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.
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.
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).
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!
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.
Our Portland spring keeps turning out more flowers, and I just can’t keep up!
The chestnut blooms are about six inches tall and smelling sweet.
As the daffodils and hyacinths fade a bit, the tulips have come up. Giant red ones…
and tiny yellow ones.
Wisteria blooms are climbing all over front porches, smelling sweet as candy.
And every tiny yard is edged with the fallen peels of cherry trees, drifting like soft pink snow.
Spring always feels extra-exuberant in Portland, maybe because every single living thing is so grateful for the warmth and sunshine after our damp, chilly winters.
My jellyfish costume for SOAK is coming along! First, I had to make sure the battery packs for the electric tentacles would fit in my hat and work properly.
Then I made elastic straps so they would stay put inside the hat.
Once the mechanics were set, I needed to start making it look like a jellyfish! Sparkly fabric and tule got gathered and stuffed…
Then a ruffle for the brim got gathered.
None of the ruffled bits are glued or sewn on, just resting in place, so I can make adjustments as needed.
But I am sewing the tentacles on!
And here’s what I have so far.
Next, I give the hat-skirt thing a gather and add lots more tentacles, then see how the lights look with everything.
When Auntie Bridgett and I left the Quilt Show, we weren’t ready for our day out to be over. We knew two things… we needed lunch, and we wanted to see some new things. So we headed downtown.
For lunch, we got off the Yellow Line at Pioneer Square and walked up the curvy steps to the food carts. Nine dollars got us lunch at The Whole Bowl, with one bowl being enough for the two of us! We enjoyed listening to the waterfall fountain and watching people and pigeons enjoy the sunshine.
When we were full, we headed to the Main Branch of the Multnomah Library. I had visited with Cynthia a month ago, but Bridgett hadn’t seen it. Besides, there’s always something new.
For example, did you know that the library carries books in Danish? Two different staff librarians hunted for, and eventually Bridgett found, two of Portland native Beverly Cleary’s books translated into Danish, so I can use them to practice this difficult language.
In the map room, I started opening drawers at random and found this magnificent Trimet map of the light rail lines in Portland , shown as a video game! It was huge, accurate, and adorable.
And up on the third floor I found a large display of various interpretations of Shakespeare! T-shirts, comic books, and posters for movie adaptations filled glass cases. This poster is from a movie I had never heard of, (but will watch this evening, if it’s available.) Family friendly” versions, with the bawdy bits removed, were attempted in the 1800s, and have been carefully preserved.
I even had a flash of cross-reference bedazzlement when I saw this quote from Much Ado About Nothing and realized Lin-Manuel Miranda had used it in the flirting scene in Hamilton. (The rhyme is “I’m a trust fund baby, you can trust me.”)
By this time our brains were full and our feet were tired, so we caught the Magic 15 and headed home. What a day!
On Friday, Auntie Bridgett and I went up to the Portland Expo Center to see the Annual Quilt show put on by the Northwest Quilters Inc..
The weather was warm and sunny, so we took transit.
The number 75 took us north and through a lot of neighborhoods we had never seen before. It then headed west through the Kenton neighborhood and past the Paul Bunyun Statue. After about 30 minutes it let us off at the Yellow Train Line station on Lombard Street, and we caught the train to the Expo.
The Quilt show was an amazing combination of the art and craft of quilting and the business of selling sewing machines, quilting supplies, and sewing kits.
I was very impressed not with just the skill and care shown in piecing the quilts, but with the originality in techniques and subjects.
There was even a wonderful, small, old, Crazy Quilt, which was the one piece I would have brought home if I could.
I will tell you about the rest of the adventure tomorrow!
This week we had some of those perfect spring days. Cool and sunny, no wind, and just right for an adventure.
I also needed supplies for my jellyfish costume for SOAK, and Joann Fabrics and Crafts is down in Happy Valley. That is a half hour trip via the number 15 bus and the Green Line train.
So before lunch, Grandpa Nelson and I set out. I love taking transit through new neighborhoods. Since I’m not busy navigating, I can appreciate the trees, murals, and houses.
Our transfer from the bus to the train was easy, giving us time to enjoy the sunlight and some public art before whisking us down to Happy Valley.
The exhausting part of the day was the long walks across the ginormous parking lots!! My whole neighborhood of Sunnyside could fit in The Home Depot lot. Cars are space hogs.
After a quick lunch at Carl’s Jr., I found just what I needed at Joann. Lavender tule and sparkly fabrics, ribbons and yarn and some interesting ruffled lace will make a lovely jellyfish.
I drew the design on the back of a junk mailing so I have it in my head.
Our trip home was quick and easy, and after a bit of a lay down, I was ready for the rest of the day.
Dear Liza 