Judy – Page 36 – Dear Liza

Coming to My Senses

Dear Liza,

I am rejoicing! After more than a week of nothing smelling or tasting like anything, I can smell again!

When Auntie Katie heard that my nose and tongue had checked out during my bout of Covid, she encouraged me to “keep smelling stuff! Keep a lemon by your bed!”

I didn’t have a lemon, but I did have this tiny bottle of Orange oil that we bought in New York ages ago. We had been walking all over lower Manhattan on a sweaty, dusty day, with no place to clean up properly before changing (in a restaurant lavatory) to go see The Lion King on Broadway. This bottle was my bow to feeling “lady-like”.

It worked then, and it has proved its worth again. This morning, after days of hoping, I smelt Orange! And not a moment too soon, because…

Bridgett’ s Aunt Linda sent us goodies! Kiss cookies, coconut blondies, wedding cookies, and, most heavenly of all, peanut buckeyes! For a long time, I just hovered over the containers and sniffed, almost drunk with the wonder of it. Then I chose one buckeye and ate it in tiny, grateful nibbles.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We aren’t through this yet. This evening I was able to taste a pot of chili (which I made), but I am still spending most of the day in bed, and I am still on Paxlovid.

BUT Life will go on, I will get better, and I will cook (and eat! And drink!) again.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Finally, I Got It

Dear Liza,

We have been hearing about Covid-19 since …. Well, since 2019. It was a rare virus out of China, our then-President emphasized. Couldn’t possibly get here. Like most things, he got it wrong. Then all heck broke loose.

So I wish I understood how, nearly four years and three vaccines later, I finally caught the darn thing.

There’s not much to write about having Covid. I’m avoiding breathing on my dear people, leaning on furniture when I walk anywhere, and feeling generally stupid. Forgetful. Foggy.

I’m listening to Agatha Christie books read by Hugh Frasier on Audible, which I enjoy because of Madame Christie’s wonderful writing and Mr. Frasier’s magnificent voice. But I can’t hold a clue in my head, so the endings are always a surprise. And that’s okay, too.

And nothing tastes or smells like anything. I’ve tried pickles, mustard, vanilla extract, onions, chocolate chip cookies, and roast turkey. It all tastes like my own mouth, it all smells like air. Blech.

I hope/pray/have great confidence that this will pass. I’ll keep you posted.
Enjoy some Christmas yummies for me!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Filling the Advent Calendar

Dear Liza,

You’ve seen the advent calendar that Auntie Bridgett made years ago. It is adorably decorated paper sacks that we hang on a ribbon. We’ve now used it in three different houses!

We re-use the bags every year by filling them with sweet things, which become evening surprises as we approach the holiday.

But candy every evening isn’t so good for our house of grown-ups, so I need to get more creative. Our staircase lends itself to tossing games. This year I will employ my folding top hat and some soft balls and set up a challenge. Toss the ball towards the hat and if you get it into the hat two out of three times, you get a treat. Treats can include snacks, a glass of wine, or getting to choose the movie of the evening.

If you don’t make your shots, you have to do a trick. Those can include fetching treats for a spouse, naming four of Santa’s reindeer, or other silly thing.

We also have bits of trivia about the creators of some of our favorite Christmas stories… Jim Henson, Dr. Seuss, and Charles Dickens.

I like being the Advent Queen! It is as close as I ever want to get to doing lesson plans again.

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Book for Jasper

Dear Liza,

It is hard, as a Grandma, to give gifts to teenagers, even those I know and love. Video games, music , and drumming are Jasper’s favorite things, and I know next to nothing about them.

So I’m making him a gift that is all about him. Literally.

I have culled and printed 60 photographs from his 14 years (so far) of life, put them in order, and written rhyming couplets to give the book some ‘bounce’.
For the two page spreads, the parts of the couplet aren’t always visible at the same time. But here is one where they are.

I made the book with directions from several books and Ruthie Inman, and I am pleased with it.

It is about 60 pages long and has taken about two weeks to get this far, working pretty obsessively.

I know it is wonky and some cuts are slightly askew. If I worried about them, I would never be able to make it at all. So wonky it is.

I am very pleased with this project, wonk and all. I hope Jasper will keep it for a while, returning it to me every now and then so I can continue his life story.

Love,

Grandma Judy

…. And Then, the Tree!

Dear Liza,

We have had our new Christmas tree, Lilly, in the house for more than a week now. We had dashed out before the atmospheric rivers hit to fetch her in nice and dry.

But life got busy and she didn’t get decorated until after dinner on Friday.

We put in the second of our Christmas movies (“Miracle on 34th Street” was first, of course) and got started. The beauty of “White Christmas” is not just the music and comedy, but that we know it so well we can enjoy it by ear.

So, as we listened to Bing, Danny, Rosemary and Vera sing and dance, we got to re-connect with some old friends.

