Dear Liza

A Christmas Carol

Dear Liza,

Christmastime always makes me think of Charles Dickens. In the 1800s, he wrote stories about life in London. Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, and Oliver Twist made him popular all over the world.

But to me, his greatest work is a novella he wrote in a hurry just before Christmas in 1843 because he was out of money. This was A Christmas Carol, in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. Starting with the eerie line, “Jacob Marley was dead, to begin with” , he weaves a tale of greed and regret, love and loss and redemption, that warms my heart every time I read it.

When I was teaching third grade, I used this story as the basis of of our literature lessons in December. I would read an abridged version of the story aloud over the course of several days. We would brainstorm words to describe Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge and then track his movement on Christmas Eve from reality to dream-like state, then back to reality. The story follows a classic Hero’s Journey, with the unlikely hero returning to real life with his reward of self-awareness and the joy of redemption.

For art lessons during those weeks, we learned about drawing faces to illustrate personality traits. Scrooge’s anger showed in pinched lips and wrinkled brows; Tiny Tim’s eternal optimism shone from his thin face.

And, in my humble opinion, the best re-telling of this story was made in 1992 by Brian Henson and his team of geniuses, The Muppets. Yes, the Muppets, Jim Henson’s puppets that we know and love. So, after we had analyzed and explored the story, we would watch the movie!

Human Michael Caine plays Scrooge to Kermit the frog’s Bob Cratchit, Gonzo’s Charles Dickens and a cast of mice, cows, and Christmas ghosts. The silliness of the Muppets softens the grim tale of Scrooge facing his greatest failings and his greatest fears all in one evening.

And because the Muppet version of the story includes songs, we interpreted lyrics. We noticed that songs sung by Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim have mostly words like “gift” and “light”, where the song describing Scrooge is heavy with words like “grim”, and the painfully true line, “There’s nothing in nature that freezes your heart like years of being alone.” I would write the songs out on long sheets of paper and circle words as we discussed them, creating a ‘Found Word’ poem in the process.

And of course, the overall message of hope for the future shows that while we cannot undo mistakes of the past, every day (in this case, Christmas Day) is ours to grasp and move forward with.

As you can tell, I loved teaching this story. Seeing students who were struggling with English grasp a new word because of its emotional impact, or hearing small groups singing the lyrics at our class party, brought tears to my eyes.

I recommend The Muppet Christmas Carol to anyone older than 7 and on this side of the grave.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Mushrooms!

Dear Liza,

It is ironic that we have gotten to know more of our neighbors during the Covid quarantine. We exchange baked goodies with John and Stacy across the way, and have waved at tiny baby Jack, born just a few weeks ago.

And we have gotten to know Jason. He is a chef for one of the local restaurants and has been very generous with his supply of mushrooms. Since I am pretty much a mushroom new-comer, this is very exciting.

First he gave us a small bag of dried Candy Tops. These are tiny and brown, and look very much like the forests I walked through as a kid, camping by the Rogue River. They are a species that only grows here in Oregon, and are highly prized because of their unusual smell. If you close your eyes, you could swear you were sniffing a bottle of maple syrup! Jason directed me to some on-line sites and there are a dozen recipes for Candy Top caramel, cookies, and other goodies.

And then came the Chantarelles. These are more widely known, and even I had heard of them. Large, fat, and meaty, these have a more traditional mushroom taste. I cooked them up in plenty of butter and a bit of pepper and oregano and made a nice mushroom sauce for our Turkey burgers last night.

It makes perfect sense that in this wet, cool season, the forests should produce such a mushroom bounty. Mushroom hunting can be a dangerous thing, though, because poisonous mushrooms often look like wholesome ones. We are so blessed that our neighbors, who know which is which, share theirs with us.

Ain’t life grand?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Donna’s Cookies

Dear Liza,

Auntie Bridgett’s momma Donna makes really good sugar cookies. I mean, REALLY good. And this year, with no travel, we had to make our own!

