I have been taking a break from the Crazy Quilt for a while, but am now back at it. I have gotten better at piecing, and can do two six inch blocks in about 30 minutes.
After three blocks, I take a break because the hunching over to sew and iron makes my back tired.
Once I get a good stack of blocks done, I start embroidering. This is fun, because I just start stitching along the edges of the piecing.
Sometimes I go astray, and that’s fun too. I can even sew around the edges of the flowers. It’s up to me.
So now, I’m working on about the 50th block. I’ll need about 140, so my first Crazy Quilt is still a long way from being done!
Visiting the zoo with kids can sometimes feel like visiting wild animals while accompanied by wild animals. But as my grandkids become older, taller, and more human-like, I can actually pay proper attention to the animals that call the Oregon Zoo home.
There is a family of Snowy Owls that had tiny chicks a few months ago, and the chicks are now as big as their parents. They are only identifiable by their spotted baby-plumage. Aren’t they adorable?
Naked Mole Rats are not exactly cuddly, but they are interesting. Besides, anyone who likes broccoli can’t be all bad.
In the Cascade Canyon area, there was this very large, very hibernating bear… about two feet away. We went by on tiptoe.
We found an ibis hanging out with the flamingos and the spoonbills. Kestrel just finished learning about them in her Egypt studies, but this was the first live one she had ever seen. He was delightfully ancient .
And finally, after climbing on Jim Gion’s lion statues and riding the Merry Go Round, we spotted this odd rhinoceros in the train station. He looks like he has had enough of television, too.
I got to spend the other day with Cousins Jasper and Kestrel. We took the train to the Oregon Zoo and spent a few hours, and it was a wonderful day on so many levels.
Spending time with these smart, funny young people is always a joy for me. At the incredible ages of 14 and 12, they bring different music and movie references, and always teach me something.
But mostly, we just walk around and play with whatever comes handy.
The eagle exhibit has a nest to be silly in,
And Jim Gion’s lion statues become set designs for more hanging out.
As you can see, Kestrel is now officially one bronze lioness long.
When we had seen all the animals, had lunch and were just about done, we caught the train back downtown and then home.
Kestrel remembered taking pictures at certain places, so we took new ones, to compare.
The one with Kestrel’s white dress was taken just last year. Here’s the same pose now.
I cannot believe how quickly everyone is growing! Everyone gets older, except me, I guess. I’m still the biggest kid in the place.
As the saying goes, getting old isn’t for sissies. When we are young, like you, our bodies do what we tell them easily and smoothly. But older muscles get stiff and older bones get brittle, and it takes some work to stay active. Lately, Grandpa Nelson’s back has been bothering him on our long walks, and something needed to be done.
So it was off to the Providence Sports Medicine Center downtown. It is a very bright and busy place, focused on keeping people strong and healthy. It is built into the same building as the Providence Park, where folks go to watch the Timberwolves and Thorns soccer teams play. You can even get a good view of the soccer pitch from the waiting room!
We met Janna, who asked and answered questions and helped Grandpa do some exercises that will help make his back stronger. He did a good job sticking with them, and some even looked fun. You know I’m going to borrow those stretchy rubber band things.
When we had learned how to do the exercises and made an appointment for next week, we headed off. We walked to Pioneer Square, which is called “Portland’s Living Room” and saw that Christmas preparations are already up and running!
The giant Christmas tree is up and waiting for decorations, and even the Christmas tubas are warming up.
I am hoping that with Grandpa’s new exercises, we will be able to do more walking once winter passes and spring gives us some sunshine.
When we moved to Portland six years ago, we moved a lot of things that we don’t use. Family heirlooms and sentimental items fill boxes and boxes, and that’s okay. We are not just Day-to-day creatures. We carry bits of our past with us.
One of these historical bits is this embroidered clock from the early 1960s. Here is a picture of what it looked like when it was brand new, in a photo from eBay where you can buy it for $125 !! But we’re going to try and keep the original.
Grandpa Nelson’s mother Mona made it from a Good Housekeeping kit when he was little, so it is about 60 years old. It has been dirty and is getting worse as the years go by.
I asked him if it was okay for me to try and salvage it, and he was willing. So I am giving it a go. I took the glass door off and unscrewed the case so I could get to the fabric. It was glued to a piece of masonite. Ugh.
