Weather in Portland

Walking in the Rain

August 6, 2025

Dear Liza,

I am slowly (way too slowly, if you ask me) getting back to normal after Shingles knocked me flat. I still have some pain most of the day, take medications to sleep, and get tired easily.

But the world is still out there, and I’m getting out in it more. I like walking in the early morning, because the shadows are long and better for my still-light-sensitive eyes. And, as always, Laurelhurst Park is my favorite place.

Early mornings at the park are quiet and delightful. There were the usual dog walkers and baby walkers, but also pickle ball players, tai chi groups, and a maintenance guy power washing the picnic tables. A lady was training her puppy to sit and stay.

And there was the rain. Just a light drizzle, not enough for anyone to mind, but a steady, cooling reminder that time moves on and summer will end.

I was enjoying it so much, I walked until I was very tired. Feeling discouraged on my way out of the park, this piece of serendipitous advice found me, and I made it home.

Love,

Grandma Judy

End of Summer

Dear Liza,

I know it’s not quite the Fall equinox yet, but we are definitely there. Saturday was the Belmont Street Fair, which is our last street fair of the year.

The weather started off chilly, then the clouds passed and the sun came out.

People were ambling down the street, walking happy dogs and chatting with friends.

Auntie Bridgett visited with Steph at Happy Anyway while a face-painting friend decorated Steph’s arm.

We even got to go inside the wonderfully historic J. C. Havely House, soon to re-open as The Foxtrot Lounge.

I’ll show you more about that tomorrow.

I ran out of energy and came home to rest. By the time we had dinner, the skies opened up and we had a fine gullywashing rain storm. Welcome, Fall!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Books with Pictures Comic Con Part 2

Dear Liza,

Besides family, friends, and artist tables at the Books with Pictures Comic Con, there were all sorts of activities. The Garden Stage (in the beautiful garden Katie has been nurturing for a few years) was home to a cosplay contest for kids and adults.

Elias, a very young Jedi, won the kid’s division. He had forgotten his light saber at home, so Katie gave him one of hers, made for Free Comic Book Day from a pool noodle. He was delighted!

There was a cartooning duel, with pairs of artists trying to out-think and out-draw each other. The first contest had a random doodle as the prompt, which led to these awesome drawings….

A windsurfing puffin and a coffee drinking moose.

Douglas Wolk hosted a Trivia contest with really hard questions! Besides being an author of books about comics (“All the Marvels” is his latest), he also teaches classes about them. These were really interesting questions, like “Which American comic strip has run since 1914 and only had three artists?” I’ll let you look up the answer, if you like.

There were also discussions and interviews, featuring Kelly Sue Deconnick, Leela Cormac, and Carl Sciacchitano.

The last act of the day was Lizzy Kirby, who plays guitar and sings lovely songs about love and cats. She sang my favorite, with the catchy chorus of “Meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow.”

To make sure we had ann exciting day, between all the art, contests, and interviews, we had a few spats of strong winds that blew in rain and hail and tried to carry away the inventory!

Tents rattled, comics went flying, and folks scrambled to hang onto their banners. Each storm lasted about ten minutes, then we would have sparkling sun for an hour or so.

It was very …. Let’s say entertaining. More tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Leap Day at the Barley Mill

Dear Liza,

This last Thursday was February 29, also known as Leap Day. And of course, McMenamin’s was celebrating.

It was cold and almost rainy, practically trying to snow, and we had grocery shopping to do. But we stopped at The Barley Mill for lunch first. This is the location of the original McMenamin’s, and isn’t far from us. It is also one of my favorites.

The food is standard McMenamin’s; burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads, always tasty and well-made. We decided to pass on the special beers and cocktails they were offering, and just had some tea.

The decor of the Barley Mill is amazing.

Dedicated to Jerry Garcia and all things Grateful Dead, this cafe is delightfully chaotic. I see something new every time I come in.

Our waiter, a fellow named Nick, was friendly and fun. He gave Auntie Bridgett the Leap Day stamp in her McMenamin’s Passport.

We ate and chatted and then played PINBALL! This winter has been so awful we haven’t been out to play, and I’ve really missed it. The SHREK game has three flippers and even a tiny inset game in the top corner, as well as lines and music from the movie. The adrenaline rush was fabulous!

When we had done all the fun, we met Grandpa Nelson at Fred Meyer and did the shopping, picking up a nice fat chicken to make into soup to get through the rest of this nasty winter.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The First False Spring of 2024

Dear Liza,

Our weather has warmed up, and boy, is it nice outside! The sun is bright and the only clouds are teeny fluffy things that look like leftover streamers from a party. The temperature was mid to high 60s, no wind, and absolutely lovely.

