A Weak Fan

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. I am happy for the Cubs, even though I don't really follow baseball. I bought this hat at the Walgreen's in Winston Plaza. The friend with whom I was shopping chided me for making the purchase because she insisted I didn't know anything about baseball. Hey! The Cubs were doing well that summer, and I wanted to get into the fan spirit.

Order

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. It's easy to keep track when they line up.

A Small Catch

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. I always wear a life vest.

Summer Swing

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. I watch as my Toronto Cousin and her friend test the resort's swingset.

Lake-Tour Reunion

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. You'll get there more quickly if you walk to the dock.

Rippled Reunion

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1970. Look ahead to summer.

The days grow shorter.

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. Get home before the sun sets.

Summer Tan

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

Evening Ride

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. It's still when few boats are on the water.

We'll get past this rocky spot quickly.

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. This was an unexpected place.

Dam Reunion

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. The busy builders have gone to sleep.

The Grownups

Toronto, Ontario, July 1969. We've stopped in Toronto on our way from Lake of Bays. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, has spent the month at the home of her daughter—my Dad's twin, Jonė. Tatjana will ride home with us. 

From left to right are: Tatjana, Jonė, my Mom (knitting), my Dad, and Jonė's husband, Kadis.

Sightseeing

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. Dad visits the city center. We stopped in Toronto on our way to Lake of Bays.

Seaplane

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. There's pier-to-pier service.

Let's knit and chat.

When we visited the Lake of Bays in Ontario, Canada, my Toronto Cousin and her friend joined us for part of the stay in the cabin.

Although my Mom had taught me to knit, my Toronto Cousin inspired me to undertake my first Aran knitting project. When she finished knitting an elegant, zippered Aran cardigan for her boyfriend (now her husband), I decided I could do an Aran sweater, too.

I still have the Bernat Aran pattern book from which my Toronto Cousin knit that zippered sweater.

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. I compare knitting notes with my Toronto Cousin. We're leaning against the knotty pine wall of the rental cabin.

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Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. This is the same photo from which I created a cropped version that I posted earlier.

How Gigi came to live with us.

Our family acquired its first dog, the Poodle "Gigi," in September 1969. Gigi was three or four years old when she came to live with us. A coworker of my Mom's had owned Gigi previously. The coworker decided Gigi was alone too much during the work week. She thought Gigi would do better in a household where someone—namely, my paternal Grandmother Tatjana—was home all day.

Four things had happened during the summer of 1969 that helped convince my Parents that we should adopt Gigi.

First, one of our neighbors had gotten an adorable Spaniel mix puppy, and I fell in love with it:

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Second, another set of neighbors had left their cat temporarily in my care while they coordinated a house move. I was inconsolable when the neighbors returned to retrieve the cat.

(I don't have a photo of that cat, but its name was "Cleo.")

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Third, we had spent the month of July at the Lake of Bays in Ontario, Canada. The owners of the cottage we rented had a marvelous Golden Retriever to whom I became somewhat attached:

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Fourth, I was big enough to deserve a Schwinn bicycle. If I were ready for a real, three-speed bike, then I probably was ready for a dog:

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And so, Gigi came to live with us. I was delighted:

Suburban Chicago, September 1969. Gigi promptly bonded exclusively with my Dad, and she lived to be almost nineteen years old.

Common Expression

I started knitting when I was about seven years old. By the time I was ten or so, I had knit two sweaters. I used to spend many hours knitting during summer vacations.

Lake of Bays, Ontario, 1969. "They" say that people acquire their adult faces at a young age. I don't know whether this is my adult face, but it's a common adult facial expression for me. I could not have been watching television here because our vacation cottage was not equipped with one. I must have been reacting to something someone said. Skeptical.