Category: Uncategorized

Leap Day at the Barley Mill

Dear Liza,

This last Thursday was February 29, also known as Leap Day. And of course, McMenamin’s was celebrating.

It was cold and almost rainy, practically trying to snow, and we had grocery shopping to do. But we stopped at The Barley Mill for lunch first. This is the location of the original McMenamin’s, and isn’t far from us. It is also one of my favorites.

The food is standard McMenamin’s; burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads, always tasty and well-made. We decided to pass on the special beers and cocktails they were offering, and just had some tea.

The decor of the Barley Mill is amazing.

Dedicated to Jerry Garcia and all things Grateful Dead, this cafe is delightfully chaotic. I see something new every time I come in.

Our waiter, a fellow named Nick, was friendly and fun. He gave Auntie Bridgett the Leap Day stamp in her McMenamin’s Passport.

We ate and chatted and then played PINBALL! This winter has been so awful we haven’t been out to play, and I’ve really missed it. The SHREK game has three flippers and even a tiny inset game in the top corner, as well as lines and music from the movie. The adrenaline rush was fabulous!

When we had done all the fun, we met Grandpa Nelson at Fred Meyer and did the shopping, picking up a nice fat chicken to make into soup to get through the rest of this nasty winter.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Manuel, our Avocado Plant

Dear Liza,

I don’t know if you remember Manuel. He is an avocado plant we started from a seed in a jar way back in 2021. I didn’t take pictures of him when he was little. To be sadly honest, several previous avocado starts had died, and I didn’t want to get attached.

Here he is in November of 2022, not more than a healthy, skinny stick.

And with careful tending, he has continued to grow. Here he is now, 30 inches tall and loaded with leaves. As you can see, he’s inside. Still too chilly!

We put him on the balcony every late spring through early fall, and bring him into the sunny bathroom for winter. The irony is, since our balcony faces north, he only gets direct sun on bright days of the winter.

I imagine he must be a little confused.

Still, I am happy we have him with us. I doubt we will ever see an avocado on him, but then, he has surprised me before.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Whimsy and Perspective in Downtown Portland

Dear Liza,

On the way to and from the Zoo this weekend, Grandpa Nelson and I built in some time to walk around and see things. Big cities like Portland always have something new going on.

At Pioneer Square, sometimes called Portland’s Living Room, there is this sign,
showing distances to notable locations near and far. Nice to see that “Portlandia” is just five blocks away!

Also in the Living Room is this decoration, called The Weather Machine. It opens up at noon, plays a fanfare, and displays a different icon depending on the weather.

New planters are going in along walkable street. They look sturdy and ready to bloom this spring.

As we waited for the bus home in the afternoon, we got to listen to a concert and choir from the Ukraine Association. They are making sure we all remember that Ukraine is still under attack from Russia and needs our support.

It’s nice that spring is coming and we can be out and about again.

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Crowded Day at the Zoo

Dear Liza,

I went to the Zoo with Grandpa Nelson this weekend, and I have never seen it so busy! To celebrate the Season Opening, the Zoo was offering half price $12 tickets, and the place was packed with kids and their grown-ups.

Fortunately, the animals were also out, being social and interesting. Nora the Polar Bear was doing whatever this is, every now and then looking out to the crowd.

The new Amur Tiger “cubs” were out and about. They are brothers named Dmitri and Luka, each eighteen months old. They were MUCH bigger than I had imagined, and covered a lot of area stretching out in the sun. Grandpa Nelson would have brought one home if he could have.

Our couch might hold one of them, but there wouldn’t be any room for the rest of us!

The birds in the Aviary were active. This long-tailed What-cha-ma-callit was wandering through the crowd and not getting his feathers ruffled. I would have looked up its proper name, but the signs were covered in KIDS.

This other fellow was having his lunch and telling everyone what he thought of them.

Overall, it was a pleasant visit with our animal buddies. But sometimes, I think, too many people is just too many.

Love,

Grandma Judy

An All-Library Adventure

Dear Liza,

My friend Cynthia has moved to town, and I got to show her some of my favorite things on Friday.

First, she helped me to do some chores, and played with Auntie Katie’s cats while I did some tidying. I didn’t take any pictures, but Cynthia and the cats seemed happy with the situation.

After a good cat-visit, we caught the Orange Line train to downtown. ( I am on a mission to educate Cynthia about our wonderful transit system here in Portland.)

The train got us within a block of our first destination of the day, the Oregon Historical Society. We enjoyed each other’s company and chatted while looking at maps and displays outlining the development of Oregon. We saw some of the same names there that we had seen at Lone Fir Cemetery. In Portland, history doesn’t travel very far.


After a yummy lunch at the Market Street McMenamin’s, we headed up the Park blocks, enjoying some of the new public art. This robot was part of the Winter Lights Festival and has just stuck around. Isn’t he fun?

Further up the park blocks, we found this installation of some metal cats. It was weird, but wonderful… like Portland!

We continued north to the newly-renovated main branch of the Multnomah County Library. The outside hasn’t changed, but the inside has new carpets, new shelves, better bathrooms, and lots of bright sunlight coming through the wonderful arched windows.

