Alberta neighborhood

On My Way!

Dear Liza,

I can’t believe that I am on my way to you, and will be seeing you Saturday for lunch in Billund, Denmark!

This past week has been busy. I spent part of every day taking care of Maggie and Hopey, Auntie Katie’s cats, while she was in Chicago.

I also got to water her garden, which is always lovely and refreshing.

I had a nice walk around the Alberta neighborhood with Cynthia. I have never spent much time there, but it is green and interesting, with lots of history and quirkiness of its own.

It is an eclectic mix of urban and parks, with native plant gardens right next to apartments and tiny toy exchanges.

I even got to spend an afternoon with Cousins Jasper and Kestrel at the Portland Art Museum. Most of the museum is closed for a major renovation. However, along with the Post Impressionists exhibit, a few galleries upstairs are filled with a delightfully random collection of art from the museum’s collection.

Each Cousin picked a favorite piece to be photographed with. Jasper’s is a ‘quilt’ made from computer circuit boards, which makes perfect sense, him being a science and technology kind of guy.

Kestrel chose this enormous still life with incredibly realistic flowers and fruit. It looked so fresh, you could almost smell the strawberries!

And now I am all done packing for our trip. We will spend a few days in Leiden, the Netherlands, get over our jet lag, and then come see you and your folks. I don’t have any pictures of that, of course, but this gets the feeling across…

I am so excited!!!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Saturdays are for Fabric, Coffee, and Art

Dear Liza,

After we had our usual ZOOM chat with you and your folks Saturday morning, Auntie Bridgett and I headed off for an adventure. We drove up to Bolt Fabric. I needed to have my scissors sharpened and to pick up some new fabric for the ongoing crazy quilt.

The store has moved since November, and it took a while to find it! The new shop is at Alberta and 29th, and is a larger store, with lots more selection and fun displays. I left my scissors with Sharpener Marc Matis, who has a shop on Sandy called Sharpening 4 U, and we looked around a bit.

I was feeling a little light headed, so we found The Great North for coffee and pastries across the street. This place is also new, and very bright and sunny. And delicious!

We found the fabric I needed, along with some thread, since I have been going though a lot of it with the quilt, and picked up the nicely sharpened scissors from Marc. I love that his business sticker is on a bandaid!

On the way back to the car, we found a tiny new art gallery called The Blind Insect. Pepe Moscosos displays his art as well as other artists’ work. I like Pepe’s work, though they were hard to photograph because of the strong afternoon sunlight. He has traveled to photograph deserted places in the U.S.and then uses the photos as the basis for story-evoking multi-media art. I enjoyed making up stories about them.

When we are done, and done in, we drove home and I washed the new fabrics.

Some will work for the Crazy Quilt and some won’t, but they are all pretty… and certainly won’t go to waste!

Have fun, dear Liza!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Alberta in the Autumn Sunshine

Dear Liza,

More businesses are figuring out, after many long months, how to open up and still keep folks safe from the corona virus. And I am glad, because I am starting to run out of things.

My new projects take both paint and embroidery floss, since I am painting maps on fabric and then sewing over them.

Last week we walked the mile to Collage in Division Street. It is a small and nicely stocked shop, using very strict hygiene and social distancing rules. I got basic colors of acrylic paint so I can mix whatever I need.

But I also needed thread, and their selection leaned toward the neon. Not what I needed. Well, the good news is, there is another Collage! The only wrinkle is that it is four miles away, too far for a comfortable walk.

So Auntie Bridgett and I got the car out and drove to Alberta, a funky, artsy neighborhood north of us. We found the Collage Annex, with its 95% off sale, and then the shop itself. Auntie Bridgett was in her happy place, visiting all the paints, pens, and markers.

I am more goal oriented, and found my floss quickly. But it was fun wandering around, anyway. We each chose a few things, paid the happy, helpful fellow, and headed down the street. Alberta is always a lively neighborhood, with lots of street art, music, and folks out and about.

We drove up Alberta Street, happy to see that so many of the shops and cafes we like are still open. We headed for groceries and then home, so I could start using my new toys!

I don’t know where this painting and sewing thing will lead next. The time I spend sewing (and it is a slow process) lets my mind wander. But I will keep you posted.

Love,

Grandma Judy

North to Alberta, Part 2

Dear Liza,

After I had explored old buildings and seen monuments, I found what I had originally headed north for, a fabric shop called Modern Domestic. It is bright and well laid out, and carries the variety of fabrics I have been looking for.

Martha, who is the ‘new kid’ at the store, and I had a wonderful conversation about the colors of Portland, and what I would need to do the city justice in my quilt. Greys, for the clouds, she said, and reds for the bricks. It was nice to talk to someone who understood what I was aiming at.

After moving bolts of fabric around, I found a perfect Easter Egg, a collection of Fat Quarters from Robert Kaufman in the colors and textures I had been looking for. I tucked it under my arm and continued looking, because the collection was lacking a forest green. Martha helped me find it, hiding in a corner across the shop. Everyone was so helpful, even letting me recharge my phone while I shopped.

Then I headed off in search of lunch! It is amazing how hungry I suddenly realized I was. I knew Martin Luther King Jr. was a main drag, so I just walked north, knowing something would turn up.

And something did. Aberus Ethiopian Food was on the next corner, a small restaurant, totally empty the whole time I was there, but the food was delicious. I told the lady (cook and waitress) that this was my first time eating Ethiopian food, but that I wasn’t afraid of spice. She recommended Doro Wat, a chicken and chili dish served on a large disc of spongy bread, a hard boiled egg, cheese, and salad. It was spicy, messy, and a wonderful experience. I left with leftovers.

Now sated and ready for home, I caught the number 6 south. Walking between Grand and MLK, I found a fellow leaning against a building who seemed to need the leftovers more than I did, so I gave them to him. We chatted for a minute, then my bus came.

After I had rested, Auntie Bridgett and I went for a walk. I keep finding new things! Did you know gingko trees have nuts? I didn’t! But now I do, and here is what they look like.

The rest of the evening was spent watching the Giants beat the Padres and playing with Mousekin.

Love,

Grandma Judy