Judy – Page 65 – Dear Liza

Next Steps in the Garden

Dear Liza,

I am going by the vegetable garden just about every day now. I have even started keeping my gloves there, so when I stop by on a walk, I can dig and not get all muddy.

Here is a picture of the basil plant we just put in. I am hoping to make pesto this summer, so it needs to get growing!

One of my latest jobs has been weeding the south parkway of a pretty (but destructive) weed called Lesser Celadine. It comes up in spring, with shiny round leaves and pretty yellow daisy-like flowers. It fills in areas where “nothing else will grow.”

The problem is, the reason nothing else will grow there is that Lesser Celadine had small tuber-like roots that actually poison the soil, so nothing else CAN grow there. That way, the ground is clear, the next spring, for more Lesser Celadine to grow. To pull them out, you need to get all the roots. It is tiresome but satisfying work.

Once I had enough weeds to fill my trash bag, I headed home. It was even warm enough to enjoy lunch out in the balcony!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Artsy Cards

Dear Liza,

Everyone likes to get cards for Valentine’s Day or their birthday, and I am no different. I am luckier than many folks, however, because I have so many artists in my life.

My friend Ruthie Inman makes cards every month for her patreon supporters, and she made me a special card for my birthday this year. It is just like her: lovely, unexpected, and sparkly.

Auntie Bridgett made me a Valentine card, showing her beloved bees and hearts. For my birthday, she bought one of Dawn Panttaja ’s cards. Dawn does wonderful collages for her line called Lost Dolls. This one looks like something from historic Portland.

I have been getting wonderful artsy cards from Auntie Bridgett for so many years, I have a whole file full of them!

Here are a few of my favorites.

And here’s the last one for today!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Mikiko Donuts

Dear Liza,

There is a new donut place in Portland! We are already famous for the very sweet and silly Voodoo Donuts, and the adult flavored, organic, Blue Star Donuts. Coco’s Donuts, downtown, is a classic old fashioned donut shop, with maple bars and crullers.

But Mikiko Donuts are something altogether different. These donuts are made with rice flour instead of the familiar wheat flour. They are also dairy free.

But the big difference, to me, is that they are baked, not fried. This makes them healthier, because there isn’t extra fat in the donuts.

We visited Mikiko this past weekend. They are a very cheerful and welcoming shop. The fellow piping the donut pans welcomed conversation and gave me tips on how to do his job and avoid carpal tunnel syndrome. “Let gravity do the work,” he said.

The lady running the shop said she loved not having the hot oil and all the accompanying mess, fumes, and ventilation requirements. The shop did seem quieter, cleaner, and less smoky than most donut places. Just regular bakery equipment, ovens and work counters, filled the place.

Auntie Bridgett and I carried our order (a Horchata Pudding filled donut for me and a Yuzu Funfetti one for her) up a few blocks to Oregon Park, where we enjoyed our treats while watching dogs play under the tall trees. I found my Horchata donut to be a bit gummy, but the Yuzu one was lighter. They both had good flavor and I would easily recommend the Yuzu Funfetti to anyone trying their first gluten-free, dairy- free donut.

One of the many things I love about living in Portland is getting to try new things. Even gluten free, dairy free, baked donuts!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Back to Brunch, and a Stop by the Garden

Dear Liza,

During the Covid shutdown, we were very careful about going out to eat. We ate mostly outside, or got take away. But Saturday Brunch IN is one of the joys of living in Portland. So, since we are all vaccinated and the infection numbers here in Portland are super low, we took a short drive up to The Fleur de Lis, a delightful French bakery in the Hollywood neighborhood.

A pair of musicians were playing a guitar and mandolin as we got there, reminding me of Laurel and Milton playing in their old coffeehouse, The Key of C. The music was lovely and felt like Weekend, with a capital W. It was past lunchtime, so we had quiche and grilled cheese, and Grandpa had a fine cinnamon roll. It felt like ”The Before Times.”

We stopped by Trader Joe’s on the way home from the bakery, picking up things that are better or cheaper there. Raisins, nuts, frozen fish, and wine filled our basket. I even picked up a small basil plant for the garden.

Once we were home, I grabbed the basil and headed up to the vegetable garden. I ran into old friends Morgan and Abbie, who are almost finished with their early childhood teacher training, excited to be out and doing the good work.

I was happy to see my transplants doing well and getting bigger. The lettuces look so pretty next to the tiny violets that come up on their own. You can see the crushed egg shells I use as a mineral supplement for the soil.

And while we were playing in the garden, the fellow came over from the Hospital next door, and turned on the water! Hooray! Last year it wasn’t turned on until late April, which made watering the plants a long, heavy haul.

Right next to my plot are these tiny grape hyacinths, another set of volunteers who make the garden such a joy to be in.

Spring, right? Fantastic!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Another Change at the Park

Dear Liza,

Our Laurelhurst Park is always changing. Old trees fall, new ones are planted. Ducks migrate in and out, rains flood the low spots, and leaves sprout, grow, and fall. Banks of azaleas blaze into bloom and slowly fade.

There is a new Aptos redwood planted at the south end of Firwood Lake.

We named him Rene, after the Pastor at Twin Lakes Church in Aptos, California.

Another change was a bit sadder. There was this weird old stump near the west entrance to the park. I don’t know when the tree came down, but it has been in this magical sort of shape for years. Folks have tucked gnomes and bunches of flowers inside, or hidden Easter eggs for hunts.

A few months ago, we noticed that the hole had been made bigger. Then, a few weeks later, someone had tried to start a fire inside it. The fire hadn’t caught, but the park managers must have decided that the stump was no longer safe.

