Judy – Page 46 – Dear Liza

Thirteen Hundred Days

Dear Liza,

I have been a student for most of my life. I went to school, like everybody, then college. When I started teaching, there were constant classes (some of which I appreciated more than others) to keep my skills fresh.

When Auntie Bridgett fell in love with France in 2008, she decided to learn French, and I went along for the ride. We took lessons with Veronique Sepulchre and Shawn Quiane, and kept getting better at it. We felt very clever.

Then we returned to France and discovered that while we could read signs and plaques in museums, our lack of spoken language skills left us feeling tongue-tied and a little stupid. Clearly, more work was needed.

Enter Duolingo! This is a free (though you can pay and get extra lessons, if you like) on-line language learning site. You learn at your own speed and can repeat any lesson as many times as you like. There is even a listening component to help with grasping a new language racing by at conversational speed.

When you moved to Denmark, I decided I needed to learn Danish, and Duolingo had me covered. (This little guy at Tivoli is saying “We are building something new here.”) So I have enjoyed a double dollop of language.

And as of this morning, I have been on Duolingo every darn day for 1,300 days!

I thank Auntie Bridgett for being a good example and Mouse the cat for pinning me down on the couch until I finish my allotted hour.

And now I need to get this posted.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Just Some Fun

Dear Liza,

Today I just want to share some pictures I’ve taken lately that wouldn’t fit in the stories I was telling. So here they are.

We picked this pillow up at IKEA when we were replacing a broken bed. It looked so much like Mouse, we couldn’t resist! It sits in her chair. Don’t they look cute together?

This is some of the incredibly funky art at the McMenamin’s Barley Mill, their first restaurant, which celebrated its Fortieth Anniversary last week. The theme of the restaurant is the Grateful Dead and their leader, Jerry Garcia.

I made this piece of collage with Ruthie Inman last week. It shows how I feel, sometimes, when my head is so full of creative ideas.

Here is one of the flowers growing in my other friend Ruth’s garden; a delicate grey-lavender poppy, set against the bright green of the foliage.

And finally, these are the shadows that a few houseplants cast on my wall every evening at sunset. The low light turns everything a magical orange.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Nordic Fest

Dear Liza,

We spent Saturday at Nordic Fest here in Portland and learned a lot about your part of the world.

We learned (and I am going to try and remember) which flag honors which country. Here they are, left to right: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden.

We learned that there are many kinds of Mead, an ancient honey wine made by the Vikings. Those we tried were made by Oran Mor in Roseburg, and were all delicious, especially when served by a lovely young lady. We bought a bottle of Odin’s Eye.

We learned about making Viking Weave jewelry from Liane Lawrence. First you weave the silver thread around a dowel, then you pull it through different sized openings to gradually make it tighter and stronger. We were amazed at the delicacy and beauty of it.

We learned that handmade flower wreaths look good on any hat,

And any head.

We also heard (and got to join in on) lovely music, saw delightful dances, and ate yummy cheese sandwiches and aebleskivers.

AND, possibly most important, we learned that Nordic Northwest offers Danish language conversation practice groups! Maybe I will get up my nerve, hop on the bus, head over there, and learn some more.

Looking forward to more adventures!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Garden Update

Dear Liza,

I have been distracted by all sorts of activities since the beginning of the month, but my garden has been growing like crazy anyway. I went over Tuesday and had a good time getting my hands in the dirt and pulling a box full of weeds.

It sure cleans up pretty, doesn’t it?

The yellow summer squash are getting tall, and I put a loop of yarn on the pumpkin to encourage it to climb on the ladder rather than the tomato cages.

All the tomatoes are above their cages and in need of extra support.

We are eating lettuce and radicchio everyday from the plot, laughing at the cost of organic greens in the market.

Auntie Bridgett has named our two dahlias Laverne and Shirley, and they are both doing well! No buds yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

So Huckleberry Finn and I are spending some quality time in the garden. All in all, summer is here and the gardening is lovely!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Summer Solstice at Crystal Springs

Dear Liza,

Wednesday was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. It was also a warm, lovely day. One of our favorite places, the Crystal Spring Rhododendron Garden, was offering late hours and bluegrass music. We’d be fools not to go!

Since the garden’s parking lot is tiny, we took the bus down. It was a two bus trip, the 75 to the 19. But it only took about a half hour, and saved a lot of stress. Once we got to the garden, we saw that the fountain was celebrating Pride. Look at that rainbow!

A bluegrass duo called Whiskey Deaf were playing to a good sized crowd on the lawn. The crowd was the usual Portland collection of people, dogs, kids, and picnics. It was delightful.

I loved letting my mind wander to the way the light was changing as the sun neared the horizon, the tree tops were swaying, and the breeze was ruffling the bushes.

As we walked out of the gardens, the sun was making magic over the lake and through the trees and the world felt peaceful.

And as we waited for the bus, a silver slipper of moon rose to sit with Venus among the pine branches.

Life is good.

Love,

Grandma Judy

European Lunch in Portland

Dear Liza,

While we were downtown, Auntie Bridgett and I had lunch at a place we had been eyeing for a long time. Maurice advertises itself as a French/ Scandinavian cafe, and the pastries in the front case looked amazing. So we stepped in.

