Christmas Manners: Know your lines.

Suburban Chicago, December 1964. Santa won't hand over a gift unless you recite a poem.

Muzzles

Verona, Wisconsin, December 19, 2015. Mama and one of the twins await the rest of the herd.

Paddling Santas

In Vilnius, Lithuania.

ADDED: In Venice, the Santas row.

More here from the hometown of Mr. Irene's Dad.

Christmas Manners: Show the tree to your best friend.

Indiana, about 1963. My friend V enjoys the season with her compliant kitty.

Thanks to V for making this photo available to us.

Sunbathing Reunion

Brookfield Zoo, January 1973. Enjoy the winter warmth.

Related by Marriage: Gifts

Madison, Wisconsin, December 24, 1991. Mr. Irene watches as Aunt Martha opens a gift.

Morning Conversation

Verona, Wisconsin, January 2009. Rex and Baci exchange greetings.

Waiting at the Bay Window

Suburban Chicago, December 24, 1965. Dad spots me again waiting at the window for Santa.

Bank

Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, January 1965. We've stopped along the drive.

Before the Party

Suburban Chicago, December 1965. My Godmother and her husband pop in for a visit on their way to a ball. I remember the dress vividly; the bodice was ivory and the skirt was gold. The gloves made a big impression.

Winter White

Brookfield Zoo, December 1969. Something catches her attention.

At the Opera

Kaunas, Lithuania, March 22, 1927. The American Consul to Lithuania attends the opera. The Consul wrote:

This evening we heard Carmen at the opera with Kovno's best singer, Petrauskas. At one time, he sang with the St. Petersburg opera, but somehow drifted to Kovno after the war [see here and here]. He is an excellent singer and actor. ... The orchestra did well considering its small size. ... The scenery was good, it having been painted by a Kovno artist who went to Spain to find appropriate scenes. We were in the diplomatic box with Mr. and Mrs. Balodis (the Latvian minister), Mr. Oiderman (the Estonian representative, and Mr. Balutis, who is about to be appointed Under Secretary in the Foreign Office which will give him almost the rank of a cabinet minister. ... President and Mrs. Smetona were in the box next to us. ... The theater was completely filled and the audience was most enthusiastic, calling Petrauskas and others before the curtain many times after each act.

Thanks to the Consul's Granddaughter for making this photo available to us.

December Mild

Verona, Wisconsin, December 2015. The heating bill arrived yesterday; the total was one half the amount of last year's December bill.

Christmas Manners: Feign delight.

Suburban Chicago, December 1964. You know he's fake, but he did bring gifts.

Finished

Verona, Wisconsin, December 2015. Here's a new cardigan. The motif, based on a Latvian mitten, is the same one I used in another sweater. Janine Bajus kindly made her interpretation of the motif available to me. I designed the colors based on cowl and tam I knitted earlier.

Satisfaction

Door County, Wisconsin, January 1979. Mom has adjusted to her "ski legs."

The Madison Kūčios Celebration

Madison-Vilnius Sister Cities, Inc. and the Madison-area folk dance group, Žaibas, hosted its annual Kūčios gathering yesterday. It's a lovely event, and folks arrive from around the state to celebrate the occasion.

Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. Each table featured a plate of plotkelės.

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. It's a potluck affair. I made Christmas Fish. (See menu items and recipes here and here and here.)

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. We had several delicious herring dishes.

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. That's my (first) plate. My favorite dish was the "Herring Under a Fur Coat."

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. Santa arrives!

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. Santa engages the children in the "Jurgelis Meistrelis" dance. Santa had push-ups on the mind.

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. This Santa was so good that even his children didn't recognize him.

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. Santa had a tree decorated with straw ornaments.

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. Finally, it's time for the gifts!

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. Aww, bless.

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Madison, Wisconsin, December 12, 2015. There's no free gift for the older children: each must recite a poem or perform a song before Santa passes along the prize.

Hikers' Tunnel

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1968. It's the way to the other side.

Christmas Manners: Dance for Santa

Bulger Park, Veteran's Park District, Melrose Park, Illinois, December 1966. It's a practiced routine.

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.

"Fashion Santa"

A different type of "Santa Fake."

Hallelujah Chorus

This video is not new, but it still makes me smile.

Inspection

Suburban Chicago, December 1970. Gigi explores the tree. (That unwrapped box from Marshall Field's is probably Dad's gift to Mom.)

Related by Marriage: Handmade Greeting

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Suburban Chicago, about 1965. Here's an item from Mr. Irene's Life Box.

Thanks, Tara!

Madison, Wisconsin, 2015. Tara made my day.

Christmas Manners: Dance with Santa

Suburban Chicago, December 1964. The children from our Lithuanian school join in another round of "Jurgelis Meistrelis." I'm the girl with the eyeglasses; my friend Kris wears a plaid skirt and faces the camera.

Winter River

Thatcher Woods, Suburban Chicago, January 1962. The river rarely froze.

Rex's First Christmas

Monona, Wisconsin, December 2005. Rex briefly aspired to be a show dog. Nice paws!

It would be nice to have a little snow.

Suburban Chicago, December 1964. I never was good at shaping snowballs.

Borganza coats were popular in the 1960s. Borganza "fur" slightly resembled sheared beaver: fashion's answer to Naugahyde.

Gift Exchange

Suburban Chicago, December 1962. I'm on the floor, observing the guests. Hey! That little fellow has a bottle of my favorite soda.

Attentive

Brookfield Zoo, December 1965. Is a "brown bear" the same as a "grizzly bear?"

Freshly Cut

Door County, Wisconsin, December 1978. This is the only time we cut our own tree. The tree grew on the Door County property. We transported it back to our Suburban-Chicago home.

I loved that coat. It was an Irish tweed. Mom first bought an identical coat for herself. I liked her coat so much that my Parents took me to the State Street Marshall Field's, where they purchased one like Mom's for me. I wore it for years. I regret giving it away!

(Hey! That's my first car.)

Forest-Floor Reunion

Door County, Wisconsin, November 1976. Gigi takes the lake path.

Christmas Manners: Watch the teacher's cues.

Bulger Park, Veteran's Park District, Melrose Park, Illinois, December 1966. I am relieved my part in the play has ended.

ADDED: Typo in header corrected. Usage!

Depth

Verona, Wisconsin, December 2014. She's following the path to the cornfield.

Starlets

An Interruption

Suburban Chicago, December 1964. Mom takes a call while she and I bake Christmas cookies.

Paint the Rock.

Evanston, Illinois, 1978. Mr. Irene and his friends visit the Rock.

I used to pass the Rock on my way to class; the Rock stood outside Harris Hall.

Eglutė

A Christmas tree decorated with Lithuanian ornaments stands in Chicago's Midway Airport.

Knitivity

In Bristol, UK.

The Life Box (Part 26)

Suburban Chicago, 1964. I create a Dad-inspired scrapbook page.

(I still use Dad's tripod. It was handy when I was photographing the crane family.)

Heading Home

Door County, Wisconsin, January 1979. Mom has finished skiing, and she follows Gigi.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 57)

Probably Seligenstadt, Germany, 1949. A friend of Mr. Irene's Dad passed along this memento before the friend sailed to the United States.

Tracks

Camp Irwin, Barstow, California, 1951 or 1952. Tracks mark the desert field where the tank lessons took place.

The tree is up.

Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1959. The family of my Kaunas Cousin prepares for the New Year celebration.

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo available to us.