Judy – Page 44 – Dear Liza

Free Association Summer

Dear Liza,

Here we are in almost- August. Summer has been full of big events, most of which I have written about. But it’s also been full of smaller things that make life delicious and serendipitous.

The variety of summer squash I planted this year is called Early Yellow Prolific. I chose its bright yellow color so I could see them ripening more easily, but the real benefit is the sweet flavor and how wonderfully they pan fry with garlic and olive oil.

With all our summer salad eating, Auntie Bridgett and I were wishing for a salad spinner, but were too cheap to pay for one. This week, one magically appeared as a gift of the sidewalk when lady down the block was cleaning out her kitchen. We gave it a good wash and now use it whenever I harvest lettuce from the garden, about four times a week.

Going for long walks has always been one of Grandpa Nelson’s and my favorite things. When we were dating we would walk for miles along the beach in Southern California, talking about our future. Now that our future is here, we are more aware of how far from home we are and what spaces are available for rest and re-hydration.

Ice cream has become life support.

Or maybe it always has been.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Flowers of Astonishment

Dear Liza,

You know I love flowers and gardens. I got this love from my Momma Billie who was a gardener just about every minute she was alive. Today I will share some stories about remarkable blooms.

If you look closely, you can see that this is a rose in Lompoc, California. It grew, and just kept growing, in Momma’s garden. It grew up from under her orange tree, through the orange tree, and right out the top! She didn’t notice it until one of her visitors on the Garden Tour pointed it out. “Well, how about that?” she said.

We saw this giant bunch of lilies get on the funicular train going up the bluff of Montmartre in Paris. The lady carrying them walked with assurance that she and her flowers were making the world more beautiful.

We found this astonishing field of sunflowers on Sauvie Island, just north of Portland. Every summer the farms let the public in to explore, shop, eat barbecue, and celebrate the beauty of the countryside. Auntie Bridgett never wanted to leave!

And this year, we have Laverne. She and Shirley, her sister dahlia, are growing in my community garden plot. Laverne opened up first and we were very impressed!

Our friend Lynn called this a dinner-plate dahlia, which I didn’t know existed. But there she is, all right!

And that is your flower show for today.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Having a Go at Danish Conversation

Dear Liza,

I have been trying to learn Danish for almost a year now, since you moved to Horsens. Duolingo has been my morning language buddy as I have drawn my own illustrated Danish dictionary. I was ready to try Danish with real Danish speaking people. Or so I thought.

The trip to the Nordic House was cool and pleasant, since our weather made a welcome shift to clouds and drizzle.

I arrived early because it is better than being late, and had some veggies and tea in the Broder Cafe inside the House. There were about twenty other folks enjoying the ambiance, yummy food and cool sunshine.

I spent some time with the Icelandic art exhibit. There, I met a lady named Charlotte who was also there for the conversation group. We hit it off right away, having crafting and language interests in common, as well as a certain lefty political bent.

Nine women and one man were at the group, with levels of Danish from absolute beginners to fluent native speakers. It was odd not to have my usual social tools of word-play and jokes to make myself comfortable. I listened hard and was only able to make three on-topic comments in the ninety minutes, which for me is like taking a vow of silence.

I didn’t take any photos of the group, because it felt rude. That hour and a half was enough to let me know several things.

I have miles to go in Danish before I can participate in basic conversation.
It is going to be a multi-level challenge of brain power and social skills that I haven’t used in a long time.
I really want to succeed in this.

Charlotte and I exchanged phone numbers, and we’ll try and get together soon. Maybe we can have some Danish practice combined with coffee, fun, and crafting.

I would say “Wish me luck” but luck isn’t going to get this done. So I will say “Wish me stubbornness!”

Love,
Grandma Judy

Adding To My Time

Dear Liza,

A while back I showed you the start of a collage book in whichI will try and illustrate all the stages of life. For whatever reason, the first page I did was close to the end…

So I decided to go back to the beginning.

Choosing what to call the stages was my first challenge, but I went with my first inspirations. From Preconsciousness through Puberty to Oblivion and Joy, I printed them out and put them on the inside cover. Because I was sloppy, the page didn’t come out quite like I wanted, but it will do for now. The beauty of collage is that I can paper it over and do it again.

For my first stage of life, I started with Preconsciouness, when we are growing but not aware of anything yet. I got the images from a Time Life book called The Body from the 1960s and added some tissue paper and paint speckles.

I haven’t done “Comfort” or “Cognition” because I can’t see them in my mind yet, so the next one I have is “Organization”, when we are figuring out how people and things are the same and different..

