Judy – Page 92 – Dear Liza

Getting Crafty in the Garden

Dear Liza,

I love living with clever people! Auntie Bridgett and Grandpa Nelson are always coming up with nifty ideas that make life more fun or interesting.

For example, it was Grandpa Nelson’s idea that we get the allotment plot in the Blair Community Garden up the street. This has set off all sorts of things. Deciding what to plant, and when it should go in, were the first questions. For this, there are experts at the nursery or on websites. How to get supplies from the nursery to the garden? For this, there is the hardware store which carries cool folding wagons.

But for this next cool thing, an artist was needed. I was cleaning out some old mosaic supplies that I won’t be using. They take up a lot of space and mosaics make a real mess, which we really don’t have space for. In the box with the other mosaic supplies was a whole bunch of old Scrabble tiles and racks from a long ago garage sale.

.Auntie Bridgett asked me to set them aside for her, so they were on the table when we sat down to lunch. As we ate, she pulled out the tiles and started spelling out words. “Basil”. “Squash”. Since there wasn’t a full set, she made allowances for spelling. “Cuxe”.

Then she turned the racks upside down and laid the tiles on the flat side. “You’ll need chopsticks to make them long enough,” she decided.

“Can I borrow your hot glue gun?” I asked.

And half an hour later, my problem of how to label my veggie rows was solved, and the garden got a lot craftier. My new labels just need a good coat of varnish to protect them from our Oregon sunshine! Ain’t Art wonderful?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Making Gifts

Dear Liza,

I have always loved making gifts. You great grandma Billie taught me to sew, and I have made baby quilts and wedding quilts for friends and family. I have sewn goofy dolls, Covid-19 masks, and helped with Auntie Katie’s wedding huppa.

I have baked tons of celebratory cookies and rum balls, peanut butter balls, and Bundt cakes for Kosher luncheons. I have even knitted scarves and hats, for those who wouldn’t be upset about a few dropped stitches.

And now I have something new I can make and give to friends: Art Journals!

I just sent my dear friend Pat a journal, a book built from scratch via lessons from Ruth Inman. It is filled with silly poems, by me and other people. It has thoughts and thanks and bits of art to make her smile.

There isn’t another one like it in the whole world. It was made by the ME I am right now for the Pat that she is right now. It has politics, pets, wine, art, and memories of travel.

I love having a new way to show my special people how much I love them!

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Art Journal So Far

Dear Liza,

A few weeks ago I made a Garden-themed Art Journal, using a saltine cracker box, needle and thread, glue, and papers from Auntie Bridgett’s cupboard. Here is what it looks like so far.

The cover is pretty with flowers, with a recycled tote bag handle for a tie.

Since I am using the journal to keep track of our allotment plot in the community garden, I put in what we want to plant. Acrylic paints applied with a credit card make for interesting swooshes.

Then I got really artsy, and designed a fold-out page of what I hoped the garden would look like. This is optimistic, but I am really happy with how it looks.

And of course, a shopping list.

I can’t wait to be able to add pictures of actual plants! I will keep you posted of how things progress.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The First After-Dinner Walk

Dear Liza,

Spring is coming, which means warmer weather, and more daylight! Instead of waking up in darkness and eating dinner after sunset, we actually have daylight left after dinner for a walk around the neighborhood.

My dad, your great-grandpa Lowell, was a great fan of sunsets. He would pull over, if we were on the road, to stand and watch as the sky changed color and the day ebbed away. He would get quiet, saying thanks for another good day.

And Monday, we went out to see our first sunset of spring. We only needed sweaters, which was a nice surprise. Two weeks ago, we were shoveling snow.

Our hilly Sunnyside neighborhood is heavily wooded and built up, with thousands of deciduous trees planted over the last hundred years mixing with old Victorian homes and newer condominiums. This makes for delightful neighborhood walking, but hard to get a long view of … well, of anything. But the silhouettes are beautiful.

I am just happy to get out and about! Grandpa Nelson in on the vaccination list, and I will be soon. Then maybe we can make some travel plans.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Bits of Happy

Dear Liza,

Happy March! The calendar tells us spring is just a few weeks away, although in Romania they celebrate the First of March as the beginning of spring. Even with cherry blossoms making some of our trees look like they are wearing lacy pink underwear, it is still chilly here.

But even with the chill, we have some things going on. On Sunday Grandpa Nelson and I finally got to celebrate Auntie Katie’s birthday with her, taking her a present and lunch, and eating in the gazebo at Abernethy School, just across the street from her Books with Pictures shop. We had a chat and a walk around the neighborhood.

In the parkway by the shop, Cousin Kestrel has installed a new fairy doorway and friends in one of the elm trees. Kestrel is always taking care of our local fairy folk, and their pony and ducky friends.

There is also a yummy new place to eat! Covid has taken its toll on restaurants, and folks are having to get creative to stay in business. One of our favorite places to walk to was Monk’s Deli, which was a food truck parked just behind the Belmont Station Bottle Shop and Pub. We were sad when it closed last year, but it has now re-opened under a new name.

