Books – Dear Liza

Another Brain-Eating Project…. Done!

Dear Liza,

Just before Christmas, I started this 50 year scrapbook, as a 50th Anniversary gift for Grandpa Nelson, a fun project, and a way for me to revisit all these wonderful, busy years together.

I collected old photos, scanned and printed them, trimmed, collaged, typed and swore quite a bit. I typed the minimal text on Auntie Bridgett’s vintage Corona typewriter, shifting from third to first person as I went.

With all the cutting, I managed to aggravate a wrist injury so I am having to invent new ways of pouring coffee and folding clothes while it heals.

But I love it! It isn’t perfect; it is even missing (at least) one trip to Hawai’i. But it has served its purpose! It made Grandpa Nelson chuckle, let me play with paper, and fed my brain with re-visited memories.

And it got us all caught up and ready for whatever the heck comes next…. All while barely fitting in the recycled book it was built in!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Starting From Scratch

Dear Liza,

I have stated using some of those pieces of art calendar that Jennifer sent up! After several days of looking and sorting and staring, I decided to start with these few.

Because they all had a sort of golden, brown antique-ish look, with touches of red, I used acrylic paints and an old card to make some papers to complement the art.

This was a bit too yellow, so I added some brown and scraped it down a bit.

This seemed a good start, but it needed another color. Red, maybe, but not RED.

These two mixed together to make (mostly) what I was looking for. Once I got a few done, I started laying the bits down to see how they looked.

As with any artistic process, this went on for quite a while. Lay it down, go do something else, come back, have a look, trim some pictures, move some bits.

This is as far as I have gotten as of now, but I’ll let you know as it progresses. I think it needs another layer of something, and some darker bits.

I love collage! No special skill is needed, or special training. There is only a need for bits to glue down, and an opinion about “what looks good”.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Happy, Tasty Thanksgiving!

Dear Liza,

Our Thanksgiving was busy and full of food and family.

It started quietly, with Auntie Bridgett and I watching the Macy’s Parade. We enjoy the floats, musical numbers, and the marching bands. But the special thing about the Macy’s parade is the giant balloons. This one, being a minion, is particularly adorable.

We got the appetizers set out for when Auntie Katie, the cousins, and Douglas came over. It’s it a pretty spread?

Once the company arrived, we chatted, and then the ukuleles came out. Katie and Douglas practice a lot, and they sing well together. Cousin Jasper brought his drumsticks and played a nice accompaniment on Kestrel’s heavy leather purse.

Once the dinner was ready (thanks to Bridgett’s good help!) we all settled down and ate ourselves silly. Of course, we kept an eye on the desserts waiting for us!

But first, a walk. Grandpa Nelson was worn out, but the rest of us layered up and made a pleasant round of Laurelhurst Park.The sun was going down as we visited with the ducks and wished them a happy turkey day. They were not amused….

Back to the house for dessert! Auntie Katie had brought a pumpkin and apple pie and tiny breads shaped like turkeys. These, along with the pinwheels and mince tarts I made, filled us right up to the top.

In fact, we all realized that if we sat down, we’d all fall asleep! And since Katie had work to do at her bookshop to get ready for Black Friday’s big sale, we all said goodnight, packed up the leftovers to share, and sent them on their way.
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Ruthie’s Leaves

Dear Liza,

My buddy Ruthie Inman has been busy starting up a new art gallery in Peoria, Illinois, called Artful Journey, so we haven’t had our online class in a while.

So when we got together last week, we had a wonderful catch -up as well as an art project together. Ruthie had asked us to collect, trace, and cut out some lovely leaves to start.

Then we traced the shapes, overlapping them a bit. Ruthie directed us to decide which leaves would be the top layer, and watercolor them a light yellow.

To show the other layers of leaves, we gradually got darker as we went.

I wasn’t totally happy with my brush strokes, since I was using the wrong brush. In the months since we’ve done any watercolor, I have misplaced my soft brushes! Still, I pushed through.

Once it was done and dry, I realized I needed some stronger colors and more delicate lines… and maybe some nice hard outlines. Fortunately, that is always an option. But first, lunch!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Election Coping Journal

Dear Liza,

Leading up to the second election of Donald Trump, I was feeling anxious. What would a second Trump term mean for the country? Our foreign policy? Our civil rights? How would we viewed by the rest of the world?

As always, I turned to “making stuff” to cope. I chose this tiny 1948 atlas, which Auntie Bridgett had found in a teeny free library when we first moved to Portland. Now, I saw it as a place to put my anxiety about the.world’s future.

I dug into my collage words box and in an old “French phrase a day” calendar, found just what I needed.

“It’s discouraging.” “You’d think it’s a cult.” “We could go someplace else.” Yes, maybe we could.

I tried to stay in the same color family as the atlas itself, stenciling and stamping, as I created images that expressed my anxiety.

