The Big Stage

University of Wisconsin—Madison, January 26, 1992. We're performing a quadrille, "Ketvirtainis."

Related by Marriage: A Plot with Lilies

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938. Mr. Irene's paternal Grandfather, Stanley, and other relatives visit Cousin O's plot.

Today's the day.

The Fifteenth Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival takes place today in Baltimore, Maryland. Our Madison-area folk dance group, Žaibas, will perform at the event.

Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, July 1992. Žaibas is ready to march in the dancers' parade.

Christening

Sacred Heart Church, Melrose Park, Illinois, December 1958. My Godmother's husband must have taken this snapshot; recall Parents and Grandparents do not, in our culture, attend baptisms.

The Performance

Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, July 1992. The size of the festival's audience catches Mr. Irene's attention.

(Hey! I sewed Mr. Irene's folk costume.)

Related by Marriage: Home Wake

Bridgeport, Chicago, Illinois, about 1939. We don't know who died, but Mr. Irene's family saved this image of the entry to a home wake.

Related by Marriage: Attention

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 11, 1958. The honor guard at the wedding of Mr. Irene's Parents listen to the ceremony.

Related by Marriage: Resting after the Ritual

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, Spring 1960. Mr. Irene's Parents, Wally, and Martha relax after the Sunday meal.

Awaiting Instructions

Madison, Wisconsin, January 26, 1992. Mr. Irene and I await final dance instructions before we head to another performance.

Spring Thing

Madison, Wisconsin, Spring 1992. The Madison folk dance group, Žaibas, poses for the shot to be included in the Ninth Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival program.

"Irish songs, jokes & Lithuanian Dancers"

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St. Joseph Catholic Parish School, Baraboo, Wisconsin, March 15, 1992. There are several ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Final Rehearsal

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Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, July 1992. We're ready for the big performance.

Performance

Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, July 1992. Members of Žaibas perform at the Ninth Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival (you may recognize my striped skirt).

The dance is "Blezdingėlė." Also here:

Shrove Tuesday

Here are some Lithuanian customs for the day. (Here's a photo from a 1923 Shrove Tuesday. And here's a recipe for those traditional pancakes.)

ADDED: Here's our recipe for "Pončkai." You probably think of them as "Paczki."

It's "World Cepelinas Day"

Are you cooking Cepelinai today? We're not, but it's a nice day to revisit the recipe:

The last time Mr. Irene and I had Cepelinai was when we visited Grand Duke's Restaurant:

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"The Ex-Husband Sweater"

Oh, gee whiz. It's a twist on the sweater curse (namely, the "rescue mission mechanism "):

The rational explanation of the sweater curse is that a handmade sweater is typically thick, elastic, and clingy: it suggests that the woman who is making it wants to surround its recipient and enclose him. To be presented with such a garment is a signal to a man that its maker has serious plans for him. If he is not ready for this, the gift will embarrass him and may frighten him away. (The same phenomenon, according to one of my informants, has been observed in relationships between two women.) It has been claimed that knitting a deliberate mistake into the sweater will break the curse, but according to one of my friends this doesn’t usually work. Knitters would therefore be well advised to wait until after the wedding to start any such project—especially since it is also believed by some that a sweater made for a husband both warns off other women and keeps him safe at home.

Weekend Coffee

Suburban Chicago, 1979. Dad and Mom are guests for coffee. I see a box of slides on the coffee table. It could be a long afternoon.

Related by Marriage: Taking the Stage

Chicago, Illinois, July 1980. Mr. Irene's Los Angeles Cousin performs at the Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival.

(Check out the hairstyle of the fellow on the left, wearing the blue vest. Rod Stewartish!)

Applause

Madison's International Festival takes place tomorrow at the Overture Center. The Wisconsin folk dance group, Žaibas, will perform at 12:45.

Žaibas is the group with which Mr. Irene and I performed in the early 1990s. We danced at the festivals back when they occurred at the old Oscar Mayer Theater.

Madison, Wisconsin, 1991 to 1995. Here are Žaibas's curtain calls at the early festivals.

Thanks to my friend Nijole for making these clips available to us.

A Lesson about Sharing

Suburban Chicago, December 24, 1960. I don't mind sharing the pink bear with my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, because I carry my favorite stuffed dog. It was a good haul.