Judy – Page 64 – Dear Liza

Refurbishing Elephante Part 2

Dear Liza,

After I had made Elephante’s new tummy, I had to figure out how to get it back in. Some of the seams didn’t seem to match, and there were weird bulges in unexpected places. It took several hours to get it right.

Meanwhile, there was the old stuffing to deal with. Looking on youtube, I discovered that the best way to wash stuffing is to sew it up inside a pillow case and toss it in the washer! So I did, then put it in the dryer on a low setting.

Once it felt dry, we started going through the clumps of clean fluff and pulling them into smaller, fluffier bits of fluff. This took hours (oh my aching Grandma Back!) and filled FIVE grocery sacks! Since some of the fluff was still damp, we put them near the fireplace to finish drying. Mouse kept guard.

Auntie Bridgett suggested putting a heart on Elephante, because you love him. But instead of on his chest, you wanted the heart on his foot. So that is where it is.

Finally, it was time to put the newly built Elephante and his newly washed insides back together. You did a good job making sure all the parts got stuffed just right. It was fun to see our old friend come back to life!

AND, somewhere in the middle of all this, we made a bow tie for our elephantine friend! Since his new tummy looks like a vest, it only seemed fitting.

At last, he was done. He is smoother, way cleaner, and ready for your next big adventure.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Refurbishing Elephante Part 1

Dear Liza,

We sure were busy while you were in Portland! Our biggest job was refurbishing your big stuffed animal, Elephante. This is what he looked like before we started.

There wasn’t anything wrong with him, but his tummy fur was getting thin and we knew he was dirty from four years of being your favorite sleep buddy.

First, I used my seam ripper to open a hole big enough to pull out all of his old stuffing. Then we filled the bathtub with warm soapy water and let him soak for a while. We gave him several good rinses.

To get most of the water out, we rolled him up in a big towel, just like a sushi roll. Then he spent some time in the dryer. He was so fluffy when he came out!

I used the seam ripper again to remove the fur that made his tummy, and used that fabric to make a pattern for his NEW tummy. The nice flat grey we got at Cool Cottons will make a fine replacement.

I will tell you the rest of Elephante’s story tomorrow.

Love,

Grandma Judy

April Snow!!

Dear Liza,

I am going to take a break from telling about your visit to talk about our snow today. We woke up at 7:00 and saw this out our window:

Our beautiful, tall dogwood, which is almost ready to burst into bloom, was weighed down by more than an inch of snow. This is the first time Portland has had measurable snowfall in April…. in the 82 years the city has been keeping track of such things. This is historically nutsy weather!

While we were sitting on the couch doing French lessons, we heard a bang! bang! from outside and looked out, expecting the worst. But it was the best! Stacy from across the way had seen the problem and found a solution, a nice long 2 by 4. She whacked the tree trunk, the snow fell off, and the tree straightened right up. What a relief!

In other parts of the neighborhood, some trees weren’t as lucky. Many lost branches and this one lost its footing in the saturated soil and just leaned right over, landing on the car parked in the driveway.

Things were better in my vegetable garden. Yesterday, thanks to Auntie Bridgett’s help and a bunch of leftover plasticware, my young cucumbers, zucchinis, lettuces and pumpkins were shielded from the snow.

As of now, the ones we were able to cover have survived!

Of course, we are still in the middle of this weird spring storm. We are expecting more snow in the next day or two, and temperatures down near freezing. We put the covers back on and will have to wait and see and hope for warm sunshine soon.

Love,

Grandma Judy

2022’s First Adventure

Dear Liza,

You and your Daddy came to visit us last week! And you got here HOURS early. You caught us in our pajamas! Soon, however, I got dressed and you and I were off on an adventure. I showed you my vegetable garden, and you helped me pick up the camellia blooms that fall into my plot.

Then we walked over to Laurelhurst Park. You climbed right up on the big oak tree that fell last year. I had never looked at it from this angle, down in the ravine. It looks very tall!

By the time we wandered back home, everyone had had some breakfast and I had a look at Elephante, your big stufftie. He needs some mending and cleaning.

At lunchtime, we all walked over to Straight from New York Pizza. With the heater on, it was warm enough in the patio to enjoy lunch. It was delicious and just what was needed after your long drive. Grandpa Nelson and your Daddy headed back to the house, while Auntie Bridgett, you and I picked up Elephante and the car, and went to run some errands.

First, we drove to TypeSpace, Tony Valoppi’s shop where he buys, repairs and sells old typewriters. Bridgett found a Triumph from 1966 that has a French keyboard. She was very excited! And while she was checking it out, Tony introduced you to the world of typewriters.

You found one with cursive keys and enjoyed it very much. You got the hang of it quickly, and even wrote a personal paragraph. But we left that one in the shop.

Meanwhile, Bridgett was getting to know her French machine, including how to install the ribbon and adjust the margins.

With the typewriter carefully tucked in the car, we went by Cool Cottons to find some matching fabric for Elephante. You want his tummy fur replaced with a smooth cotton, because you use him as a pillow. We found the fabric and thread, but the sewing will wait for tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Spring, Before and After

Dear Liza,

Spring is a big deal here. The winter is long and cold, and spring is a time of joy and sudden sunlight. Some people really prepare for it. We pass this flowerbed on our walks through the neighborhood. Just about four weeks ago, it looked like this.

