"I thought, is that a way to make money? ... Maybe I could fly around. I could be the flying nun."

Los Angeles Catholic sisters don't think Katy Perry is an appropriate buyer for their former home, the Immaculate Heart of Mary convent.

Start the year out with a smile.

Mr. Irene and I toasted the New Year by watching the That's Entertainment! marathon on TCM. We made it to 12:30. In the early morning, the sounds of the snow plows alerted sleeping Rex, and his watch-dog barking in turn woke us up. (The other two dogs, Baci and Poppy, don't alarm yap. This household has one designated barker.)

It was a happy start to another happy day.

 

Suburban Chicago, January 1, 1963. Every day is special when you're happy.

We have some habits.

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1973. Mom often knitted or read while I fished.

Dare

Before my Mom fled Lithuania, she began her medical-school studies at Vytautas Magnus University. Mom forged many close friendships at that institution.

One afternoon, she and a friend "dared" two of their male classmates to comb their hair while someone snapped a photograph. Lithuanians consider it crass to engage in public in any acts of personal grooming—like hair combing, nail filing, or using a toothpick.

This blurry image captures that notorious "dare:"

 
Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1942 or 1943. My Mom, second from left, gestures to the wild and crazy guys. She sports the same coat she later wore as a refugee.