Judy – Page 177 – Dear Liza

Castletown at McMenamin’s

Dear Liza,

Last night we went back to the McMenamin’s Kennedy School. The weather was really stormy, so we took a Lyft car.

JD Kennedy portrait mcmenamins.jpg — **Portrait of John D. Kennedy, founder of the school**

We ate in The Boiler Room, which is decorated with wonderfully steampunk-y pipes and things, as well as having odd and interesting paintings on the walls. Auntie Bridgett and I shared an Aztec Salad of lettuce, corn, beans and spicy tortilla chips and Grandpa Nelson had his french fries.

We noticed several themes in the photos and paintings…they echo each other. In one wing of the school, there is a large photo of some kids holding birdhouses they had made. In a different corridor, there is a painting based on that photo. I love discovering this place, bit by bit!

kids birdhouses painting.jpg — **Painting based on photo!**

Another interesting thing we learned was that this school, The Kennedy School in Northeast Portland, was where Mike and Brian, the McMenamin brothers, went to elementary school. So they saved their own school!

We were at the school to listen to an Irish music group called Katie Jane and Castletown which was playing in the Gymnasium. The room is small for a gym, but is a nice open space with a rug in the middle for echo-control and so tables and chairs don’t damage the wooden floor. In front of the stage, however, the floor was left bare as an informal dance floor.

Katie Jane and Castletown mcmenamins.jpg — **Katie Jane and Roger with dancer**

The group is made up of three people: Drew is the pony-tailed drummer, Roger plays guitar and sings the low bits, and lovely Katie Jane, on violin, is the star. Her Irish fiddle playing soars and makes everyone want to dance! The audience was very mixed, but there were about 6 families with small kids who got up and did just that when the music started.

grandma dancing irish mcmenamins.jpg — **Doing a turn with Grandma**

I enjoyed this part the most, I think… kids just having fun with the music, helping smaller ones, and even doing a crazy turn with their grandma. Castletown played Irish tunes, some American Gospel, and even some Rockabilly, but all were dance-able, some sing-able, and all very, very entertaining.

When the band stopped at 9, we tipped them and told them how much we enjoyed the show, and headed off. Our Lyft driver picked us up before we even had time to get wet, and we were home and safe by 9:30.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Twist Your Dickens

Dear Liza,

I want to tell you about a show we went to see in December. We are all great lovers of “A Christmas Carol”, a wonderfully spooky Christmas ghost story by Charles Dickens, so Grandpa Nelson got us tickets to go out and celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary.

First we went to Henry’s Tavern, a restaurant on the corner of NE 12th and Burnside. This is an old brick building with high ceilings because it used to be the Henry Weinhard Brewery, where beer (and root beer, during Prohibition) was made for almost a hundred years. The character of the bricks and history made the building feel very special, and the food, wine and beer, were good, too. I had a Peanut Buster Burger, a hamburger with peanut better on it, which was surprisingly very good!

After we were full, we walked a few blocks to The Armory, a theater made out of, well, the 1891 Armory, where the Oregon National Guard used to train and store their weapons and equipment. It is now several theaters in one building.

Dickens stage cartoon.jpg — **Stage set at Twist Your Dickens**

Twist Your Dickens was almost ready to start, but before the show there was a short class on improvisational theater. Twist Your Dickens is performed by the Second City Production Company from Chicago, a group which is famous for having launched the careers of Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Steve Martin, and dozens of other comics and actors. They practice improvisation using the “Pillars of Improvisation”, developed by Viola Spolins back in the 1960s.

My favorite pillar is “Yes, and…” where, as an actor, you accept whatever thing your partner presents, for example, “Here is the rabbit you asked for” and add to it, such as, “It’s about time, the wedding is about to start!” This allows you to create a scene that is funny, fast, and unexpected. It is fun to do as a game, too. Try it with friends!

There was another unexpected element in this performance, a few people who stood on the side of the stage and performed the show in American Sign Language. Their gestures and facial expressions were wonderful to see, and as entertaining as the rest of the show.

ASL at Dickens.jpg — **ASL signing at Twist Your Dickens**

I didn’t take any photos during the performance, because that’s just rude, but I got a few the stage and the women signing. This photo is from the show’s website.

scrooge at Twist.jpg — **Scrooge meets Marley Photo credit: Twist your Dickens**

The play follows the outline of “A Christmas Carol”. We meet Mr. Scrooge, who is greedy and hates Christmas, and who is visited by four spirits who help him realize his awful ways and become a better person.

But with improvisation, characters sometimes make up their own lines, and other characters have to accept the new information and make it work (see “Yes, and..” above.) This lead to hilarity where the actors sometimes got so tickled they couldn’t say their lines…this is one of my favorite things about improv!

The lightning-fast costume changes went off without a hitch, with the seven actors playing hundreds of characters in the 90 minute show. By the end, when Scrooge buys the giant turkey and celebrates with the Cratchit family, we were all laughing and exhausted. We made our way out of the theater, to the bus stop and home, each of us breaking into laughter as we re-played scenes in our heads.