But after a few days of cutting, pasting and realizing who our new President was, I realized that my ‘coping’ mechanism was making me feel worse, by focusing on the awful helplessness. I was in fight or flight mode, and because of family obligations here, we can’t “fly” at the moment. So I needed to think about what I could do to fight, here and now. Again, I found phrases to express myself.

“Calm yourself.” “Don’t cry”.

Of course, the words alone won’t fix anything. I need to, as Mr. Rogers advised, look for the helpers. I can engage with local charities and national groups like the ACLU to make a positive difference in the lives of people who will feel the brunt of Mr. Trump’s announced plans.

And realizing I can do that has been very good for my mental health.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Rainy Afternoon

Dear Liza,

We have a lot of rainy days in our forecast, so we have decided to just go for walks, knowing we are going to get wet. The grey cloudy light makes the pictures darker than usual, so they look almost magical.

We walked around the park, amazed at the carpet of leaves and the thousands yet to fall. The giant ginkgo tree stays yellow for a week or so, and will drop all its leaves almost overnight.

It was so dark at 1 o’clock in the afternoon that the park lights had come on.

Bridgett got very engrossed in looking at a pair of squirrels chasing each other around the trees. I’m not sure if they were fighting or flirting, but they were so busy they didn’t even notice us.

This tall oak will hold onto its fall leaves for months, until it is ready to spout the green leaves of spring.

Knowing that spring is many long wet months away, I may need to carry the sunshine inside me.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Are We There Yet?

Dear Liza,

I’ve been working on the French Map Quilt for a couple of months now, and I think I’m almost done with the top.

My problem is, I can’t look at the WHOLE thing at once, except when I take a picture of it. At about a meter across, it’s a lot to focus on. Below, I have broken it up into four photos.

Looking here, I can see that I need more ‘grazing’ icons on the Massif Central and heading up into the Alps.

Here, the Pyrenees Mountains look a bit bare. And should there be something at the shore? Wavy lines to show the foam and dunes, maybe?

It’s hard for me to be objective… what do you think?

For now, I’m going to fold it up and let it sit. I’ll get back to it when I can see it fresh.

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Sad Ending

Dear Liza,

I have been looking forward to the 2024 Presidential election for quite some time now.

I have followed all the debates and news stories; I have enjoyed the beautiful signs placed in people’s yards. I have looked forward to having a smart, optimistic woman in charge of our country.

But Election night began with snacks and ended with tears. It was hard to fall asleep.

And now it is over, with an ending I can’t begin to fathom. I am disappointed in my fellow Americans, and concerned for the future.

Not just our country’s future, either. I think having Mr. Trump as President makes the whole world less safe. And since I have people I love all over the world, I worry.

What will I do now? I’m not sure. I need to think. I want to fight the fear that Mr. Trump has created with courage; the resentment he has stirred up with gratitude; the anger he expresses in every speech with joy and love.

When I figure out how to do this, I will let you know.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Drizzly, but Spooky

Dear Liza,

Last Thursday, also known as Halloween, was wet and chilly. I expected that we’d be inside for the evening.

Grandpa Nelson was happy to stay inside, but Auntie Bridgett wanted to get out and do some “Reverse Trick or Treating”, where we walk around the neighborhood and hand out candy. It’s always fun seeing kids in costumes and chatting with folks.

We got to see all the houses lit up in their spoooky glory, looking shinier with the rain.

We met Cindy, who had a heating pad under the blanket on her lap, so she could stay warm while handing out candy. She even had a tube on her banister, so folks could catch candy as it rolled down to them!

On the way home, we stopped for a ‘mocktail’ at Eris, our buddy Tony’s bar. We chatted a bit, then headed home to watch some classic horror. For me, Bêla Lugosi in Dracula is a Thumbs Up, but the older, silent “Nosferatu” is a Thumbs Down.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Joy of Mental Floss

Dear Liza,

Years ago, during one of University Park’s magazine drive fundraisers, we subscribed to a magazine called Mental Floss. We loved the smart, funny articles and illustrations, and we kept receiving it until it went out of print in 2017.

Here’s a little history of the magazine, as found via a Google search. Mental Floss was launched as a print magazine in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2001, by then-Duke University students William Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur. The pair wanted a magazine that was fun, interesting in the way that their favorite professors’ lectures were.

The magazine grew rapidly, becoming enormously popular. Pearson and Hattikudur sold it to other folks in 2012, but have continued their success-via-fun/smart with a podcast called Part Time Genius. Besides the online e-zine, there are also games, t-shirts, and books available.

This past Christmas, Auntie Bridgett gave me a “Fact a Day” Trivia calendar, and I have been enjoying it so much. Sometimes, days will go by when I forget to look at it, and then I get to pull a bunch all at once and have several good chuckles.

Today’s pull included an explanation of how the Unabomber got his name (because he targeted UNiversities and Airlines) and that H.A. Rey and his wife Margaret, authors of the “Curious George” children’s books, escaped occupied Paris in 1940 on bicycles, taking their precious first manuscript with them.

And what will I learn tomorrow?

Love,

Grandma Judy