We all know that cats love boxes, so this past week when the first box of matzoh got emptied, we set it down for Mouse to sit in.
But Mouse was totally uninterested in the box! It sat there, empty, for nearly a week, until Bridgett decided to do some remodeling. She cut a window in the side…..
And put it back where Mouse could get to it.
Within a few minutes, Mouse’s little kitten senses were aroused, and she was at war with Auntie Bridgett’s hand.
They went at it for a while, as I tried to keep everyone in focus.
It’s amazing what a difference a window can make!
When Mouse was in solid possession of the box, the war was over. She had the box, and we had a happy cat.
Spring is really getting into gear here in Portland, even though it has been chilly and rainy. Friday was predicted to be our one sunny day between ten solid days of rain, so we headed out to see some pretty things.
Grandpa Nelson and I have walked the three miles to this lovely garden several times, but this time we needed to do grocery shopping on the way home, so Auntie Bridgett came along and we took the car.
The hellebores are still blooming all over the place, even though it is late spring and nicely warm in the sunshine. Their muted colors, which are so welcome in February, seem almost out of place in the bright sunshine.
The tulip magnolias are knocking themselves out, looking gorgeous against the bright blue sky.
Some spectacular late blooming daffodils were still around, bobbing in the breeze.
Grandpa Nelson is still recovering from jet lag and really enjoyed the peace and quiet of the garden.
Grape hyacinths and daffodils shone in the sunshine.
This was Bridgett’s first time at the garden, and she fell in love with it. Whenever we found a bench to relax on, she brought out her sketchbook and art bits and made adorable little sketches.
We loved the garden so much that we became members, so we can go for free anytime we want. It is just a short bike ride, and bit longer bus ride, or an hour walk from our house, the perfect distance for a picnic.
And the next time you are in town, we’ll go there.
Our vacation with family to the wintry city of Copenhagen has sent me into the Time Tunnel again, where you and your cousins appear in a giggling time-lapse photography sequence.
I will explain. In 2019, when the whole family was in Portland to help me send Great Grandma Billie’s and Great Grandpa Lowell’s ashes on their way to the sea, I took this picture of you and Cousin Kestrel. You were 5 and Kes was 7.
In spite of being two years older, Kes is smaller because her parents are smaller than yours. Measuring you two against each other was not making sense. Was there a more fixed point I could use to measure your growth?
I started looking. I found Kes posing with one of the deer statues downtown in 2017.
And again in 2022.
I found little Liza sitting on the Panther at Hartnell College in 2018,
and again in 2022.
This was making more sense, though I still felt like my life was stampeding in front of my eyes. To put a satisfactory end to this mental exercise, I will show you this portrait of Girl Power from The Botanical Garden in Copenhagen, with you both posing with Athena.
Next time we all get together in Copenhagen, I will take another picture of you two, right there.
I miss you already. I miss your snuggles and your smarts and your silliness.
But we had to come home
To get back there, we had a three hour flight from Copenhagen to Amsterdam, a two hour layover, and then a ten hour flight to Portland, and finally slept in our own beds. Sort of.
Jet lag, for whatever reason, was worse coming west this time. I’ve been awake at 3 a.m., napping all afternoon, and brain dead most of the time, for two days now.
But this morning, I got to go work in my veggie plot in the rain. While we were in dry, cold Europe, Portland had rain, rain, and more rain. But spring is coming and eventually I’ll be able to plant. So today I weeded and raked and put up the ladder, tomato cages, and trellis.
As an inside project, I’m working on the memory book of the trip, sorting museum brochures, tickets and café receipts, then snipping and gluing them down.
It’s a good mental exercise and a way to remember our wonderful time in Utrecht, Paris and Copenhagen with you all. I know I will cherish it, once my brain is operational.
After a few days in Copenhagen, you and your folks had to head back to Horsens. But Auntie Katie and the rest of us had one last adventure: Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world.
