Busses in Portland – Dear Liza

After the Impressionists

Dear Liza,

Our eyes were pretty full of beauty as we left the French Moderns exhibit at PAM, but we weren’t done looking yet.

Since the Museum is undergoing an enormous remodel, most of it is just not available, but there was quite a bit of young-people noise coming from the first floor exhibit called “Future Now”.

This is an oddly fascinating show of sneakers… yes, athletic shoes. Old and new, functional and artsy, wearable and not-so-wearable. It was interesting, but there were several happy, totally involved school groups there, all discussing, drawing and designing. We decided we’d come back and see the shoes some other time, when the crowds had gone.

We visited the newly-relocated gift shop, which, as always, is filled with beautiful things. They were having a sale of postcards, and we got 30 for just $3.00! They will be useful for all sorts of artsy schemes.

And, of course, no trip to PAM is complete without lunch at Umbria, just a block towards the river. Enjoying delicious quiche, panini sandwiches, coffee and juice while watching the world go by on bike, foot and skateboard, is just about the best thing ever.

A short walk got us to the bus stop to head home. Roses in the City Hall courtyard made sure we had lots to look at while we waited.

Summer in Portland. Nothing like it.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Needing Some Peace

Dear Liza,

The world seems to have gotten more stressed-out lately. Wars in Ukraine and Israel, along with American politics getting more ego-driven than ever, made me set out for a long walk yesterday, to see some beauty and find some peace.

I walked through the lovely Laurelhurst neighborhood, ran smack against busy, noisy, Sandy Boulevard and wondered where to go next. The number 12 bus zoomed by and my problem was solved. The 12 goes to The Grotto! I waited just a few minutes and caught the next one.

After stopping at the Cameo Cafe for a quick lunch, I walked a few blocks to The Grotto and inhaled the peace and acceptance of the forest and gardens. I bought my senior-discounted token for the elevator to the gardens at the top of the bluff and said hello to some old friends.

Mt. St. Helens in the distance.

St. Francis, chatting with his animal friends.

Sunlight glowing through the changing leaves.

I must have sat on half a dozen benches, soaking up the autumn sunshine and the beauty of the gardens. And when I felt filled to the brim and ready to face the cockeyed world again, I came back down.

I can’t fix the whole world, but as my Dad said, I can help what I can reach. And today, that was me.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Grand Floral Parade, Part 1

Dear Liza,

This past Saturday Grandpa Nelson, Auntie Bridgett and I headed off to watch the Grand Floral Parade. Rather than deal with parking and traffic, we took the Magic 15, then transferred to the B loop streetcar, which took us right to the parade route along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

As usual, the “before the parade” show was delightful. Kids, dogs, bubble machines and a wonderfully cool, sunny morning made for all the street theater you could wish for.

This lady and her dachshund were very entertaining, and the glass spires of the Portland Convention Center reflected the morning sun.

Grandpa Nelson enjoyed his coffee and waited impatiently for his beloved marching bands to some by.

And in the meantime, there were the pamphleteers. Quiet polite ones, loud obnoxious ones, all telling us (in large, brightly colored letters) that they knew THE WAY and we didn’t.

No, thanks anyway.

And soon the parade started, with the Care Oregon float featuring fresh veggies and Auntie Bridgett’s favorite, BEES!

I’ll tell you about the rest of the parade tomorrow.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The City Fair

Dear Liza,

Rose Festival season is here, and the city is so busy! Friday afternoon we took the bus downtown to see what was happening at the City Fair. This is the carnival part of the festival at Tom McCall Riverfront Park, and we haven’t gone since before the Covid shut down.

I know I am getting to be an old lady, because the rides looked terrifying! Even watching them made me fear for my life.

It was early afternoon, so there weren’t many people yet, which was fine. As much as I enjoy people watching, big crowds just make everything harder!

The production of the carnival was a bit … underwhelming. The rides were colorfully painted, but the juggler dropped everything and was clearly struggling.