As you can see, babies can get some things wrong. They might think butterflies are flowers, or that a stuffed dog is a real dog.

The next page is about learning to talk, with jumbles of words overlapping each other.

The next page I have (almost) finished is Mobility. I imagine this is what it must have felt like, balancing on our own two feet for the first time. A precarious, dangerous step that we all needed to take.

Those are all the pages I have done for now. This is a long term project and I work on it as ideas come to me.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Art Picnic at Alberta Park

Dear Liza,

A few months ago we visited our friend Jack Kent while he had a table at an Art Picnic at Colonel Summers Park, and it looked like such fun that Auntie Bridgett signed up for one this month. This time, we packed up the car and drove north to Alberta Park.

Art Picnics are unique in that they are not organized by any club or group. A lady named Lucia went on line and asked “who wants to do this?” and people signed up. Everyone who wants to shows up, sets up, and sells their art. Folks are helpful and friendly. It feels like the best of Portland.

It was predicted to be very warm, so we made sure to get a spot in the shade. With dappled tree shade protecting our tent shade, we we comfortable for most of the day. People coming by to see Bridgett’s work were comfortable, too. There was a lot of delightful conversation.

Alberta Park is a park that just keeps giving. There are basketball courts under a shelter, tennis courts, roller hockey courts, climbing toys and lots of trees. Music from boomboxes made fine background music. It was fun to have so many activities overlapping.

We met some creators of comics, too. A young man named Christopher stopped by and told us about his digital comic, “Korina Trials of Shadow (WIP)”. He struggles with social anxiety and says he often asks himself, “Who am I to think I can tell this important story?” Of course the answer is that no one else BUT him could tell it, because it’s HIS story.

We met a very young artist named Sky (she is too short to show over the table display) who came by with her mom. She was interested in learning about how to make her own comics, and Auntie Bridgett gave her contact info so she could write and ask! Maybe Sky will be selling her comics in a few years.

We also had some non-human visitors. The usual Portland compliment of dogs came by, a lady bug settled on my hat and a bee kept buzzing around.

At 3:00 it was just getting uncomfortably hot, and it was time to pack up. Once again, my little red wagon proved its worth as we schlepped tent, table, and boxes of art back to the car.

We were feeling the effects long day and stopped by Nico’s Ice Cream (this used to be a food truck at Books with Pictures and is now a brick and mortar store) for a life-saving refreshment of blueberry soft serve. Thanks, Nico’s!

We got home, had pizza and wine for dinner, and slept like dead people. What a day!

Love,

Grandma Judy

July Garden Update

Dear Liza,

It has been such a busy summer, I feel like I am squeezing gardening in between everything else! But veggie plots are relentless, both in the care they require and the joys they give.

This week, I have good news and bad news. Some of my yellow squash are being hit with a blossom end rot. I have looked it up and the solution seems to be ‘maintaining a consistent moisture level’ in the soil. Easier said than done, but we’ll try. We have harvested several of the tasty squash and want more!

The good news is that we are having free salads every day from the curly lettuces and raddichio, which we combined with that lovely squash and some basil from M.J. down the way. The currents and anise are from the community plots of the Blair Community Garden.

Our first tomato, “Isis Candy” by name, came ripe and was delicious.

We are finally seeing success in pumpkins, with “Ribsy”, our fourth named pumpkin. His predecessors (Beezus, Ramona and Henry) shriveled, but this fellow is resting on a step of the ladder and seems happy. The newest pumpkin, “PickyPicky”, had started forming four feet off the ground and needed shifting to the top of the ladder. We’ll see how he adjusts.

And finally, the two gigantic dahlias, Laverne and Shirley, are ready to pop! They are both nearly four feet high and were threatening to topple over last week, until we improvised a support from an old tomato cage.

Now, it looks like they will stay vertical long enough to bloom, feed some bees, and recharge their roots for next year.

And that’s the news from the garden!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Portland Pride

Dear Liza,

This past Sunday, I got to visit the Portland Pride festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Specifically, I got to visit Auntie Katie at the Books with Pictures tent. Doesn’t she look great?

It was a record high of 95F, and everyone was wearing their summer rainbow clothes.

A lady let me take a picture of her rainbow tee shirt which showed off her huge snake and flower tattoo.

Katie’s tent had a just a small chunk of her inventory from the shop. As we visited, sales were great and everyone was so cheerful.

After I got Katie a cold drink (and had one myself), I wandered around a bit, pleased at the variety of goods and services being offered and all the businesses being represented. This young mom posed in front of the tent from University of Oregon, my old alma mater.

