to be. We walked over to our old Neighborhood for dinner at the Ankeny Tap and Table and then a visit to the Gallery. It was nice to see her collages and Mugshots mingling with the other quirky art! I am so proud of her.

Then it was time to head home and sleep like rocks. Which we did.

AND today, with advice from Auntie Bridgett and lots more trips up the step ladder, I have gotten the room put together. The guest bed is made. Pictures are on the wall. Trinkets live with the books on the shelves and sewing and craft supplies are properly deployed.#

Love,

Grandma Judy