Cynthia and I are both nuts about maps, and we discovered the MAP ROOM. There are hundreds of drawers with big flat maps, and a dozen globes set out in top of the cabinets. We were in map-geek heaven.

And on the third floor, this marvelous glass dome just tops off the whole space.

We stepped back out into the street knowing that this renovation was a good idea and might become, as Cynthia said, “a second home.”

Love,

Grandma Judy

Second False Spring 2024

Dear Liza,

After such a cold winter, it’s really not surprising that spring takes a few tries to get going. Last week, after a week or so of very cold and windy weather, we had three days of knock-your-socks-off sunshine. Our Second False Spring.

I got to see a bunch of these lovelies as I walked to fetch cousin Kestrel from school. Here are some daffodils blooming alongside local artist Mike Bennett’s dinosaur.

The crocuses are up, and you see those fat leaves? They are going to be tulips!

I can never remember the name of this bush with tiny urn shaped flowers, but it sure smells good!

I think this is forsythia… tall and gawky, but celebrating spring (even a bit early) deserves my respect.

And finally, the sun shone beautifully in this small neighborhood horse. I don’t think he gets much work, but he looks good.

And now we will be back to rain and snow for a bit. Be patient!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Makin’ Boxes with Ruthie Part 2

Dear Liza,

As we have often agreed, learning curves are a good thing. The first of anything that we make is rarely the best… it takes experience and time to get the hang of things.

Languages… Rock Climbing… and crafts.

A few weeks ago I started making decorated boxes with Ruth Inman. I struggled a bit with shiny surfaces and flimsy cardboard. I even took a tea box apart to try and strengthen it.

I trimmed the too-deep, too-fragile Yogi tea box down and gave it some reinforcement with tissue paper and a strip of cardboard around the top edge.

Today was another Art Zoom. Zoe, (who isn’t quite awake yet because she lives in Tasmania and it is 6 A.M. there) , made such a wonderful box that I needed to take a picture. She used Velcro as a closure for her box, and put a nifty ribbon and stick contraption on the outside to look pretty.

I got inspired, so while we were chatting, I pulled out some wire and made a hasp. It wobbled around a bit, so I anchored it with glue and thin paper straps.

I need to let the glue dry before I do the next part, which will be to push the hasp through the hole and slide a tiny twig through to lock it.

I love learning new things! Some things, like languages and geography, make the world more accessible. And others, like crafts, just make it more fun!

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Little Spring Gardening

Dear Liza,

As we start to see the end of winter, gardens can need tending to. It is too early for me to start in my vegetable patch at a Blair Community Garden…. I have tried pushing the seasonal limits and been disappointed there before.

But Auntie Katie’s garden at Books with Pictures doesn’t grow vegetables. It is full of hardy perennials like rhododendrons, irises and roses. She uses this lovely spot the other three seasons for story readings, lectures and book signings, performances, and as part of her Books with Pictures Comic Con.

This is me reading to some munchkins a few summers ago.

The garden has been through its second winter now and is well established.

But our week of especially cold weather took its toll on her irises, killing off the tallest leaves and even some early buds. Old weeds have died and need to be dealt with, and the last of the fall leaves have turned to slimy muck on the ground. So I get to go over and get my hands dirty.

I love playing in the mud!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Early Bloomers

Dear Liza,

Spring doesn’t officially start until next month, but many of the flowers here are ready and willing.

Camellias are always early to the party, and this multi-colored trio at Laurelhurst Park is taller than me and blooming like crazy.

Playing nicely alongside is this amazing striped one. It looks like peppermint!

I do not know the name of this spindly, skinny tree, but it is always one of the earliest to bloom. I love its tiny pink flowers against the dark green of the fir tree, a hundred feet over head.

Warm weather is due this week, and I’ll be out in it. But I love the soggy, as well.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Makin’ Boxes with Ruthie

Dear Liza,

My friend Ruthie Inman is always finding new ways to challenge our little zoom art group. This week she asked us to get a cream cheese box so we could cover it and make it pretty and useful.

The silvery coating on the box was very slippery and needed lots of gesso before it would take any paint. My first idea was to paint the whole thing bright orange and then collage over it. I didn’t take a picture, but trust me, it was awful.

I asked YOU and you said i should paint the whole thing black and figure out what to do next. So I did, and here’s what came next : really beautiful paper cut into teeny tiny bits.

I love mosaics, and black always looks good between bright colors. I got the top covered while Ruthie, Zoe and I chatted.

And to make the inside pretty, I found some gold foil (it came wrapped around pears at Christmas) and cut it to fit the bottom of the box.

This box still isn’t finished…. The black parts aren’t pretty and it needs a clasp to keep it closed.

And speaking of works in progress, I did another experiment with boxes… this time, a Yogi tea box. I was thinking of using it instead of the cream cheese box.

But as I held it, it felt too flimsy to be of any use. maybe I could reinforce it? I pulled apart the glued corners and laid it flat, laid tissue paper over the whole thing, front and back, with Mod Podge medium, then put it back together. It is stronger, but is still in its slightly-lumpy-tissue state.

But fear not. All will be well…and if it isn’t, I am only out a few cents of Mod Podge.

I am so glad I get to do artsy stuff with Ruthie!

Love,

Grandma Judy