The best thing to see was the Jim Neill Museum historical display about the American Rosie the Riveter Association, who celebrate the women like my momma who went to work in the aircraft Industry during World War II and saved the country. Here is an old picture of my Momma and her sister Hazel heading off to work in 1944.

The best thing to DO was, of course, play pinball! We found the Monopoly game, which had a lot going on and fun sound effects. We enjoyed our game until the machine kept our quarters, and then we said good-bye.

Grandpa Nelson found his carnival favorite, kettle corn, at a unicorn-decorated stand under the Morrison Bridge.

The best view of the day was Mt. Hood 90 miles to the east, looming over a new apartment building.

When we had seen all the things and eaten the snacks, we caught the magic 15 and headed for home. I was well and truly worn out, and happy for a bit of quiet time before the baseball game.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Mt. Tabor Art Walk Adventure

Dear Liza,

The summer activities continue! Sunday was the Mt. Tabor Art walk. We covered a lot of ground, met some lovely people, and saw a lot of art!

We decided to take the bus to get around, and mapped it out ahead of time with Trimet’s online maps. Auntie Bridgett also marked up a paper map so we knew where we were going.

We took snacks and water to avoid hungry-grumpiness and caught the number 14 to get to our first artsy neighborhood.

First on our tour was Georgina Ottavarino, who does collage and hand-made books. Her work is so precise and colorful, and she was so good at explaining things, I got inspired to do some more of both!

Georgina’s little studio is set in her backyard garden. Everything about her yard was peaceful and inspirational. I never wanted to leave.

Our next stop was a house where three artists were sharing space, and I visited with Tami Katz, who does beautiful fused glass. We talked about doing art with friends over Zoom and Skype during the pandemic shutdown, like I do with Ruthie Inman. I guess we all found ways to stay happy.

Bridgett and I ate our peanut butter and jam sandwiches sitting on a curb in the sun, enjoying the tree-lined neighborhood and the conversation of folks going by.

Our next group of artist studios were about a mile north, so we walked a block and caught the number 71 and then the 15 up the hill, to save our leg muscles. We found jeweler and artist Jo Brody’s art displayed in the front porch, and her husband Mark’s mosaics around back.

Jo does wonderful work, but I was there for the mosaics!

Mark’s work was inspirational. Large and small, quirky or not, comic or poignant, he does it all.

Mark told me about his work in progress, a giant cement toy jack, currently in his basement. When it is finished, it will be moved (not an easy task) to Lake Oswego for their Gallery Without Walls this summer.

We walked up the street and found Pat Stevens, who makes prints. I love her work, and how she uses bits she doesn’t like as quilty pieces! We talked about getting together with grand daughters who live far away. Her Elena is in Montana, much closer than you are in Denmark!

When our eyes were full, it was nearly 3:00 and time for the second part of our day. I’ll tell you about that tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

George Rogers Park

Dear Liza,

I’ve told you about my new friend Amy who lives in Lake Oswego. She is sweet and funny and knows a lot of fun places to go, because she has lived in the area for more than 30 years!

The other day I took the #35 bus from downtown Portland to downtown Lake Oswego, and Amy picked me up for lunch.

She drove me down to George Rogers Park. I knew the name as a place for the booths of the summer Art Festival, but clever Amy drove past that part and headed down to the river, where we found this: A beautiful, restful window on the Willamette.

This was the location of the old iron foundry over a hundred years ago, and is now a quiet, beach-y place for folks to get right down to the river. Moms and kids were playing in the water and a young man was renting kayaks, canoes and paddle boards! That seemed like a really good idea…. for another time.

There are statues celebrating the indigenous people, who knew the value of this area before anyone else.

And as we walked down by the water, we saw a mermaid! Well, a young lady in a mermaid costume, anyway, and the fellow who was photographing her. I’m not sure what story they were telling, but it was a nice surprise, anyway.

I will make sure and come back to this lovely, quiet place. Maybe there will be mermaids, maybe kayaks. Who knows?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Poet’s Beach

Dear Liza,

On Saturday, I took Auntie Bridgett on a walk to one of my favorite places, Poet’s Beach, on the West Bank of the Willamette. It is a three mile walk from our house, but it is all a gentle downhill slope, so it doesn’t feel that far! And since it was National Teddy Bear Picnic Day, we took Patches and Brown Bear along.

