katie Pryde – Dear Liza

Books with Pictures Pop Up!!

November 8, 2025

Dear Liza,

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Auntie Katie has a new Pop Up shop for Books with Pictures in Portland! It is part of the PDX Pop Up Program to encourage more foot traffic and shopping in the core of downtown, where there are too many vacant store fronts.

As excited as she is to have 2,000 square feet of prime retail space free for two months, it hasn’t been easy. She got the keys to the place just 8 days before opening, and there was lots to do.

The floors were filthy, walls needed patching and painting, and the enormous windows were covered with adhesive film and city grime. Still, Katie is not one to flinch at hard work. And she had some help.

She cleaned floors and windows, I sanded, and Cecily painted. Friends and neighbors offered rugs, tables and chairs to “homey up” the big empty space. Twelve hour days paid off, the day before she opened, it was looking pretty nice.

And opening day, folks came in to look around and buy things! I am currently recovering from Covid, so I couldn’t go, but Grandpa Nelson headed down to say Hi and take pictures.

And as they were chatting, folks started coming in! First a few, then more! The theory is that a crowd draws a crowd, and I guess it’s true. I hope they stuck around and bought lots of books.

The Books with Pictures Pop Up will be open 12-6 PM, Wednesday through Sunday, until January 6th. It would be lovely if you could come visit.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Starting Early on Christmas!

October 29, 2025

Dear Liza,

I love it when two of my favorite people (who don’t even know each other) work together to give me good ideas. Let me explain.

Last week, my ZOOM art teacher Ruthie Inman taught us to make these tiny books.

You cut six strips of white paper 1” wide, then fold and cut 1” sections. Each section will become one book. Make the fold really sharp, then staple at the crease to hold the tiny pages together. Make sure the ‘feet’ of the staple are outside the book, so they will be hidden by the cover.

For the cover, choose slightly heavier decorative paper , and cut it just a bit longer than the book. Apply glue stick and use a bone folder to press it down.

Then fold the extra long edges over the first page to make a ‘dust cover’ edge. Really give this a good fold and press. And voilá, there is your tiny book, about one inch by one inch.

They are easy enough to make, I did 10 in a little more than an hour.

Then came the next favorite person. I was visiting with Auntie Katie and told her about the tiny books. “Could you string them…. Maybe on tiny twinkle lights… to hang on a Christmas tree?” She asked. Katie owns Books with Pictures here in Portland, and can always use pretty decorations.

Of course you could! The awl from my book-making kit (a gift from Ruthie), and a string of tiny lights ( from my SOAK jellyfish costume), and there we have it!

They look best in low light, of course, but very sweet even in normal light, giving the impression of flying, glowing books !

Could these be the newest Christmas tree sensation? Stranger things have happened!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Books with Pictures Comic Con Part 1

Dear Liza,

This past weekend was the third BWiPCon, an outdoor comic convention held down at Auntie Katie’s book shop. It was amazing!

The event was bigger this year, with the street closed for a whole long block and the garden being used for performances, interviews, and contests. Fifty vendors sold books, art, jewelry, and all sorts of beautiful, cute, and delightfully odd stuff.

Auntie Bridgett had her Auntie Beeswax booth, of course, and met lots of folks who read her comic in The Willamette Week newspaper.

We helped with set up and got to meet a ‘new’ cousin! Grandpa Nelson’s Aunt Bonnie had seven kids, and her eldest was George. George’s son, who goes by D, came up to help with the con. He worked like crazy!

D set up a dozen tents, carried anything that needed carrying, cleared gutters, and set up the stage. I was so happy to meet him and grateful for his hard work on the busy day.

Auntie Katie worked hard, too, before, during and after the event. Her volunteers were so well organized that the vendors felt well-cared for and appreciated.

Andrea Gilroy, Katie’s business partner at Books with Pictures in Eugene, came up to help, and it was good to see her and Katie having a nice visit. Good friends can sure help lighten the load.

I will tell you more about BWiPcon tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Books with Pictures ComicCon, 2023 Part 1

Dear Liza,

This past Saturday was the second annual Books with Pictures Comic con, held at Auntie Katie’s bookshop. Of course, Auntie Bridgett set up her Auntie Beeswax booth.

The whole day was busy, fun and exhausting! Happily, it went very smoothly, mostly because of Katie’s wonderful staff and dozens of volunteers. Here is Alex, who was on the morning shift, getting everyone’s tents set up.

Once everyone was set up, I took a few minutes and gave the garden a good watering. Our weather has been very hot, and the garden was going to see a lot of action during the comic con.

The food carts that are behind Books with Pictures were doing a fine business, with everyone enjoying sandwiches from Underbite and waffles from Honeycuspe.

Auntie Katie was busy all day, making sure vendors had everything they needed and that visitors felt welcome.

There were fifty different vendors showing buttons, books, stickers, cards, patches, earrings, clothes, magnets, zines, games, and all sorts of handmade goodies.

Staff member Nico even designed a pamphlet that had a map and list of vendors and a schedule of activities that were going to happen in the garden.

We got to meet a lot of interesting and friendly people and see wonderful art, and by the end of the day we were pretty much wiped out. Until next year, BwPcon!

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Sunny Lunch Out

Dear Liza,

One of the best things about our sunny summers is that it is so easy to get around Portland on foot. The other day I had a lovely walk down through Ladd’s Addition to have a lunch out with Auntie Katie.

We walked a few blocks from Books with Pictures to Spielman’s Bagels on Division. They have a lovely back garden with just the right amount of dappled sunshine. They also serve delicious sandwiches.

