Dear Friends: Fall might be my favorite time of the year in Portland (summer heat waves over; winter rains not yet here), but it is also the time to make plans to leave. We have booked flights for Ecuador from November 1 to May 1. So now my job is to rent our house for six months. Which I’ve done over the past 20 years, but it’s always a nail-biter, as once I put out the information I have to stay al tanto –  prepared –  to respond to queries, update notices, and so forth. So forgive me if I begin this chronicle with an “advert.” Feel free to forward the link below to your friends and networks. (And for those who have already received this as an email, doubly forgive me.)

Our house in Portland, Oregon Available November 1, 2024 – May 1, 2025

Light-filled, two-story furnished Victorian with large master suite, second bedroom, home office, 2.5 bathrooms, cook’s kitchen, daylight basement with laundry and guest quarters. Fully renovated, energy-efficient, off-street parking, mature garden with deck and patio. Great location in lively Southeast Buckman neighborhood, ten minutes driving or biking to downtown Portland, easy walking to 28th street shops, restaurants, pubs, and theater. (Just listed as one of the coolest neighborhoods in the World! (I know – pretty crazy)

Owners live in Ecuador for six months every year. This house is ideal for those needing a move-in ready home for a limited time, with everything provided for daily living. Not appropriate for pets. $3000 monthly, all utilities included. To see more information and photos go here.

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In other news, I’ve just returned from visiting my sisters in Santa Fe, New Mexico and no, that is not a fire, but a sunset on my first night there, followed by thunder, lightning, rolling dark clouds, and a rainstorm. The second night we had a clear view of a lunar eclipse. All this reminded me why Santa Fe has forever drawn plein-air artists for its skies, landscapes, weather, architecture, and wildlife (photo of the tarantula by Anne McClard).

So I thought this would be a good opportunity to introduce you to my two sisters and tell you a bit of our history. I am the oldest of three, born in Nebraska, my mother’s home state. Charlotte and Sherry, three and four years younger, were born in Pueblo, Colorado, where our father worked during World War II. Originally from the South, he fell in love with Colorado for its wide-open spaces and hunting, camping, and fishing. So after the war, we moved into the “wide-open spaces” of a small town of 3,000. Isolated by mountains and long distances to anywhere, Craig sat in the state’s far northwest corner, 34 miles from Wyoming and 79 miles to Utah, elevation 6185 feet, population seven souls per square mile. I love this image of our town because it so perfectly captures its modesty, plainness and middle-of-nowhere ness.

So picture three girls coming of age in the 1950s, with no TV, Internet, or social media, but a radio station – KRAI – that played western music non-stop, with an occasional Elvis. To us, it was a magical small-town world where we were free to roam, and we knew no different. Added richness to our childhoods came from well-grounded family life with lots of camping, fishing, wild horses (just kidding), and ballet (almost kidding).

 

As a teenager, I learned of the wider world through Mad Magazine and movies at the West Theater (my first job). My escape came after high school graduation, when I narrowly escaped death in an open-air jeep accident but made it to the University of Colorado in Boulder, two mountain passes away. But that is a story for another time.

As adults, we three sisters have lived all over the western hemisphere – Guadalajara, Toronto, San Francisco, Denver, Philadelphia, Vermont, and Ecuador  – but we’ve always remained close. Now we get together at least once a year to view one another’s projects (we are all makers), brainstorm ideas for Three Girls from Craig collection, and tackle the perennial question: What are we going to do with all this stuff??

Best wishes to all for this lovely September of 2024. I’ll be back with a chronicle in October as we prepare to leave for Ecuador (IF we rent the house).

The Cañar Book Club will be back then too. Meanwhile, please send me your favorite books of late.  Love to all,  Judy