Dear Liza

Dear Liza,

Just nine miles north of downtown Portland is a big piece of real country. Sauvie Island is in the Columbia River and was founded many years ago as farmland to help feed the growing city. It now has 3,000 people living on it, but since there are 32 square miles, they are pretty thinly scattered.

Grandpa Nelson and I went there this past weekend for some yummy summer fruits. First we stopped at Belle’s Organic. Their blueberry season was over, but they were selling blackberries, so we got some. Outside, we visited the petting zoo and got to see Scout, who is three, get the hang of feeding hungry goats.

We continued on to the same place we got blueberries last year, Columbia Farms. We picked another flat, trying not to listen as two big girls who forgot that we were just on the other side of the bushes talked way too much. Then we met a nice family and gave them pointers on picking the berries. “You need to get down under the bush and look up,” I said. They nodded and headed off.

We drove around the island, just enjoying the long views across the fields. These open areas are called, in Latin, “agora”, and fear of open spaces is called “agoraphobia.” I do not suffer from it.

We found Krugers, where last year we fought big crowds to get pulled pork sandwiches and corn for lunch. This past weekend there were no big crowds, but the food was just as delicious. We also got peaches, corn, cherry tomatoes and celery, grown right here on the farm. Talk about local!

Kruger’s sunflowers weren’t as successful as last year, but I managed to cut a few to take home to Auntie Bridgett.

When we got home, after a well-deserved rest, I made a cobbler and started freezing the blueberries for cobblers this winter. What could be better than blueberries for Christmas?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

When I lived in Salinas and saw you every week, I got to watch you learn things step by step. You went from crawling to walking to climbing, and I got to see it happen.

But since I was living THERE and Cousins Jasper and Kestrel were HERE, I didn’t get to see their progress. I just saw a tiny kid, then a bigger kid. Now that I am here, I get to enjoy their growing up show week by week.

Kestrel is becoming more gracious and verbal, telling wonderful stories as we go on adventures around town. She doesn’t just tell what the characters do, but how they feel about it.

Cousin Jasper is growing in confidence. Last summer at the Cascadia Circus Camp, he was able to perform, but would scoot off stage as soon as he could. He got stressed out being in the spotlight.

This spring, I got to see him and Kestrel at their Echo Theater aerobatics camp, and they both enjoyed it very much. But it was only their first week.

Yesterday I got to watch Jasper after five full days of camp. He was not only performing tricky bits on the rings and in the scarves, but he was working as part of a team on some tricks. He was able to coordinate, cooperate, and be half of a whole.

He also would time his turns so that he was sometimes on stage alone, the center of our attention. He was focused on his work, but hearing our applause made him smile. And watching him grow, step by step, made me smile.

Kestrel didn’t want to be part of the show, so she spent half the show on her Daddy Dave’s lap, and half on Auntie Katie’s. We all had a good time.Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

It is still very hot here in Portland, so when we go for walks we take Auntie Bridgett’s Snoopy water bottle filled with ice water. Yesterday, it came in handy.

Auntie Bridgett wanted to walk up to Columbia Art and Drafting, a wonderful art supply store on East Burnside. I wanted to have sushi for lunch. We found a way to combine these goals and found some extra goodies on the way!

As we left, Grandpa Nelson and Mouse came out onto the balcony to say goodbye. We ran into Nina and her corgi, Kody, who is sweet with people but very barky with other dogs.

Just across from Columbia we stopped in to visit Little Baja, a garden decor yard that reminds me of my childhood in Southern California. There are chimineas, birdbaths, enormous pots, and statues made to look like Aztec treasures. There is even a young Monkey Puzzle tree in one of the pots.

The art store was not my main goal, but it was air conditioned and pleasant. I watched videos promoting Posca markers while Auntie Bridgett shopped for new sketchbooks.

Once we left Columbia, the adventure got magical. Across the street we found Bees and Beans, a tiny shop that creates handmade, high end, organic, honey-based chocolates. Mmmmmmmm. Andrea Marks, the owner and queen bee, was wrapping some of her wares.

