decorations in Portland

Halloween

Dear Liza,

Believe it or not, the party was only the night before Halloween! Halloween itself was even busier.

We woke up slowly Sunday after the party Saturday night, but we had things to do. Grandpa Nelson needed his booster Covid shot and I wanted to visit Auntie Katie and the Cousins. A bright fall walk through miles of leaves and spooky decorations was just the thing.

Kestrel as a mushroom fairy, in her element

It is always fun seeing what Jasper and Kestrel are up to. Sunday, of course, they were putting finishing touches in their costumes. I took some cookies down, as we had leftovers from the party and no one needs that many cookies (not all at once, anyway).

We headed out to have some fun and take pictures in the glorious sunshine. A Mushroom Fairy, top-hatted ghost and stylish Loki were very photogenic! Even Nick, Katie’s second-in-command at Books with Pictures, got into the spirit.

When we said goodbye, I headed for home, taking the number 14 bus to get me up the hill. A nice quiet afternoon on the couch was in order, then a dinner of leftover finger sandwiches and salad.

Then it was actually Halloween night! Time to go see some spooks. I love the spectacle of a street full of costumed kids running through the dark past lighted up porches. It takes me back to those evenings of my own childhood, where Magic was definitely in the air.

One house in particular went all-out, feeling more like a ride at Disneyland than a front yard! Skeletons, witches and werewolves howled and menaced passers-by. It was stunning.

By the time we had seen as much as we could see, it was time for my Sunday night art ZOOM with you, dear Liza. I had a good time, drew a fine banana split, and fell asleep pretty soon thereafter.

What a fabulous Halloween!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Spooking the Place Up….

Dear Liza,

I know it’s not even October yet, but… we’re decorating! Halloween is such a fun time, we just got out the boxes of pumpkins and skeletons and jumped in.

I love our decorations. Bridgett made many of them over the years, in ceramic painting classes or out of crafty supplies. That talent runs in the family, because her Momma Donna painted this witch forty three years ago! It lights up and gives a great happy, spooky feeling.

Between sewing, painting, and salvaging, we have quite a collection. Wine bottles become cute with some spray paint…

Painted bottles and stuffed pumpkin out of scraps

This skull is all that remains of a plastic skeleton my teaching partner Laurel and I were gifted by Hartnell College, many years ago. The rest of him fell apart toe by toe, but I just had to keep the skull.

And here is our latest creation, a voodoo doll. Any resemblance to current governmental official is absolutely intentional.

Love,
Grandma Judy

Gearing up for Halloween!

Dear Liza,

I am sure you have been figuring out what your costume should be for Halloween. We are, too. Maybe we should be minions, Lucy and Gru? Or our very own Superheros? But while we are figuring that out, remembering some of our costumes in years past cracks me up, too!

mosaic and halloween 008.jpg — **That year we visited Neverland**

Many of the houses in Portland have wonderfully large porches, which turn into stages for decorating! There are spider webs with bits of leftovers, ghouls and witches, all hanging around in relative safety from whatever rains come our way.

So, while we are out getting to know more streets and houses, looking for the perfect one to buy (once things get settled) we are noticing all the decorations.

But I also have some sad news. Remember the flock of flamingos who are always up to something? They watched the solar eclipse with special flamingo sized glasses and helped the Cassinni space probe crash into Saturn. As it turns out, they are also big into baseball, are fans of the come-back Chicago Cubs, and someone doesn’t like it. One evening the flock was out celebrating the Cubs’ victory, and the next evening, two flamingos were gone. Who would do such a terrible thing? Rabid National fans? Or are they just out for the fabulous flamingo fortune?

I hope to have better news soon.

Love,

Grandma Judy