Judy – Page 39 – Dear Liza

Farewell to Giants

Dear Liza,

Walking around Laurelhurst Park last evening, we came upon a sad sight.

This enormous pine tree had been cut down, sawn into sections, and pushed off the path. It was an official act, obviously, of the Portland Parks Department. I have to assume they did it for a good reason. Maybe the tree was leaning, or suffering from a disease, or in danger of falling.

Still, it makes me sad. I was able to count the rings and learned that this giant was about 90 years old. That is a long time to live and contribute to the beauty and life of a city, and I am grateful to have known it for a while.

We continued through the park, thinking about how quickly time slips away. The sunset over Firwood Lake was pink and perfect, for just a few minutes.

And very soon, the sun was down and the lights came on, making the park into a magical place.

It was time to head home.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dress Rehearsal

Dear Liza,

We are fast approaching Halloween, and the Lone Fir Cemetery’s Tour of Untimely Departures is coming soon! Saturday was our dress rehearsal, and it was a treat.

There aren’t any specific costumes required for the Tour guides, but some sort of old fashioned, mostly black formal wear seems to be most popular. There were 37 of the 60 participants at the rehearsal, and most in some level of costume. Everyone looked so good!

The day was very chilly and I realized I will need to use my long underwear under my skirt and blouse, because the real tour runs past sunset, and rain is likely next Saturday.

We got to see many of the actors in costume, telling their subjects’ stories of life and death. Jeff Cole did a wonderful job portraying Charles Schoppe, a police officer who was shot in the line of duty on the day before he was to retire from the force.

Janice Sellers portrayed Dr. Esther Pohl Lovejoy, the first woman to practice medicine in Oregon and head of the public health department. She fought for healthier milk and sanitation laws.

Dr. Lovejoy lived to a ripe old age; her “Untimely Departures” were her loved ones: her husband, son, and brother all died young.

I got home, cold and worn out, after just three hours of rehearsal. The day of the Tour, I’ll be on my feet for six hours! I’ll make sure to take snacks and rest in between tours.

I love adventure, but I’m no spring chicken.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Roses, Crows, and Finds

Dear Liza,

Auntie Bridgett and I went for a walk the other day, in between rain showers. We carried an umbrella just in case.

First, we ran into a yard sale being held by a young man who is moving to France. He had all sorts of wonderful things out, but we were at the beginning of a long walk and had to be picky.

Two scarves and a hand embroidered laundry kit from about the 1940s were tucked in my bag to be washed and used. A well-used paperback copy of “Pride and Prejudice” will go on my bedside table tonight.

We continued down the hill to Auntie Katie’s apartment to feed the cats while she is away at the New York City Comic Con. I took a picture of Sir Isaac Snooten to send to let her know her scaly friend is happy.

By then, we were hungry for lunch. We walked across the street to Virtuous Pie, which we have walked past dozens of times. They sell vegan pizzas with gluten-free options, so it was a new experience. It is not pizza-as-usual, but tasty, crunchy and healthy. The place is bright and open, and the pizza smelled so good!

It looked good, too, and was delicious! Pesto sauce, cashew mozzarella and tofu sausage on a thin crust… perfect.

We walked home through the East Rose garden in Ladd’s Addition, where the lovelies are having their second bloom. Even with grey skies, they were beautiful!

Bridgett had brought a small bag of kibble cat food that Mouse can’t eat because of her allergies, and we shared it as we went along. We got noticed by the local crows, who would swoop down and have a snack. You’re welcome, crows!

We got home just before it started sprinkling, having walked more than four miles. What a lovely day here in almost-rainy season Portland.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Johnny Franco at Zach’s

Dear Liza,

I love that we have lived in Portland long enough to have favorite places and favorite bands! Last Friday we walked to Grandpa Nelson’s favorite place, Zach’s Hot Dog Shack.

First, we enjoyed the Halloween decorations that are sprouting up all over the neighborhood. This skeleton and his reaper friend seemed spooky but non-threatening. Auntie Bridgett stopped to say hi.

