It was raining this morning when we woke up! It was actually chilly! I know there will come a time when this gets old, but for now, I am enjoying the cool, the sound of rain, and the way the light reflects off the drops.
Leaf decorated with raindrops
After breakfast I bundled up and went walking in the park. It felt even more like a forest than ever. With fewer people and dogs, the ducks were more active, and the soft sounds of rain and wind were everywhere. (Sigh)
Walking my regular route through the park, I noticed changes. Small dents in the path had become small ponds, and the squirrels were drinking from them. Clear paths had become upholstered with leaves and small branches which had come down in the wind.
New path upholstery!
I have recently learned a new word: susurration. It means a whispering sound, or a murmur, especially in contrast with louder noises. Laurelhurst Park, this morning, was full of susurration. The wind whispered in the tops of trees, the rain whispered on the puddles, even the bicycles whispered as they rolled past.
Layers of light, color, and a duck….
And of course, the surface of the pond was alive with drops and ripples. One duck was awake and drifted along with me under the protection of a tree. The reflection and soft music of the textured surface made it worth getting a bit damp.
This all made me smile and remember a poem from The Wind in the Willows, and of Laurel Bloombaum:
I haven’t written on this blog for a few days, and you know why…you were here in Portland! It was so good to see you and your daddy after these long months. You have gotten taller and smarter. Daddy is just as wonderful as always.
Of course, when you got here, there were snickerdoodle cookies to hold us until dinner. Grandpa Nelson had made reservations at a restaurant we had been saving for your daddy especially: The Laurelhurst Market, at NE 32nd and Burnside. Their specialty is meat: beef, steaks, pork, sausages…and they do it all very well. I had flank steak with chickory, which gave it a nice crunchy outside to go with the rich goodness inside.
After dinner we walked home through the neighborhood and talked about all the things we love about Portland. The tiny book-sharing libraries, the huge trees, the friendly people.
The next day we got up early and took the bus/train/elevator to the ZOO at Washington Park! It was fun seeing things I had missed the last time, and showing you some of my favorite animals. Somehow, we missed the fruit bats, which I really like, but we’ll catch them next time.
When we were too tired to smile, it was time to head down the hill and get lunch. Grandpa Nelson found The Picnic House, which is a beautiful old lobby of the Heathman Hotel, on Salmon at the South Park Blocks. The ceiling is at least 30 feet high, and there is a stuffed bear head wearing a hat and a monocle over the bar. The food was delicious and the slow pace gave us time to relax and rest from our long morning.
Too tired to smile, even on a goat….
The bus trip home was very quiet. At home, you and I had naps, and Grandpa and Daddy sat and talked for hours. Then it was time for the SECOND big activity of the day: Picnic dinner with Auntie Katie, Uncle Dave, Cousin Jasper, and Cousin Kestrel! We packed dinner, wine, toys, and chairs, and headed off to Laurelhurst Park. The rest of the family came a little later, and we ate, played, talked, threw sticks and frisbees, and dug holes in the dirt.
Making goop with Cousin Kestrel
It made me so happy to see everyone together and getting along so well. There aren’t a lot of cousins in this family, so we need to appreciate the ones we have. When it was too dark to see, we all came home and played Legos, while the Dads talked computers and airplanes downstairs. We ate the last of the cookies and sent everyone home to bed.
Legos for everyone!
This morning, the cousins went to school and you and Daddy went to the airport. I was sad to see you go, but I know we’ll get together soon.
As if our weekend wasn’t full enough with our new car, Sunday was the Hawthorne Street Fair. They close the street for 10 blocks and all sorts of folks set up tents to share their ideas and talents, and sell their things.
Auntie Bridgett spent the morning at a drawing “meet up” at the Portland Museum of Art, where artists look at art, draw about it, and talk about it. So Grandpa Nelson and I did the first part of the Fair by ourselves. First, we stopped at the Bazi Bierbrasserie because Grandpa Nelson had heard about their french fries and wanted to try them out. They and my “velgi” burger were very good, and the cider and beer were light and cold, just what was needed on a hot day. Outside the brasserie was a “Human Foosball” game, where four guys….well, you get the idea. Have a look at the picture.