Fortunately, Donna gave us HER recipe, so we are just fine. We creamed the butter, eggs, and vanilla together, then sifted in the flour, baking powder and a dash of salt, mixed it up and put it in the fridge. While it chilled I hunted for cookies cutters. We don’t have many, since I passed most of them onto Auntie Katie long ago. But we had enough to make it work.

I made some to be left plain, because Grandpa Nelson prefers the cookies just by themselves, and some to make pretty to share with neighbors. I even changed from my usual buttercream and tried royal icing, a new (to me) type of cookie icing that dries smooth and shiny.

When the icing was fresh, it was very runny and hard to control, but after it sat in the fridge (in an airtight container) for a while, it worked much better.

I used the piping bag and Auntie Bridgett used her skill with a butter knife, and together we made some pretty cookies.

Now they just need to dry overnight (covered and protected from curious kittens!) and they will be ready to pass along. Baking is something I do to make me happy, and something I can share with others. It takes the love I have inside and allows me hand it out on little plates.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Happy Hanukkah!

Dear Liza,

Our household celebrates both Christian and Jewish holidays, so this time of year is extra festive. We have our Christmas tree up and the menorah on the table. We have delivered small gifts across town to Auntie Katie and the cousins and wrapped presents for each other in red and green paper.

Our brass menorah, bought from the now-closed Do Re Me Music in Carmel about 38 years ago, was the first piece of Judaica we owned. We love it because it is an abstraction of the word “Hanukkah”, which means dedication, and is different from any menorah we have ever seen. We keep it on the piano all year ‘round, as a piece of art.

The only problem with it is that when the lower candles are all lit, the upper one tends to ….. well….. melt. A slight design flaw. But a small price to pay.

This year we are not making latkes. They are traditional and I love eating them, but for just Auntie Bridgett and me (Grandpa Nelson doesn’t like them) it is a lot of grating and frying mess. Also, we have an extremely nervous smoke detector. So we will pass for now and hope for better things next year.

Because it usually happens so close to Christmas, people sometimes try to make Hanukah an equivalent holiday, but it just isn’t. It is not nearly as important to Judaism as Passover, Rose Hosannah, or Yom Kippur.

But in the middle of a cold dark season, candles are always good.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Going in Circles

Dear Liza,

I have told you about the art journal I have been working in.

In October, Ruth Inman urged us to make pictures following prompts like “haunted house” or “sea life”.

In November we were given loose lists of supplies like “junk mail” or “cranberry can label”.

One of my favorite pictures was one made with a printed photo of Cousin Kestrel, a fruit bag, and bits of magazines. It shows her as a flower fairy, which is just about right.

On my own, I’ve been working in the Journal. As a matter of fact, I am on my last page! For my last piece in the book, I have returned to a favorite shape. Yesterday, I borrowed Auntie Bridgett’s ek 1 1/4 inch hole cutter and started chopping circles out of papers in my recycling box.

But, art being art, when I laid down the background with acrylics and various textures, it looked like outer space! I would need other colors.

Layers of color and pattern for background

I found an old Sunset magazine and looked for cool toned colors and patterns. After lots of playing, I figured where I wanted to put the ‘planets’, and Mod Podged them into place. A few more white flicks from an old toothbrush, and I was done.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy doing art everyday. With fewer outside adventures to keep me busy, being creative and having fun have allowed me to be active and learn something new every day.

Love,

Grandma Judy

My Favorite Things

Dear Liza,

I took this picture the other day, just after a long morning’s rain. It reminded me of a song written by Oscar Hammerstein II called “My Favorite Things”. I wanted to see how many of the other lyrics I have accidentally photographed. Here goes:

Raindrops on roses

And whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles

And warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things!

Girls in White dresses with blue satin sashes

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that melt into springs

These are a few of my favorite things!

When the dog bites,

when the bee stings,

When I’m feeling sad,

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don’t feel……. so bad!

