Le Parc de la Tête d’Or

May 1

Dear Liza,

Once we had breakfast, we were ready for adventure. Grandpa Nelson had seen that the local zoo (you know he loves zoos) was at the parc just a few blocks north of us. The guidebook we had about Lyon didn’t mention it, but it looked interesting, so we wandered over.

On the way, we discovered lots of folks out selling these little bunches of flowers, called Muguettes de bois, for May Day. I bought one each for Grandpa and Bridgett, and we figured two tiny bouquets were enough to keep track of at a big park.

Since the First of May is a national holiday in France, lots and lots of people were heading to the park… families, toddlers on scoot bikes, small groups of friends… all carrying baskets, bags, even small take-away boxes from local restaurants, and blankets. I wondered what part of the park the picnic grounds were in.

It turns out, the whole park is a picnic area! It was different than in the States… no tables, barbecues, or stacked up cases of beer. No radios or other artificial music, just friends and families eating and relaxing together.

Every family on the move seemed to have a soccer ball they were slowly kicking along, scooters, or bikes. I loved how even with hundreds of people gathering, it was peaceful and quiet… less hollering parents or wailing children.

We walked through some greenhouses that protect exotic plants from Lyo ‘s cold winters, andSoon found the Zoo! Again, there were differences … the enclosures were greener, more overgrown, less tidy and raked. In other words, more like a natural habitat. Also, animals that are compatible were enclosed together. It was nice to see them hanging out!

We kept wandering and found the cafe at precisely the time I was getting hungry ( funny how that works). The cafe was right on the small lake, sheltered by Plane trees that have been here, doing just this job, for a hundred years or more.

There was also a goose who seemed to be posing for pictures on this set of steps! People would come by, their children would have a moment with the goose, and then they would part ways. It was wonderful.

Continuing through the park we saw Victorian greenhouses for the tropical plants, which varied in temperature from a bit sultry to absolutely sauna-like. We didn’t stay long, or we would have been poached!

And just about the time we were running out of energy, we had walked our way around the park and back to the entrance. Back through the neighborhood and to our apartment on Rue Cuvier.

Le Parc de la Tête d’Or is a jewel, and shame on the guidebook for leaving it out!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Lyon, at Long Last!

April 30

Dear Liza,

After an early flight from Portland to Seattle, a delayed flight from Seattle to Paris and a beautiful train ride south, we arrived in Sunny Lyon.

We spent our first night at the Hotel Edmund W., since our apartment wasn’t ready for us yet. This is a wonderfully old fashioned place, with an elevator just big enough for the three suitcases and Grandpa Nelson. Bridgett and I took the stairs. Good exercise!

After we settled in, Bridgett and I walked to the Rhône River, just about a mile away. We found a lovely garden with an old, classic fountain, celebrating the “people of Lyon“. Hard to argue with that. Cherubs and lions spitting spigots of water were all the rage a few hundred years ago.

We sat in the shade and enjoyed watching old guys playing pétanque, (a sort of bowling game) and folks walking by with kids, dogs, and bags of groceries. The People Show!

As so often happens, we managed to walk too far, always wanting to see ‘just one more thing”, and the heat almost got the better of us. A bottle of lemonade, then a cool bistro called “Les Bons Copains” for dinner, saved us. Delicious, life preserving cassoulet and croque monsieur !

That night, none of us slept well. Jet lag wanted us to awake at two in the morning, but exhaustion wanted us to sleep. Oy.

The next morning, once we all agreed we weren’t going to sleep anymore, we walked back toward the train station to Café Millet for pastries, coffee, and Fromage Blanche. This creamy stuff is a cross between yogurt and crémé fraîche. Incredibly yummy!

Once we were fed and caffeinated, we were ready for our adventure of the day; a visit to a garden with a strange name. I’ll you about that tomorrow

Love,

Grandma Judy

Last ATCs Stateside

Dear Liza,

We will be starting our French sojourn in a few days, and I am getting some extra art time before we leave. I am enjoying experimenting with mixed media and new (to me, anyway) ways of laying down color and pattern.

Friday, I started by choosing some acrylics that seemed to go together; Marina blue, Violet, and Light chocolate. I measured, but didn’t cut, my ATCs to be 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

Working with one color at a time and letting it dry, I put a drop of each color on the paper and scraped with an old driver’s license. I loved the swoops and how the colors overlapped!

That was a good start, but all those spaces seemed to need something. I picked up a #12 micron pen and drew some curves and dots. I kept it up until it seemed done. If I have learned anything in my short time learning art, it is when to stop.

I cut the cards apart and put my card on the back, and I’ll punch a hole so I can put them in my ring to share them in France.

Looking forward!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Our Avocado, Manuel

Dear Liza,

Living in Portland after so many years in California can sometimes be confusing. The different climate up here means that “outdoor” plant in Salinas become “indoor” plants in Portland.

This has lead to our having a small forest in our guest bathroom every winter. About five years ago, Auntie Bridgett decided to try and sprout an avocado seed. After a few duds, one took root, and has been growing ever since!

Here he is in 2021, the first picture after we were sure he was going to live. We were still keeping him inside.

A few years later, we put him out on the balcony for the warmer seasons, and he continued to do well.

And this year, he is nearly five years old and back out in the balcony for summer, as tall as the railing!

We may never get fruit from Manuel, but he has been a fine plant friend. I suppose I will need to have a plan for when her is too big for the bathroom… but that’s a worry for later.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Tiny Art Finished!

