Roses – Dear Liza

Fall on the Way

Dear Liza,

Portland is changing with the seasons, as it should. Fruit is becoming ripe all over the neighborhood, and folks are more than willing to share!

A house a few blocks away has a gigantic Asian Pear tree with more fruit than they can handle, so they offer a ladder, a nifty bucket-on-a-stick grabber, and even paper sacks to take your fresh fruit home. Thanks, neighbors!

As we walk around, we keep having to look UP… to see flowers! Sunflowers have hit their growth spurts and some are ten feet high!

And then there are Amaranths, these red feathery beasts, taller than me and absolutely magical looking.

Even Laurelhurst Park is getting into the change. While some late linden trees are still blooming, giving the scent we call “Portland Summer”, some others are already turning yellow.

Soon this part of the park, which we call the Middle Heights, will be bathed in cool autumn sunshine as all the leaves turn the ground bright yellow.

And of course, the roses are still with us.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Flowers of Astonishment

Dear Liza,

You know I love flowers and gardens. I got this love from my Momma Billie who was a gardener just about every minute she was alive. Today I will share some stories about remarkable blooms.

If you look closely, you can see that this is a rose in Lompoc, California. It grew, and just kept growing, in Momma’s garden. It grew up from under her orange tree, through the orange tree, and right out the top! She didn’t notice it until one of her visitors on the Garden Tour pointed it out. “Well, how about that?” she said.

We saw this giant bunch of lilies get on the funicular train going up the bluff of Montmartre in Paris. The lady carrying them walked with assurance that she and her flowers were making the world more beautiful.

We found this astonishing field of sunflowers on Sauvie Island, just north of Portland. Every summer the farms let the public in to explore, shop, eat barbecue, and celebrate the beauty of the countryside. Auntie Bridgett never wanted to leave!

And this year, we have Laverne. She and Shirley, her sister dahlia, are growing in my community garden plot. Laverne opened up first and we were very impressed!

Our friend Lynn called this a dinner-plate dahlia, which I didn’t know existed. But there she is, all right!

And that is your flower show for today.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Champagne Poetry for Passover

Dear Liza,

New businesses are popping up all over the neighborhood! We visited a very pretty new one on Friday, which was the day before the Jewish holiday of Passover (which started at sunset) and also the Christian holy day of Good Friday.

This wonderfully PINK patisserie (that means a fancy bakery) was decorated with soft pink silk flowers covering the walls and delightful neon angel wings that you could pose in front of. Doesn’t Auntie Bridgett look cute?

Inside the glass case, lovely pastries were lined up. Croissants, cookies, macarons, slices of cheesecake, and even colorful donuts that looked liked shiny jewels. We chose a chocolate chip cookie to share at the shop and a slice of Tonka bean cheesecake for dessert later. Tonka bean tastes like vanilla! Who knew?

The staff was busy making and displaying the new goodies, because there were a lot of folks coming by and business was brisk.

The cookie was delicious, and sitting in the sun watching the world go by is a Portland treat I have really missed. I am happy to see new businesses growing like our spring flowers.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Landing in Salinas

Dear Liza (and Jasper and Kestrel),

On Wednesday I arrived in my old city of Salinas. I am staying at your house! It will be fun and different. So I am writing this blog to Cousins Jasper and Kestrel too, so they can know what I am up to.

First, I got all my stuff unpacked in the guest room. I brought a lot of stuff because I am staying so long! Then we went to dinner at Yangtse’s Taste of Thai. I love their spicy seafood soup. I was so tired after dinner I went right to sleep.

Thursday I got up early and walked all over south Salinas to see old favorite places. I think the High School is the prettiest building in town. I saw some old friends, too, in a way that I will miss again when I leave in June.

Walking to the the Cherry Bean…. see a friend. Going to the Post Office…see a friend. I don’t get this in Portland, because I don’t have many friends there yet.

I went by our house (that now belongs to someone else), and stopped by to see our old neighbors Leroy and Ann and our cat Sassy, who moved in with them years ago. They have all been good company for each other.

It was fun seeing some similarities and differences between Portland and Salinas. Salinas also has leaves that get slippery when they aren’t raked up, but it has roses still blooming in January, unlike Portland.

Roses in January.jpg — **Roses in January**

Things that have changed since I was here are the new red doors on the fire station on Alisal, and the asbestos clean-up at the Courthouse. Something that hasn’t is the Dick Bruhn building which was gutted by fire years ago and still has had nothing done to restore it. (Sigh).

Dick Bruhn.jpg — **Still wrapped up Dick Bruhn Store**

This morning I start teaching again! Wish me luck.

Love,

Grandma Judy