We chatted and got free samples of Bert Bars (which are sort of like a Whachmacallit Bar) and some honey based caramel. They are so delicious! The smell of the shop, and Andres’s joyful, busy personality left us refreshed for the rest of our walk. It is amazing how an unexpected meeting can do so much.

We got a bit lost as I navigated us to Wasabi Sushi, on 10th and Madison, but we were not disappointed. My Caterpillar roll and Bridgett’s poke bowl were fresh and delicious, just spicy enough to have a zing, and very filling.

This is what I would call a working man’s sushi bar… construction dudes from across the way, businessmen discussing contracts, and folks from a convention down the block came by to order lunch and enjoy it under the umbrellas outside. We stayed inside, in the cool.

When we felt ready, we set off for the long walk home. We were serious about staying cool, sometimes zigzagging up the street to find the deepest shade and appreciating folks who were out watering their yards.

We got home thirsty, having finished the Snoopy water bottle blocks before, and drank glasses and glasses of water. We had walked a total of four and a quarter miles, and we were justifiably pooped! Needless to say, the rest of the day was quiet.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

Now that you are back in Salinas, I will tell you about Auntie Bridgett Spicer’s art show. It has been up in the SideStreetArts Gallery for a week, but on Sunday she gave a talk about her work to a small but very interested group of folks.

The show is called “Closer to Home”, and is a paired exhibit with ceramicist and friend Nicole Curcio. It shows their transition from being visitors to Portland to living here and making it feel like home.

Because Portland has lots of bridges, her paintings do, too. The style of her paintings is called Abstract Expressionism, because they aren’t supposed to look exactly like the thing they show. But you can usually tell which bridge she’s showing.

It was so much fun seeing her talk about her art! She gets silly, expressive, and serious, all in turns.

After her talk, we chatted with folks and nibbled on snacks. I had made a bunch of pinwheel cookies and everyone enjoyed them!

Michael Pratt, a local artist who owns the building that houses SideStreetArts, came by a bought two pieces!! He got Auntie Bridgett’s “Ugly Recliner and 29th & Pine” and Nicole Curcio’s “Urban Growth Boundary III”.

Hooray for sales!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Kyle,

We had a lazy morning. Liza made a catnip toy for Mouse and they had fun with it.

Last Friday was our last day with Liza and David before they flew back to Salinas.We had a nice long walk through the neighborhood and a bus trip to Katie’s Bookshop, Books with Pictures. It was a hot day!

David was amazed at how bright and organized it was, because the last time he saw it, it was still under construction.

Liza found a comic book about Minecraft and enjoyed reading it. She is still a beginning reader, but comics are a great way to make words less scary.

When we got hungry we walked to Palomar, a wonderful, modern Cuban restaurant down the street. The huge windows were open so we had a view of Division Street, with its people, bikes, trucks and even a giant freight train, passing by.

The food and drinks were yummy and spicy, cold, and refreshing.

Back at BwP, as the bookshop is sometimes written, Liza bought her new Minecraft book and then played with action figures while David and Katie talked about projects upstairs.

Back home to pack up, a dinner out on the way to the airport, and off they went! I am one exhausted but happy Grandma Judy, that is for sure.

Love,

Judy

Dear Kyle,

On Thursday, Liza went with Bridgett and me to The SideStreetArts Gallery,where Bridgett is having a show of her work. She found a lot to like!

Alicia Justice’s handmade dolls include two Russian ladies that Liza recognized immediately by their traditional dresses. She also loved Gary Hirsch’s giant, cheerful mural on the walls outside.

On the way home we walked through Laurelhurst Park, and while we people-watched, she enjoyed climbing on the metal statue called “Triad”. It is very sturdy and a favorite of kids in the park.

The rest of the day was pretty lazy until we fetched Jasper and Kestrel from camp. Kestrel went into full on crafts mode, making a pompom that was so big Nelson called it King Pom, and creating a black velvet ghost on a stick.

One thing David loves to do is put Liza onto his shoulders, and they’ve been doing it so long it is just one smooth movement. He showed Katie how to do it with Jasper, and Liza heard the ruckus and came up to get lifted, too.

What a family!

