Tulip season nears.

Toronto, Ontario, April or May 1961. My Toronto Cousin and her Dad, Kadis, are at the park.

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

Depth

Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, June 6, 1969. My paternal Grandmother Tatjana's younger sister, Elena, wrote, "To Tanjusha, my dear sister."

No-Harm-Done Reunion

Suburban Chicago, February 1983. Meškė tests the foot stool as a teething toy.

It's warming up.

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1966. Patches of snow remain.

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.

Bungalow Reunion

Chicago, Illinois, March 14, 2015. I didn't appreciate Chicago architecture until after I had moved away from the city.

A Beloved Visitor

Suburban Chicago, April 1974. This is my Dad's parental Aunt, Victoria. This photo dates from the time Victoria stayed with us.

Related by Marriage: Satisfied Guests

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 1958. Guests at the wedding of Mr. Irene's Parents share in the celebration.

We are done here.

Verona, Wisconsin, March 10, 2015. They've finished the tour of the yard.

Spring Break

Door County, Wisconsin, March 1982. When I was in graduate school, I spent most "vacations" catching up on my research work. I usually had a pack of 3 by 5-inch notecards in my bag.

A Closer Look (Part 24)

Mariampolis, Lithuania, December 24, 1936. This is my maternal Grandmother, Jadzė. The family resemblance is clear in this photo.

Here's the original post.

Sold Out

Madison-Vilnius Sister Cities this week celebrated Lithuania's Restoration Day. The organization sponsored a banquet at The University Club; guests dined on Šaltibarščiai, Cepelinai, and Honey Torte. The food was authentic and delicious.

The University Club offered a Lithuanian menu this week. Mom and I popped in for lunch today. Misery! The Cepelinai we craved were sold out. So we had the Cabbage Rolls instead. The Cabbage Rolls were good, but Cabbage Rolls are something we easily make at home. Cepelinai are a production, and we rarely cook them. As a result, we didn't have what we had sought. We did start out, however, with the Šaltibarščiai. I thought the soup was excellent; Mom claimed my recipe is better. *Blushes.*

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(I asked the server to show me the machine the cook had used to grate the potatoes.)

Karlskirche, Daytime

Vienna, Austria, July 1971. We visited the church grounds several times.

Related by Marriage: Matron of Honor

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, June 1959. Mr. Irene's Mom stands up at the wedding of her sister, Martha.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 42)

Chicago, Illinois, about 1950. This is Uncle Al, the younger brother of my Mom's best friend, Donna. Uncle Al sat for this photo shortly after he arrived in the United States.

Thanks to Uncle Al's niece—Donna's daughter, Kris—for making this photo available to us.

Anticipating Spring

Verona, Wisconsin, March 10, 2015. Soon the grass will camouflage the deer.

Young Performers

Melrose Park, Illinois, June 1970. The students from our Lithuanian School perform at the "Lithuania Day" celebration.

Restoration Day

Today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the day Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, about 2005. Toronto Al crafted this stained-glass Vytis.

(Here in Madison, the University Club is commemorating the anniversary with a special menu.)

ADDED: Here is a collection of clips Jonas Mekas filmed as he watched his television set that day.

Economy Class

Over the Atlantic Ocean, July 1971. We've boarded the Pan Am 747 "Jumbo Jet," and we are on our way to Vienna.

Class Notes (Part 5)

Kaunas, Lithuania, June 1932. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote a poem:

For Memories!
I love one, I love two
I love the one that's pretty
But most of all I love you

General Manners: Allow guests to blow out the candles.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 1957. One should behave when the Moms are watching.

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

We dip South.

Lugano, Switzerland, July 1971. We're still in Switzerland, but we are close to the Italian border.

Summer Swing

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

Testing the self-timer.

Suburban Chicago, 1961. Dad experiments with the new device.

Lingering

Door County, Wisconsin, January 1982. The shore ice soon will melt.

Hiking Shoes

Utica, Illinois, October 1963. Mom's ready to explore Starved Rock State Park.

Sunday Paper: Read-It-Later Edition

Suburban Chicago, January 1989. During the two years Mr. Irene and I commuted, Mr. Irene usually visited with my Mom on Sunday afternoons.

A toy brings out the inner dog.

Wolf plays.

A Closer Look (Part 23)

St. George's Parish, Bridgeport, Chicago, June 1917. This is Mr. Irene's Great Aunt Petra. Petra was the older sister of Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother, Anna.

Here's the original post.