I even got to pet Caesar, the No-Drama llama, who we’ve seen at other events. Caesar is a therapy animal who visits hospitals and other places where a calming influence is needed. He’s soft and fluffy and very popular.

I was starting to feel the heat, and headed back to the bus stop. There seemed to be a continual parade going on, full of happy, proud, rainbow-dressed people. It was a good day.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Bastille Day Fête at Jameson Square

Dear Liza,

On Saturday, Auntie Bridgett was selling her art at a table in Jameson Square. The Alliance Française organizes a Bastille Day celebration that is playful, musical, artsy, and very busy!

Since the Alliance supplied the tent, table and chairs, it was an easy set-up. Grandpa Nelson drove us to the northwest part of Portland and unloaded, then headed home.

There were hours of happy people-watching as hundreds of kids and families played in the fountain. A delightful program of live music, ranging from Cajun jazz to French pop, kept the mood lively.

Auntie Bridgett’s table was busy all day, and she sold a lot of cards, books, and artwork. My favorite painting, “Á Paris”, went home with this lovely lady. I was sad to see it go, but that’s what it was painted for. It was Bridgett’s most successful selling day ever!

I spent most of the day on a bench in the shade close by, to give Bridgett support if needed. I also enjoyed a conversation with Alan, a fellow Francophile (person who loves and appreciates French things). When I needed a snack I walked down to Via Delizia for an éclaire and iced chai latte. It was perfectly delicious and I felt very spoiled.

Later in the afternoon there were even fencing lessons for kids from a local fencing club. It was amazing. Full face cages and nice bendy epées kept everyone safe while providing a really good time.

Thanks, Alliance Française! We’ll see you again real soon.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Frog and Snail for Bastille Day

Dear Liza,

Bastille Day, which is France’s national celebration of its Revolution, was this past Friday, July 14. Auntie Bridgett and I walked down to Frog and Snail on Hawthorne to celebrate.

It has been a hard year for French restaurants here in Portland. Bistro Agnes snd Suzette are gone, and another favorite, La Moule, closes at the end of July. We wanted to do our part to keep this little French cafe in business!

Frog and Snail is not a fancy place, but it is delightfully funky and informal. Named for two French specialties (frog’s legs and escargot) it has artwork celebrating this friendly combination on the walls.

And most importantly, the food is amazing! I had a Farmer’s Daughter blonde crepe (made with wheat flour), and Bridgett had the same fillings in a buckwheat crepe. Spinach, mozzarella, roasted mushrooms, pesto créme fresh, scallions, romesco and avocado all joined to make a perfect lunch. It was so filling, we both took some home for lunch the next day!

We ate, people-watched and chatted with the owner, Chad Bernard. Then we had to get home so Auntie Bridgett could finish preparing for the BIG celebration of Bastille Day at Jameson Square on Saturday.

Of course, I will tell you about that tomorrow.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Icelandic Art at the Nordic House

Dear Liza,

I had been in the Nordic House building just a few weeks ago, but during the Nordic Fest it was full of people wandering around, craftspeople selling their wares, and all the hubbub of a festival.

On a regular Monday, it was much more quiet. The Broder cafe was open and a dozen or so folks were having lunch and chatting, some in what I assumed to be Swedish, Danish, or other Nordic languages. I asked a secretary where the Danish conversation group was meeting, and was kindly told that the schedule …. had been changed. For the afternoon group, I needed to come back in two weeks.

Sigh. Big sigh. Disappointed to the point that I had to step outside sigh. I found a seat, ate my apple, and decided to make the most of my trip. I went back inside.

The secretary had said something about ‘a new show’ and indicated a room, so I went that way.

I discovered a whole world of Icelandic art of that combines textiles and books, amazed that two of my own favorite crafts are actually contemporary Icelandic art!

These were all pieces by women artists, either native Icelanders or local Portland artists using Icelandic techniques. There were woven pieces made into books, and books that had been stitched to enhance the text. More than a dozen pieces combining painting, printing and stitchery, bound into paper books. My brain was on fire.

I was no longer sad about missing the group. I realized that if I had attended the group, I would not have visited this art on my own and been able to see it in this way. As so often happens, the unexpected, the mistake, was a gift.

I read about the artists, who had such distinctive names as Anna Greenwood and Helga Brynjolfsdottir, took a few dozen pictures, and checked my bus schedule. It was time to go.

I will return in two weeks for the conversation group, with more Danish under my belt.

Love,

Grandma Judy