Coffee Service

Suburban Chicago, June 1961. That coffee pot was a great toy.

Summer Sweater

Penza, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, Summer 1962. My paternal Grandmother Tatjana's younger sister, Natasha, wrote, "On our little terrace."

Favorite-Toy Reunion

Suburban Chicago, April 1972. Gigi keeps things close.

A Visit with the Grandchild

Klaipeda, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, August 20, 1960. A friend of my paternal Grandmother sent this photo. I focus on two things: the Soviet-style doll and the armchair.

A Closer Look (Part 64)

Kaunas, Lithuania, November 24, 1930. This is another image in which Mom already had her "adult face." Here's the original post.

Dedication

Hanau, Germany, about 1946. My friend Nijole has brought a doll to the scouting ceremony.

Thanks to Nijole for making this photo available to us.

"And also, while Sangelica is adorable 95 percent of the time, it’s really pretty disturbing to see how the bear drinks through its forehead."

A giant teddy bear walks into a Tokyo Starbucks.

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.

Related by Marriage: Tinsel

Suburban Chicago, December 1959. Mr. Irene absorbs his first Christmas.

Christmas Bows

Suburban Chicago, December 1968. My favorite stuffed animals are dressed for Christmas. Left to right: Apollo 8, Jimmy, Fuzzina, and Laurie. I still have these four treasures.

Decision Making

Verona, Wisconsin, October 2011. Poppy contemplates her favorite toy.

The Tchotchkes Shelves

Suburban Chicago, 1967. This photo shows the items on display in the Rec Room (see also here, here, and here). Did you have a troll doll?

Related by Marriage: Explorer

Los Angeles, California, about 1962. Mr. Irene's Los Angeles Cousin contemplates the future.

Thanks to Los Angeles Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Party Favors

Suburban Chicago, April 1961. My babysitter does a head count of the guests; she then helps my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, prepare the party treats. I move from the kitchen into the living room to play with the toy piano and my friend's Slyvester-the-Cat doll.

Tatjana quickly adopted the American custom of birthday parties (in Lithuania, people celebrate name days, not birthdays). This clip also offers a glimpse of our dependable refrigerator, and it captures Tatjana tearing off sheets of waxed paper. She always relied on waxed paper. Waxed paper! Who uses that now? It was never really functional.

Oh: that vase with the carnations. It's still in use. 

A Recovered Image

My Mom's friend Joy sent this photo in the early 1990s.

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1923. This is my Mom.

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 On the back of the photo, Joy wrote:

 Dearest [Irene's Mom],

This is you!

This photo is historical. It was with me in Siberia in my photo album. It endured all of our sufferings along the shores of the Laptev Sea. It was there for all 17 years of the deportation. Then the photo returned with me to Lithuania in 1958, and now it is in America! 1991.

Hazard

Suburban Chicago, June 1960. I remember my Parents received that whirligig as a housewarming gift. It frightened me. I wasn't afraid of getting knocked in the head by it. Instead, the sharp edges spooked me.

Related by Marriage: Thanks for the Big Bear

Los Angeles, California, about 1960. Mr. Irene's Los Angeles Cousin enjoys her new bear. (There's a copy of "Draugas" on the end of the couch.)

Party Posing

Suburban Chicago, April 1959. Two of the boys are not camera shy.

Foiled, in Three Takes

I've only lived with cats twice: once in college, and later in Venice. Those cats weren't mine, so I didn't pay attention to feline training methods, lures, and repellents. I did, however, believe that one could teach a cat not to jump on counters by lining the surfaces with aluminum foil. The foil trick is a myth!

I recently delivered a coffee cake to a friend. We set the cake in a safe spot so her cats couldn't get near it, but I left the foil wrappers on the counter. Here's what one of her cats, Bogey, did when he saw the foil:

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Verona, Wisconsin, April 1, 2015. Bogey is extraordinarily affectionate. When I sat down, he plopped himself on the shoulder rest above me and licked my cheek.

A toy brings out the inner dog.

Wolf plays.