Walking through new neighborhoods is always fun, so I try to take streets I haven’t been down. This time, we discovered this new tiny free library. It has a chalkboard for messages, and the door opens UP, like a garage door. Very pretty and practical.

As we left the neighborhood and got down by the railroad tracks in the industrial area, shade was hard to find. We were grateful for our hats and the cool breeze from the river.

We found a beautiful new street mural in front of the Portland Opera. It is too big to show in one photo, but here is a fisheye lens picture that shows a keyboard producing music, which then swirls out into the world.

We got to the best bridge in town, the Tilikum Crossing. This bridge is only for pedestrians, busses, and trains. No cars! It is also the newest bridge and not a drawbridge, so it is quieter, without the bangity-bang of the older metal ones.

We picked up lunch at the Starbucks just on the other side, and carried it to our picnic spot by the river. Poet’s Beach!

This is a small area, just under the very loud Marquam Bridge. The river bank here is sandy and the bridge makes deep shade, which we really appreciated on the warm day. The reason this little area is called Poet’s Beach is that there are poems by school children etched into stones along the path down to the river.

We had our tasty lunch, harassed by a very bossy flock of geese who wanted some. They got a surprise, though, when a lady and her dog showed up, and the dog scared the geese right back into the river. We went on our way, too. We enjoyed watching folks play in the fountains and along the promenade of the Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

We walked back across the Willamette on the Morrison Bridge, and then figured out that we were pretty tired. We caught the magic number 15 bus home and rested while watching the Giants beat the Washington nationals.

Another day in Paradise, as they say.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Swinging Symphony

Dear Liza,

One of the many things I love about Portland is that theater and music are everywhere! Last night we took the number 15 to The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall downtown and enjoyed “Swing is the Thing”.

But first, dinner! The Artbar, a pretty restaurant in the same theater complex, fed us not-too-fancy quiches, fries, and nice local wines. As we entered the lobby of the theater, we heard applause coming from the balcony and went to investigate. Two pairs of dancers were jitterbugging to lively swing music, egged on by the well-dressed crowd. We could tell we were in for a good time.

“The Schnitz”, as it is sometimes called, was built in 1928 and has been restored to its historic voluptuousness. Ceiling decoration, lighting, and painted iron railings all let you know you are in a special place. The performance included the entire Oregon Symphony, directed by Jeff Tyzik and, at certain points, the theater took on the feeling of a opulent lecture hall, with Mr. Tyzik explaining the finer points of jazz and swing and how they morphed into early rock and roll.

Mr. Tyzik and the Symphony were assisted by Julie Jo Hughes, a wonderful vocalist, and Dave Bennett, who plays clarinet and does vocals as well as a wicked Jerry Lee Lewis turn on the piano. Dancers Stephen Sayer, Chandrae Roettig, Hunter Krikac and Karine Hermes came on stage every now and then to stun us with gravity-defying moves and light footwork.

**Dancers put on a show before the show!**

The first half of the program was dedicated to swing music, starting with “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, “Pennsylvania 6-5000” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”. There was also an original piece called “Harlem Street Scene”, written by director Tyzik. It had a swingy, jazzy dissonance that was easy on the ears but definitely not boring.

The second half was rock and roll, and not nearly as good as the swing portion. If it were not for Dave Bennett’s crazy acrobatics on the piano, the music selections would have felt disappointingly like a mother-daughter dance.

No, I take that back. A song that was not even listed on the program, Julie Jo Hughes singing Peggy Lee’s “Fever”and taking a turn dancing with Mr. Tyzik as he was conducting, was knock down gorgeous.

When the show was over, we crossed the street to catch the bus back home, along with some other music lovers and a violinist. Another lovely night in Portland!

Love,

Grandma Judy

An Afternoon with Kestrel

Dear Liza,

You are your Mom and Daddy’s only child, so you get a lot of alone time with them, and with me, when I’m around. Cousin Kestrel is Jasper’s little sister, and she doesn’t. Everything she does, including lunchtime at school, is with Jasper.

