September 30, 2015

Subject Matter


Raganų Kalnas (the "Hill of Witches"), Juodkrantė, Lithuania, August 2011. Filmmaker Frank Barn has made the "Hill of Witches" the subject of an upcoming documentary.

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

Truly Displaced


Irkutsk, Siberia, USSR, Summer 1956. My Mom's friend Joy stands near the Siberian barracks with her mother and children. Joy mailed this photo after she returned to Lithuania.

September 19, 2015

Swiss Brown in the Sun


Near New Glarus, Wisconsin, September 2014. It's a friendly breed.

"104 year old yarn bomber is World's oldest street artist."

Grace Brett.

A Closer Look (Part 50)


Brooklyn, New York, August 1952. My Mom and my Dad's cousin take a lunch break.

During this time, Mom was an intern at Wyckoff Heights Hospital. In the early 1950s, there were no EMTs. Instead, interns rode the ambulance runs. Mom made many emergency trips throughout New York City. A number of those emergencies were deliveries. It was policy to discourage delivery in the ambulance. Physicians were to determine whether the expectant mother could be transported safely to the hospital. Mom, who still spoke little English, remembers many trips during which she spent most of the ride yelling, "Mama! No Push!!" Mom once decided labor was too far along for the mother to make it to the hospital, so she delivered the baby in an apartment bathroom. A story about that event made it into the newspaper.

Here's the original post.

September 18, 2015

Late Summer in Spring Green


Taliesen Estate, Spring Green, Wisconsin, September 2, 2014. It's the nicest time of year to do the tour.

Related by Marriage: Waiting for the wedding.


Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, June 27, 1959. Here's Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt Martha, waiting to depart for her marriage ceremony. She's sitting in the living room of her Parents' home. Aunt Petra appears in the mirror.

I love this photo because it captures the "look" of DP-era Marquette Park. The image also preserves Martha's most common expression.

Harvest


Penza, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, September 1964. Natasha, a younger sister of my paternal Grandmother Tatjana, wrote, "Natashenka, with a pumpkin, and I, to our beloved one."

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

September 17, 2015

Profile


Brookfield Zoo, 1966. Be sure to get my better side.

The Traveling Coat


Unknown Location, Germany, Autumn 1944. Mom doesn't recall why she packed two coats when she fled Lithuania in mid-summer. She took only one dress. By the time she and Jake settled in the Displaced Persons camp, the dress was threadbare, and Mom struggled to darn the worn fabric.

September 16, 2015

Ruby Reunion


Verona, Wisconsin, September 2015. Here's another variation of Mary Ann Stephens's "Amaryllis Hat."

The blog celebrates its fourth birthday today.

I've kept my promise to post photos daily. In the last year it was sometimes dicey to make that goal. In January and February, for example, I underwent four weeks of daily radiation that left me battered: radiation was more rattling than any of the chemotherapy treatments I'd had.* Things are better now, thanks to the great providers who oversee my care and a new drug the FDA approved late last year.

When I started blogging, I posted aggressively because I sought to ensure that the "core" family photos would be preserved on this site before I evaporated. As a result, most of the really interesting images have been posted. My supply of snapshots is finite. Although I will continue to blog daily, I likely will decrease the number of posts I publish each day.


Glacier National Park, July 1972. I've walked over to the Many Glacier Hotel, where I enjoy a cola in the lower-level café.

*It was during the drive home from one of those radiation treatments that I hit the deer!

September 15, 2015

Snacking, in Three Takes


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Verona, Wisconsin, September 2015. The twins are more active in cooler weather.

On the Big River


Nemunas Delta Region, Panemunė, Lithuania, about 1927. My Mom rides in the dinghy with her Parents, Jadzė and Jake. Horses pull carts along the bridge.

September 14, 2015

Hello!


Verona, Wisconsin, September 2015. We see many of these fellows in the late summer.

Meškė takes the lead.


Door County, Wisconsin, September 1983. Mom again wears Dad's London Fog windbreaker.

Another View of the House


Kaunas, Lithuania, 1936. I recently stumbled upon this snapshot of my Mom's childhood home. Although the house looks quite different today, the original fence still stands.

September 13, 2015

Crossing Reunion


Jefferson, Wisconsin, September 2015. We chose a place with a nice view.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 52)


Kaunas, Lithuania, October 10, 1948. A friend gave Mom this "senior portrait" and wrote, "When you glance at this photo, remember the friend who loved you very much."

Spring Ritual


Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, June 1973. Dora tends to the plot where Zigmunta (Dora's Mother), Jadzė (Dora's Sister), and Dora' first husband are buried.

Dora wrote, "Here I didn't know I was being photographed, but I liked this photo more than the other one."

September 12, 2015

Wool and Sheep

Yesterday, I again returned with a friend to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. The place is starting to feel familiar!


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Jefferson, Wisconsin, September 2015. "Ewe" probably know where I did most of my shopping.*

*ADDED: Yarn shopping, that is. I have four of those wonderful bags.