What a wonderful anniversary!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Frozen Fog Forest

Dear Liza,

Today the snow started melting. There was a little rain and the temperature was predicted to get all the way up to 45 degrees! I had lots of work to do inside after all of our company, so I was happy to stay in and be warm.

By the afternoon, however, Auntie Bridgett was ready for a walk, so I went with her.

park steps snow.jpg — **Icy Steps at Laurelhurst Park**

We hadn’t been to Laurelhurst Park since the snow, because we didn’t want to slip on the ice…but we figured by now it would be gone…right? Well, not so much. There were lots of clear paths, but lots of ice, too. Some places it was very slippery and easier to walk by the bushes, where the dirt made a soft, but muddy, path.

dog in foggy forest.jpg — **Dog and people at Laurelhurst Park**

The fog was so beautiful between the trees and down in the ravine part of the park. There were several people out, playing with their dogs or just walking…even a young man jogging, over the ice, IN SHORTS! Some people are a little crazy, I think.

The trees were dripping from all the snow and ice that had been stuck on their branches, which got my hat wet, but I didn’t mind.

foggy forest 2.jpg — **Lamppost for Mr. Tumnus….**

As it turned out, the temperature never got above 37, and will get below freezing again tonight, so the water and slush will probably re-freeze and be scary and slippery again. I am glad I got out today.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Strange Icy Magic

Dear Liza,

I grew up in Southern California, and have lived the last 30 years in Salinas, where ice and snow almost never happen. So having a few days to really get out and see what ice does to a familiar neighborhood has been fun.

First, clothing. Three shirts, long underwear under jeans, wool socks and boots, plus scarves and hats. Gloves, too, if you want to keep your fingers.

footprints deep snow.jpg — **Footprints in fluffy Snow**

Next, walking. Any kind of movement becomes very thoughtful. Since the ground is squishy or slick, and cement is hard, you pay a lot more attention to your feet…the actual placement, checking for traction every second.

This means you need to stop in order to look up, which you must do, because everything is so different. The snow that fell three days ago had changed from fluffy and soft to grainy and icy, and has melted and re-frozen a few times, making some weird shapes along the way.

camellia bush ice.jpg — **Icy Camellia Bush**

The evergreen camellias common in yards around here hold up to the ice well, even forming molds which the ice flows into. It was amazing to hold one of these!

camillia ice shell.jpg — **Camellia Ice Mold**

Familiar things, like our gnomes on the back steps, take on new meaning. Not just “I’m a gnome” but “I’m a really freezing, patient gnome.” The plaster sun becomes a study in irony.

We had such a wonderful visit from Great Auntie Christy and Cousin Kyle, showing off this new city that we love. We walked the neighborhoods, looked at houses, saw art museums and bookshops, ate Babydoll Pizza and marathoned Christmas movies. We are now ready for a few days of downtime before the new year.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Snow for Christmas!

scuffs in snow.jpg — **Scuffs in the snow**

Dear Liza,

This morning when we woke up, snow was predicted. The temperature was 30 degrees, and there were heavy clouds, and before we knew it, there it was…the light rain became…snow!

gnomes begin snow.jpg — **Gnomes at the beginning**

For a while it couldn’t make up its mind to sleet or snow, but then it decided to snow. Soft, fluffy, flakes drifting down and actually sticking, making the streets, our gnomes, and everything white….Or at least sort of white.

gnome end snow.jpg — **Gnomes at the end**

We needed to make a trip to the Whole Foods a few blocks away, and it took quite a while to get there. The sidewalks were icy and slippery, so we walked mostly on the crunchy grass. Parking lots, with their expanses of asphalt, were scary and we went slowly, like awkward baby penguins.

mint snow .jpg — **My mint on the porch**

Once we got back in from the market, we decided to enjoy the weather from INSIDE. I don’t mind being cold, or even wet, but I don’t want to fall and break anything…that would spoil Christmas!

Of course, the same kids who play with tiny drones and frisbees in the summer were out in the snow, scooping and scraping to get enough snow to throw at each other. It was fun to watch them, from INSIDE!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Family in Portland

Dear Liza,

Merry Christmas!

Your Great Auntie Christy and Cousin Kyle have come up to spend the Holiday with us, and we have been showing them the town.

The first day they were here we had dinner, then drove up to the McMenamin’s Kennedy School to show them that wonderful space and listen to the Dickensian Carolers. It was so wonderful! Every time I go there, I see new art work.

apple mosaic.jpg — **Artwork at Kennedy School**

The next day Grandpa Nelson and Cousin Kyle got dressed early and walked down to the Rocking Frog for fresh doughnuts and cinnamon rolls. Then we all walked around Laurelhurst Park, which was COLD and almost naked of leaves.

C and K at Laurelhurst.jpg — **Freezing, happy family**

After lunch, we headed downtown via Lyft car, which with this many people, is cheaper than the bus, and did some shopping at Powell’s City of Books.