Admiral Nelson and the Eiffel Tower remind us of our travels to England and France, letting us remember the joy of discovery.

Ornaments bought in small shops on Main Street remind us of our old friends in Salinas.

And our oldest ornaments remind me of my Momma, and decorating trees when I was little.

So, when is a tree more than a tree? When it is a collection of memories, old friends, and distant family, all set to music.

Love,

Grandma Judy

First Friday at SideStreet Arts

Dear Liza,

It’s been a while since we have visited SideStreet Arts, a local gallery where Auntie Bridgett shows her art. We stopped by Friday in our way to dinner and saw some lovely things set out for Christmas.

Ha Austin has made these adorable Christmas sweater tree ornaments.

Amelia Opie has added these dapper mice to her repertoire of painted animals. We already own three of her pieces that feature cats!

New member Jaclyn Evalds is displaying this delightfully soft vision of the rabbit in the moon, the South American take on the Man in the Moon.

And, if it is kitchen wares you need, check out this coffee mug by Michelle Briones. It is totally usable and food safe, but includes a fireplace and mantelpiece. Absolutely amazing!

Happy art! Happy shopping!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Neighbors Being Neighborly

Dear Liza,

While we were out getting our Christmas tree the other day, Lawrence, who runs the tree lot, let us adopt a bunch of the little branches that he trims off trees to let them fit into the Christmas tree stands.

We brought a whole bunch home and used them to make a small wreath and a nice wash of greenery around the new Yew tree in its pot.

We had branches left over, so Auntie Bridgett suggested that we offer them to Stacy across the way. “Sure!”, Stacy said, “put them by the doomed pumpkins on our porch.” After some discussion, Stacy said I could take her pumpkins and leave the branches.

Free food! Hooray!

So today I processed (roasted, then puréed) our two pumpkins and Stacy’s two, and made about five pounds of pumpkin puree. Some will wait in the freezer for a few weeks, I think.

The pumpkin puree is flavored with a little bit of honey, real butter, and fall-ish spices, and roasted for an hour and a half at 350 F. This evaporates a bunch of moisture and concentrates the sweetness. It is so easy, and makes good use of the giant fruit that a lot of people just throw away after Halloween.

So now I have some pumpkin butter to share with neighbors, thanks to neighbors being neighborly.

Ain’t life grand?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Downtown Past and Present

Dear Liza,

We went downtown yesterday for another physical therapy session for Grandpa Nelson. He is doing better with the exercises but still needs work, (like we all do.)

After 45 minutes of workout, we wanted some scenery, so we bundled up and headed out.

Walking around Portland is always a revelation. Look at this whimsical, brand- new mosaic applied to the side of a parking garage, of all places. It makes an otherwise boring brick wall something to notice and smile at.

More amazing details were on the next corner. The Scottish Rite Masonic Temple at the corner of Broadway and SW 15th was built in 1902. It is used for Masonic meetings and such (it is a sort-of secret society, so who knows?) . It also rents out rooms for offices.

And look at these lovely details! These naked ladies and deer running along look like the decorations put on fine Wedgewood China dishes.

Still further along, we found this, one of my favorite views in downtown Portland. Here you see a twenty story apartment building, built in the last five years or so, standing just behind the carriage house of Elliot Ladd’s old estate, built in 1883. Even though the newer building is a more efficient use of the property, I think I like the older one better. It’s kept in good condition because it was used for a fancy restaurant for years, and just recently closed.

And that’s what we saw yesterday.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Seasonal Overlaps

Dear Liza,

Sometimes there just isn’t time to put one season’s decorations away before the next one sneaks up on you! The months between Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years (what I call decorating season) just run together, sometimes making for some interesting collections of things on the table.

The whipped cream that we bought for the Thanksgiving pies topped the first of this Christmas’s hot cocoa.

And Mouse, on her favorite lap, has some quality time with a Santa hat.

And now we just get to stroll through the season, shopping and cooking and visiting friends.

Happy Holidays!

Grandma Judy

A Good Start to the Holidays

Dear Liza,

Well, Auntie Bridgett got home from San Diego, and Christmas got a swift kick start.

First, Bridgett and I headed off to Portland Nursery to see what sort of potted trees they have that we could use as a small, year round, living tree. I was surprised at the variety of plants they had for sale, considering it has been near freezing at night.

Annie, at the front desk, gave us advice about the best tree for our shady front patio, and we chose a small yew that has a lovely Christmas tree shape and will grow slowly. Here it is on the porch as we were in the middle of arranging things.

Once we got that set up, it was time to go and fetch the BIG tree. We drove over to our regular tree lot and found Lilly, our 2023 tree. Like all our Christmas trees, she is from Molalla, just down the road.

We brought her up over the balcony and soon she was standing by the window, just waiting to get decorated.

As you can see, Mouse approves.

Love,

Grandma Judy