The old place has an antenna.

Near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, 1961. Mom must be enjoying the view of the lake.

Sleepy Baba

Suburban Chicago, 1967. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, dozes off while watching television.

Related by Marriage: The Godparents

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 18, 1959. Mr. Irene's Godparents, Martha and Anthony, admire the new arrival.

Wooden-Shoe Reunion

Suburban Chicago, February 1964. The hamster seems to be steering toward the television.

After Work

Suburban Chicago, June 1972. Dad and Gigi relax in the Rec Room. Mom's there, too, knitting.

Lovely Kitty

Unwinding

Suburban Chicago, February 1962. Mom catches up on some television viewing.

Twin Peaks, in Stitches

"A Ranking of All 118 Sweaters Seen on Twin Peaks."

I watched the show when I lived in South Carolina, but I didn't pay attention to the sweaters then. My top picks are #80, #68, and #60.

"War and Peace" returns.

Parts of the new movie were filmed in Lithuania.

My Mom and I watched the 1972 version in the weeks after my Dad died. We rented the VHS tapes of the production and did a 1980s-version of binge watching. We played the tapes on the small television in Mom and Dad's bedroom. I don't remember why, but we started watching the series installments late each night. Sometimes we didn't finish an episode until after 1:00 am.

First-Christmas Reunion

Madison, Wisconsin, December 1989. Mr. Irene and I decorated the apartment for the holidays. This is the piece hanging above the fireplace. You may recognize the coffee table.

Happy Halloween.

Suburban Chicago, October 31, 1967. I revisit my favorite costume.

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, sewed a white, trick-or-treating tote to match the costume. I dragged the tote through the puddles as my Best Friend and I walked around the neighborhood late in the afternoon that Halloween. When I got home, Tatjana and my Mom saw that the bag—and the candy I'd collected—had been soaked. They threw everything away. I only got the remnants of what we'd bought to pass out to trick-or-treaters. The splendid variety of my haul was gone, and I was left with one bag of Life Savers.

Related by Marriage: "Howdy Folks!"

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, December 1962. "Howdy Folks!" is how Mr. Irene's Mom captioned this photo of Mr. Irene and his maternal Aunt, Martha.

Evening Nap

Suburban Chicago, June 1972. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, dozes in the chair that stood closest to the TV.

The plaque hanging above the telephone is a relief depicting a stork pair. Dad picked it up during our European vacation. The drapes featured an avocado and gold pattern.

July Days

Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, July 1959. Mom reported last night that one of the house-search television shows featured an episode focused on the Parry Sound/Georgian Bay region. Mom fondly remembers the beauty of the area, but she can't imagine having a vacation home on a remote island (that led to a short discussion about medical emergencies). Mom noted that when she and Dad stayed in Parry Sound, the closest grocery store was about 10 miles away, and it was a lousy store.

She also fondly recalled the time spent blueberry picking. Mom reminded us that she lost interest in picking after the rattlesnake incident. ("There were snakes there!")

"Why Do TV Characters All Own the Same Weird Old Blanket?"

It's that granny-square afghan.

Don't lose count.

Suburban Chicago, June 1963. It's easy to lose count if you work on a two-color project while you watch television.

Babos Receptai (Part 11)

Here's a recipe in which my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, illustrated our tendency to mix the Lithuanian and English languages:

Tatjana also has written the telephone number and surname of a patient on the lower corner of the page. The patient must have called for Mom while Tatjana was baking.

Lithuanian newspapers regularly use English words in their stories (they do correctly conjugate or decline the words). For example: the Lithuanian word for "exhibit" is "paroda," and the word for "television show" is "programa." Articles now use the word "šou" (pronounced "show") to describe both. And "reality show" is "realybės šou."

Related by Marriage: Graduation season approaches.

Suburban Chicago, June 1976. Mr. Irene rocked those tinted aviators.

(He wore a different eyeglass style here.)

Related by Marriage: Matron of Honor

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, June 1959. Mr. Irene's Mom stands up at the wedding of her sister, Martha.

A Visit to the Lithuanian Countryside ...

... by House Hunters International.