I pulled out an Xacto knife and started gently peeling back the very old, frail fabric. I focused on keeping the knots attached so the embroidery would stay intact. This caused some tears, sadly, both around the edges and near the clock face. I’m not sure what how to repair them, but I will figure it out.
Now that it is free of the Masonite, I need to figure out how to stabilize the delicate fabric so I can wash it without damaging it. I am doing lots of looking on YouTube and crafty sites to figure this out.
I will let you know how this all works out, and show you too!
This last May, I added a tiny new transplant to my bonsai, which I call The Hundred Acre Wood. I had carefully uprooted it, brought it home, and tucked it in.
Mr. Naito, so named because ( I believe) it is a Japanese Maple and Mr. Naito was an important Japanese American here in Portland, has had a successful summer. He has stayed green and gotten stronger. He has even bent the way I encouraged him to, to give him some style.
And now it is Autumn and Mr. Naito and the newly-shaped Larch are changing, getting ready to lose their leaves and rest for the winter. The bunchy juniper is an evergreen.
I will keep an eye on the Wood during the winter, making sure it is covered during freezing weather and kept damp, and hope for new green leaves come spring!
I heard the protest before I saw it. A line of about thirty elementary school teachers and their allies, using an upturned bucket as a drum, marched around the Sunnyside neighborhood to support and draw attention to the difficulties our local schools are having.
The problems are familiar to anyone who has been a teacher: Low pay, high class size, and lack of support from Administration. My SETC colleagues and I marched to fight these in Salinas, winning some, losing some, but always working together as a Union.
I offered cookies to the marchers, then asked where I might leave some to be enjoyed later. (Picketing is hungry work!) I was directed to the support tent, set up on the play yard of Sunnyside.
It was staffed by PTSA President Steph and Library Clerk Becca, who had a collection of pastries and fruit, hot coffee and conversation, to keep morale high.
This picket line was familiar, but also uniquely Portland. Some teachers carried litter grabbers and buckets, making the route more tidy as they went.
There were also more dogs than usual. Kids came along, of course. Schools will be closed until the strike is settled. Wish the teachers luck!
This year, Auntie Bridgett gave herself a challenge. She would watch a Halloween movie every evening of October and draw a cartoon of it. Lucky for me, we like the same kinds of movies!
Here is our list so far, and a few of her delightful drawings.
Bell, Book and Candle Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (with Frederick March… we couldn’t finish it. Ick.) Boxtrolls Young Frankenstein Ghost and Mr. Chicken Hotel Transylvania 1,2,3 and 4 (First is the best!) Arsenic and Old Lace Nightmare before Christmas (My first time, and I didn’t care for it.)
The Blob (with Steve McQueen) Hocus Pocus 1 and 2 Paranorman Dracula (the original) Haunted mansion (NOT Eddie Murphy’s) Skeleton dance (old Disney short) Haunting in Venice Frankenweenie Blithe Spirit (with Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford!) Ichabod and Mr. Toad It’s the Great pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The animated Addams Family (2019)
Room on the Broom
Monster House
Oh no!! We have run out of October before we ran out of movies!!
Well, I survived! Being a volunteer for the Friends of Lone FiR Cemetery’s Tour of Untimely Departures was the longest, most exhausting, and most rewarding days I have spent since my retirement from teaching.
During the set-up, my new-found friend volunteer Jennifer and I raked leaves from the ‘off-road’ routes for the North and South tours. Each tour is about a mile… so two miles for raking.
Here is Jennifer later, in her Tour Guide regalia. Isn’t she beautiful?
Then we set out the solar powered tiki torches that mark and illuminate each actor’s position. Two more miles. Then it was time to walk home for lunch, a change into costume, and a rest. Half a mile each way.
When I checked in for the Tour, J Swofford met the actors, tour guides and assorted helpers with pizzas, making sure we knew where to be and what to do. Folks practiced their lines and prepared for the long evening.
During the evening, I was a ghoul. This role calls for walking among the tours at a distance, keeping an eye out for stragglers and making sure actors have what they need. It allowed me to see the beautiful Line Fir Cemetery at sunset and twilight.
Part of my evening was spent at the Exit gate, directing people to the Entrance, answering questions, and stopping folks from sneaking in. Luckily, I had found a lovely stick, about six feet long, which became a handy, authority-lending staff.
At 10:00, when the last of the visitors had left and the exhausted actors headed off, I helped gather the luminaries and Auntie Bridgett and Grandpa Nelson came to walk me home.
Dear Liza 