Human Foosball
Out on the street, there were food booths selling Cajun, Hawaiian, Lebanese, Mexican, Filipino, and American food. Pork, beef, chicken, tofu, if it could be fried, spiced and wrapped in something, it was for sale. It all smelled so yummy! There were also Gelato carts, shave ice trucks, and tents just giving away free cold water to anyone who needed it. These were all very popular.
There were political action booths, asking people to sign petitions, buy t-shirts, or volunteer to save the planet, the country, the forests and just about anything else you can think of. These were interesting but a little dangerous, because if you asked the folks about their cause they were so passionate, it was hard to walk away!
Auntie Bridgett playing a cigar box guitar
Auntie Bridgett joined us as the day was getting really warm. There were booths selling music! Old vinyl records by the box load called to us, but since we gave away our old turntable when we moved, we didn’t stop. A fellow named Sonny was selling guitars and ukeleles that he built from beautiful cigar boxes, and Auntie Bridgett gave them a try.
Musicians of every age were sitting, standing, or dancing, and playing music with their boxes set out for donations. The youngest were about 13, two girls playing ukeleles behind a sign that said “Tip the musicians (but don’t knock them over)”.
Young musicians
Auntie Bridgett hadn’t had lunch and we were all ready to fall over from the heat (we are not used to 98 degrees!) so we stopped in at the lovely and air conditioned Chez Machin. This french style creperie is friendly, small, and serves both savory and sweet crepes and drinks. The sit-down, cool air, and food were exactly what was needed.
After looking at hats from Ray’s Classic Collection shop and some vintage clothing, we decided it was time to head home. We all had some downtime, read, or napped. In the evening was the final performance of the summer “Music in the Parks” program, so we walked to Laurelhurst Park with our dinner and listened to the Providence band play jazz, big band music, and even some disco. People danced, kids played, and the sun went down. It was lovely.
Back to School Flamingos
On the way home, we saw that the flamingos had changed again! They were apparently home from their camping trip and were ready to go back to school! This running story played out on a lawn just cracks me up, and it is so ….Portland.
Yesterday, Auntie Bridgett’s Aunt Chris and Uncle Ken came to visit us while they were in Oregon to see the eclipse. We had fun showing them some of our favorite places. They were only here for the evening, so this list had to be short.
First, we walked north on 30th Avenue to Flanders Street, a restaurant called Stammtisch. Their motto is “Sit here, always”. We have been there before, but only for dessert, which was very good. It is all German food, and the menu gives the German name first, then describes what is in the food in English. This can be scary, because you don’t want to sound silly saying the food wrong. But the waiters are very friendly and don’t mind.
The menu has small plates (kleine) medium sized (mitter) and large (grosse). This lets you order just enough and not have tons left over. I like this because regular restaurant portions are always way too much for me!
I ordered the Bier Geschmort Hasen, which is a beer braised rabbit. Auntie Bridgett got a forelle (trout), Uncle Ken got a wienerschnitzel and latkes (fried pork loin and potato pancakes). Aunt Chris got hausgemachte wurst (home made sausage). Grandpa Nelson, of course, ordered frites (french fries). And everything was delicious!
We were there early enough that the place wasn’t crowded, we had a nice long conversation and everyone tried a little of everyone else’s food. Then we needed dessert. We walked just a block, and there was Fifty Licks, the ice cream place closest to our house. Blood orange creamsicle, blackberry sorbet and carmelized honey cones were ordered and shared. Again, we were ahead of the crowd and saw a line forming as we left.
We couldn’t let them leave without seeing Laurelhurst Park, so we walked over there. The trees, lake, and beauty helped all of us digest our food better. We sat on the bench by the lake and saw the ducks out for their evening swim and a few turtles climbing up on logs to sleep. We walked home and saw dogs chasing balls and being incredibly happy….both the dogs and us!
We had worn ourselves and our company out, but had a lovely time.
Today is the solar eclipse that has had all of Portland in a tizzy for weeks. Some people have planned trips out of town to see the eclipse while others have canceled travel because they are worried about traffic from other people’s travel. Hotel rooms and rental cars are booked, food trucks plan to close for the hour of the eclipse and then do extra business afterwards.
Grandpa Nelson, Auntie Bridgett and I are going to Laurelhurst Park, sit in the small forest there, and listen to what the animals do. Will the hawks go hunting? Will the squirrels freak out? Will we finally get to see the owl?
I wrote that part before the eclipse.
It is now after. Here is what happened.