Love,

Judy

Dear Kyle,

The third day of Cousin Liza’s visit was very interesting. Nelson, David, Liza and I went to OMSI, which is short for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

Their special exhibit for this summer is the Science of Pixar, which shows all the modeling work and computer programs that need to be created to make the Pixar movies like Toy Story, The Incredibles and Bug’s Life. Some of these programs are written by people, and some are written by other programs! Yes, some computer programs are so complicated that it is easier and faster to create a program to write it.

For details like the hundreds of trees Merida rides past in Brave, or the millions of blades of grass in Bug’s Life, the programmers set parameters (no higher than this, no wider than this…) and the programs did the rest.

After we explored the Pixar exhibit, we went to the completely re-furbished Turbine Room. This is the hands-on room, with erosion control experiments, turbines to invent and improve, and sound to play with.

There is a big harp-like creation that our neighbor Jonathon helped design which Liza loved playing! The activity is part dance, part music, part light show. It was wonderful!

Our last activity was trying to create “flinkers”. These are items made up of metal washers, bits of wood and cork, held together with rubber bands. They are supposed to neither sink nor float, but hover mid-water, or “flink”. It was hard! But we kept at it for quite a while, getting wet as we went along.

After a nice lunch a a look out over the river, we went home to rest before our next adventure.

Auntie Katie came over for a picnic dinner with the cousins at Laurelhurst Park. We ate, told stories, and played Frisbee. We managed to get pretty good just before it got dark.

Then, everyone off to home and bed.

What a day!

Love,

Aunt Judy

Dear Kyle,

I am writing this to you because all the other cousins are here in Portland!

Your cousin David and his daughter Liza flew up from Salinas. The first morning after they arrived, Auntie Bridgett and I took Liza down to Slappycakes on Belmont. It is a fun place where you get to make your own pancakes, with different flavors and colors of batter. You can add toppings and syrups, too, but the fun is in the making.

We got there just after Slappycakes opened, so we didn’t have to wait for a table, and we got to relax and play with our food. We all got very creative. Liza made a heart and happy face. She also added a wing into the unicorn I made her to create an Alicorn, which is her favorite animal.

We made spirals, circles, and even a My Little Pancake, which we thought would be a good cartoon series, about pancake ponies that go on adventures…and then get eaten.

On the walk home we passed some beautiful gardens in people’s yards, and got to tell the people how much we enjoyed them. Portland in summer is a beautiful place!

We continued towards home, stopping at Laurelhurst Park to play on the swings. Liza is only six and can pump herself really high! We also found the Catsura tree, Portland Heritage Tree number 160, which has big bumpy roots to walk on. Then we walked through the foresty part of the park.

After some rest and art time with Auntie Bridgett, we all walked to Blackbird pizza for lunch. Liza got to play her first game of pinball. It went by so fast! But she got to hit the ball quite a few times before it escaped down the hole.

Walking home, we stopped at Colonel Summers Park to play in the small splash zone area, where water squirts up and splashes you. You can get as wet as you like, and Liza got VERY wet. I just got splashed a bit. None of the other adults wanted to.

Once we here home, it was time to rest before the next part of the adventure.

Uncle Nelson and I drove across town to fetch Cousins Jasper and Kestrel from Trackers camp, and all the kids got to play. Jasper and Liza both love Minecraft, so they built houses, grew sugar cane, and fought fire zombies. They really hate fire zombies.

Cousin Kestrel prefers to sew, so she found a tiny toy puppy in the basket and made him a warm bed. I loved seeing the cousins all happy and playing.

After we all had hot dogs and fruit for dinner, hide and seek was the game. Kestrel won because she hid in such a tiny place no one could see her. Then Jasper and Kestrel’s dad Dave came to pick them up, and the evening slowed down until it was bed time.

More adventures tomorrow!

Love,

Aunt Judy

Dear Liza,

In Salinas, you have a big Obon Festival. A summer festival of remembrance of one’s ancestors and history, it is celebrated by Japanese Americans and their friends and relatives, along with thousands of visitors.

Last Saturday, I was very excited to go to my first Obon in Portland.

It was very hot when I walked the six blocks to Cesar Chavez Blvd. to catch the number 75 south to Powell Street, then got off and walked six blocks back to the Buddhist Temple. The Japanese style ceramics of Jim Johnstone, the glass art of Kurumi Conley, and the Bonsai of Lucy Davenport were offered by the artists, along with cotton candy and shave ice and games for kids.