Dirt, mulch, and little neatly lettered signs. “Mini Chachas” . “Snowdrops”. “Sunshine”.

And this week, walking back from Zack’s Hot Dog Shack, it looked like this.

All the little signs are now labeling what we couldn’t see before, the bulbs that had been planted during the dark days if winter. The tiny crocus, daffodils, and other spring flowers have brought a rainbow of color to the street.

See you soon, sweetie!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Giddy Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

You are coming to visit! I am so excited!
It has been years since you were in Portland, and some things haven’t changed.
Slappycakes is still here, and we will be heading there for breakfast.

We can still go to the zoo, although you might not fit inside this log anymore!

But in the four years since you’ve been here, lots has changed. The riots of 2020 and the pandemic have effected the politics, and economy, of Portland.

This statue of Harvey Scott, up on Mt. Tabor, was taken down by people who disagreed with his being “put up on a pedestal”, literally. Mr. Scott was a rich, important man in the history of Portland, but his beliefs about women’s and other groups’ civil rights have not aged well. Other statues, like Teddy Roosevelt and even Abraham Lincoln, have been put away until decisions are made about where they should be.

And since it is now early spring instead of late summer, there will be more tulips than black-eyed Susans.

Cities are living things, with millions of people creating them everyday. They grow and change just like you and I do. But we take what comes and do what we can to make it better.

See you soon, sweetie!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Art Outside

Dear Liza,

Portland is a very big city. There are 645,000 (that’s double Salinas), just in the city, with a few million more living in the suburbs and smaller surrounding towns. Many of those people are talented artists.

And there are only so many art galleries, museums, and shops. All the art just won’t fit inside.

So quite a bit of it is outside. This is great! You don’t have to pay to see it, or even go out of your way. It is right there on the way to store or whizzing by the bus window.

When I talk about Art Outside, I distinguish between street art, which takes planning, care and talent, and graffiti, which just takes a can of spray paint. Graffiti people, who call themselves “taggers” usually have a signature set of letters that they spray wherever they can reach, like a kid writing their name on the wall.

To me, this isn’t art. It is vandalism. People spend their time and money to cover up the graffiti, or wash it off. Art outside is a perfect reflection of people’s ability to make their world better, or worse.

I love returning to a neighborhood after a few months and seeing a new mural. “How long has that been here? It’s so cool!”

And while you are here, we’ll see plenty.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Making the Outside Work Like the Inside

Dear Liza,

Now that the weather is warming up, it is becoming what we call “Patio Season”. Our springs and summers are so pleasant, restaurants spread out into the sidewalk, and now, even into nearby parking spots.

Most of these are picnic tables in simple constructions of two by fours, plywood and corrugated plastic for the roofs. Others, like the delightful bohemian living room at Moore Coffee, have sofas, tapestries, and fancy light fixtures.

And just in case the evening gets chilly, some places have fire pits to warm things up. The flames are might pretty, as well.

The fires can be either the gas-fueled modern decor of the Modern Times rooftop or the campfire style fire pit at The Bivy. Once you get settled in, you just never want to leave!

So, welcome to patio season!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Our Willamette

Dear Liza,

You and I were talking the other day about the big river here in Portland. It is called the Willamette, and people sometimes get the pronunciation wrong.

They want to say “will-a-MET”, to rhyme with “make a BET”, but this is incorrect. It is actually “will-A-met”. My dad taught me how to remember it properly when I was about your age. He said, ”It’s will-A-met, dammit!”

The Willamette is unusual. Like the Nile River in Egypt, it flows from its headwaters in southern Oregon, north to the join with the Columbia River. For years, it was the easiest and safest way to travel from the university cities of Eugene and Corvallis, and the state capital of Salem, to Portland, and beyond that to the Pacific Ocean.

Even today, hundreds of ships bring cargo and people to the city. But our river is also a playground! Tour boats, jet skis, kayaks, fishermen and amateur sailors are out whenever the weather is good, making the most of this gift.

Just within the city of Portland, TWELVE bridges cross this mighty river, connecting the Westside, where the city began in the 1800s, to the Eastside, where we live. They are all useful in their own way, though some are more beautiful than others.

My favorite is the Tilikum Crossing, the newest bridge. It is only for public transit and pedestrians, so is the quietest. It is also very pretty, looking like a harp stretching across the river.

I hope that when you visit we can take a walk across some of these wonderful bridges.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Trees in Lacy Petticoats

Dear Liza,

Spring in Portland is so extravagant, it takes my breath away. Every year we say “It’s never been this pretty before!” The trees just go nuts, it seems, after a few months of cold and wet. They want to show off.

I grew up in Southern California, where the common opinion was that evergreen trees and shrubs were more practical, and easier to take care of. Trees that bloomed or shed were ”messy”.

I suppose evergreens are easier to care for, in the same way that a statue of a dog is easier to care for than an actual dog. But if a garden never changes, where’s the beauty?

Anyway, I am a fan of Spring.

Love,

Grandma Judy