Tag: food

Finding the Families at Lyon’s Gallo-Roman Muséum

May 14

Dear Liza,

Once they got settled in, the Roman Empire was in Lyon for a long time. For 368 years, from 43 AD to 411 AD, the Roman Empire built and ran Lyon, which was then called Lugdunum.

It’s no wonder, when the Empire fell and the Roman army left, that a lot of stuff was left laying around.

Great piles of that stuff has been collected by folks who came later, from Medieval farmers to modern archeologists, and put into this wonderful, modern Musée at Lyon.

The museum itself is a wonder. Built right into the back wall of the cliff that houses the amphitheater, it spirals down, leaving only the entrance and a few windows to give it away. Artifacts are arranged by era and type, so we can see the progression in ceramics, jewelry making, and glass work.

We get to see the variety of religious articles, from tiny pocket divinities to greater than life sized statues that Romans looked to for comfort and protection.

And the floors. I told you there would be floors, didn’t I? Many of the houses of Lyon, once they were properly excavated, were found to have these magnificent mosaic floors.

I actually got emotional, sitting right there, touching a floor that Roman moms played with their babies on, that dogs ran across, that people hugged and cried and celebrated on. These weren’t characters in a stone fresco. They were humans, making their way through life.

We kept spiraling our way down, learning about how people moved around the Empire, from Turkey and Spain, Germany and Iraq, to make the Empire diverse and powerful.

And when we reached the end, we were at the bottom of the Amphitheater, and just walked across the stage and down the road into town. From the ancient everyday world to the modern everyday world.

Amazing.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Tuba Christmas and More!

Dear Liza,

The day after our anniversary celebration, we headed downtown to see all the pretties and hustle and bustle. Our first target was the Tuba Christmas at Pioneer Square, which is called The Living Room. This concert involves more than a hundred folks, ages 11 to 89, playing low brass instruments, like tuba, sousaphone, baritone, and euphonium.

This concert is so popular, we could only find spots to stand on the level above and hear the concert, rather than see it. Still, it was lovely. The music swells up and bounces off the buildings as pigeons fly around.

Around the corner and down the block we found some Dickensian carolers. Beautiful costumes and sweet four part harmonies made it really feel like Christmas, with smiling crowds and busy traffic.

Further along, we found Director Park. During the summer, the fountain here is great for splashing, but today it is better for running and climbing. Also at the park were cozy fire pits,

our old friend Jay Ringer playing music on his pocket trumpet and melodium,

and some young men making s’mores with Graham crackers, marshmallows and blow torches. Not surprisingly, they were exactly what we needed on this chilly day.

In the small building in the park was a whole shop of goodies from our local artist Mike Bennett. Stuffties, stickers, glasses, and lots of other delightful things were selling very well.

About this time, we realized that, even with the s’mores, we were pooped and ready to head home. We walked down Alder to the bus stop to catch the magic 15.

Merry Christmas!

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

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

Downtown to the Sixties

Dear Liza,

My buddy Cynthia and I headed downtown last week to our Portland Art Museum. The remodeling work is still going on, so floor space is limited, but what they have on display is really interesting.

Upstairs, there is a collection called Psychedelic. Mostly, these are posters for rock concerts in San Francisco in the mid to late 1960s, when I was too young to go to rock concerts. Still, I knew the posters were cool even then.

Groups like The Byrds, Moby Grape and The Jefferson Airplane gave concerts at the Filmore Theater, and posters like these made sure everyone knew this was The Happening Place. We enjoyed the incredible colors, and wondered how they would react under black light.

There were also mannequins with fashions from the era standing about. Mini skirts in metallics and wild colors took me right back my days as a wanting-to-be-cool pre-teen.

Downstairs was a collection of photos taken by a very young Paul McCartney when the Beatles were on their first tour of America.

Since I was all of eight years old, I remember the mood of the time very well. Any news about the group was BIG news, and their music was in all of our ears.

Considering the frenzied energy that went wherever the Beatles did, Paul’s photos capture a more playful, relaxed mood.

Cynthia and I chatted about all sorts of things (as we always do), as we looked and remembered our own 60s journeys.

And when our tummies were empty and our feet were tired, we headed past a leafy church for lunch at McMenamin’s.

Days out with friends are good for the soul.

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

Keeping Up With the Lavender

Dear Liza,

A few summers ago, Auntie Bridgett sold her art at the Quatorze Juillet Fête put on by the Alliance Français at Jamison Square.


When we were packing up, one of the organizers gave Bridgett two big bunches of lavender.

It was a lovely gesture, and the car smelled great on the way home.

That lavender has been sitting in two large vases in the front room ever since.

And with Halloween decorations going up, we decided it was time to process all that lavender goodness. It’s not a difficult process, but a bit fiddly.

The bits of stems and dried blossoms tend to fly everywhere. I plucked and rubbed with both hands over the biggest pan I have and still got seeds on the floor, the stovetop, and on the counter top across the way.

But after twenty minutes or so, those two huge bunches were scooped up and stored into three pretty jars to await their future in sachets for Christmas presents.

Now, I just need to decide what the sachets should look like. Crazy Patchwork? Embroidered? Painted? Maybe all three?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Re-opening a Favorite

Dear Liza,

When we first moved to this neighborhood, we fell in love with the J. C. Havely House, just katty corner across Belmont Street. It is rumored to be haunted and certainly looks the part. At that time it was being run as The Pied Cow.


The Pied Cow served delicious ginger cake, ice cold sangria, baked Brie on fresh bread, and lots of other goodies. It was amazing. But when the pandemic hit, the strain on both the business and the owner was just too much. The Pied Cow closed and the building was sold.

But good news! The house is soon to be opened as The Foxtrot Lounge, and on Saturday we got to see the inside of the house, the garden, and have a short chat with the new owner, Britain Stephens.

Britain (who is extremely camera shy) and his crew have cleaned up the large garden space and installed beautiful structures. Some of these feel like classy cabanas and will be good for shelter from the sun and moderate rain. Others are just for fun.

Lots of folks were looking around and enjoying the space.

The inside of the Havely House has gotten a facelift as well, and now feels like a friendly, high-end Haunted Mansion. Since the Havely House is home to a ghost called Aunt Lydia, this seems fitting.

We didn’t try any of the food on offer, but there was wine, beer, sangria, and a variety of bruschettas. Britain told us he plans on a proper opening come October… Just in time for Halloween!

And you know we will be there.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Eris, Our New Friend in the Neighborhood

Dear Liza,

We will soon have a new place to eat and drink here in Sunnyside!

Tony Pepe is opening a cocktail bar called Eris (named after the goddess of chaos p, and also the dwarf planet) right where our Rendez Vous used to be, just a block down on 34th.

Tony is a very friendly fellow who showed me his progress and told me his plans. He will have some wine and some food, but is mostly a creative cocktail maker. He also, much to my appreciation, loves cats. His own cats are called Victor Babitch and Dante.

Tony was painting today, hoping to get the ceiling done before his furniture gets delivered.

Since he is the sole owner and designer, the place will be a direct reflection of him…. Which means it should be delightful, intelligent, quirky and fun.

I’ll tell you all about when we get to visit Tony and Eris next month!

Love,

Grandma Judy