A View of the Displaced Persons Camps

From the "No Home to Go To" Exhibit.

Hammered Dulcimer

Madison, Wisconsin, December 1989. I once tried to learn to play the dulcimer. It did not go well.

A View from the Hydrofoil

Naples, Italy, May 1984. We're on the way to Capri, and we leave Mount Vesuvius and the Castel dell'Ovio behind us.

The New Principal

Suburban Chicago, about 1966. After my favorite grade-school principal got reassigned to a different post, this sister took over the leadership role. I remember her as a stern, but fair and quiet, person.

(Here she is in post-Vatican II habit.)

Monsieur

Verona, Wisconsin, March 2016. The mister awaits his mate.

Suburban Dream Home

Chicago, Illinois, 1958. A friend of Mr. Irene's Mom moves into her new home.

Tested

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Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, April 2, 2016. Our friend Tom reported that he tried my paternal Grandmother's recipe for Devil's Food Cake. He made the cake shortly after I posted the recipe, and the result was a success.

Thanks to Tom for sharing photos of the cake.

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.

Why we don't know much about Stalin.

"Americans might be less receptive because of our own mythology of the Second World War. Anything that detracts from that simplified portrait is often unwelcome. Tales of Nazi horrors inflate the American experience and place American efforts front and center. Discussion of the central role of the Soviet Union, and its 20 million dead, deflates American experience and pushes American efforts to the margins."

Pfui

Verona, Wisconsin, April 2, 2016. Here's how things looked this morning.

Babos Receptai (Part 14)

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, baked only a few signature items. She often made (and I still bake) "Babos Pyragas." She also (over)baked Banana Cake. Occasionally, she made Devil's Food cupcakes from scratch. She never frosted the cupcakes, so they were quite dry. (I dislike cupcakes, by the way, because who wants to eat all that hard crust? Isn't it better to eat the soft, moist inside of a cake?)

Here's Tatjana's recipe for the Devil's Food Cupcakes (notice again the chemical formulas):

Here's how I wrote up the recipe:

Devil's Food Cake

(1) First, cream together:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 whole eggs

(2) Second, sift together:
 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

 (3) Third, stir together:
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla

And now add to the (1) sugar/shortening/egg mixture the (2) sifted dry ingredients and (3) the liquid ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in three additions and the liquid ingredients in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

A cake (Tatjana used a 10-inch tube pan) bakes for about 45 to 55 minutes* at 350 degrees F.

ADDED: A reader tests this recipe.

*Baking time adjusted from the duration I originally had posted.

Returning

Verona, Wisconsin, April 2014. The Goldfinches will be back soon.

"Remembering you ... we are always together."

Kaunas, Lithuania, November 30, 1995. My Mom's friend Joy cherishes an image from the portrait sitting.

March Browns

Verona, Wisconsin, March 2014. She's setting out on a good path.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 58)

Seligenstadt, Germany, about 1949. My Mom's friend has a passport photo, and she is ready to emigrate.

Extended-Family Reunion

University of Wisconsin—Madison Arboretum, March 20, 2016. Everything will be fine if you stay on your own rock.

Crossing

University of Wisconsin Baraboo/Sauk County, Baraboo, Wisconsin, April 1994. I don't remember which dance this was, but I recall it was fun.

Piratical Shore

Amalfi, Italy, May 1984. It's not a welcoming spot, but it makes for a nice drive.

Another Party at the German Villa

Kaunas, Lithuania, April 26, 1927. The American Consul to Lithuania wrote:

This storm had abated somewhat when Professor Ranzoni and I went to the Morahts' where we were invited for the dinner they were giving President and Mrs. Smetona and the Minister President and Mrs. Voldemaras. Lily was unable to go . . . There were again 13 persons at the table, my second experience of this kind within 24 hours . . . this was the President's first appearance in a private gathering since his election. Mrs. Smetona has always wanted to accept such invitations, but the Foreign Offie steadfastly objected on the ground that it would be improper for the President to appear socially at legations since by so doing, he would be obliged to accept all such invitations, whether he wishes to or not. But Mrs. Smetona finally had her way, as usual. She accepted the Moraht invitation on the condition that the party should be informal; so to keep up the fiction of informality, no invitations were send out and the guests were requested to come in afternoon clothes. Everybody did this but Professor Voldemaras, who wore a Tuxedo. The party was rather stiff at first, but after the first glass of wine, everybody became lively and the animation became greater as time passed. After dinner, the ladies played bridge. Mr. Moraht retired to a quiet corner with the President and talked for over an hour. Professor and Mrs. Voldemaras left and midnight and the President and his wife an hour later. Mr. Moraht compelled the professor and me to stay one. We left at about half-past one after a very enjoyable and interesting evening.