At Zach’s, we got our favorite things. Fries and cider for Grandpa Nelson, tofu Chicago dog and Guinness for me, and tofu Seattle dog for Auntie Bridgett. We enjoyed watching kids and parents play corn hole while the band set up.

Johnny and his “real brother Dom” and their drummer (whose name I still haven’t learned, brought their gear in and set up. One of the many things I like about this group is that their music is perfect for small spaces likes Zach’s patio, not loud or over-amplified. We were just ten feet from the band and very happy.

Johnny says he doesn’t like a lot live music because it is too long and too loud. He likes it ‘quick and quiet’.

The first set was in daylight, and filled with Beatles’ and Three Dig Night cover songs like “Momma Told me not to Come” and “You Can’t do That”, with lots of joking and banter in between.

The sun went down during the break and the mood changed. Cool lighting put a sparkle on the small stage (which is where the Ping Ping table usually is) and the energy got ‘dancier’. Folks were clapping and whooping, with a few dancing just off to the side.

We stayed to the very end, put some money in their bucket and bought a cd. It was a long, long night out for us, but very enjoyable.

Thanks Johnny! Thanks Dom! Thanks Drummer Dude! Thanks Zach!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Closing out the Garden (Journal)

Dear Liza,

The short, very warm summer is quickly ending, and it’s time to button up the veggie garden. I got my exercise Sunday hauling two very heavy sacks of manure from the Portland Nursery to the Blair Community Garden in my little red wagon.

And Wednesday, I dug them in! I pulled all the garden supports out and had a vigorous hour and a half of quality time with a pitchfork, making the soil rich and soft. Then I tucked it all in with a layer of burlap to rest for the winter.

I also closed out the year’s garden journal, which has provided both creative space and documentation of the season’s progress. Collage, acrylics, watercolors and inks let me remember things in a non-photographic way.

I also kept track of what I planted and when, and how much it cost me. This year the total came to $74.89, including about 20$ for the manure I used this week. Not bad for months of free salads, beautiful flowers, and all that gardening therapy!

It has been a good summer, but I am not sad to see it end, because that’s what summers do.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Fall Contrasts

Dear Liza,

Out on a walk the other day, Auntie Bridgett and I enjoyed the cool Fall breezes and wafting leaves.

We also got that perspective that really looking at things gives. Near the SideStreet Arts Gallery, we saw this delightfully painted mailbox. It had a sweet, almost “Dora the Explorer” feeling.

We continued through the neighborhood to pay a seasonal visit to the Dead People at Lone Fir Cemetery. I have volunteered to help with this year’s Tour of Untimely Departures, a wonderfully eerie event put on by the Friends of Lone Fir, and I am very excited about it!

At this event, groups of guests are escorted through the cemetery, and actors playing some of the dearly departed stand by their headstones to tell the story of their life and death.

On our walk, I took the map of the tours and we walked around to see if we could find the graves. First on my list was Emma Merlotin, but I couldn’t find her, but Auntie Bridgett took this picture of the headstone of Anne Jean Tingry- Le Coz because of her French origins.

When we got home, Bridgett did some research on Miss Tingry-Le Coz on the Historic Oregonian website. It turns out that SHE was Emma Merlotin, the lady on our tour who I was looking for! Emma Merlotin was the name she used when she was working here in Portland, but after she was murdered, her friends chose to bury her under her real name.

As always with friends at Lone Fir, I was sorry for her death, especially after her short, difficult life. But I was happy to have found Miss Merlotin and be able to remember her.

Life is full of contrasts, and I am glad for them.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Walk-Through with the Dead

Dear Liza,

At the end of this month, I will volunteer to help the Lone Fir Cemetery with its Tour of Untimely Departures. And this week, we had our first walk-through.
Our leaders of the day were Margaret and Katie.

These two fine ladies walked our group of about 20 volunteers around Lone Fir, explaining how the tour will work. We followed each of the two routes (called North and South) and stopped by each of the graves where an actor will play the person who untimely departed (that usually means they died young).

