Portland – Dear Liza

Sunny Walks Before the Cold

Dear Liza,

Grandpa Nelson has spent quite a bit of time with doctors these past few weeks. Bone scans, thyroid imaging, and cataract surgeries have had him inside, over-measured and under-exercised.

So this afternoon we went for a stroll around the park. He’s still healing up from having an interocular lens installed, so we didn’t break any speed records. But the sunshine, the bright leaves, and the delightful humanity was healing in its own right.

This week is predicted to be our last blast of warm before cooler Fall settles in.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the cold and rain. If I didn’t, it would have been the height of foolishness to move to Portland! Still, being outside in a tee shirt and jeans is a limited time offer here, so I like to enjoy it.

So today I’m counting down the last six days of False Summer.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Oregon Zoo in Fall

September 29, 2026

Dear Liza,

Yesterday was a sunny, cool day here in Portland, and Grandpa Nelson and I headed off to the Zoo. Being a school day, there were only a few people there, which is my favorite number of people at the Zoo!

The animals were all out and about, though. This North American River Otter was enjoying his new toy. The hanging bucket had toys that the otter wanted, and the raft he needed to use to get them kept floating….

It was a testament to persistance!

These giraffes were in separate enclosures, but still found a way to chat over the wall. I couldn’t hear anything, but they had a nice time, anyway.

What kept catching my eye was the early afternoon light. Through the trees or bouncing off surfaces, it was bright and magical.

Shadows were everywhere! This one is me with some of the decorations for ZooLights that are being installed for the winter.

One the way home, I noticed this sign in the train station for the first time. The train station is WAAAAY deep under the Zoo, and this sign shows why, except in an emergency, you should take the elevator.

Yep.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Portland Festival of Lights

February 14, 2026

Dear Liza,

Happy Valentine’s Day! But that’s not what this blog is about.

Last evening we three bundled up and bussed off to our drizzly Downtown and enjoyed a bright, warm celebration of Portland city life.

Even before we got to Pioneer Square, known as Portland’s Living Room, we could see things were going to be interesting.

Shimmering lights, crocheted tents, furious “fire swamp” explosions, and an electrified juggler made us forget the rain.

Hundreds of folks were out, enjoying the show and the community. A well-tended bonfire in a beautifully wrought fire-pit warmed chilly fingers and evoked a camping-in-the-woods vibe.

Furthering our adventure, we walked to Director’s Park and found warm coffee and sweet s’mores (By Marsh & Mallow, in their new location). A delicately carved, glowing Nautilus shell lit what is usually a wading fountain.

Refreshed with sugar and caffeine, we had one last stop : Portland’s World Trade Center. We heard it before we saw it. “Audible” was a deafening understatement!

There were artworks you could walk into, walk through, and just marvel at.

And as our own batteries were running low, we had a long, quiet look at the Willamette and then headed off to catch the bus back home.

Thanks, Portland! It was delightful.

Love,

Grandma Judy

No King’s Collage

October 22, 2025

Dear Liza,

Once I had rested and recovered from the long, crowded No King’s March, I wanted to capture the spirit of it for my Journal. I mean, how often does one get to be part of such a gathering? I wrote about it, of course, but words were missing what I was looking for.

Gathering bits from the collage box and junk mail, I found lots of ideas, from the silly to the civic. Scooby Doo certainly captured the goofy spirit of the day, and a Liberty torch seemed appropriate. The random animals represent all the costumes and pets that were on display.

I needed The Willamette River, of course, and green grass of Tom McCall Waterfront Park. But this was definitely a CITY march…

So, skyscrapers cut from the recent voter’s pamphlet got added. But now the sky looked too empty! I tried a cool tissue paper Gelli print, but it was just too much. And where should that bicycle go?

I finally settled on a dot-printed sky of teal blue, made using a piece of plastic shelf liner Ruthie Inman gave me years ago. I like how it fills the space but doesn’t overpower the scene. The long blue wisps in the sky are slivers cut from the same magazine page as the river.

I like how the collage captures the urban, goofy, joyous feel of the city and the crowd. and I am grateful to have been there.

Love,

Grandma Judy

No Kings March 2.0

October 19, 2025

Dear Liza,

Yesterday was the second country-wide No Kings March here in the U.S. Auntie Bridgett and I got to participate while Grandpa Nelson stayed home with the kittens.

A lot of what made this demonstration special was the silly costumes! I didn’t have my phone where I could get at it easily, so I didn’t take any pictures. But they are all over the Internet if you want to see. Here is me in my bright yellow Lala the Teletubby suit. Happy shout out to Buffalo Exchange for the joy!

Once we were properly costumed, we took a Standing Room Only full #15 bus downtown. The route had been altered because of the march, which put us even closer to the Battleship Oregon Monument, where the crowd was gathering to hear speakers.

There were so many happy, dressed up, smiling people! The signs were wonderful, too. My favorite so far is, “If we don’t fix the timeline, Spock gets a beard!” Ask your Dad about that one.

Once the march started (and it takes a really long time to get thousands of people pointed in the same direction) we walked East on Pine to 3rd, then south to the Hawthorne Bridge, then to the East side, where we just kept on walking home.

The Unpresidented (yes, that’s right) marching band made us all dance as we went along, and some drones took pictures of the crowd. The one above shows about a one block area….

And in this one, zoomed in quite a bit, you can just spot me in my yellow suit with a big round head. See? Just to the right of center?

Crazy to see myself in that throng, but so happy to have been there!

Love,

Grandma Judy

PS. I am still trying to figure out how I changed fonts and how to go back. No worries.

Fall Approaches

August 31, 2025

Dear Liza,

Fall is on the way. During our last weeks of hot weather, I got into the habit of going for walks early in the day to avoid the shingle-irritating bright sun and heat.

I noticed that Laurelhurst Park is very different early in the day. The cool damp of night is still in the air. Tai chi groups perform their slow dance among the trees.

Firwood Lake is a perfect mirror… until the ducks wake up! Then, somehow, the ripples make the mirror even more beautiful.

And passing the Blair Community Garden, I see the raspberries getting ripe.

I am happily awaiting the day when I will need a second layer to be comfortable. J’aime sweater weather!

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

The New PDX Part 1

Dear Liza,

Auntie Bridgett flew down to visit her family in San Diego this week. This gave us the perfect excuse to see the newly remodeled Portland Airport Terminal.

Our airport here in Portland has been under construction for years, and I have always found it to be a bit of tangle. But the signs all over the terminals told me it was going to be wonderful, organic, and local. And they weren’t wrong.

I was pleased, amazed, and delighted. The first thing you will notice (and keep staring at, from every angle) is the ceiling. It is an enormous waving sea of timber that floats over the giant open space of the Main Terminal.

The ceiling is made of glulam, a light weight, super strong material made from wood all harvested within a hundred miles of Portland. It is supported by giant, tree-like Y supports.

The floor is delightfully flow-y but low-key, as if it doesn’t want to detract from that ceiling.

The place was pretty busy when we were there, but the noise was minimal. The wavy, open ceiling seems to soak up the sounds of rolling suitcases and crying children and the inevitable echoes. We sat comfortably on a beautifully designed set of bleachers for quite a while and could whisper to each other.

There is so much more I want to tell you about the new airport! See you tomorrow!

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