Fleur de Lis Bakery

Grand Floral Parade, 2024

Dear Liza,

Last Saturday was Portland’s Rose Parade, and we took the number 75 to the Red line train to get there. It was a delightful, sunny, breezy day, and thousands of folks had lined up before we got there!

Fortunately, we found a spot by the rose hedge along MLK Blvd. that was just right. Bees buzzed and flowers bloomed just for us.

The Parade had all the things a parade should have.
High school bands with great cadences,

Silly floats,

marching groups from Portland and around the world,

Therapy llamas,

and kids to share it all with.

There was also political drama, as we should have been able to predict. A group of protestors were demonstrating against the U.S. involvement in the Israeli-Gaza conflict and moved into the path of the parade.

Some of them laid down in the street snd blocked the road, so the marching groups just bunched up and went around them.

I couldn’t get very close, but here you can see, from left to right, the flags of the Peace Corps group as it marched by, the police line, and the Palestinian flags carried by the protestors.

The irony was a little heavy handed, but so it goes.

Everyone behaved themselves as well as could be expected, and the parade continued with the Police maintaining their line. It all made for a busy, entertaining, perfectly Portland Saturday morning.

And when it went from “Lots of Fun” to “Way Too Much Noise”, we caught the Red Line back to the Hollywood neighborhood and walked up to Fleur de Lis bakery for quiche and coffee and some quiet jazz by these two lovely people.

When our tummies were full and our souls at peace, we bussed back home for a well-deserved lay down.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Bakery Quest

Dear Liza,

With the weather being warmer and our spirits rising with every vaccination, we are feeling inspired to get out for longer walks. My dad, your great grandpa Lowell, always said you should only walk until you were half tired, so you could turn around and walk back home. We have discovered that if there’s a bakery along the way, you can just keep going!

When we bought this house, one of the reasons we loved it was the proximity of restaurants and businesses…. Lebanese food around the corner, pizza across the way and a nice pinball tavern and pulled pork just down the block. But no bakery! This has probably, in the long run, been a blessing. Baked goods are less dangerous if they are at the end of a good long walk.

So, we walk. Helen Bernhard, Grandpa Nelson’s favorite, is two miles north of us through lovely neighborhoods. Their donuts are the best in town (Sorry, Voodoo Donuts) and they have Florentines rolled into tubes and filled with peanut butter cream. Need I say more?

The Fleur de Lis, just off Broadway, at 1.7 miles. away. I haven’t walked to it yet, but Grandpa Nelson has! They have all sorts baked goods, including his favorite cinnamon rolls, as well as huge slices of quiche and sandwiches on fresh baked bread. They even had, before the Covid restrictions, live music on Sundays.

Caught red-handed with brunch at Fleur de Lis

And just yesterday, Auntie Bridgett and I discovered yet another one!
Lauretta Jean’s, on Division, is just a mile south. They have been at their current location for ten years, but we have somehow missed them. During Covid they changed from a dine-in cafe to a walk up window, with a pretty awning and delightful signage. They even have a few small tables out front for on-site snacking.

We picked up a lemon bar, a piece of chocolate oatmeal pie, and a piece of birthday cake to take home for Friday’s dessert. The pie was a bit too sweet, but the cake and lemon bar were spot on wonderful. It’s nice to know that there are still fine baked goods to be discovered!

Birthday cake in the window, with reflection from across the street…

I don’t know if the search for local baked goods is Holy Grail worthy, but it sure is delicious!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Halloween and Crafts

Dear Liza,

Today was predicted to be stormy and wet, with possible thunder storms. And that’s okay, because I was inside helping make Jasper’s Halloween costume.

There were several detours along the way, however. Grandpa Nelson wanted to stop by Fleur de Lis Bakery for brunch. Yummy pastries and coffee? Not a problem!

Another errand took us to Home Depot, where we saw Halloween AND Christmas decorations! Holiday overlap…weird….

Finally, we got home and I got started. Each piece only took a little while….the light grey scarf and the dark grey bandanna needed an edge, the arm wraps needed to be torn and safety pins located to attach them.

Auntie Bridgett also worked her magic on the piece. Jasper is being a Stealth Armor ninja, and Auntie Katie provided the dark grey body suit.

I also made cookies to decorate with Katie and the Cousins. I will try and remember to take pictures of the costumes and the cookies to show you!

I think this was a productive day. Happy Halloween!

Love,

Grandma Judy