There was even a juggler person out in front of the Mix Tape shop on Belmont, smiling and chatting while tossing and catching their rings.

It was also the day I pick up Kestrel from school, so I got to walk through the neighborhood to the Da Vinci school, where I sat on the delightful cement dragon that is in the schoolyard.

Even the restaurant patios along 28th Avenue are set up and ready for guests. This delightful sign reminds us that we should appreciate the good weather when we have it.

It says “It’s a good time to be outside.” And it is right!

I hope you have lots of wonderful things to be grateful for.

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

April Snow!!

Dear Liza,

I am going to take a break from telling about your visit to talk about our snow today. We woke up at 7:00 and saw this out our window:

Our beautiful, tall dogwood, which is almost ready to burst into bloom, was weighed down by more than an inch of snow. This is the first time Portland has had measurable snowfall in April…. in the 82 years the city has been keeping track of such things. This is historically nutsy weather!

While we were sitting on the couch doing French lessons, we heard a bang! bang! from outside and looked out, expecting the worst. But it was the best! Stacy from across the way had seen the problem and found a solution, a nice long 2 by 4. She whacked the tree trunk, the snow fell off, and the tree straightened right up. What a relief!

In other parts of the neighborhood, some trees weren’t as lucky. Many lost branches and this one lost its footing in the saturated soil and just leaned right over, landing on the car parked in the driveway.

Things were better in my vegetable garden. Yesterday, thanks to Auntie Bridgett’s help and a bunch of leftover plasticware, my young cucumbers, zucchinis, lettuces and pumpkins were shielded from the snow.

As of now, the ones we were able to cover have survived!

Of course, we are still in the middle of this weird spring storm. We are expecting more snow in the next day or two, and temperatures down near freezing. We put the covers back on and will have to wait and see and hope for warm sunshine soon.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Changeable Spring Weather

Dear Liza,

I have been writing about the weather but every time I write about it, it changes!

Last week, I wrote a nice blog about how blindingly clear and freezing cold it was. Then the weather changed. It was rainy and chilly. So now I will just tell the truth.

The weather in Portland is currently… well, changeable.

When we headed out for the zoo, it was pretty and clear. We visited the eagle under grey clouds and the lions under real rain.

On the way home there was grey clouds ahead of the bus and at the same moment, beautiful sunlit clouds behind us. These three photos were taken within three hours of each other!
It never gets boring, anyway.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Christmas Eve

Dear Liza,

Merry Christmas! We had a nice, though cold and rainy, Christmas Eve.

We had leftovers from our lunch at Suzette Creperie for dinner.

I baked some fabulous Challah to have for Christmas dinner, thanks to a youtube video by Bincy Chris.

Auntie Bridgett and I went for a really cold walk to see the lights of the neighborhood.

We watched “Mary Berry Saves Christmas” , where the British Baking Show maven guides three novice cooks to make special dinners for their families.

We added final gifts to the tree and chatted with Auntie Katie about her visit Christmas Day.

And we waited for snow. It has been so cold, and is getting colder. While Denver seems to be bright and snow free, we have had snow predicted for Christmas day or soon after, and we are excited!

Of course, this morning we woke up to a clear, snow-free sky. But Christmas hope springs eternal.

Love,

Grandma Judy

After the Heatwave

Dear Liza,

Wednesday was the first day of human-level temperatures since our historic heat wave began. We woke up to cloud cover, cool air and even a bit of dampness. It felt wonderful.

I went to the garden early. My friend Tonya gave me one of her parsley plants, and I planted it between my radishes and lettuce. My garden is doing well, even though it isn’t as tall as the other ones. They have five foot tall trellises and arbors hanging with peas and beans. I have a magnificent beast of a zucchini.

I walked around Laurelhurst Park for the first time in a week, enjoying the cool green, the ducks, and all the people out doing their people thing. Tai c’hi classes, guitar practice, dog parties….. it was life as normal, out on the grass.

After a morning of sewing, French lessons, crossword puzzles and cartooning, the three of us headed off to Grandpa Nelson’s favorite lunch spot, Zach’s Shack. Auntie Bridgett got to go because she isn’t working at the SideStreet Arts gallery anymore. Her new comic strip, Auntie Beeswax, allows her more flexibility with her time.

We ate hot dogs and fries, and, since the sun had come out, appreciated the icy cold sodas.

Then came ping pong! Zach’s back patio has a table and enough hard surfaces that even if the ball misses the table, you can keep it in play. We get a little nuts sometimes, and it is fun!

We played until we were played out, then walked home by way of the Taylor Street chickens. The day had warmed up to 88 degrees and we were happy for the air conditioning.

This heat wave was bad. It send a lot of folks to the hospital. We need to figure out how to help our planet heal so we can all be well.

Love,

Grandma Judy