Opened in 1843, this “pleasure garden” includes gardens, rides, restaurants and musical entertainments, and lots of wonderful things to see. Spring is a bit late coming to Copenhagen, and the windy temperature wasn’t much above freezing, but hyacinths and daffodils are up and blooming.
Early spring flowers are used as decorations all over! This wishing well with a planted roof was adorable and seasonal.
And of course, there are rides. Big scary roller coasters, of course, but they are not our speed. Auntie Katie and the cousins enjoyed the spinny teacup on the Carrousel and some small, cartoony planes.
In parts of the park, you could see how this place inspired Walt Disney as he was developing Disneyland. Rides were fun for both kids and adults, and there were lots of flowers and refreshments. Like Mickey Mouse, this little clown person was placed anywhere a message needed to be conveyed. Here he is saying “We are building something new” to obscure some construction work.
Some things were very different from Disneyland, however. Beer and wine were sold, and some of the humor was a bit racy for American tastes. After all, our Puritan forefathers came to the New World in hopes of running away from such “worldliness”. I liked it!
There are also some rides where human power was involved, including this ‘hoist yourself’ drop-zone contraption. The riders wear gloves to pull themselves up, then get a long, smooth drop back to the bottom. There is also a pedal powered rollercoaster, but we couldn’t get close enough to take a picture.
Interesting bits of Danish history are scattered about. This small fountain dedicated to Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer, tells of his interesting life and scientific discoveries.
It even showed his gold nose! Like many men of his time, Tycho had been injured in a duel, losing the tip of his nose. He had a golden nose made. Cool, huh?
We stopped for snacks and realized we were just too cold to enjoy ourselves, even with layers, gloves, hats and scarves. We texted goodbye to the family and headed for the exit. On the way, we passed this delightful swing ride that I had used as part of my Adventure Grandma story.
Once we left the park and got warm, we walked back to the hotel, fetched our luggage, and began the long haul back to Portland. This misty sunrise over Amsterdam was the last picture I took in Europe.
I know we will come back soon, but I will miss you and your new country until we do.
Whenever you and your cousins get together, it is a busy day. Our third day in Copenhagen, some of the grown-ups opted for a tour bus. But not you guys.
So your daddy David and I went along to protect the city. Orstedsparken, or Orsted’s Park, is named after the scientist who discovered uses for electromagnetism. It includes a small lake which is home for dozens of ducks, geese, coots and wood pigeons.
You discovered this willow tree right by the water’s edge. Once it greens up, it is going to be a great hiding spot.
Further along, you and the cousins found this amazingly challenging merry-go-round thing. It took all three of you, plus Auntie Katie, to make it work.
As you can see, Auntie Katie is still very much a kid at heart. I see great Adventure Grandma potential for her….. in about twenty years.
I am so grateful we all got to have this time together.
You will know from your Danish lessons that this wonderful art museum in Copenhagen is pronounced “Noo Carlsberg Gloop-toe-tek”. It houses the private collections of Carl Jacobsen, who founded the Carlsberg beer company, and his son. They were both lovers of art and used their fortune to collect and house it.
The building itself is amazing, with vast domed spaces alternating with smaller rooms to show off different kinds of art. The solarium is a Victorian-era greenhouse with sculptures mixed in with ferns, which was a miracle on a cold, windy April day.
This was a Girl’s Day at the museum, as Grandpa Nelson, your dad, and Jasper were not interested. And believe me, there is nothing worse than going through a museum with people who don’t want to be there.
We started with ancient art from the ancient Middle East , which was interesting without actually being pretty. (Say what you like, but I can only look at so many Roman heads).
The fun started upstairs, with the Impressionists. You and Auntie Bridgett started talking about the art. “What’s going on in this picture?” She would ask.
You’d tell her what you saw, and from there you two would have a wonderful conversation about the composition, color choices, symbols, and subjects of the works. You talked about gestures and lighting in “Socrates and Aphasia” and story in “In the Beech Wood”.
I was amazed at the good questions you asked and how much you could see in each work. I also loved watching you, Bridgett and Auntie Katie get into your discussions. There was lots of silliness and love mixed in with all that art.