When we got to the park, there were already some people sitting in the big grassy area. They were reading, talking, or playing with their kids, but as we have often seen here, not being obnoxiously loud. Each group respected the other group’s space and quiet.
People waiting for the eclipse
As the eclipse began and increased, the light changed. The white sunlight got yellower, then almost grey, and it made things look flatter. The temperature dropped a bit and a small breeze came up.
At almost 99% totality, (as much as we got here in Portland) we saw things called shadow snakes …shadows of the leaves overhead, but looking curvy. These happen because the light of the sun is bent as it comes around the moon and so makes curvy shadows. Weird and wonderful.
We also saw cloudy shadows moving across the pavement. They were so faint I couldn’t get a picture of them. I found out later they are called Schlieren lines.
Shadow Snakes
After just a half minute of not-darkness, the light began to increase again. The eclipse was ending and we would soon be back to regular light.
It never got dark enough for the animals to think it was night, so the owls stayed asleep and the hawks stayed quiet. The squirrels did their usual squirrel things. It started getting warm again. Grandpa Nelson said it felt like a second dawn.
He walked with us to the corner of Belmont and Cesar Chavez Blvd, where he turned right to go find breakfast and we turned left to go to the Belmont library for more books on Portland history.
I am learning so much here. Looking forward to your visit!
We have now been living in Portland for one month and two days. We have unpacked almost everything we need, except for the pillows for the guest room for when you and your Daddy come to visit. I will be hunting for them today.
We have started to find some favorite places and things here that I want to share with you.
Rocking Frog Sign
So far, Grandpa Nelson’s favorite place to walk for coffee and doughnuts is the Rocking Frog, down on Belmont Street. This is an old house that has been turned into a coffee house, and it feels cozy and quiet. The kitchen has stayed the kitchen, where doughnuts are fried fresh on weekends, and orange juice is squeezed fresh when you order it. Their other pastries are delivered from the Fleur de Lis bakery, and are delicious.
The dining room has become the library, with small tables for eating and lots of books for browsing. The living room has squashy chairs, a fireplace and more books. The back ‘bedroom’ has small tables and a cupboard of games to play. There is a small table on the front porch and more tables on the back patio, which is shaded by bamboo and umbrellas.
Auntie Bridgett loves Powell’s City of Books, downtown. We take the number 20 bus to get there. It is a full city block, five stories high, full of books. The books are on all subjects in a dozen of languages, with new and used, soft cover and hardcover books shelved together so you can choose. The children’s book section is huge!
Powell’s at Night Photo credit:blogtugo.com
Powell’s doesn’t just want you to come in and buy books. There is a cafe for snacks and tables to read, and lots of benches and chairs. They also invite authors to come talk about their books, and invite us to come listen! It is fun to hear the stories behind the stories and be able to ask questions.
For me, it is hard to say what my favorite place is. I really love walking… just seeing the beautiful old houses, trees, gardens and the interesting people. But if I had to choose, my favorite place is Laurelhurst Park, just three blocks up Pine Street. The hundred year old trees and paved paths make it perfect for walking, biking and jogging. The hawks, owls, ducks, turtles, and squirrels are a reminder that humans aren’t the only creatures that live here.
Laurelhurst Park
The ravine that the park is built on gives wonderful changes in levels….a brick staircase with 87 steps is a fine challenge for exercising, and kids enjoy zooming down grassy hills on their small bikes. Picnic tables welcome parties and conversations and horse shoe pits, basketball courts and climbing structures invite the kids in.
I look forward to showing you all these and more, and your cousins also want to show you the zoo!
On Saturday we did laundry and dishes and such chores around the house, had lunch, and then headed over to Laurelhurst Park for another Shakespeare play, called As You Like It.
Brothers Oliver and Orlando arguing
This is one of my favorite plays, and one that my momma liked very much, too. It is about people who, because of a big fight in their family, leave their fancy castle and go live in the forest. There, they meet other people and find out that they can be happy wherever they are, as long as they are with the people they love. There is wrestling, and cross-dressing, singing, people falling in love, and lots of puns and jokes.
The Forest Lord makes a speech
The play was great, but what made the afternoon perfect was the lovely park. On the little rise in a clearing of linden trees, dappled shade keeping us cool, every breeze shook tiny leaves down, we sat on our comfy lawn chairs and loved every minute. Not far away across the grass a wedding party was setting up (more about this later).