Katie and I caught up with news. She told me how proud she was of her kids’ volunteering at the latest SOAK weekend (a regional version of Burning Man) and her trials in maintaining the hundred-year-old building that Books with Pictures is in. Roof, then walls, then windows…. Oy vey. Expensive and stressful.

Still, she finds ways to relax and look great.

I told her about the story I am writing about the “Grandma Judy Commandments”.

When we had finished our lunch, I walked Katie back to the shop and spent a delightful hour watering her garden.

She found some Marvel comic figures in a give-away box last week and has introduced them to their new home.Iron Man is guarding the new rhododendron, and Black Panther is hiding among the lavender.

Stunning!

I enjoyed my walk up to the bus stop, because it took me through one of Ladd’s Addition’s FOUR rose gardens. The scent wafted me all the way up the hill.

I hope your summer is full of adventures, too.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Auntie Katie Wins an Eisner Award!

Dear Liza,

You know how hard Auntie Katie has worked at her bookshop, Books with Pictures. She started down the street eight years ago, then moved to her current location four years ago, growing and improving all the time.

When the Pandemic hit, she shut her doors but kept the business open with on-line ordering and driving to make deliveries every evening. She hired fabulous people who know and love comics as much as she does, besides having skills in art, design, organization, website management, and advertising.

With her staff and other friends, she has created a popular, all-inclusive space that has become the center of the LGBTQ+ community. No matter who you are, you will find books that represent YOU. She has meet-ups for teen clubs, creators, and even a pre-schooler’s story time out in the garden.

In short, she has made a change for the good here in Portland. And people noticed.

This year, she won the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award. This is the Comics World equivalent of an Oscar for comic book shops.Besides her years of work, there were many pages of applications and hours of preparation and interviews. It was hard!

And this past weekend at the San Diego Comic Con, she got her just desserts. Up on a huge stage, with a thousand people watching, she was handed the cherry-on-top of these eight years of hard work.

I couldn’t be prouder! Keep going, Katie!

(Well, take a well-deserved nap, first….)

Keep making the world better!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Happy Pride!

Dear Liza,

On Sunday Grandpa Nelson and I went downtown for the Gay Pride Parade and celebration. The streets full of happy people!

We didn’t see the beginning of the parade, but got there in time to see the women’s rugby team, some proud parents, and support groups for kids and trans people, and lots of rainbows.

The weather was drippy, but spirits were light.

There was a long, long line to get into the part of the Fair where the booths were, but we got to chat with some nice folks and watch the parade go by.

The downside of all the drippy weather was the muddy ground . Two solid weeks of carnival events (first the Rose Festival, then Pride) on the same patch of grassy ground had lead to mud, mud, and more mud. It was epic. It was deep. And I managed, somehow, to not land on my face.

Finally, we found what we were looking for: Auntie Katie’s Books with Pictures booth! She was doing an absolute ton of business and only had time for a quick Father’s Day hug, but it was worth it.

As we left, I caught this accidental shot of perfectly dressed folks passing the street sign at the corner of 1st Avenue and Harvey Milk Street. Harvey Milk was the first out, gay person elected to office in California and was shot in 1978, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, by a fellow City Supervisor who didn’t like gay people. To help remember his sacrifice, a 13 block stretch of SW Stark here in Portland has been re-named for him.

What a beautifully rainbow day!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Next Steps in the Garden at Books with Pictures

Dear Liza,

The work has continued on the garden behind auntie Katie’s bookstore, Books with Pictures. I showed you before how the planting areas were filled with rich topsoil to create low berms and beds.

On a recent Saturday, eight women and girls aged 14 to 66 (and one helpful male teenager) worked for three hours creating the surfaces of the new garden just behind Books with Pictures. There were two tampers, which are heavy tools for flattening and compacting soil, and they were in constant use. First, the original soil was raked and tamped to make it solid and even. Plastic edging was laid in and staked down.

Then interlocking gravel was wheelbarrowed in to place, raked flat, and tamped down (twice) to make sure it was perfect.

Auntie Katie, who is injured and cannot work, was in charge of quality control and keeping us all fed. She did a fine job!

Finally, pea gravel, which will be pleasant to walk on, was wheeled and raked and tamped in place.

The walkway in the garden was extended beyond the space to the parkway, which makes for a nice entry from the street through the big wonky gateway.

And this weekend, the plants go in!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Katie Turns 4-0!!

Dear Liza,

Your Auntie Katie, my baby and your daddy’s little sister, turned 40 this past Friday.

It was a fun evening! Friends from all over ( even your Daddy in Denmark) got together on ZOOM, and three even traveled from Canada, California and Eugene, Oregon to come visit in person. We called Katie’s sweetie, Marion, mid-party and she came by to join the fun.

Grandpa Nelson, Auntie Bridgett and I brought good food from Pastini to feed everyone. Andrea, Auntie Katie’s business partner, brought a yummy cake and candles from Market of Choice.

There was lots of horsing around and silliness. Auntie Katie brought out her photo albums and we got to visit with long-gone friends and family.

And there were presents! Auntie Bridgett and I had picked out an embroidered pillow at GiftyKitty weeks ago, and now the two snuggling kitties look like Katie and Marion! It is so cute I almost exploded.

When it was time to get Cousins Kestrel and Jasper to bed, we dropped Jasper at his best friend’s house and brought Kes to sleep here so the Party Ladies could continue.
I am so glad we got to be together.

Love,

Grandma Judy