Cubo de Cuba

Dear Liza,

Amy and I went out for lunch the other day, and since we were both feeling adventurous, we went to Cubo de Cuba. I have walked past it since we moved to our house six years ago, and it always smells delicious. Turns out, it is!

This place is colorful, friendly, and very funky. The walls are a bright yellow and have been drawn and written on by hundreds of folks. Tiny cartoons and bits of poetry elbow each other for room all over the place.

Delightful portraits make you feel like you are visiting a happy cantina on a backstreet somewhere in Havana.

It is also very informal. The menu is on the wall by the order window, and there is a wooden pig you can sit on while you make up your mind. The fellows behind the counter are helpful and charming. The cooks are also the waitstaff and bring your food out when it is ready.

And, of course, it is delicious. On such a rainy, chilly day, it was delightful to slurp up some black beans and rice with fried plantains with mango and avocado on the side. There are spicy options, but I opted for non-spicy this time. There was chicken and pork, but I went vegan. And it was all wonderful.

We chatted about upcoming trips (Spain and Italy for her, Netherlands and Denmark for me) , family and remodeling headaches, and cleaned our plates! When it was time for dessert we split a flan.

It was the perfect sweet mouthful.

When we were full and warm, we hugged and parted ways. It is amazing to me that I have such dear friends in my ‘new’ city, places to explore, and new adventures to be had.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Grey Walk to Ladd’s

Dear Liza,

We are in The “April Showers” part of spring, and boy, is it drippy! It’s not terribly cold, though, so still good weather for walks.

I needed to get to Auntie Katie’s place to feed Hopey and Maggie while she’s away doing comic business, so Grandpa Nelson and I headed out.

The rose gardens in the Ladd’s Addition Rose gardens are getting ready to bloom! This little guy is showing color already, and by Monday when Katie gets back, there will be lots of blossoms.

In Katie’s own garden at Books with Pictures, the wild roses by the fence are fully open and making the bees happy.

They sure brighten up the corner by the stage!

The tall purple irises are up and looking gorgeous. I love how they look with the antique bed frame Katie has installed as a part of the fence.

Another way you can tell it’s April is that the neighborhoods are covered with tiny green maple seeds.

They look like tiny helicopters close up, but like a green carpet from a distance.

They sure look pretty with the pink cherry blossoms.

When I’d fed the cats and said hello to Sir Isaac Snooten, I joined Grandpa Nelson at Floyd’s coffee house to warm up and rest before heading back up the hill.

Just another perfect day in Portland.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Crystal Springs

Dear Liza,

We had some lovely bright days this week, before the rain set in. On one of those days, Cynthia and I went to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. It was full of happy people and magnificent Rhodies and azaleas.

The forest-y design of the garden lets you wander aimlessly, finding little side trails with wonderful views.

Kids were out, enjoying the day. This fellow wanted to “go talk to the goose.” The goose had no comment, apparently.

And, of course, the bees were busy. This purple azalea was humming with activity!

There is so much peace and beauty to be had in this wonderful place. I have renewed my membership and will head back soon.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Poetry vs Power

Dear Liza,

Your great grandma, Billie Evans, read a lot of poems. Those that she really loved, she memorized. “So I could always have them with me,” she said.

“Ozymandias”, by Percy Shelly, was one of those. She loved the description of the great sculpture, now in ruins, in the middle of a desolate land. Mostly, she loved the twist at the end. Have a read, then I’ll give you an update on the Big Man himself.

Ozymandias

BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Shelly wrote the poem in 1818, when Europe was fascinated with ancient Egypt after Napoleon’s army there brought back bits and pieces of the crumbled civilization. Broken chunks of mighty statues were all that was left. Shelly saw the futile and fleeting nature of power, and gave his take on it.

All this came to mind this morning because of two stories in the news.

Archeologists in Egypt have found what appears to be the top half of the statue of Ozymandias (also called Ramses II, the pharaoh named in Exodus), the same statue that inspired Shelly.

I’m thinking about this while watching the news about claims of “absolute immunity.” I love that Ramses II is still broken and that Shelly’s poem is still wonderful. Poetry outlasts Power.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Pages for The New Journal

Dear Liza,

Once we had the journal cover made, it was time for pages. Since this isn’t a journal for writing, but for doing art in, we were free to experiment.

I started gluing images down to scrap paper, which is always fun. Making THIS piece of junk mail look spiffy by sticking on THAT piece of old napkin is very satisfying.

When the pages were dry, I lined them up with the butterfly cover. I love the way the greens and soft pinks go together.

But wait a second! That cartoon dude is SO out of place! He looks like he got into the book through an unlocked window. He’s adorable, but he’ll have to wait for another project.

I kept looking, and more images kept showing up. This little girl and part of a watch face came together nicely. It needs something else, but it will come.

