June 30, 2014

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.

June 25, 2014

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.

June 23, 2014

The Old Post Office, in Three Takes


*     *     *     *     *


*     *     *     *     *


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.

June 21, 2014

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.

June 20, 2014

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.

June 18, 2014

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.

June 17, 2014

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.

June 16, 2014

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.

June 15, 2014

June 14, 2014