Jasper is a very nice brother, but we all need some time with our people when it is just US. Kestrel and I got that the other day.

Auntie Katie made plans for her and Jasper, and I made plans for us. After I ‘kidnapped’ her from Books with Pictures, we walked past the giant banana painted on the wall at SE 12th and Division, past a fairy house in some one’s yard, all the way to Hawthorne Street, where we caught the number 14 bus.

At 32nd Avenue we got off and walked to The Hazel Room. This is a lovely little lunch place in a big house, and I have walked past it dozens of times. They don’t sell hamburgers or french fries, so Grandma Nelson wouldn’t like it. Inside it is pretty and old-fashioned, with old wooden floors and wallpaper. There are lots of elegant tea pots on the window sills. Kestrel is a very picky eater, so I read the menu to her and let her choose. She asked for french toast. When it came, it was so big that we shared it, but she said it was the best french toast she had ever had! Fat and sweet, it most more like toasted cake..yummmy!

When we had played reading games and finished our lunch, we headed down Hawthorne to our main destination: Fernie Brae. This is a shop that sells fairie things. Handmade fairie dolls, beds, houses, jewelry, paintings, costumes, wings and wands…if a fairie could want it, they have it.

Everything is so beautifully made, we spent an hour in the small shop, looking at every tiny thing.

I knew we had just a little while until my bus pass expired, so Kestrel picked out a tiny dragonfly treasure, a jasper stone for Jasper and a rose quartz heart shaped stone for herself, and we caught the bus back to Ladd’s Addition. Walking through the shade of the old trees, we made up stories about which fairies lived under the trees and in the bushes.

What a wonderful, magical day!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Art and Poke

Dear Liza,

Sunday was predicted to be another hot day, getting up to 96 degrees. I had gotten some good ideas about my story and wanted a new place to write, and Auntie Bridgett was heading off to the Portland Art Museum on the number 15 bus for her monthly ‘Drink and Draw’ meet up. (On a Sunday morning, the ‘drink’ is coffee). I invited myself along. Walking up the Park Blocks, we met Jake, a writer who Bridgett met last summer in this same spot, who is working on a story called “Book of Miracles” about touring with the Grateful Dead. We talked about writer’s block and wished each other well.

Writing in the Art Museum is always good. I am surrounded by wonderful creations made straight out of someone’s head, giving me confidence that more wonderful creations can come out of my own.

Once in the museum, we split up. I found a comfy bench in front of the Proctor statue called Indian on Horseback, where it was very quiet and good for writing. My characters are coming to life and I am enjoying them so much! Whether it’s the art or just Writer’s Block disappearing, I am glad for it.

As people came in, kids started being just a bit too noisy for my taste, so I moved over to the Diebenkorn exhibit, where it was still quiet. I met Linda and Paula, two ladies who are in the Drink and Draw, and we chatted. When the drawing part was over, we all moved to the coffee shop, where the artists talked and I started looking up what children’s books were popular in 1903.

At lunchtime, we wanted to try something new. We wandered just a block down Park and went into Shigezo, a wonderful Japanese restaurant. We enjoyed poke (say po-kay), seaweed salad, delicious grilled pork belly, and some disappointing potatoes. But a small flask of sake (say sah-kay), smelling like bread and warming as it went down, made everything better.

After lunch, Bridgett wanted to head back to the museum to buy the exhibit book on Diebenkorn. The heat was kicking in, and it was 85 degrees, even in the shade. We caught the bus and were glad to be home. By dinnertime, it was 96 degrees, only dropping to 90 by 8:00. Auntie Bridgett and I went for a walk in the park, seeing the new handrails by moonlight and a lot of folks who came out to enjoy the “Silent Disco” (using wifi headphones for music) and the relative cool of the evening.

Back at the house, we played Scrabble, and I was having a great game! I was ahead…right up until the end, when Grandpa Nelson caught me, passed me, and ate my lunch. Fun, anyway.

Love,

Grandma Judy