Talent Show

Sacred Heart School Melrose Park, Illinois, June 1972. Most of the girls from the eighth-grade class participated in the show. We're standing on the stage of Marian Hall.

Cash!

Suburban Chicago, July 1963. Finding an envelope is much better than opening a box from Madigan's.

"Sonata on Independence"

Today is the 25th anniversary of the day Lithuanians voted to secede from the Soviet Union.

The Life Box (Part 28)

I used to sew many of clothes. It seemed like everyone sewed in the 1970s. It was easy to find fashionable patterns, and there was a fabric store in nearly every shopping mall. Mom and I sewed the ensembles we wore during our European vacation, and I later sewed the garments I packed for my trip to Stuttgart. I think I sewed every bridesmaid gown I wore. Oh golly, I once even sewed a swimsuit.

I saved many of the sewing patterns I used. I was looking today for the pattern for my senior-prom dress, but I could not find it. It was a wraparound halter dress that I made in a silver fabric. I intended to show the pattern to Mom because I wondered if she'd now think the dress was too risqué. It didn't seem daring in 1975 or 1976. (This is not the pattern, but it is very close to it.)

I did find several other patterns from that era, so I wonder if I didn't lend the wraparound halter-dress pattern to someone. I recall I went through a "Cossack phase" during which I sewed many billowy blouses and dresses. I still have those patterns. Here's one:

I made a grey blouse out of the pattern, and I sewed a pink and grey bias-plaid, A-line skirt to match.

I even wore that outfit to a school dance:

Suburban Chicago, January 1975. Dad catches me before the party.

Routine

Suburban Chicago, October 1969. Gigi is on guard duty while Mom practices the piano.

A Brief Aspiration

 

Suburban Chicago, May 1960. I react upon Marshall Field's delivery of the mahogany piano.

(The sculpted rug was grey. It was not wall-to-wall carpeting.)

Plaid Jacket

 

Suburban Chicago, April 1965. Mom and Dad pose in that familiar spot. Dad's wearing his beloved Omega watch.

Evening Practice

Suburban Chicago, February 1969. Mom practices after she returns from work.

Happy Dance

Suburban Chicago, about 1982. That's my friend Kris dancing with Dad, and Mom takes a spin with Uncle Al. Kris reports the group danced to the piano playing of Sister Bernarda (back visible on the right), a family friend and a member of the Sisters of St. Casimir. Sister Bernarda was a music teacher at Maria High School—the high school from which Mr. Irene's Mom graduated.

Thanks to my friend Kris for making this photo available to us.

Scholarly Space

Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani, Venice, Italy, April 1984. A friend from the Archivio gives me and my Parents a tour of the palazzo.

Another Look

Suburban Chicago, December 1961. A family friend pauses on a favorite page.

Independence Day

Bulger Park, Veterans Park District, Melrose Park, Illinois, February 1965. The older girls sing during an Independence-Day minejimas. (The younger children waited in the audience until it was our turn to take the stage.)

That's my friend Ron at the piano. My friend Kris stands second from left. The braided trim on Kris's folkdress and mine were identical because our Mom's worked together to sew the blouses and aprons.

Sunday Custom

Suburban Chicago, December 1966. Mom often relaxed by practicing the piano.

A Closer Look (Part 19)

Suburban Chicago, February 1962. This "Closer Look" is not an image I cropped; instead, it's one Dad enlarged and printed. Here's the original post.

Thank you for a lovely performance!

Bulger Park, Veterans Park District, Melrose Park, Illinois, February 1966. The pianist accepts the applause at the annual Independence-Day minejimas.

Memory Triggers

Suburban Chicago, December 24, 1965. Dad snapped this photo as we waited for Kūčios to begin. Although I smiled, I was annoyed because Mom had just used a barrette to undo the effect of my cool, over-the-eye, side-parted bob. Mom made me wear tights again! And this was long before tights were fashionable. I also was miserable because I suffered from badly chapped lips that winter. Do you recognize the silver bracelet?

This image captures how pink our kitchen was. There's the Roper wall oven that served us for 34 years. The elephant figurine resting below the chandelier presently sits—minus his tusks—on a bookshelf in our current home. The "Swim Little Duck" folk art hangs above Mom's head.

Opening Gifts

Suburban Chicago, December 24, 1960. The Kūčios meal is finished, and we've moved into the living room to open gifts. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, looks happy when she opens a box containing a pocketbook; her face brightens more when she finds the pocketbook contains an envelope of cash.

A Birthday Sitting

Suburban Chicago, November 1966. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, turned 69 that year.

A chair near the piano remained a favorite spot for picture taking. The plastic plant and chandelier are visible here; the plastic plant partially obscures the fashion doll dressed in folk dress. The "Swim Little Duck" folk art hangs in a new spot.

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.

We've reached another first day of school.

 I wish everyone a fulfilling school year. 

 Suburban Chicago, September 1964. The big day will go well if you steady your nerves.