Dear Liza

Dear Liza,

I hope you and your family had a wonderful, fun Thanksgiving filled with new experiences and friends.

I enjoyed being with Auntie Bridgett’s family. The small children are fun to be with until their inevitable melt downs around 5:00. Maddie and Jaxson, Aya, Kion, and Owen were good company, mostly. They shared toys, helped set tables and kept us grown ups out of trouble.

A new (to me) board game called Kids on Stage was a great hit. You roll dice, move pieces and draw cards. Each card gives you something you need to act out… a snake, a wristwatch, kicking a ball. It was perfect for the 18 months to 5 years old range of our crowd.

The small people’s parents are fun, too. Yukie works for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and is always asking questions that make me ask myself questions, which is a very nice thing. Yesterday she asked me what I had learned about First Nations people in Portland while researching for my story, and I had to admit I didn’t know much. “Wouldn’t that be an interesting layer?” She asked. Well, of course it would be! Back to the Oregon Historical Society. Thanks, Yukie!

Michael, whose house we were at, has done wonderful work in his back yard. The yard faces a steep ravine, so we had always been a little nervous having the small people out there. But this year, with the kids being a bit bigger and a new set of paving stones and a nice fence, it was much less nerve-wracking. Auntie Bridgett was a very good kid watcher.

Looking forward to next Thanksgiving!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

Yesterday we got to play with cousins Jaxson and Maddie. First we went to to their house, where we played with Brio trains with Thomas the tank engine and had tea parties. Then we went to one of the wonderful parks by Mission Bay. We played hide and seek, tag, and just climbed all over the toys. It was so much fun, but boy, was I tired!

Last night we helped Auntie Bridgett’s Mom, Donna, get their house ready for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a little crazy, with four children 5 and under, but between baths, dinner, and Dr. Seuss’s Christmas, it all got done. The table looks so pretty.

This morning Auntie Bridgett and I walked a mile or so on the treadmill downstairs at the hotel’s gym, then had breakfast. Our waitress, Roxie, was chosen as employee of the year last year, and is a funny, quick serving lady.

We are now watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, happy that when we go out, it will NOT be 28 degrees like it is I. New York City, but a pleasant 59. We will head over for food and family later today. I am looking forward to Donna’s bourbon pecan pie and yams, and Michael’s turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

OPKS stands for Other People’s Kids.

One of the best things about holidays is visiting family. This year the Druedings are in three different cities while Grandpa Nelson, Auntie Bridgett and I are all together, visiting Auntie Bridgett’s family in San Diego.

Also visiting are adopted family Chris, Yuki, and their kidlets, which means when we are all together there are four children age 5 and under. That’s a lot of energy! Last night when we were all together, the kids were arguing about blocks, crawling under sofas (but that was my doing, really) , and making noise for noise’s own sake, as kids do.

In my teacher’s heart, I knew this was the sort of evening that happens in houses with small children, that should happen. But in my RETIRED teacher’s heart, I realized it was way more noise than I was used to. Let’s face it, for six months I have had exactly as much peace and quiet as I wanted.

Sigh. The desire for quiet while visiting homes with small children is a natural, unavoidable conflict. So, for the next two days, I will be conflicted.

My father would say it is probably good for me. I will try and see it just that way.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

Having more time to think about life is such a blessing. For most of the thirty years of my teaching career, Thanksgiving was experienced as class art projects that needed to be finished in time to send home, massive cooking projects, and long drive to Great Grandma Billie’s.

This year there are no class art projects…just my fiddling with embroidery.

There is no massive cooking project…we are eating elsewhere.

There is a flight to San Diego….but I am not doing the flying.

We will see family and friends, eat good food, drink some wine, cuddle babies, and go for walks in the autumn sunshine.

And that will be quite a blessing.

Love you very much,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

After we had finished our dinner downstairs at the Oregon Public House, we went upstairs to The Village Ballroom. This is a large open space with a lovely old wooden dance floor and small stage, which was used as a grange hall in the 1920s. We were there to see and hear the Ne Plus Ultra Jass Orchestra.

If this name sounds familiar, it’s because we went to the Clinton Theater before Halloween to hear this same group perform spooky, silly tunes from the early part of the 20th century. They specialize in vintage band music and are a joy to behold. The Village Ballroom is their home turf, where they have played show every month for two years. In keeping with the charitable intent of the Oregon Public House, half of the money from every show goes toward local charities.

Playing with them last night was Jennie Spada playing something you almost never see, a Theramin. This is an instrument that was invented by Leon Theramin in 1928, and relies on radio waves. You don’t touch it to play, but hold your hands just right, and the distance between your hands and the antennae creates interference which makes the eerie, science fiction-y sound. Jennie played with the band on a few tunes, and it was fascinating to watch, but clearly not what the Theramin was designed to do.

Samuel Murray Hawkins, as band leader and vocalist, was charming as ever, wearing a top hat and tails. The 10 piece orchestra all did very well at such tunes as “Louisiana Lullaby” and Duke Ellington songs like “Black and Tan Fantasy”, “The Mooch”, and “Black Beauty. ” Hawkins’s favorite novelty song, “Don’t Bring Lulu” was funny and delightful, telling all the mischief a young lady gets into and advising boys not to invite her along…then says that the singer will bring her himself.

At our table by the dance floor was Lily, the young lady we met at the Halloween concert, and some of her friends. Except for joining in the conga line, none of us got up to dance during the evening, but many other folks did!

It was so much fun watching young, nimble footed couples dance by elderly pairs who had been obviously been dancing together for decades. The dance floor had room for about 14 couples, and for many songs, it was quite full.

The couple that caught my attention, though, was a man and his grand daughter, who was about five years old. Their contrasting sizes were no impediment to their fun, with Grandpa swooping to lift her up into a swing, or spinning her gently by the hand. The little one was a good sport, too, remembering where the other dancers were so as not to trip anyone up.

After 2 hour-long sets and an encore, the band was tired and so were we. Grandpa Nelson called for a Lyft car and we were home and in pajamas by ten o’clock. What a fun evening!

Love,

Grandma Judy