We loved many things about Maurice. First, our friend Ruth, who manages the Blair Community Garden, works there.

It was fun to see her familiar face, and her colleague Megan was good at explaining everything in the menu to us.

Kristen is the owner and head chef, and runs a quiet, civilized space.

Once we ordered, we took some time to appreciate the simple and very European decor. Open shelving shows off the beauty of the baking utensils and allows the small place to feel open and spacious. Tiny carnations decorate each table.

And the food…. was….. gorgeous. My smorbrod (rye bread, crème frais and gravlax open-faced sandwich with shaved beets on top) was delicious and filling as well as being a work of art.

Auntie Bridgett had hot tea and I had iced tea, and the serving for each was unique, yummy, and lovely.

And dessert was just as wonderful. I had the Meyer Lemon pudding mousse cake, topped with a warm date.

We spent more than an hour in Maurice, enjoying the friendly service, delicious food, and charming decor, and were finally ready to move on with our day. As we paid the bill, Ruth brought us some cookies and a scone as a ‘thank you’.

You can bet we will be back at Maurice before too long. I’ll take you next time you’re in Portland.

Love,

Grandma Judy

In the Wilds of the City

Dear Liza,

Downtown Portland is filled with all sorts of tall buildings. Older ones of brick and stone, and modern ones of glass and steel. It has some streets that are stunningly civilized and some that are a little rundown and seedy. This isn’t surprising, I guess.

What IS surprising is finding a beautifully maintained bit of wilderness in the middle of all this stone and glass. This is Tanner Springs Park in northwest Portland.

One square city block has been cleared of pavements and planted in grasses, shrubs and small trees to create a wild space.

A clear natural spring (named Tanner Springs, after the tanner who originally had his shop here) runs through stone lined channels and down to the Willamette River.

We saw (and heard) at least five different species of birds and dozens of dragonflies, butterflies, and tiny spiders. This is a little piece of paradise.

It brings me so much joy to know that my city cares enough to create and maintain this place. We enjoyed some peace and quiet in before heading off to the next part of our adventure.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Taking It Downtown

Dear Liza,

I grew up in a very small town, Manhattan Beach, California. Even when I went to University it was in mostly-suburban Long Beach. I’ve never lived in a big city. But now I do.

And every now and then, Portland reminds me.

On Saturday, Auntie Bridgett and I headed downtown for lunch. We took the B Loop streetcar north, then switched to the Red Line train that took us over the Steel Bridge. The view of half a dozen other bridges…. From a train… on a bridge… was delightfully urban and exciting.

Once we got downtown, I kept noticing the heights. This new non-square building is going to be the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. It is fascinating and makes me dizzy.

Since it was a sunny day, reflections were everywhere. I got this shot of a mid-century modern building reflected in Woonwinkel’s window. It felt like a surrealist painting.

I love living in Portland. Our neighborhood on the Eastside is mostly older houses and century old trees, but in ten minutes I can be among skyscrapers.

Adventures are everywhere.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Johnny and Chonk at Laurelhurst

Dear Liza,

Thursday evening, we had a picnic. This isn’t unusual in Portland summers, as the weather can be delightful and the sunshine lasts much longer than we do. But this was a special musical picnic.

We settled into a part of Laurelhurst Park that we call The Ravine, right by the 33rd street entrance. We knew that Johnny Franco (our new favorite local musician) would be setting up soon.

While we waited, we enjoyed a dinner of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, veggies, and wine in Auntie Esther’s picnic-safe wine cups. Very handy!

Lots of folks knew that Johnny would be here, and it was fun to see each group come in, find their perfect spot, and set up their picnic. Happy dogs and kids told me it was going to be a fun evening.

The show started with Johnny and his brother Don singing. They played about three songs, joking with the audience and each other, and then passed the show along to another group. And this was where the evening got weird and extra-delightful.

This group called itself Chonk, and Johnny gave it the nickname of The Intergalactic Curbside Band, which I really liked. Their band includes two guitars, a keyboard, and a fiddle! They opened their part of the show with Tex Beneke’s “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette,” which I LOVE and is rarely heard outside a Dr. Demento tribute show. I was hooked.

A bunch of folks got up and started dancing…. And the group grew, jumping around and having a ball. It was a joyous scene.

Chonk performed until about 8:00, when the sun went behind the trees and the air got cooler. We started packing up just as Spencer Sprocket the juggler came out.

It was time to head home, and I wondered…. Where can I hear Chonk some more?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Happy, Quirky Portland

Dear Liza,

When we moved to Portland six years ago, we did it for many reasons. Auntie Katie, the Cousins, the Willamette and the trains, big city art and theater, all were big attractions.

We also came for the quirkiness, and we were not disappointed.

We liked a city that made walking dogs a delight.

We liked stumbling on theater and music in the parks.

Then the pandemic shut things down for a really long time. No coffee house afternoons. No dinners in restaurants. No plays or concerts. No bus adventures.

But now that restrictions are relaxed and spring is here, the city is opening up!

Our favorite dive bar is happy and crowded!

Lectures are back at the Kennedy School!

And the delightful treat of random meetings and conversation is back. Just talking with people, watching the world and being able to get out in it, is an amazing gift.

Hooray!

Love,

Grandma Judy