Day Trip

Near North Bay, Ontario, Canada, July 1965. We've left our Lake Nipissing cottage to do a little in-town shopping.

Let's look at an original print.

Summer Cottage, 1914. Many of the old photos I post are scans of images my Dad restored. If I find a faded or damaged snapshot, I usually modify it. Here's an image I adjusted earlier.

Summer Wheels

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1936. A relative of Kaunas Nina tests his bike in the backyard.

Thanks to my Kaunas Nina's daughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

"No Home to Go To"

"No Home to Go To" is a preview of the upcoming "Baltic Displaced Persons Exhibit" organized by the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture:

She makes the loop.

Verona, Wisconsin, July 2013. Here's a still from that same visit.

He's a keeper.

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1965. The sunfish is small, but he'll cook up nicely in the fry pan. I knew which fish were too small to keep.

Understanding

Door County, Wisconsin, 1980. The self-timer setting captures two common expressions.

Early-Summer Flowerbed

Verona, Wisconsin, July 2008. We have a froggie mascot.

The Velveteen Dress

Suburban Chicago, May 1961. Mom and Dad ensured I wore sunglasses.

Relax

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 1961. Kadis, the husband of my Dad's twin sister Jonė, unwinds next to the Comet.

Shady Reunion

Door County, Wisconsin, July 2007. There's a quiet spot behind the shop.

Related by Marriage: He was imagining something.

Addison, Illinois, August 21, 1965. Mr. Irene saddles in for a ride at Adventureland. His Mom wrote the exact date on this photo; I suspect this memento is from an end-of-summer outing.

He finds a different spot along the river.

Utica, Illinois, October 1963. I imagine Dad instructing Mom about the camera settings.

He lands on a different spot.

Verona, Wisconsin, June 2007. The little fellow favors zinnias.

The llama sat still.

Brookfield Zoo, Illinois, 1961. The tolerant llama endures a chase and an embrace.

She'd rather weed.

Door County, Wisconsin, June 1980. Although Mom learned to ride a bicycle, she never enjoyed it. Here, Mom stays close to the house while her best friend, Donna, heads out on my bike.

She checks out the peonies.

Rockford, Illinois, June 1961. That's not Gigi; this dog is the Rockford Poodle.

Track!

Probably near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, about 1959. My Toronto Cousin's Dad, Kadis, coached many sports.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Picnic Culture: Relax after the meal.

Suburban Chicago, September 1963. It's even okay to take a nap.

Mom and Dad have set my play table on the patio. My abacus toy rests on it.

A Visit to the Dump

Near Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1964. The dump is the best place for a bear sighting.

Her eyes didn't change.

Suburban Chicago, February 1965. Tatjana looks beyond the camera.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 28)

Kaunas, Lithuania, May 10, 1940. A friend gives Mom another "senior portrait."

The Old Post Office, in Three Takes

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Chicago, Illinois, July 6, 2013. I was surprised last year to learn the old main Chicago Post Office had closed in 1996. The building was the gateway to the city for those of us who rode in from the west on the Congress Expressway.

People used to park cars on the beach.

Probably near Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, July 1957. My Dad's twin sister, Jonė, and her daughter—my Toronto Cousin—find a quiet spot.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

A Clip from the Castle

Salzburg, Austria, July 1971. Mom shoots a few scenes of Dad and me touring the castle.

Her Own Distraction

Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada, July 1972. Here's what the moose was looking at when we stopped to photograph her.

Dad, at the Fountain

Brookfield Zoo, 1965. I'm not very good with the Brownie camera, but Dad appreciates my effort as we stop near the fountain.

Related by Marriage: A Twist on the Sunday Ritual

Suburban Chicago, Summer 1964. The family changes the routine and spends a Sunday together at Mr. Irene's home. The furnishings identify the house: there's that coffee table, and Skippy's cage is in the corner.

Left to right are Mr. Irene's maternal Grandparents, Stanley and Anna; Mr. Irene on his Dad's lap; Aunt Martha and her husband Wally; and Anna's sister, Petra.

Roped-Off Reunion

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, July 1967. Although we climbed narrow ladders and squeezed through tiny tunnels during our visit to the park, many of the areas happily were off limits to tourists.

I never met a dog I didn't like (Summer 2004)

Washington Island, Door County, Wisconsin, July 2004. Mr. Irene and I have taken the ferry to Washington Island, and the unleashed fellow is the first being to greet us.

Now that summer has arrived ...

... you may want to find that perfect pattern for knitted swim trunks.

Welcome, Summer

Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, August 1959. My Parents enjoyed that first summer after I was born. Although the Weimaraner belonged to friends, Mom and Dad liked to frolic with the dog.

