Dear Liza

Katie Turns 4-0!!

Dear Liza,

Your Auntie Katie, my baby and your daddy’s little sister, turned 40 this past Friday.

It was a fun evening! Friends from all over ( even your Daddy in Denmark) got together on ZOOM, and three even traveled from Canada, California and Eugene, Oregon to come visit in person. We called Katie’s sweetie, Marion, mid-party and she came by to join the fun.

Grandpa Nelson, Auntie Bridgett and I brought good food from Pastini to feed everyone. Andrea, Auntie Katie’s business partner, brought a yummy cake and candles from Market of Choice.

There was lots of horsing around and silliness. Auntie Katie brought out her photo albums and we got to visit with long-gone friends and family.

And there were presents! Auntie Bridgett and I had picked out an embroidered pillow at GiftyKitty weeks ago, and now the two snuggling kitties look like Katie and Marion! It is so cute I almost exploded.

When it was time to get Cousins Kestrel and Jasper to bed, we dropped Jasper at his best friend’s house and brought Kes to sleep here so the Party Ladies could continue.
I am so glad we got to be together.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Everything’s Waking Up!

Dear Liza,

I don’t have anything planted in my garden yet, but a whole lot of plants are awake and blooming in the neighborhood.

Jonquils, sometimes called daffodils, are very showy.

There are tall ones over a foot high, who sort of look down on the other plants, and tiny little ones that bloom on stalks about three inches long.

And the deep purple of the crocuses is a nice contrast to the bright velvet green of the moss.

A few streets away, I found quince trees blooming in incredible combinations of colors. One of the ladies said I could come back in the fall and help her pick them. I’ve never made quince jam, but I’m willing to learn.

Happy Spring!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Stitching Memories

Dear Liza,

This past month in Better Homes and Gardens magazine, I saw an idea I really liked. I usually don’t go for their ideas; they are too fancy or expensive or just not my style.

But this one struck a chord with me. The idea is pretty simple, really. You have dinner guests sign your tablecloth with a pen (or in my case, pencil) that will wash out.

You embroider over the signature, then wash the tablecloth, and there is the beginning of a keepsake!

I think this struck a nerve because for so many years we could (and did) have dozens of friends to our house. Dinners, parties, pizza, you name it. But then two things happened in succession. First, we moved away from our home of 35 years, Salinas, to Portland, where we knew literally three adults.

And just as we were getting to know more folks, Covid kept us from having guests over. Having taken all those guests for granted now feels criminally negligent. I want to cherish their presence in our home, to have them with us even when they are gone.

With vaccines, we are able to have people over again! I started the new project last week with Auntie Katie and her friend Marion, and I like the way it looks. I hope to get this tablecloth really crowded with signatures before long.

Including yours, when you visit this spring!

Love,

Grandma Judy

First Day Back in the Garden

Dear Liza,

This past sunny, warm week was so wonderful, I got to get out to the Blair Community Garden.

I pulled up the over-wintering burlap, borrowed the pitchfork from the tool shed, and turned over the heavy, wet soil in my ten by ten foot plot.

I think I heard some earthworms grumbling that it seemed early.

I was happy with my newly-turned soil, and the lavender and catmint seem to have wintered well. I will come back next week and give them a trim.

Once I had woken up my own space, I went to find Ruth, the manager of the garden, and see what I could to to help the rest of the garden. It is a community garden, after all, and all the members of its community help make it the wonderful place it is.

She assigned me the delightful task of ‘waking up’ one of the side beds. This involved light raking (which I do with my hands to avoid breaking tiny new shoots) and pulling off the mulch that has protected the soil and roots during the winter.

This was the best part of the day. Feeling the damp, chilly soil between my fingers and discovering the new plants there was absolutely life-affirming. I felt like Mary Lennox in the Secret Garden, healing the earth as I healed myself. And when I got to repair the edging of the bed with Ruth’s nifty battery powered drill, that was the icing in the cake.

Of course, the next day I woke up, with a sore back, to rain. But the world keeps turning and I have plenty of aspirin, and spring will come.

Looking forward to more garden adventures!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Making Valentines

Dear Liza,

I had so much fun this year, making Valentine cards for those I love! Each one is personal to its recipient.

Auntie Katie has a love of strong colors and deep feelings.

Cousin Jasper is a twelve year old boy who loves food and video games.

