Tag: friends

Hortus Botanicus and Other Delights

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

I am writing to you because I will be seeing Liza very soon. So, hello, Portland!


We woke up Friday in Leiden, hungry and ready to explore. The city center wakes up pretty slowly, but we found a shop, called Vooraf en Toe, that sold us coffee, juice, and the best apple pie I’ve ever had. Notice my restraint: I didn’t have the whipped cream!

Once we were fed, we walked through town and across canal bridges to the Hortus Botanicus, one of the oldest botanical gardens in Europe. It is in the grounds of the University and is a teaching facility for students as well as a delight for visitors of all ages.

There were tiny mulched trails through forests for a fern garden.

There were signs all over explaining about the really cool details of botany that my Momma got me interested in…. Spores and seeds and Linneaus, biomes and bees and calcium-rich soils.

And when we had looked and read and smelt everything, it was time for lunch. The cafe had a wonderful zucchini soup with fresh baked bread, which I slurped down like a starving woman (which I was!).

Grandpa Nelson is always good company in gardens, museums, and walking around cities. But like most of us, he’s happiest when he has a place to sit and a cup of coffee. Here he is, looking particularly handsome.

I’ll tell you more about Leiden tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Bees and Birthdays

Dear Liza,

This past Friday was busy around here. It was Grandpa Nelson’s birthday AND First Friday at SideStreet Arts, where Auntie Bridgett was having a show.

The first part of the day was for presents and quiet puzzles. Grandpa enjoyed his refurbished clock and a gift card from Donna.

Later, we headed up to the gallery to see Bridgett’s art, along with the four other artists featured in the Love Buzz show. It was a chilly, drizzly evening, so the crowd was small. But the artwork was beautiful (and so was Auntie Bridgett).

She had paintings, moleskin sketchbooks, zines, buttons, and all sorts of adorable bits for sale. Her fellow artists Jackie McIntyre, Lea Barozzi, Michelle Gallagher and Brenda Scott and were showing paintings, ceramics, and collage works.

I think it is impossible to see bees and be sad. The colors and movement in the show even brightened the grey evening outside.

Grandpa Nelson and I visited with the artists for a while, then walked around the corner to Ankeny Tap and Table for his birthday dinner. Yummy sliders (my first actual beef in over a year… amazingly delicious) , French Fries, good conversation and a glass of red wine made for a fine celebration.

We waved at Bridgett as we headed home, walking quickly as the rain had started in earnest.
Love,

Grandma Judy