Related by Marriage: Celebration

Evanston, Illinois, June 1977. Mr. Irene looks happy about having finished final exams.

Interpretive Reunion

New Glarus, Wisconsin, May 6, 2016. That's not what we had in mind.

Related by Marriage: Wall Art

Evanston, Illinois, about 1977. Mr. Irene and his dorm hallmates celebrate their paint job.

Related by Marriage: Sunday Gathering

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1959. Mr. Irene's Dad celebrates Mr. Irene's christening day. The group sits in the kitchen of Anna and Stanley's home. The back of Anna's head—covered in a hair net—faces the camera lens.

Do you recognize the 7Up bottle partially visible in the lower right corner?

Related by Marriage: Mostly Menfolk

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, November 1965. Everyone gathers at the home of Mr. Irene's maternal Grandparents to celebrate a visit from Uncle Ignas. From left to right: Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather, Stanley; Mr. Irene's Dad; Uncle Ignas; and Mr. Irene's Mom.

Thanks to Mr. Irene's Los Angeles Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Realted by Marriage: Another View of the Table

Bridgeport, Chicago, Illinois, Winter 1958. This time, Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt Martha isn't taking the photo; she's seated at the head of the table. That's a rare expression on Martha's face.

The parish calendar hangs on the dining-room wall.

Brewery Reunion

New Glarus, Wisconsin, February 28, 2015. There's little action underway during the weekend.

"Loopy Lithuania"

An episode on Booze Traveler.

Weekend Relaxation

New Glarus, Wisconsin, October 2014. Find a comfortable spot.

Related by Marriage: Brothers, Content

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, June 27, 1959. Wally, the husband of Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt Martha, and his brother celebrate Wally and Martha's wedding day.

Backyard Picnic

Suburban Chicago, July 1969. My Mom's best friend, Donna, and Donna's husband, Vytenis, host a barbeque. Mom brought her knitting bag.

Friday Afternoon, in Three Takes

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Beardmore, Ontario, Canada, 1947 or 1948. Toronto Al's Dad, Vladas, relaxes at the lumber yard.

Thanks to Toronto Al for making these photos available to us.

Bummeris*

Mr. Irene and I had planned last night to attend the annual banquet of the Madison Vilnius Sister Cities, Inc. organization. We couldn't go because I got the flu! I haven't had a cold or other viral illness since 2007, so I was shocked when I developed feverish symptoms and spent three days in bed. It was a big disappointment.

Mr. Irene did, however, stop off at the venue to deliver the items he and I donated to the banquet's loterija. He snapped a few photos while he was there.

Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. Our gracious greeter checked in guests.

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. The raffle prizes included Lithuanian beer, some woven sashes, a woven tablecloth, two baumkuchenai, and a bottle of Polish vodka (our fault).

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. How nice!

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. Super bummeris: look what we missed. The chef again adapted some Lithuanian dishes for the service. This time, he added Cepelinai to the menu.

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. The guest of honor was His Excellency Žygimantas Pavilionis, the Lithuanian Ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador Pavilionis also spoke to WISC-TV. You can watch the clip here.

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*Lithuanians adopt English nouns into their vocabulary by adding declentive endings to the words. "Bummer" becomes "bummeris;" "basement" is "basementas;" and "blog" is "blogas."

Related by Marriage: Army Buddies (Part 22)

West Germany, early 1950s. In this "Army Buddies" snapshot, a friend of Mr. Irene's Dad wrote, "Here I am with a young lady, with whom I spent some time tasting beer."

Related by Marriage: A Lucky Dog

 
Verona, Wisconsin, December 24, 2013. Baci helps Mr. Irene's Parents start the Kūčios meal.

(Mr. Irene's Dad enjoys a Švyturys beer.)

A Papillon, in Three Takes

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New Glarus, Wisconsin, July 2013. This is Frankie, a Papillon pup from Columbus, Ohio. We met Frankie at the New Glarus Brewery. Shortly after our brewery stop, we ate a late lunch and took home that doggie bag.

UPDATE: Typo fixed. A commenter corrected my spelling of the dog breed. *Blushes.*

Related by Marriage: The menfolk relax.

Union Pier, Michigan, Summer 1961. Mr. Irene, his Dad, and his maternal Grandfather, Stanley, relax at Union Pier. The family often enjoyed a weekend getaway to that familiar spot.

The Knitting Aunt

She's a beer: "Tante Tricotante."

Related by Marriage: German Beer

West Germany, early 1950s. Here's a Lithuanian friend of Mr. Irene's Dad. The U.S. drafted the friend after he emigrated to the United States; he was stationed in West Germany. On the back of this photo, the friend wrote, "Here you see me with a little bottle of beer. I think you'd like to be here with me, sharing a German beer."

"An overlooked beer destination in the Baltics."

Lithuania, The New York Times's twenty-fourth "Place[ ] to Go in 2013."

It's a precious list of places (Bhutan: "A pristine Buddhist enclave opens, with care"). But there's no mention of Romuva.

I'm glad Lithuania gets recognition. Will I go? No. I no longer travel (and I don't drink beer).