Cousin Kestrel is a ten year old art loving, nature loving, fairy loving sweetie.

Auntie Bridgett loves blue, which is complementary to orange. I added words that help describe her, as well.

And for Grandpa Nelson, I used the box from his favorite Valentine candy.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Mouse Goes to Olympics

Dear Liza,

We have been enjoying the Winter Olympics broadcasts. And so has Mouse!

The other evening, Mouse was napping on Auntie Bridgett’s lap and the curling finals came on. She sat up and stared at the screen, then hopped from the couch to the counter. She watched the match for quite a while.

She sniffed at the sweeper the curlers use, trying to figure it all out.

She followed the progress of the stones down the sheets, twitching her ears as they ricocheted around. We still don’t know who she was cheering for.

When the snowboarding started, she got very excited and looked ready to pounce! She is a very athletic, entertaining kitten, for sure.

Have a great week!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Winter Light Festival

Dear Liza,

February is a dark, cold month, and that’s why this is the time for the Portland Winter Light Festival. About six years ago, Chris Herring, an artist and engineer from Portland, visited Lyon, France, and saw their festival. He decided that was just was needed here in Portland.

He got in touch with all sorts of other folks here in town, and they have created our Light Festival for these dark evenings.

Friday evening, we walked out to the two small installations that are closest to our house. It was really cold, so we didn’t go far. They are in the shop windows of an auto parts store and a vintage clothes shop.

A glowing origami style bunny was in one window and a weird, day-glow scene with bouffant hairdos and tiny aliens was in another.

There are bigger installations across town, but they are a long, cold walk away. maybe we will drive there tomorrow evening. But for now, here are some of them, taken from their website.

Pretty neat, huh?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Sweet Spring Sunshine

DearLiza,

We have enjoyed a whole week of pleasant sunshine and temperatures in the 50s, so we have been doing lots of walking.

Little lavender crocuses are sprouting all over, making light purple carpets under the still-bare trees. Standing in the sun feels so good, I see why they are coming up!

Down at Moore Coffee, we enjoyed watching this sophisticated pooch wait for a treat at the bar. Grandpa Nelson found a comfy spot by the fire ring, since it is still chilly in the shade.

And at Sunnyside School, we visited the chickens. Clever girls that they are, they got up on their coop to find some sun.

I hope your spring is coming along nicely.

Love,

Grandma Judy

New!! Bluto’s Greek Food

Dear Liza,

As sad as I have been to see favorite restaurants closing, I am delighted to see a new Greek place open just a few blocks down on Belmont. Auntie Bridgett and I had lunch today at this new casual restaurant which has the tagline “Woodfired, Greek inspired” .

We got there just before the lunch rush arrived, so we could eat and watch the folks come and go. We loved that the grill where they prepare all the meat was just behind the counter, so we could enjoy the sight and smell of it on this chilly day.

We ordered the lamb souvlaki and the chicken, along with some delightful soft bread and extremely garlic-forward tzitziki dip.

It was all delicious at a very good price, just about $10 per person.

The restaurant itself was bright and clean, featuring the blue and white color scheme so popular in Greece. The back wall was covered with a vertical garden, with tropical plants delightfully arching out of pockets.

And as it turns out, they also serve beer, cocktails and french fries, so you know we will be back!

Nice to know that change goes in both directions.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Still Duolingo-ing

Dear Liza,

I have now been practicing French with Duolingo every day for 800 days in a row! This is partly an advantage of being retired; I don’t need to get up and go anywhere first thing in the morning. Cereal, coffee, and Duolingo are my first activities. Partly it is having a reliable study-buddy in Auntie Bridgett.

And partly it is a big, buttery longing to return to La Belle France!

I remember our trip to Paris in 2006, when my ignorance of even basic French drove me to tears of frustration and made for some awkward moments.

It was better in 2008, when we included Angers, Angouleme and Nantes in our itinerary. Having studied with Rick Hughes, I could read the wonderful historic plaques. I could understand the menus and signage at train stations.

But I still couldn’t talk to anyone! French seemed to gallop by while my brain trudged at a snail’s pace.

When we returned a few years later, I had done some Duolingo and studied with Veronique Sepulchre, and I felt more capable. I was still speaking French like a backwards child, but I was speaking French!

And when we are finally able to travel internationally again, I plan to be Paris ready.

La ville de lumiere, je vais retourner!

Love,

Grandma Judy