The Zoom Art group got together again this morning and I added this landscape over the splattered page. Not bad, but as it is here, it felt unfinished.

I put it aside and went on with the day. When Cousin Kestrel came over this afternoon, I asked her for advice. She suggested a setting sun with some rays, and I gave it a try.

I love it! Thanks, Kes!

This page of text strips goes with the color scheme and looks suitably cryptic. The splatters add a little character. As I told Ruthie, “Splattery will get you anywhere!”

And that’s the newest art journal so far.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Garden Update, April 2024

Dear Liza,

Once spring gets going here, it ramps up fast!

We headed over to Portland Nursery the other day and fetched six lettuce starts and a packets of zucchini seeds. The seed will wait for this weekend, but the lettuces are in and very happy. Look at that color! It is a variety called “Merlot”.

They will start giving us lettuce in a few weeks.

And in Tiny Green Gals news, our dahlias are coming up! Laverne and Shirley, as Bridgett has named them, are growing from rhizomes I planted last spring. They are just a few inches tall, but I have already put tomato cages around them. Last year they got too tall to stand on their own.

The bearded irises I picked up in a FREE bucket haven’t done much yet, but I’ll be patient. Near them, the lavender we planted years ago is getting lovely and green.

Stay tuned for more garden fun.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Improving the Jellyfish

Dear Liza,

After a week or so of stuffing and sewing on the jellyfish hat, I realized that, as a jellyfish, it was sort of a flop.
It was more like a sparkly, lavender plate of mashed potatoes.

I decided that the top poofy bit was a bit too poofy and needed some editing. I snipped a few threads, laid the fabric out, and took about six inches off all the way around. Notice all those ribbon tentacles tucked inside, out of mischief.

Once it was trimmed, I gathered it all up again and fit it back on the hat. This time, I sewed it right into the straw of the hat. The whole thing feels solid and more manageable.

The edging ruffle got doubled over, gathered up and sewn onto the hat. This was a very fiddly part of the project.

And here it is, for now. It will get a few more tentacles, a bit of a trim, some dangling lights, and some sort of under-dress, and then it will be ready for SOAK.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Tidying Up Inside

Dear Liza,

Auntie Bridgett is expecting a delivery of a book project she’s been working on, so we needed to make some space in the garage. We have quite a few boxes we haven’t even looked in since we moved up from Salinas, so it was time to re-evaluate some stuff.

We waited for a warm day so we could have the garage door open and pull the car out, and hauled boxes from all the far corners and under-stair cupboards. While we were shoving and pulling, there wasn’t time for pictures.

But we found some nifty things!

A pile of postcards sent to your Daddy David and Auntie Katie from your great-grandparents when they were traveling around the country…

….Memories from Auntie Katie’s Drama class at York School in Monterey, and her bat mitzvah….

…. And memories from long ago visits to Disneyland with Rick and Sheila.

We also found some hidden treasures, probably gifts from my adopted Grandpa Phil Conway, in the form of old, old coins. I have no idea what these are worth, but will browse the ‘net and see what I can find out.

All told, it was a busy, get-stuff-done-day, and we were happily exhausted by the time the garage was put back together.
I will tell you about the delivery when it happens! (Insert dramatic music).

Love,

Grandma Judy

Tidying up the Neighborhood

Dear Liza,

This week is Earth Day, so the SOLVE group here in Portland had clean up parties all over town this past weekend. And I helped!

Actually, Auntie Bridgett and I joined a group of about 50 people at Buckman Elementary School, collected vests and bags (we brought our own trash grabbers) and headed off into the neighborhood.

We started in the school yard, and got to see interesting details of Buckman that I’d never noticed before. For example, they have a really long slide to get down to the field.

Of course I rode it!

There are also delightful decorations all over the place. This wonderful mosaic is just above the slide, and can be seen from all over the field.

We walked away from the school, picking up all sorts of wrappers, bits of paper, and of course, cigarette butts. We got to see the area’s many murals. This one, perfectly enough, shows the strength of women.

And we found a bit of history in this piece of curb on Belmont, impressed into the cement.

“Work Projects Administration 1940”

When we had walked and picked up pizza boxes, old shoes, and bottle caps for two hours, we were worn out and ready to head home.
What a fun, useful day!

Love,

Grandma Judy

A New Kind of Journal Cover Part 2

Dear Liza,

My fabric-and-tissue project with Ruthie Inman continued once the first side dried, as I laid down the reverse side. I used the same technique of watered down glue and layers of napkins. I stayed with the pastel flower-y color scheme.

After a few layers, I laid in the flowers and let the whole thing dry, using the cooling rack as before so it didn’t stick to the mat.

Once it was completely dry, I followed Ruth’s direction and gently folded the thing in half. I also gave it a trim so the edges look nice.

Now we just need to make some pages! That will happen next week.

Love,

Grandma Judy