This play had a Prompter, who did the usual job of reminding actors of their next line, but also wore a referee’s striped shirt and whenever she felt the need, would blow her whistle.
When the wedding party got loud because of a pinata, she blew her whistle. “We’ve got quite a pinata party happening here behind me, can you repeat that line please?”
When Orlando was confused about who he was falling in love with, she blew it again. “Orlando, how do you feel about this? What’s going on here?”
This made everything fun and friendly, and also cleared up some points of the play that I have never understood….like why the old Duke was in the forest to begin with, or that there are, indeed, two characters named Jacques.
We watched the play to the end and even got to talk to the young actor who played one of the Jacques, then we headed home because Grandpa Nelson and I were having dinner with Gary, who was best man when Grandpa Nelson and I got married, and his wife Carol. We drove to get there because the restaurant, Seasons and Regions, is over on the southwest side of town, on SW Capitol Highway. They serve mostly seafood and it is absolutely delicious.
The four of us talked for 3 hours, catching up on our jobs, kids, parents, and the trials and joys of life. And of course, I forgot to take pictures! Then we drove home, talked about our day until we were sleepy, and conked out.
Yesterday was hot again, but we had fun anyway. Grandpa Nelson’s cousin Sara and her husband Jim were in town visiting their new grandson, and they came by to visit. It was too hot to be comfortable at our house, so we drove across town to Genie’s, a cool cafe across Division Street from Auntie Katie’s store, Books with Pictures. The food was very good and the service was chatty and quick.
After lunch, I went across the other street to Gordito’s Mexican restaurant to get Auntie Katie a burrito for her lunch, since she was working in the store and needed to eat standing up. After lunch we went back to our house and talked for hours about family history and all the cousins…there are a lot of cousins in Grandpa Nelson’s family!
Grandma Judy, Grandpa Nelson, cousin Jim and cousin Sara
Sara and Jim left to beat the rush hour traffic to Lake Oswego and Grandpa Nelson, Auntie Bridgett and I went out to see some art galleries for First Friday. They are all within three blocks of us, so it was a short, but very warm, walk. Side Street Gallery is closing but will re-open as a co-op, a gallery run by the artists who display their work there.
Side Street Gallery
Wolff Gallery was mostly collages from photographs. True Measure Gallery had really modern, interesting paintings by Jesse Reno, Jesse Narens and Melissa Monroe.
When we were tired of the heat we went back home and watched the Giants lose on TV. And I took a nap. About 8:30 I woke up and we decided it was cool enough to go for a short walk through Laurelhurst Park. We didn’t hear the hawks, but quite a ways into the park, we saw lights and heard shouting, and there was a Shakespeare troupe, (different from the one we saw in Lone Fir Cemetery) called “Original Practice Shakespeare”, performing a history play called Richard III.
It is a very good play about a very bad king.
An actor playing Richard III
“Original Practice” means they do the plays as they were done in Shakespeare’s time (he worked from 1590 to 1613). What is different from modern plays is that each actor is only given their own lines, not the whole script to the play, and they do almost no rehearsals with the whole troupe. This means that the actors make some mistakes, and are sometimes surprised by what is happening, but it is so much fun to watch!
The audience was sitting on fold up chairs and having snacks and water. They were even heckling, which means booing or cheering, during the show. In “Original Practice”, this is totally polite, because the audiences in Shakespeare’s time DID heckle! I guess you could tell if you were playing a bad guy really well, because the audience would yell at you!
Once the play was over, we walked back home. Far off across the park we heard an owl hooting, which made us happy. We had heard that the owls weren’t in Laurelhurst Park anymore, but if we heard them, they still are. They were awake and hunting, but it was time for us to sleep.
Our unusually hot weather is supposed to continue all this week, even getting up to 107 degrees on Wednesday. So we are doing walks in the early mornings and late evenings, when it is cool. This morning Grandpa Nelson and I went out around 9, while Auntie Bridgett was working.
We headed to Laurelhurst Park, because the huge trees make it delightfully cool and shady. Before we got to the park, we noticed a yard that has had a small flock of plastic flamingos in it. The flamingos are usually perched under a small tree, but for the last few days. they have been gone. We were a little worried. Had someone taken them? Where were they?