It turns out the former owners had wanted to retire and the people living literally next door had asked to get first dibs on the place. They did, re-opened, and now Monster Smash makes the best, biggest, juiciest burgers, with homemade pickles! AND, fabulous, crispy French fries! Yummy! We will definitely walk there when you get to visit.

Auntie Bridgett and I also discovered some new places down in Division Street. After a long walk and shop at Collage Art Supplies, we needed a snack. Pinolo Gelateria is right next door and sells just eight flavors, but they are stunning. We had Pistachio and Fior di Latte ( Milk Flower) flavors, which were rich, not too sweet, and just what needed.

Not our order! Photo credit, Pinolo Gelateria

As we sat in the chilly sun (properly wrapped up, of course) we noticed the Division Do It Best hardware store across the street, and were helped by their friendly staff in buying my new garden wagon! Hooray! Now I will be able to haul gardening stuff to and from our “allotment” in the Blair Community Garden.

So that’s what’s going on here. I hope you are well and staying happy. See you soon.

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Neighborhood Favorite

Dear Liza,

We have lived in this neighborhood for a few years now. We go for walks in all weathers and all seasons, and have come to expect and enjoy some of the majestic, lovely, and quirky icons in folks’ gardens.

The Heron as the February snow is melting…

This wonderful heron, for example. Made of brass and perched in the front corner of a garden, he always looks like he could just turn his head and wink at us.

In winter he stands in the middle of chilly sticks, with the oddly decorated house next door clearly visible.

The same crane last May, with everything in bloom

Come spring, though, his location becomes more secretive, surrounded by leafy protection. Sometimes I have to look carefully just to find him!

I love that the seasons change so much of our neighborhood. Every few months, it’s a whole new place.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Signs of Spring

Dear Liza,

Yes, the snow is barely melted in the neighborhood, but the sun came out yesterday and showed us some signs of spring.

A mighty Laurelhurst tree, down in the storm

At Laurelhurst Park, the totally saturated ground and heavy ice from our last storm caused another great tree to fall. This is on the edge of what I call The Ravine, and has been in many of my photos of this part of the park. It was angular and leaning and beautiful.

It is sad to see such a fine specimen down. This cusp between winter and spring can be difficult to navigate safely.

But there are more gentle signs of spring. Tiny crocuses coming up beside napping angels.

Early blooming trees cheering us up and letting us know that winter doesn’t last forever.

The list of folks getting vaccinated grows every day, making us all safer. And when we get ours, life will get more mobile and more fun. Then I will get to come visit you. And that will be very sweet.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Hoofin’ it to the Nursery

Dear Liza,

You knew that it was only a matter of time before we headed to the Portland Nursery, right? With Spring only a month away and a spot in the community garden waiting for us, Auntie Bridgett and I headed off to see what we could see.

A little bit of snow doesn’t stop The Portland Nursery!

It is still cold here… it was jacket and gloves weather as we walked the mile and a half to Portland Nursery on Stark. Patches of snow still shivered, bunched up under trees and beside stairways, and even in the nursery itself!

Portland Nursery has had a year to get Covid protocols in place, and have done a fine job. One way traffic lanes, arrows on the ground, and limited people inside the buildings help keep everyone safe while letting us gear up for garden season.

Of course, most of the nursery shelves are empty at this time of year, but everyone was finding what they wanted. These folks choosing a quince bush were happy to tell me about their spring expectations. “It is grafted!” They said. “It has red, pink and white blossoms on each branch!” I am excited for them!

We hunted up seeds for our garden plot, trying to find small species so we can have more variety. Little Finger carrots, Black Beauty zucchini, Salad Bowl lettuce, tiny Parisian Gherkin cucumbers, Cherry Belle radishes, and Sugar Pie pumpkin seeds all came home in my sack! We didn’t buy tomatoes or sunflowers yet…. I want to do more research and find the best growers for our damp city.

On our way home, the wind was picking up, bringing us rain for the coming week. We saw a crow up in her last-year’s nest, plucking out leaves and getting it just right for spring.

See? I’m not the only one who is anxious for winter to be over!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Stepping Away from the Map…. For Now

Dear Liza,

A little over a week ago, I pulled out an old project to work on. It is a map of Portland done in appliqué and embroidery. I have been adding and adding, trying to recreate the intricacy I see in my head, on the fabric.

Oregon Poet William Stanford was once asked, “How do you know when to stop editing?” He replied, “When it stops feeling creative.”

And that’s where I am, for now, with my map. In the last ten days I have added dozens of buildings, streets, and trees. I have gotten braver and freer with embroidery. I even think I know what I want to do with the river.

The West Hills, Downtown and the Willamette River

But it has stopped feeling creative. I feel like I am adding in desperation, thinking this next tree will make the difference. And it just isn’t. So I will set it aside again for a while and come back to it later, with fresh eyes.

Mouse likes to be right in the middle of the creative process!

That ‘later’ may be next week or next year. But it will be waiting for me.

Love,

Grandma Judy