Our visit had been busy, but when Auntie Katie, Jasper and Kestrel showed up, the energy level went to the moon! You three wound yourselves around each other like a bunch of silly eels and jumped and shimmied down the streets of Horsens.
Climbing on fountains….
Finding the first signs of spring….
and generally making up for the years since you have all been together.
You found the public play areas and trampolines, bought lunch for everyone at the grocery store, and even managed to get Cousin Jasper a bump on the chin bad enough to go to the hospital to close it up. But as you can see, he was fine in time for dinner.
And after a few days of finding new ways to wear yourselves out, it was time to head to Copenhagen! We all piled on the train and enjoyed the scenery,
After four delightful, exhausting, art-filled days in Paris, our vacation changed gears. Your mom and Bridgett stayed in Paris, Katie and the kids went off to see friends in Germany, and Grandpa Nelson and I headed to Denmark to see you and your dad.
Our plane got in very late, so our first experience in Denmark was a good night’s sleep. (This is more important than you might think).
There are so many wonderful murals in Horsens. Two of my favorites are a robot hand freeing some birds, and a young man reading to a friend. I like that the murals reflect peace and friendship rather than anger or violence.
The next morning, you took me on an adventure to show me all your favorite places in town. Horsens is small, just about 61,000 people, and is very tranquil and safe.
We bundled up because it was very windy and just above freezing, though bright and sunny. The Industry Museum has a great play area with some challenging climbing structures. You lured me up four levels to this net-walk thing that led to a nutsy spiral slide. It put my Adventure Grandma muscles to the test.
By the fjord, you posed with this wonderful statue of a little girl sitting on a polar bear’s shoulder. I love the way she is patting his cheek.
After a few hours walking in the wind, we were worn out and had some down time. Grandpa Nelson and your dad kept talking.
We headed off for a drive to a beachside town called Julesminda. There, you showed me a climbing challenge I had to pass on. Steep, very narrow cages bridged the gap between tiny platforms disguised as fairy huts that climbed right up the side of a hill. I enjoyed watching you, but my nerves (and joints) failed me.
Later that day we drove up to the Highest Point in Denmark, called the Mollehoj. It is 561 feet high, which is not very high, actually. Mt. Tabor in Portland is 636 feet.
A thousand years or so ago, it was the burial place of Viking kings, but modern Danes carefully moved the kings elsewhere and built a tall tower (to make the high place even higher).
It is a fine place for a windblown selfie and a sweeping view of the surrounding landscape.
After a few days in Paris, walking and seeing and eating, we got to add another verb… hanging out with family! Auntie Katie and Cousins Jasper and Kestrel joined us as part of their own whirlwind visit to Europe.
Auntie Katie and Auntie Bridgett both love comics, so they found Aaapoum Bapoum and had a nice conversation with the fellow who runs the place. It was wonderful seeing all the comic characters we know (and a whole bunch more that we don’t know) speaking French.
After a while, some of us moved on to a quiet café, and spent a long afternoon chatting and introducing Jasper to Grandpa Nelson’s favorite French food, the Dame Blanche. You know it as a hot fudge sundae.
And that night at dinner, the family got even bigger! Auntie Olga came to enjoy a week in Paris with us.
The next day found us all at le Jardin de Luxembourg. We had taken snacks and wandered about, finding tiny bits of spring just beginning to pop up. Katie and Kestrel worked on a story we started, then headed off to the sailboat pond.
This is something that Parisian kids have been doing for generations, renting little sailboats and sending them off across the pond. Who knew you could have so much fun with just a boat and a stick?
Cousin Jasper wanted to head off in search of Space Invaders, so I went along. This is a game started by an artist who applies little tiled images to buildings. The object is to wander the city, find and photograph the images, and see how many you can get.
It was a fine adventure, plowing through the crowded streets of Paris in search of things most folks didn’t even know were there. Keeping up with Jasper at full speed sure got me my exercise for the day!
At the end of a long, happy day, we headed back to our own quiet rooms and recharged for the next adventure.