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

An Earlier Variation

I realized after I published "A Gift for a Guardian Angel" that I neglected to post photos of sweater I earlier had knitted for one of my cherished physicians. It was a big project: the recipient wears extra-long garments, and the finished sweater measured 50 inches across. It took about eight weeks to knit it—at a pace of about four hours of knitting per day.

(The most common two remarks people make about knitting: "How long did that take?" and "If I buy the yarn, will you knit me a sweater?")



Madison and Verona, Wisconsin, October 2013. This design is Alice Starmore's "Alba" from The Celtic Collection. I changed the colors to the same 15, undyed natural colors I earlier had used to knit the same sweater for Mr. Irene.

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The design also is available, as a kit, here.

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Oh! And I knitted the original design, way back when, for myself:

A Traveler's Traveling T-Shirt

When our Toronto Cousin and Toronto Al visit us here in Wisconsin, we sometimes visit a Black-Earth store, The Shoe Box. Toronto Al once picked up a T-Shirt there.

Black Earth, Wisconsin, January 2013. The shop still sported its seasonal decorations.

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St. Lucia, March 2016. My Toronto Cousin and Toronto Al recently vacationed in the Caribbean. I was delighted to see several photos of Toronto Al in which he wore The Shoe Box T-Shirt.

Easterscapes, in Three Takes

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Suburban Chicago, Spring 1965 or 1966. My Best Friend's Mom, Louise, decorated the house for every holiday.

A Last-Minute Project

Suburban Chicago, March 1970. Happy Easter everyone. (Here's a color image from the same day.)

Hoarfrost Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, March 24, 2016. It was a monochromatic morning.

A Friend's Mother

 

Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, November 11, 1978. This is the mother of my Mom's friend Joy. On the back of this photo, Joy wrote, "This is my Mama, Marija, in Kaunas when she reached her 80th birthday. From 1941 she endured 17 years in the Siberian prison camp, along the shores of the Laptev Sea. We survived those years in Stalin's prison listening to propaganda."

Anniversary of the Later Deportations

March 25, 1949.

Here's an (English-language) account of the 1941 deportations. More here.

Alcatraz, in Three Takes

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San Francisco, August 1993. I sent a few trip photos to Mom and wrote, "This is Alcatraz prison, the spot where I caught my vacation cold."

Related by Marriage: A Spot to Rest

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 1958. Attendants at the wedding of Mr. Irene's Parents relax between their duties.

Cracked Reunion

Pompeii, Italy, May 1984. Beware the snake lurking underground.

Garage Sale

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Door County, Wisconsin, August 1999. There's harmony among friends.

Rabbit-Fence Reunion

Madison, Wisconsin, June 1994. I should have known better. I redid this bed several times.

A Proverb, Illustrated

Poland, November 1966. "Not my circus, not my monkey."

Madame

Verona, Wisconsin, March 2016. She's a patient spouse.

Ball "Boys"

Awww.

Hello Dolly, in Three Takes

After my Mom retired, she moved in 1991 from our Suburban Chicago home to Madison. Mom's former physician colleagues treated her to a "going-away dinner" at the swank restaurant at the top of the Hancock Tower. Mom found the dinner a bit pretentious—she ordered Quail and reported it felt like she was eating a toad. The highlight of the meal, however, was the location of the women's table: they sat behind a group hosting Dolly Parton.

Suburban Chicago, October 1991. Mom is ready to depart.

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Chicago, Illinois, October 1991. Mom didn't get a photo of herself with Dolly Parton, but you can see Ms. Parton sitting behind Mom's group.

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Chicago, Illinois, October 1991. Ms. Parton was most gracious when Mom took her photo. Mom—who is quite tiny—still remarks about how small Dolly Parton was.

Spring Blues

University of Wisconsin—Madison Arboretum, March 20, 2016. It was a nice day for a walk.

Departing for Spring Break

Evanston, Illinois, March 1977. Mr. Irene's freshman-year roommate travels in good company.

An old favorite celebrates an anniversary.

My high-school classmates and I used to go here for pizza.

Food Art

Mostly crocheted, not "knitted."

Castel dell'Ovo

Naples, Italy, May 1984. The hotel at which I stayed is across the street from the castle. It's the hotel where Enrico Caruso died.

Committee Meeting

Hanau, Germany, about 1946. My friend Nijole's Dad was leader of the Hanau Displaced Persons Camp. He stands on the right, and his wife stands next to him. Thanks to my friend Nijole for making this photo available to us.

An Assessment

Lithuania's President considers Putin.

Morning Sweep

Verona, Wisconsin, March 11, 2016. I'm usually not up that early.

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.