Men in Caps

Chicago area, about 1980. My friend Kris sent this photo of her Dad, Vytenis (standing, second from left), and his engineering-school classmates. Kris writes:

The photo of all the men with sashes and funny hats is a reunion of my Dad's engineering fraternity from college. It was called Plienas. Dad attended Kaunas University. Some of the surviving members used to get together in the Chicago area occasionally. They had reproduction hats and sashes made for one of the early reunions. I remember my Dad saying that a clean cap was the sign of a new member, so the newbies used to take their hats outside and throw them in the dirt and stomp on them to make them look like they had been worn for a while. I think Mom still has the hat and sash tucked away in a drawer. I'll try to find it and photograph it. As I recall it has three intertwined letters embroidered in metal thread (Plienas means "Steel") on the top of it representing the motto.

More on cap traditions here.

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

Full-Moon Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, March 4, 2015. The moon lights the deer paths.

Realted by Marriage: Another View of the Table

Bridgeport, Chicago, Illinois, Winter 1958. This time, Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt Martha isn't taking the photo; she's seated at the head of the table. That's a rare expression on Martha's face.

The parish calendar hangs on the dining-room wall.

Machine Sorting

Colombia, about 1954. My Dad's friend Casey wrote, "We are sorting the beans by machine."

Roadtrip Reunion

Near Missoula, Montana, July 1987. I visit my Montana friends, and we're heading to Glacier National Park.

A Downtown Day

Chicago, Illinois, June 1972. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, visits the Art Institute.

Chipmunk Fascination

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1965. The Čipūlis was a great amusement that summer.

Morning Tracks

Verona, Wisconsin, March 4, 2015. The tracks lead to the tasty cornfield.

Frozen Shore

Door County, Wisconsin, March 1975. It's "Spring Break," and we're visiting the cottage.

Related by Marriage: Spring Outlook

Near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Spring 1958. Mr. Irene's Mom matches the season.

Brewery Reunion

New Glarus, Wisconsin, February 28, 2015. There's little action underway during the weekend.

A Spot with Dad

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1966. We stop near Iceberg Lake.

The View from the Castle

Salzburg, Austria, July 1971. We've climbed to the castle.

March Snow

Suburban Chicago, March 1976. We still have snow, but the days are getting longer.

Related by Marriage: Suspender Boy

Suburban Chicago, January 2, 1962. Mr. Irene enjoys a visit with Cousin I and Cousin I's Mom.

Babos Receptai (Part 7)

Yes, Paczki season has passed. My paternal Grandmother occasionally baked them, but we called them "Pončkai" (the pronunciation is similar to the Russian "Ponchiki"). I don't remember Tatjana associating Pončkai with Fat Tuesday, but I recall it was a big deal when she made them. We rarely ate fried foods, and Tatjana considered deep frying a messy and smelly process. She therefore would not fry food in the kitchen. When Tatjana made Pončkai, she instead took the dough and the oil to the basement, where she used a primitive deep fryer, set on an old kitchen table, to cook the Pončkai.

When I was a child, I didn't like Pončkai because Tatjana filled them with cherry preserves. I hated biting into the eggy, yeast dough and feeling the sensation of cherry skin rubbing against the roof of my mouth. I wanted American-style, pastry-filled donuts.

Here is Tatjana's recipe for Pončkai:

Here is how I wrote up the recipe:

Pončkai (Grandma's tested recipe)

1-1/2 packets [fresh, cake] yeast, bloomed with 1/2 cup water

1 cup flour heated with 1 cup boiling milk, allowing to stand and mixed well

[1 tablespoon sugar]

[1 cup warm milk]

7 egg yolks beaten with 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

[about 2 pounds flour]

1/3 to 1/2 pound [unsalted] butter, melted

4 egg whites, beaten until stiff 

[lard and Crisco, for frying]

Note in side margin: Some people in Lithuania add 1/4 cup sour cream.

Add the bloomed yeast to the heated milk mixture with 1 tablespoon sugar. Mix well; then add 1 cup warm milk and mix again, after that add the egg yolk/sugar mixture and [ ... ] some flour, then the warm butter and again flour, then the beaten egg whites, and again more flour. 

Note in side margin: add 1/2 teaspoon salt (definitely).

Add 1/3 stick of real vanilla (finely chopped). In all, mix in about 2 pounds flour (1 small package), it's possible to add 1 cup more.

It's good to fry these in a mixture of half fat (lard) and half "Crisco."

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.

Accompaniment

Suburban Chicago, September 1962. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, offers a tune.

Sunday Paper: Cottage Edition

Door County, Wisconsin, March 1980. Gigi sits next to Mom, but she focuses her attention on Dad.

A Visit to the Lithuanian Countryside ...

... by House Hunters International.