The Kayaker

Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, July 1971. In the 1970s, few people kayaked in the United States. Whenever Dad saw a kayaker, he took a photograph because the activity reminded him of his time in Lithuania.

Bug Spray

Door County, Wisconsin, June 1980. My Mom and her best friend, Donna, keep the can handy as they knit.

Day Trip

Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, about 1958. Toronto Al is ready for the weekend.

Thanks to Toronto Al for making this photo available to us.

Color-Version Reunion

Door County, Wisconsin, July 1980. They're just as pretty in black and white.

Related by Marrige: The Best Spot

Marquette Park, Chicago, Summer 1960. Mr. Irene visits with his maternal Grandfather, Stanley.

It's that season.

Door County, Wisconsin, July 1980. The windows can't be clean enough. (That's my Skylark.)

Front Paws

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 1963. Mitsė doesn't mind posing.

Lakeshore Knitting

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1965. Mom has a project on the circular needles, and I fish and read in the background.

Instructions

Camp Aušra (later Camp Kretinga), Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, mid-1970s. Boys at the Lithuanian Summer Camp absorb the directions.

UPDATE: My Toronto Cousin corrected the date of the photo. The fellow leaning on the pole and instructing the boys is my Toronto Cousin's husband, Toronto Al.

Southeastern View

Madison, Wisconsin, August 18, 2005. This is how the clouds looked from our second-floor window as the Stoughton tornado passed nearby.

Related by Marriage: Army Buddies (Part 25)

Camp Irwin, Barstow, California, January 11, 1953. In this "Army Buddies" snapshot, a fellow-immigrant soldier penned a Polish-language greeting to Mr. Irene's Dad.

Politicians should avoid photo ops on tanks.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė took a ride on a tank today during NATO exercises. The tank was part of a "demonstration that involved approximately 2,000 Soldiers from Denmark, Poland, Lithuania and the U.S. in a dynamic display that demonstrated allies working together in a cohesive operating environment."

What's the story here?*  Grybauskaitė erroneously called the "Leopard" tank a "Tiger."

*No, she does not "look, in the tank, wearing the helmet, like Rocky the Flying Squirrel."

We are fine.

I wrote earlier about my fear of tornadoes. I once drove into a tornadic storm on Interstate 57 between Champaign and Rantoul, Illinois. My fear of dangerous weather intensified when I lived in South Carolina and saw the damage created by Hurricane Hugo.

When I moved to Madison twenty years ago, locals assured me that tornadoes were not likely to hit this area because of the city's proximity to multiple lakes. Foolish myth!* Since we've lived here, tornadoes have hit near us three times: Madison's west side in 2004; Stoughton in 2005; and last night, in Verona.

Mr. Irene and I hadn't fallen asleep yet when the sirens went off yesterday. We're normally cautious when the National Weather Service issues a warning, but this one caught us off guard. We were about to head to the basement only as the storm hit, about three miles south of us.

Madison, Wisconsin, June 2004. This was the view near where Mr. Irene's Parents live.

*UPDATE: A meteorologist discusses the lake myth here.

The Old Bridge

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, July 2008. We visit the bridge around the time when it closed for repairs. This is not the bridge on which a motorist got trapped in 2009; that was the new bridge.

Motion Sickness?

Addison, Illinois, August 1963. I'm either getting bored with the attraction, or I am feeling green.

A Summer Day in the Forest

Near Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1940. Kaunas Nina explores one of Lithuania's manicured forests.

Thanks to Kaunas Nina's daughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

Dad knows when you're tired.

Niagara Falls, New York, 1961. My Toronto Cousin and her Dad, Kadis, find the spot for a photo.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Happy Father's Day

Schweinfurt, Germany, 1947. The day creates an opportunity to repost a favorite photo.

Vaporetto Terminal

Venice, Italy, May 1984. When I lived on the Lido, this is the station from which I departed each morning.

Beach Improvisation

Near Seligenstadt, Germany, 1948. My Mom and a fellow Displaced Person find a summer spot.

We follow the sea plane, and Mom does laundry.

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1965. A sea plane landed on one of the Madison lakes yesterday. The story reminded me about how often sea planes appeared on Lake Nipissing.

June 14

The Soviet deportations of Baltic citizens began seventy-three years ago today. See here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Devil's Bridge

Saint-Gotthard Massif, Switzerland, July 1971. It's a spot scarier than the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Team Games

Camp Aušra (later Camp Kretinga), Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, 1957. Kadis, the husband of my Dad's twin sister Jonė, coaches the boys.