Intermission

Verona, Wisconsin, November 9, 2016. I need a little time off. No worries; I will be back later.

Guardian Angels

I am not a religious person (although I favor religious traditions). During the last eight years, however, I have been blessed to be surrounded by "guardian angels." Some are childhood friends who resurfaced and generously visited me multiple times (from places like Colorado, Canada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Minnesota). Others are more recent classmates, coworkers, fellow knitters, mentors, and teachers who have bonded with me profoundly and brightened my days. Some are relatives with whom I had lost touch. They now have rekindled old ties and also visit us regularly. Your love and devotion is tangible every day. More relatives are still "lost"—but hey, our door is open, and you know now to reach me.

There also are the friends and bloggers who encouraged me to start "Amber Reunion." Thank you for making my daily reading so stimulating and for inspiring me to keep going at it every day.

Most joyous are the friends I made because of the blog. What serendipity! It was really beautiful to see them in Madison.

Finally, many of the committed staff at the UW Carbone Cancer Center have become familiar friends who take great care of me. Below are two (and there's more on Carbone "Guardian Angels" here and here,)

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(Always knitting in hand.)

The blog celebrates its fifth birthday today.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, July 1961. What did you find here?

Forget-Me-Not

Door County, Wisconsin, June 2003. I'll be back.

Near the Castle?

Probably Raudonė Pilis, near Tauragė, Lithuania, about 1940 or 1941. A commenter earlier helped identify this location.

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!

Clearing

Door County, Wisconsin, April 1974. Mom watches as work begins to make a spot for the cottage.

(Whenever I post a photo from the 1970s or later, I feel like I am using a "contemporary" image.)

Another, Annual Banquet

Mr. Irene and I just attended the annual banquet hosted by Madison Vilnius Sister Cities, Inc. Last year, I got sick, and we were bummed out that we couldn't go. This year, we were delighted that my friend V and her husband joined us for the occasion. We had a great time.

Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. Our venue was the elegant Madison Club.

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. Guests registered with the greeter before they enjoyed cocktails.

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. The management again decorated the venue with the three colors of the Lithuanian flag.

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. Grab a seat before all the spots are taken!

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. Donors contributed items for the loterija (raffle).

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. My Mom knitted three hats for the raffle; she made this one out of a luxurious merino-wool-and-silk yarn. Yeah, Mom!

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. The chef prepared a Lithuanian meal.

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. My favorite dish was the Šaltibarščiai.

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. We also enjoyed a blueberry-enhanced Napoleonas.

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May 2, 2015. It was great to see my friend V— the friend I made because of the blog!

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. We also were delighted to meet V's husband. Thanks for a wonderful visit!

Bird-Watching Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, April 2015. This is where I sit.

A Closer Look (Part 8)

Mariampolis, Lithuania, 1927. This is Edvardas, my Mom's maternal Uncle. Edvardas was a pianist (like his father, Silvestras). He graduated from the Königsberg Sondershausen music conservatory. After finishing school, Edvardas did not find a job as a professional musician in Lithuania. He instead worked as a secretary at the Army College where his sister Jadzė's husband—my maternal Grandfather, Jake—was an officer.

One evening, when the family gathered for dinner at the home of my Mom's maternal Grandparents, Edvardas complained of a stomach ache. Jake thought the problem was not serious and insisted Edvardas drink a shot of brandy spiked with ground black pepper to alleviate the pain. Edvardas suffered a ruptured appendix and died shortly after that meal. He was 29 years old.

The blog celebrates its third birthday today.

Last year, when the blog celebrated its second birthday, I promised to keep posting every day, and as long as I have photos. I renew the promise today.

Ha! I remember when I got excited about the fiftieth post.

Suburban Chicago, April 1963. I'm celebrating by drinking my favorite beverage, "50/50."

What brought you here?

A Closer Look (Part 2)

Mariampolis, Lithuania, 1927. The early photos of my Mom's maternal aunt, Dora, in part prompted me to start this blog. Here's a close up of Dora from a family photo.

A Closer Look (Part 1)

Mariampolis, Lithuania, 1927. This is a closeup from one of the first photos I posted on the blog. This is my Mom's maternal Grandfather, Silvestras. He's the relative she most loved, and Mom talks about him often.

Overview

The three countries from which the blog has gotten the most readers in the last week are:

United States (572)
Russia (98)
Ukraine (95)

The post that has gotten the most "all time" independent hits* is this one.

*Hits not resulting from a link from another blog or site.

Let's look at an original print.

Summer Cottage, 1914. Many of the old photos I post are scans of images my Dad restored. If I find a faded or damaged snapshot, I usually modify it. Here's an image I adjusted earlier.

I visit the Uffizi

Florence, Italy, May 1984. This morning's Uffizi post reminded me of my visit to Florence. I didn't find the city charming. There were more tourists than in Venice. The historical sites stood in a tight area that made the city center seem like an amusement park. The place was claustrophobic. I also had some trouble understanding the Florentine dialect, which softens the "c" sounds: "Casa" becomes "hasa," for example.

Florence is the city in which I encountered my first "ugly American." As I sat sipping a macchiato, a woman exclaimed to her husband, "Why can't these Italians make a decent cup of coffee?!"

The Chicago Plot

Last year I posted my Dad's snapshots from the November 2, 1963 Air Force versus Army game at Soldier Field. I noted that President Kennedy's visit to the game had been cancelled because of an assassination plot.

WLS-TV, the Chicago ABC affiliate, ran a story about the plot. The piece uses, with my permission, those photos my Dad took.

Catching Up

Suburban Chicago, October 1962. My Parents' friends from Brooklyn visit our home. Dad has stacked photo albums on the coffee table. Those albums are the same ones I now use to find images for the blog.

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Suburban Chicago, December 1973. The couples reconnect. Both women are knitting, and Mom's knitting bag is under the coffee table.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 6)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1938. This image differs from those I usually post in the Exchanging Portraits category. It's not a portrait used as a token of friendship; it's a portrait with a friend. Here's my Dad's twin, Jonė, and her high-school classmate. The girls wear their uniforms.

The uniform collars were linen. The collars were detachable so they could be washed frequently.

Restorations

My Dad worked primarily in black-and-white photography because (1) he appreciated that aesthetic; and (2) he liked to develop and print his own photographs. He occasionally took color photographs, and he reserved color film primarily for human subjects.

A friend recently asked whether I tweak those old Kodachrome images before I post them. When I first started the blog, I scanned photographs and did little restoration. Later—when we bought a new scanner, and I got accustomed to working with photo software—I began adjusting the images.

Some purists believe altering an old photograph mars its integrity. I disagree. A restored image better captures what the photographer saw.

Here's an example of a photograph (I posted it earlier here) before and after a quick restoration:

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What do you think?