Russian Lake

Near Penza, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, Summer 1956. Natasha, a younger sister of my paternal Grandmother Tatjana, wrote "To my dear sister Tanjusha, in the summer."

Thanks (again) to my dear friend D for translating the text from Russian to English.

Listening

Door County, Wisconsin, July 1981. Porcupines cause trouble. They eat the siding on wooden homes, and they fearlessly tangle with small dogs (like Gigi). When confronted by a human, however, they usually escape by scampering up a tree.

Summer Tan

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. Mom and Dad pose in the cabin.

Great Tapestry of Scotland

Lovely.

Decision Making

Toronto, Ontario, 1960. My Dad's twin sister, Jonė, and her husband, Kadis, visit High Park.

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

"Arsenic Ball Gown"

A garment featured in the exhibit, "Fashion Victims: The Pleasures and Perils of Dress in the 19th Century."

Choppy

Venice, Italy, May 1984. I'm on my way back to the Lido.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 27)

Kaunas, Lithuania, January 29, 1940. A friend gives my Mom another "senior portrait."

Vacation Picnic

Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, July 1959. The Weimaraner wants to join in on the fun.

A Resting Place for Vlad

Estonian scholars uncover Dracula's tomb in Naples, Italy.

Tight

Bologna, Italy, April 1984. The medieval city center wasn't built for this kind of traffic.

Vacation Chores

Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, July 1956. My Toronto Cousin helps my Dad wash the car.

Related by Marriage: A Gentle Boy

Suburban Chicago, January 1965. Mr. Irene shares his space with Cousin I.

A Note about Fair-Isle Technique

Color dominance.

"Without the boards, it will be the end of Limburger cheese made in the United States."

FDA decides the use of wooden boards in cheese making is unsanitary.

A Memorable Storm

Verona, Wisconsin, June 2008. I earlier posted images from this storm here and here.

I am ready to go home.

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1965. It's the end of our long summer vacation.

Air Traffic

Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, July 1959. My Toronto Cousin and a friend contemplate the gulls.

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

A Familiar Space: Tatjana's "Nightstand"

Suburban Chicago, June 1972. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, and I shared a bedroom. Two twin beds stood in the room, separated by my little desk. Here are Tatjana's things as she readies for sleep: the copper-colored alarm clock, her over-sized, square-faced wristwatch, and the pins with which she secured her hair bun.

The Start of the Eighth-Grade Field Trip

Suburban Chicago, June 1972. Our eighth-grade class prepares to depart for Springfield. We settle down as Sister P. explains proper behavior, and Mr. R. checks for contraband.

A Cloudy Sunday at the Zoo

Brookfield Zoo, June 1965. It's early afternoon, so Dad and I are headed home to eat the midday meal that my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, has prepared. I'm practicing photo taking with the old Brownie camera. Two years later, I will receive a new camera.

Another Look at the "Petunia Visitor"

Suburban Chicago, June 1965. It's good to see a different view.

Dad liked to stage "stranded" shots.

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1965. Dad's on the rocks also here. More "stranded" poses here and here.

Related by Marriage: Remembering Stanley

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1961. We're remembering Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather, Stanley, because he died 40 years ago today. Here is is with Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother, Anna. They were married for 57 years and four days.

Exercising in the Living Room

Suburban Chicago, December 1963. One of the hamsters tests out the new living-room furniture.

From an Outtakes Box

Downers Grove, Illinois, Autumn 1963. I was shuffling through one of Dad's outtakes boxes, and I ran across this photo. I don't know why Dad didn't like it; I find it more appealing than the ones from that day he had pasted in the photo album.

Setting Sail

Atlantic Ocean, Summer 1955. Here's another image of my Best Friend's Dad, Dolfo, and her sister as they prepare to sail from Genoa to the United States aboard the Andrea Doria.

Thanks to my Best Friend for making this photo available to us.

Seventy Years

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

Normandy, June, 2010. Thanks to my friend Susan for making these photos available to us.

This spot was so nice that we stayed there twice.

Mayrhofen, Austria, July 1971. It's a nice place; most of the guests were German tourists.

Unrest in Crimea boosts Lithuanian tourism.

"The more the situation in the region remains unstable, the more Russians and Ukrainians will ponder spending their vacation in an environment similar to the one they were used to in the Crimea. I mean, the language and climate. In that sense, Lithuania really suits them."

Palanga has been a popular beach destination for many years.

We've planted the flower garden.

Kėdainiai, Lithuania, probably early 1930s. My friend V sent along another image of her paternal Grandmother, her Dad, and her paternal Uncle.

Thanks, V!

"After the United States and Ukraine, the countries named as the most hostile to Russia were the three Baltic states -- Lithuania (25 percent), Latvia (23 percent) and Estonia (21 percent)."

"A survey conducted by an independent Russian polling agency."

(Emphasis added.)