I hope you enjoy my favorite things, too.

Love,

Grandma Judy

What’s in the Bag?

Dear Liza,

I told you about our advent calendar, which Auntie Bridgett made from 20 small, beautifully decorated bags in a basket.

We have been opening them for a few days now, and I wanted to show you what we’ve found.

There is candy, of course. Dark chocolate for Auntie Bridgett, milk chocolate kisses for Grandpa Nelson, and fun-size Paydays for me.

I also hunted up some fun historic trivia online, such as :

What was the first purpose-written Christmas song? Answer: “Jesus Refulsit Omnium”, or “Jesus, Light of all Nations”, by St. Hilary of Poitier in AD 375.

How old is a six-foot Christmas tree? About 15 years old, depending on species.
Who said “How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, his precepts!” Ben Franklin
When was Christmas dinner illegal in America? The 1600s. Puritans forbade any and all merry making at Christmas, which they held to be a serious time.
I even created a crossword puzzle (which, by the way, is harder than it looks) and my clever people solved it in record time. Some bags hold games that will take half an hour to play, and some just a little question. After all, we have lots of Christmas movies to watch!
Love,
Grandma Judy

Cats at Christmas

Dear Liza,

You know our cat, Mouse, is part of our family. She is 9 years old already, older than you! She enjoys many of the same things we do.
Snuggling….

Listening to stories….

Decorating for Christmas,

and getting to know the neighbors.

Sometimes she is even part of the decor.

So of course she gets Christmas presents.

I have sewn cat toys for our Mouse and Auntie Katie’s cat, Pixel. Pixel is 15, and a real old lady cat, but she likes toys, too.

It doesn’t take much! Some felt leftover from other projects, part of an old shredded sheet for stuffing, and some cat nip from the grocery store. A little bit goes a long way! And since cats are not very critical, this is a low-stress art project.

I like being able to celebrate Christmas with all my loved ones, even the furry ones!

Love,

Grandma Judy

900th Blog!!!

Dear Liza,

June 30, 2017, almost three and a half years ago, was the day of my first blog. I had come up to Portland by plane, then the Red Line train to get to downtown, where I had lunch and met an itinerant poet named Shannon. Then I took a bus to Auntie Katie’s house. The next day I picked up the keys to our first apartment here in Portland. I signed papers, measured the new place, and flew back to Salinas.

Shannon the Poet in front of Powell’s, 2017

That day was a good omen of my life in the city so far. I have pushed myself to walk further, get around on public transit, explore further afield, chat with all sorts of folks, and spend more time on my own.

Auntie Katie and I going out to “Hamilton”

I have written about dinners out, concerts, zoos, and parks here in Portland;

vacations to Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.;

trips back to Salinas to see you and your family and friends;

and some less-fun trips to hospitals and doctor’s offices.

And lately, I’ve written about coping with NOT being able to do those things.

Writing this blog, now 900 essays long, is part of the coping. Writing how I feel makes it real and solid and more manageable.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Our Advent

Dear Liza,

Advent means when something important finally arrives, and Christmas Advent is the expectant time before Christmas. It is usually celebrated from the first of December to Christmas Day.

We start doing Christmas-y things like baking and holiday movies on December First, but our Advent Calendar only has 20 days ( it’s a long story) and it runs until Christmas Eve, so we start on the fourth. That’s today!

Auntie Bridgett made this pretty Advent Calendar a few years ago, from brown sacks and wonderful vintage Parisian Christmas pictures. In Salinas, it was suspended on a string by the fireplace. Here in Portland, it has found a home in a basket by the tree.

Inside each bag in a bit of fun Christmas trivia, a game to play, or a puzzle. There is also a candy treat and maybe a small gift. Each is held shut by a clothes pin with a curly number to keep things in order.

And since today is December 5th, we will open the first bag this evening! Hooray for Christmas!

Love,

Grandma Judy