I saw a tiny glass dish I wanted to by for Auntie Bridgett, but didn’t want to carry it all day. I told the young lady (who, seconds earlier, was speaking fluent Japanese to an older gentleman) that I would come back for it.

The heat was rising off the asphalt parking lot as I walked to a welcome piece of shade with some benches. A small crowd were claiming their spots as a jazz band began to assemble under its own puddle of shade. Bright red lettering on black music stands read The Minidoka Swing Band. There was barbed wire in their logo. I was puzzled.

And why did the name Minidoka sound familiar? As soon as the band started up, I realized it.

Andy Streich, the vocalist, began singing original lyrics to a very upbeat song that sounded like “Rock Around the Clock”, and they went like this:

“Back in 1942 we were in a fix,

The government issued Order nine oh sixty six

We had to be gone from the western shore,

They smashed our windows and looted our stores

We lost all our possessions and we lost our homes,

They shipped us out to Minidoka where the buffalo roam.”

It continued for three more verses, telling of conditions at the Minidoka Internment Camp in Idaho, and how the Japanese American prisoners used popular American music to keep everyone’s spirits up by forming a swing band and playing for dances.

“When the music starts, and the people sway,

You can hear the Minidoka Swing Band from miles away…”

As Andy continued singing, the story emerged. Some of the members of the band are descendants of survivors of the Minidoka Internment Camp.

Obon is a time to remember ancestors. This is how they were doing it.

I listened with joy to the rest of the set, loving all the familiar tunes that allowed me to celebrate my own parents, who were also fans of Summertime, String of Pearls, and Tuxedo Junction. Everyone applauded, lost for a moment in the music and the past.

I had a light supper of chicken, rice, and a Japanese pickle, then explored the small shop in the basement which sold inexpensive toys and lovely, expensive kimonos.

By the time I had eaten, the band stands had been cleared away, getting the parking lot ready for the dancing in two hours. I found Todd Ouchida, who played trumpet, visiting with friends under the tent. He allowed me to take his photo so I could remember the people and the logo of the band.

Japanese Taiko drumming and Bon Odori dancing would be happening later, but I was suffering from the heat and really needed to get home.

I bought the lovely piece of glass art and headed back down the hot street, grateful for the air conditioned bus all the way home, wishing I had been able to stay, or maybe gone later to see the drumming and dancing. Maybe next year.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

It has been hot this week, and the grass in the cemeteries and parks has been getting dry. It was still very warm at ten o’clock last night as we walked home from seeing The Tempest performed by Original Practice Shakespeare.

OPS, as they call themselves, are a talented group of professional actors who perform up to nineteen of Shakespeare’s plays every summer. They do it the way it was done in Shakespeare’s day, using small scrolls with just each actor’s lines on them. The actor keeps the scroll with them during the play.

This method has the advantage of performing numerous plays in a season, and of us getting to see different performers doing different parts. We have seen Jen Lanier, for example, as both Prospero and Stephano in The Tempest. But it has the disadvantage of keeping us always aware that the actors are reading their lines. It doesn’t allow us to suspend our disbelief.

Still, Shakespeare for free in a lovely glen three blocks away is not to be sneezed at. We took a picnic and our lawn chairs and joined about 60 folks, including little old ladies in wheelchairs and babies in tummy packs, among the tall firs of Laurelhurst Park.

The play started just as the sun began to go down behind the trees. The opening shipwreck scene, with a rattled aluminum sheet for thunder and lunging actors, set the tone of boisterous performances and direct audience response. Shouts of “Look out!” and “Oh, no!” enhanced our involvement in the action.

As the play continued we saw the light change, Miranda and Ferdinand fall in love, a drunken Stephano attempt a coup, and all end well as families are reunited and forgiven. By the time Prospero says “We are such stuff as dreams are made of,” it was time to go home.

And this morning, it is raining. The dry grass of last night’s performance will be greener by afternoon, and our lovely city fresher. Just like tears through laughter is my favorite emotion, rain between sunshine could become my favorite weather.

Love,

Grandma Judy