Today, they were back! And they must have been camping, because they were in their usual place but with the addition of a small make-believe campfire, sticks with pretend marshmallows, and a small tent with two flamingos in sleeping bags. Some of the flamingos were wearing little hats or coats. It was so cute! One of the things I like about Portland is that even the grown-ups like being silly. Since we are silly, too, it makes us feel at home.
Once we got into the park, We heard some high screeching up above. We looked and saw two young hawks chasing each other through the trees, as if they were arguing. This is one of the kinds of birds we saw at the zoo, that have learned to live in the city.
Young Hawk Photo credit:conservewildlifenj.org
These two hawks seemed very healthy, and had very strong opinions about which tree was theirs. We watched for a while, talking with some people who have seen young hawks here every summer. Laurelhurst Park is big enough that it must feel like a forest.
Further into the park, we heard the usual bunch of crows talking to each other, chasing each other around and eating leftover sandwiches from picnics the night before. They seemed careful to stay away from the part of the park where the hawks were. I guess in the world of birds, hawks are tougher than crows.
We went for another walk much later, after the sun had gone down. We walked the neighborhood, noticing that some of the smaller trees are looking dry with all this hot weather. On our way home through the Laurelhurst Park, we saw about 50 people, dancing…to no music. There were hoops being tossed in the air, and long ribbons being twirled, and dancers all over.
Then we noticed that they were all wearing headphones, and it turns out they were all listening to the same music, which was being played by a DJ and broadcast to their earphones. This looked a little strange, but it is a good way to have a dance party in the middle of a neighborhood and not bother anyone else with the music. What a good idea!
Today, while Grandpa Nelson and Auntie Bridgett were working, I went for a walk around the Laurelhurst neighborhood. It is just next to our Kerns neighborhood and very shady and pretty.
There is Laurelhurst Park, which I have told you about, 31 acres of maple, fir, oak and elm trees with places for kids to play and dogs to run, as well as a small lake for ducks and turtles, picnic tables and toys to climb on. The Park was built in 1909, and the trees were planted then, because this land had been a farm. So these giant trees are “only” one hundred years old. The Park was made by a landscape architect named Emanuel Mische. The hills and valleys of the land helped him make it feel like a forest and not just flat land with trees. It is my favorite place in Portland.
Lovely old tree in Laurelhurst Park
Sunlight through leaves
Back when the park was new, boys and girls played very different games from each other and didn’t play together as much as you do now. The south side of the play area was “for boys”, and the north side was “for girls”. I will have to do some more reading and learn what games they played. Now, everyone plays together, however they like.
While the park was being planted, houses were being built on land that had been William Ladd’s Hazelfern Farm. Mr. Ladd had been a mayor of Portland, and when he died, his family sold the land to the Laurelhurst Company to develop a neighborhood. It was built right along the streetcar lines, so it was easy to get to from Downtown Portland. This was before many people had cars, so they rode horses, walked, or took streetcars to get around.
Before the building started, the Laurelhurst Company put up sandstone arches at the entrances to the neighborhood. These made the place feel very special, even when it was just hills and dirt.
The houses people built were very different from the house you have in Salinas. There are Bungalow Style, Spanish Revival, a very pretty style called Fairy Tale, and many others. Some houses are a combination of styles, so it is hard to give them all names. Sort of like if one of your Little Ponies had a crown on her head, butterfly wings, and strawberries on her bottom!
Bungalow Style
Spanish Revival Style
The building started in 1910 and in six years, 500 houses had been built. In another ten years, there were only about 20 empty lots left to build on!
Fairy Tale Style
This was a very popular place to live. It was far enough out of town to be quiet and peaceful, but the streetcar made it easy to get to.
Coe Circle was a grassy park in the middle of the Neighborhood, and the streets go in curvy lines around it, very different from the straight streets in most of the rest of Portland. The streetcar ran right to the Circle and turned around to go back into town. In 1925, Henry Waldo Coe, a doctor who lived in Portland, wanted to give a gift to the city. He bought a copy of a statue of Joan of Arc, a famous French heroine, and had it placed in Coe Circle. It wasn’t put in the middle of the circle, because the streetcar tracks were there! The streetcar line was removed in 1925, but the statue is still off-center.
Joan of Arc Statue
I walked for about an hour, got tired and came home to read more about what I had seen, and make lunch.
Dear Liza,
Spanish Revival Style
Dear Liza 