A Selection from Dad

Utica, Illinois, October 1963. Dad chose this photo of himself at Starved Rock as one of the images to preserve in the "'little Irene' photo album."

A Stranded Throne

A yarnbombed toilet.

Do you speak their language?

"Their" = Goats.

Miss Mildred

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1965. Thanks for the tip about the fishing spot!

Two Memories

Addison, Illinois, August 1963. (1) It made me sad to see a melancholy deer behind a fence at Adventureland. (2) I hated that outfit: I never liked "pedal pushers," and that embroidered bull on the top was ridiculous.

Sit-Down Lunch

Camp Aušra (later Camp Kretinga), Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, 1957. The pavilion is a cool place to eat a meal.

"Despite efforts to hire English teachers for the trolls, most of the comments are written in barely coherent English."

"The bizarre hive of social media activity appears to be part of a two-pronged Kremlin campaign to claim control over the internet, launching a million-dollar army of trolls to mold American public opinion as it cracks down on internet freedom at home."

Hey everybody; let's dance!

The band with which Mr. Irene once played opened our wedding reception with a few numbers:

 Suburban Chicago, June 3, 1989. It's great to see so many friends' faces again.

They're ready for the toast.

Suburban Chicago, June 3, 1989. Mr. Irene's Parents and my Mom stand by with the plate of bread, wine, and salt.

It's time to sing "Ilgiausių Metų" again.

Suburban Chicago, June 3, 1989. Here's a clip of the wedding guests singing "Ilgiausių Metų." When they finish the first verse, a woman asserts "Vaisingų!!", or "Fruitful Years!!" That prompts me to gesture a finger wag.

Closer to the Trail

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. Sometimes we forgot we were in the mountains.

Grab a Book: Vacation Edition

Near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, July 1959. Many vacation activities took place on that bench.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 26)

Lithuania, about mid-1940s. These two women are the daughters of the sister of Kadis, the husband of my Dad's twin sister, Jonė. That makes the women first cousins of my Toronto Cousin.

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

Preschool Reunion

Madison, Wisconsin, September 2011. Poppy waits for class to begin.

Related by Marriage: Include Grandma at the table.

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1961. Every party had a bottle of 50/50 on the table.

We spent another afternoon picking blueberries.

Near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, July 1959. Mom loved to pick wild blueberries and strawberries wherever she vacationed. She was cautious after the rattlesnake incident.

She was cautious about mushrooms.

"Blue Polizia"

A Lamborghini joins the Italian police force.

Ready for the Season

Venice, Italy, April 1984. Gondolas wait for tourists near a hotel.

Mow before it rains.

Door County, Wisconsin, June 1977. Dad is getting the mowing done.

My First Vacation

Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, July 1960. Mom introduces me to the water. My Dad's twin sister, Jonė, sits on the sand.

Red-Poodle Reunion

Door County, Wisconsin, July 2004. Mr. Irene used to take Pupa and Baci on two 90-minute walks per day when we spent time in Door County. Here, Baci relaxes after one of those hikes.

Another Walk with Dad

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1964. I'm always startled by how an old home movie captures someone's body language.

A Weekend in the Reeds

 Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, about 1949. Toronto Al's Dad, Vladas, considers the turn.

Thanks to Vladas's son—Toronto Al—for making this photo available to us.

"The choice to leave academia does not have to mean life as a barista."

"So why are humanities Ph.D.s outside academia so invisible? One reason is that within academic departments there is a culture of stigmatizing doctoral candidates who take non-academic posts, making them less inclined to stick around and contribute to debates about the future of the field."

A professor told me if my dissertation were dull, then I would work at an insurance company.

Žemaitukas

"The Zemaitukas is a breed of pony from Lithuania. Known in written documents from the sixth and seventh centuries and used during the Northern crusades as a war horse. During this time the pony had a widespread population, but over time the breed almost became extinct three times."

Container Gardening, in Three Takes

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

Madison, Wisconsin, June 2004. I used to plant many containers. We've scaled back.

Publicity Portrait

Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, November 6, 1969. Elena, one of the two younger sisters of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, writes, "To Tanusha, my little sister.* I am posing in costume. This is how I earn money. I am living the life of a widow."

Thanks again to my friend, D, for translating the text from Russian to English.

*[My paternal Grandmother was the eldest of six children; Elena must refer to Tatjana's size, not her age.]

Anatomy Class

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1940. Here's another image of my Dad's twin sister, Jonė, from the time she attended medical school. (I earlier posted a photo of my Mom's anatomy class.)

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

It's reasonable to fear and avoid heights.

Skydeck glass on Sears Willis Tower's ledge cracks.

The Path Behind the House

Penza, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1962. Natasha, a sister of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, wrote, "Path beyond the house where we live. Our house is on the left, behind the trees."

 
Thanks (again) to my dear friend D for translating the text from Russian to English.

Spring Trio

Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, Spring 1962. It's warm enough to step out without a jacket.