This evening, we saw that the stump had been taken down, and I’m not sure what the final decision about it will be. I know the park mangers want to keep the park, and everyone who visits it, safe. Still, it makes me sad.

So that’s the news from here, for now.

Love,

Grandma Judy

This Year’s Garden Journal

Dear Liza,

Last year I kept a garden journal, partly to take notes about the garden’s progress, and partly to have fun making art about the garden. I have found it very useful to look back at last year’s journal to inform this year’s garden.

Last year I didn’t pay enough attention to how much sun each part of my plot got, and ended up stunting my tomatoes in the shade while baking my lettuce in full sun. This year I have corrected these mistakes.

I have also gotten my plants in more than a month earlier than last year, since I ran out of season with so many veggies still on the vines. These insights were all possible because of my Journal.

I am working in my journal already this year, recording the locations of my terraces and tomato cages, noting what I planted and when. Since I don’t like painting or drawing while perched on a stool or sitting on the wet ground, I do my journal pictures from photos I take.

That means that every time I go to the garden and take a picture of something new, I can paint a new picture in my garden journal. For example, today’s picture of my garden Guardian, Mlesi, perched on my cucumber trellis.
I am trying to get more accurate in turning photos into watercolors, but it is a slow process.

Love,

Grandma Judy

They’re IN!

Dear Liza,

This week we had our first really warm, sunny day. I took advantage of the almost 60 degree weather and took all those seedlings I have been nurturing in the kitchen window up to their new home.

I loaded them, along with the garden tool bag from Auntie Bridgett’s momma Donna and an onion that had been in the pantry too long, into my red wagon and walked the two blocks up to the Blair Community Garden.

First I pulled out all the fallen camellia blossoms, which are very pretty, even when they are in the way.

I decided where the plants would go weeks ago when I put in the terraces and supports. Now I just needed to do the stooping and digging work to get them in the dirt. Donna’s nice skinny trowel was just the right size!

I put in the seedling lettuces on the east side, where they will get some shade from the camellia bush. The cucumbers are also on that side, but they will climb up the white trellis and get more sun as the season progresses.

The zucchinis are planted under the ladder, so they will have something strong to climb on and keep the zukes off the ground. I will add pumpkins later in the spring.

When everything was planted, I packed up the wagon with the empty pots and droopy camellias and just sat there for a while, enjoying the warm spring sun. I listened to the birds fluttering, people walking by, and far off trains.

I thought about Momma and how much joy her garden gave her. We should all be so lucky as to have something that makes us that happy.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Ostara in the Woods

Dear Liza,

Sunday, I got to spend a wonderful afternoon in the Hoyt Arboretum with Auntie Katie, the Cousins, Katie’s friend Marion, and Marion’s two kids. We hiked, delighted in the new spring growth, and had an egg hunt to celebrate Ostara, a very ancient way of recognizing the Spring Equinox.

Getting new sets of kids together can be tricky, but Robin and Moss, Kestrel and Jasper got along very well and found they had lots in common. I took the young ones on a short hike in the woods while the moms and Robin hid the eggs in The Fairy Forest.

Since this is a real, free growing forest, the egg hunt was challenging! It took an hour or so for the three kids to find 60 eggs, nestled in fairy houses or perched on low hanging branches.

Some of the eggs held candy or lovely crystals, others, tiny toys made by Kestrel and Moss. We all nibbled on jellybeans and sunflower seeds to give us strength to continue. Marion lead us in a circle to encourage us to feel our connection to the earth and to feel our energy waking up with the Spring.

When the eggs were found, candy was nibbled, and we were all pretty chilled, we headed back into town for dinner at the food trucks of Cartopia. We were enjoying the fire pits as the rain started, but we were under cover and kept eating!

As the rain came down heavier, we all hugged goodbye and went our separate ways. What a day! What a family!

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Fun, Delicious Birthday

Dear Liza,

I turned 66 on Saturday and had a fine time doing it. I woke up early and did my French lesson as usual, then Auntie Bridgett and I took the red wagon and walked to The Portland Nursery. I was looking for tomato plants, but was told that it was too early to put them in the ground and I should come back in April or early May.

Oh, well. Patience is a virtue. And we did find lots of potting soil, herb plants and other things we could use now.

Back home, I opened presents. Auntie Bridgett’s Momma Donna sent me a beautiful and useful bag for my gardening tools. I will be the gardening Queen!

Auntie Bridgett had found an adorable Amelia Opie painting called Therapy Cats at SideStreet Arts Gallery, and we got it hung on the wall. I felt like the richest woman in the world, but the day wasn’t over yet.

That evening, we headed down to La Moule for a delicious French dinner. Duck Confit, Tuna ceviche, absinthe, red wine from Bordeaux and a chocolate mousse absolutely topped off the day.

And after dinner, we walked a ways through the neighborhood to enjoy the magic of lights in darkness. I am now older, richer, and a little heavier. And very, very happy.

Love,

Grandma Judy

More Collage-a-Person

Dear Liza,

I have not been doing as much art lately, because I have been doing more prep work in the garden allotment. But for my upcoming birthday, Grandpa Nelson got me a nice new jar of Mod Podge , so I felt inspired.

Saint Sweet Sophia of the Golden Pear Salad

I grabbed a few Better Homes and Gardens Magazines and started pulling out pictures. Advertisement photographs joined with plates of food and other bits and pieces got put together to make some unlikely icons.

As I was trimming and gluing the pieces down, my imagination started creating the names of these unlikely Saints.

Saint Stevie, Defender of Social Distancing

Needless to say, I am having way too much fun with this!

Love,

Grandma Judy