Then, carrying the 20 pounds of books we had bought, we walked down to the Portland Art Museum to show them the Laika exhibit. Kyle is a big fan of the Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings movies, so he was delighted. We all enjoyed it, as well…it is the sort of show you can see many times and always see something new.

After resting and snacking at the museum cafe, we hired another Lyft car and got a ride to Auntie Katie’s store, Books with Pictures. We shopped and visited, then we all (including Katie, who got off work) over to the Double Dragon Restaurant, at SE Division and 12th, for dinner. It was noisy, but the food was good and sitting down was a nice break. Grandpa and Auntie Katie wanted ice cream, so we walked (more walking!) down to Fifty Licks Ice Cream on Clinton Street, where, in spite of the cold, we all ate ice cream. I had the blackstrap gingersnap…so good!

When it seemed that we had bought, eaten, and seen everything, we got another Lyft home and fell asleep watching the classic movie, The Bishop’s Wife.

What a great day!!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Walking and Helping

Dear Liza,

split show poster.jpg

By lunch time on the 21st, it was almost up to 35 degrees…so Auntie Bridgett and I went for a walk.

brig and poster.jpg — **Auntie Bridgett and poster**

She wanted to put some posters up for an art show she is putting on at Motivasi Coffee Shop in Northeast Portland, with her friend Jack Kent, and I was happy to help.

We also looked at things in the neighborhood, like a statue we have started calling The Soft Serve Fairy, because the big sea shell she is holding up looks like an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen.

soft serve fairy.jpg — **Soft Serve Fairy**

flamingo nativity.jpg — **Flamingo Nativity**

And on our way back from Laurelhurst Park, we saw the new, improved flamingo Nativity! It is cuter, bigger, and just in time for the solstice.

Also, this evening we are all going downtown to see A Twisted Dickens, a Christmas show at the Armory, and going out for dinner at Henry Weinhard’s Restaurant. This is to celebrate Grandpa Nelson and I getting married 43 years ago today!!!

More winter fun!

Love, Grandma Judy

Solstice Morning

Dear Liza,

Yesterday was the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, the beginning of winter. It was 30 degrees at 8 in the morning. So of course I went for a walk.

winter solstice fog.jpg — **Freezing Fog**

Two scarves, sweater, coat, fuzzy hat and gloves made the walking pleasant.

Our own tiny front yard has become soft and green with moss, and this morning it had a frosty white coating on it, so delicate it melted away when I breathed on it. There wasn’t enough water around to freeze puddles, except for a tiny bit near a lamp post.

By the time I walked around the neighborhood, the frost was fading.

I noticed this very happy, mossy stepping stone in a yard, not far from some tiny pansies which ares till blooming in spite of the cold. These flowers are tougher than they look.

mossy stepping stone.jpg

Love,

Grandma Judy

Sushi and Christmas Cookies

Dear Liza,

Yesterday evening I walked over to Auntie Katie’s house. I carried all the ingredients for sugar cookies, thinking the butter would soften on the way. Wrong! It was 45 degrees, about the same temperature as my refrigerator.

Anyway, once I got there, we chatted and mixed the dough, then put it in the actual fridge to chill and be ready to roll. While it was chilling, we wrapped up and walked to Yama Sushi, at SE Clinton and 21st. It is a wide, bright space, decorated with sake barrels and whimsical bits of art and fabric.

We ate as much sushi, scallops, bacon-wrapped peppers and halibut collar as we could hold for $37! Such a deal, and a small glass of sake, as well.

When we got back to Katie’s house, the cookie dough was ready to roll. Katie has a wonderful collection of cookie cutters, some that belonged to your great-grandma Billie, that I remember using when I was a little girl. The dough was very cooperative and we rolled and cut quickly, baking as we went.

unfrosted .jpg — **Cookies (and future reading material)**

Then we decorated! I have only ever done this when I was a child or when I had a child….either too young or too distracted to do very carefully. It was fun to decide what I wanted a cookie to look like and make it happen.

What a fun evening!

Today is the first day of winter, called the Solstice. We woke up to a temperature of 30 degrees (that’s two below freezing!) and fog. I put on the regular coat and hat, with two scarves (one for my neck and another for my face) and walked out for a bit.

winter solstice fog.jpg

As they say, there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. I was grateful for the second scarf.

See you soon!

Love, Grandma Judy

Crows!

Dear Liza,

The other day I was noticing the tiny birds who somehow make a living during this cold weather. They eat seeds from the thousands of trees and bushes in the neighborhood. The bigger birds make a living, too, eating pretty much anything they can find. Pizza boxes, unfortunate critters, and fruit still on the tree make up a fine diet for them.

This morning, I could not help but notice the crows! Living as we do between the forest of Laurelhurst Park and the Lone Fir Cemetery (which now has hundreds of trees, not just the one), we have more than our share of crows.

This morning, they were so loud I had a look out the window.

I don’t know if you know this, but there is a special word for a flock of crows: It is called a MURDER. That being the case, we had multiple murders on our street this morning.

Just another wonderful day in Portland.

Love,

Grandma Judy