Der Liza,

That delightful tin box of art (the Time Capsule that I started with Ruthie Inman a few weeks ago) is finished!

It took a few days to finish up the accordion folded cards inside, and another day to get the box covered, but I really like it.

Since it is mostly about travel, I covered it, inside and out, with maps collected over the years. Mod Podge is a good adhesive for this.

I included bits from London, Copenhagen, France, Leiden, and “the castle-iest castle in Denmark”. There is even a bit from the book I made for you, “Adventure Grandma”.

Every time I look at it, I remember, and I smile.

The cards fold up nicely, but are a very tight fit in the tin. To get them out without damage, I laid in a ribbon to pull on and pop them out. It works great!

looking forward to my next adventure!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Auntie Beeswax is BACK!!

Dear Liza,

I am happy to announce that the Willamette Week, our local paper, has decided to bring back the comics! There have been several months with no comics, and folks have missed them.

So Jack Kent’s Sketchy People, Marcy King’s Transcend, Shannon Wheeler’s Too Much Coffee Man, and Mat Barton’s Gag of the Week are all joining Bridgett Spicer’s Auntie Beeswax on one big, bright comics page.

If you aren’t where you can pick up a copy, go to WillametteWeek.com and follow the directions to read the paper, just like it was in your hands.

I am so happy that Bridgett’s comics get to be out spreading joy and whimsy again. The world needs it now. A lot.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Auntie Beeswax is BACK!!

Dear Liza,

I am happy to announce that the Willamette Week, our local paper, has decided (after a bit of a public outcry) to bring back the comics! There have been several months with no comics, and folks have missed them.

So Jack Kent’s Sketchy People, Marcy King’s Transcend, Shannon Wheeler’s Too Much Coffee Man, and Mat Barton’s Gag of the Week are all joining Bridgett Spicer’s Auntie Beeswax on one big, bright comics page.

If you aren’t where you can pick up a copy, go to WillametteWeek.com and follow the directions to read the paper, just like it was in your hands.

I am so happy that Bridgett’s comics get to be out spreading joy and whimsy again. The world needs it now. A lot.

Love,

Grandma Judy

More Tiny Art

Dear Liza,

Every time I get together with the ZOOM Art group with Ruthie Inman, I get so full of ideas I could pop.

This past week she showed up these: tiny, accordion folded books that fit in a little tiny box. The samples she showed were people’s’ interpretations of their high school years, with black and white photos and bits and pieces from the fifties for illustrations.



I had a good time in high school. I met Grandpa Nelson there, and Ruthie. I learned a lot about who I am and what I believe in, on the way to becoming who I am. But it was just four years out of 69, and I didn’t want to make a whole art project about it.

First, we cut some heavy paper so it fit into the little Altoid tin. Then we made little hinges from paper and joined the cards together like an accordion.

I decided to start my “Time Capsule” in the 1950s, when I was born. Some old ads and papers worked nicely. Then came the 1960s with the Beatles. I had to rework my High School years because the colors weren’t cohesive with the others. In the re-do, the horse stands for our Mustang mascot .

Since I got married right out of school, the kids came next. Sticking with the vintage ads, I showed our girl and boy….

And started in on the adventures! Traveling to France, learning French, and getting out in the world. I like how it folds up!

I am trying to choose colors that are cohesive so it looks like they belong together. Bridgett tells me this is color theory, which I have always rebelled against. Oh well.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Artist’s Trading Cards Run Amok

Dear Liza,

I started making these little Artists Trading Cards last week and now I can’t stop!!

I started with collages of soft backgrounds and black and white photos. The words came mostly from the J. Peterman Catalogue.

Then I used the same soft focus backgrounds for some neurographic art, which seems to be just lines which cross and create negative space. I like how the flower shapes play with the flowing black lines. I gave some of the spaces dots, and some a wash of color. they don’t say anything, but they’re pretty.

I love so many things about ATCs. They are small, just 2.5 by 3.5 inches, so you can make them out of next to nothing. When you get bored with one medium, you can switch and not be stuck with a whole canvas to cover. And you can share them! I’ve mailed some, but I’m also making some to take on our trip.


Just before my hand gave out for the day, I picked up some scraps from the cards I’d made and a page from an old, old book, and made three more.

Who knows what I’ll make next?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Another Way to Share ATCs

Dear Liza,

You know how creative people are… once they get an idea, they follow it to the next, and the next. That’s sort of what is happening with my ATCs, or Artist Trading Cards.

Once I got the right size figured out, I laid down some floral bits of art from a donated calendar. To make them a softer background, I brushed on some white acrylic. I cut them to the proper 2.5 by 3.5 inches.

Then, to contrast with that lovely pastel, I searched the calendar again and found black and white photos or darker images to add. I really liked the way each one told a story.

But I’m a word person, snd I wanted words. I found them in Auntie Bridgett’s ‘French Phrase a Day’ calendar. Taking our current national situation into consideration, I added phrases. (I will let you look them up…) These were really coming along!

Then, to top it all off, Ruthie Inman suggested punching a hole in each one and keeping them on a ring! A portable, share-able art gallery! I am having fun imagining when I might share these on a train traveling through France, or sitting in a park. Of course, they have my information card on the back so folks will be able to find me on the ‘net.

Ain’t art grand?

Love,

Grandma Judy