A few of the actors were with us, to get the feel of things and practice their speeches. The actress who plays Maude McCroskey even came in costume and make up! She told her sad tale of being murdered by her abusive ex-husband, and we were all sad. But then she got to the part where HE became the last person executed in Multnomah County.

On a lighter note, the woman portraying Chloe Connelly Boone Curry told the story of her life, more than her death. She was the great granddaughter of Daniel Boone and came west with her family as a young woman. She became the first teacher in Oregon outside the mission system. She had the perfect demeanor for a teacher… sweet, loving, and with an strong backbone. She reminded me a little bit of myself.

Four graves are visited on each tour, with lots of interesting stories in between. The afternoon walk-through went well, and I look forward to our dress rehearsal next week and then the main event on October 28!

P.S. I couldn’t resist this picture of Margaret and a fellow ghoul admiring a brand new headstone made for a recently-passed fellow. The etched portrait and the leaves are so colorful!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Starting the Crazy Quilt

Dear Liza,

Having collected fabric from my own big stash box and Auntie Katie’s, it was time to start piecing my very first crazy quilt.

I put the giant pile of strips of fabrics close at hand, and set up my sewing machine and small ironing board at the kitchen table, because every seam needs to be pressed as it is sewn in place.

I’ve watched a lot of videos on laying down the bits, and have a fine book on the subject, so I thought I had it all figured out. I began with confidence, laying down strips in the colors I had chosen.

But I lost focus somewhere and forgot that acute angles are a big no-no… and ended up with a hole that needed a clumsy top-stitched piece to hide it. See it? That almost- triangle where the white backing shows through? Ugh.

I took a break, had a snack, and watched the videos again. Back at it half an hour later, I was more careful about trimming to make straight edges and, by my third block, seem to have learned a bit.

I still have some issues…. Proportions of light to dark, and making some pieces too big and others too small. Or maybe these are part of the “Crazy” charm. I’m still working it out.

Anyway, here are my first three blocks, in order from left to right.
And here are the next three… I think I am improving!

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Joys of Proximity

Dear Liza,

When I lived just a few blocks from you, we had dinner every week and visited a lot. Now that I am in Portland, I see Auntie Katie more. Last week’s walk in the Fall drizzle ended up at her cozy apartment.

First, I had a piece of pumpkin pie. A slice of not too sweet pumpkin pie delicious-ness is the perfect thing for Second breakfast after a two mile walk.

Restored and refreshed by the pie, I had a visit with Sir Isaac Snooten, Kestrel’s hog-nosed snake. He has a new, larger enclosure and has gotten so big! He is a happy, social, snake boy.

And then, on to the goodies! I have decided to try (after years of feeling intimidated) a Crazy Quilt. You know, non-geometric piecing, lots of trims, and gobs of embroidery. Auntie Katie sweetly offered me her stash of fabrics, and we spent a happy time sifting through four drawers and a basket to find the right textures and colors. It was a real treasure hunt.

We put the chosen fabrics (along with a year’s supply of Publisher’s Weekly as collage fodder) into a sack, had an hug, and I headed back up the hill. I spent a happy hour combining Katie’s fabrics and mine to come up with the color pallet for my first-ever crazy quilt. (Don’t worry, that odd pink flower fabric is not part of the scheme… she just wandered in.)

So now, there are just hundreds of pieces to cut, sew, press, trim, embroider, and piece together. Wish me luck! I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Walking into Fall

Dear Liza,

I had a great walk down to Auntie Katie’s last week. The weather has just started to get rainy, and the slugs are coming out to celebrate. This fellow was halfway up a window!

Heading down Belmont Street, I saw our favorite restaurant, Blutos, getting their firewood delivered for their Greek inspired, wood fired yummies.

Sidewalk art is a big thing here in Portland. It is easy, inexpensive, and temporary! This lovely piece, done on one square of sidewalk cement, says “Long love the revolution of sun and water.”
Not a bad sentiment on these rainy, sometimes sunny days.

The mushrooms have noticed all the rain, and are sprouting all over. This tiny forest formed on a step just four inches high, as full of life as any hillside. How beautiful is this?

I’ll show you what came next, tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy