June Sun

Rockford, Illinois, June 1961. I've adjusted to the bright light.

June Lake

Rockford, Illinois, June 1961. Enjoy the lake before it gets too hot.

Review the subject.

Rockford, Illinois, Summer 1957. My Dad considers the Rockford German Shepherd before he photographs the dog.

I could use some sunglasses.

Rockford, Illinois, June 1961. Mom wears her pearls to the picnic.

Another Encounter with the Rockford Poodle

Rockford, Illinois, June 1961. The mother of my Mom's friend teaches me how to interact gently with the poodle. (That's Dad's shadow.)

Sunday Squirming

Rockford, Illinois, June 1961. It's hard to be patient at an adult gathering. (If you like rabbit holes: more photos from this occasion appeared here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.)

The party winds up.

Rockford, Illinois, November 1960. Our friends have finished hosting Thanksgiving dinner.

(I don't remember the lurking-Siamese-cat figurine.)

She checks out the peonies.

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

Mid-Sentence

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Rockford, Illinois, Summer 1955. The family visits our Rockford friends. Dad favored the V-neck, slip-over, wool vests Mom knitted for him.

Sunday, with Poodle

Rockford, Illinois, September 1962. The Rockford Poodle naps on her owner's lap. (Here's another photo from the same visit.)

Thanksgiving Socializing

Rockford, Illinois, November 1960. We've driven west to visit the Rockford friends.

Sunday Visitors

Rockford, Illinois, Summer 1955. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, and my Parents visit with their Rockford friends. The group is in the backyard of the friends' first home. The friends later built a new house that we visited often.

In the summer of 1955, my Parents had just moved to Suburban Chicago.

Another Sunday-Afternoon Party

Rockford, Illinois, October 1962. We're back in Rockford, and tomorrow is a work day.

Midsentence

Rockford, Illinois, November 1961. We're visiting the Rockford friends. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, talks with the hostess's mother.

Mouthy

Rockford, Illinois, June 1957. My Parents again visit their Rockford friends. Their German Shepherd mouths the hand of the hostess's mother. My Mom and my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, sit on the upper level of the entryway.

Lawn Party

Rockford, Illinois, June 1961. My Mom (the one in the dress) steps out with her Rockford friends.

Dignity

Rockford, Illinois, June 1961. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, embraces the mother of our Rockford friend.

Party Basement

Rockford, Illinois, Spring 1965. When people hosted big, festive parties, they served dinner at folding tables in their basements. My memories of the basements of some homes is clearer than my memory of the residences' other living spaces. Most "party basements," like this one, had paneling, and many featured large, backlit murals of a landscape—usually a scene from a national park.

There are more photos from this Rockford party here and here.

Easter Manners: Wear a necklace.

Rockford, Illinois, Spring 1962. The Rockford Poodle allows me to hold her.

Easter Manners: Enjoy the table.

Suburban Chicago, Easter Sunday, 1961. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, again enjoys hosting another party. She's seated at the dining room table with the mother of my Mom's Rockford friend and my Godmother's father. The decanter holds Tatjana's brew of citrus-flavored, milk liqueur. Ach! The tablecloth has creases.

Tatjana made a yeast Babka every Easter. The recipe used five egg yolks. On the table, you can see what Tatjana made with the leftover egg whites: a "Bizet Torte." A Bizet Torte consists of five or six layers of baked meringue disks, held together with coffee buttercream, and decorated with toasted almond slices. Although the Bizet Torte isn't as popular in Lithuania as a Napoleonas, it is a lot less labor intensive.

Latvians make Bizet Torte, too.