Tag: family

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Ready to sing again

We left for Europe in mid-December immediately after our Ananda Village Christmas concert, then spent two weeks with family in Lugano and one week visiting Ananda Assisi.

Add another ten days or so of laying low in order to recover from pneumonia, and it feels like a really long time since I’ve done anything musical!

Which I think is why I’ve been feeling rather out of sorts and kind of rudderless.

But the good news is that I’m singing for Sunday service tomorrow and will hopefully continue on a regular basis going forward.

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Family excursion to Cardada

We went up into the mountains above Locarno today, taking the funivia (cable car) up to Cardada — an elevation of 5,482 feet.

There were eight of us, plus a baby and three dogs. We strolled the various pathways, enjoyed lunch in a beautiful restaurant, and I realized once again that there’s nothing quite like really fresh mountain air.

What a lovely day.

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Feeling thankful

There’s no doubt about it, I have lived and am still living a singularly blessed life.

I have so much family: immediate, extended; near, far; American, Swiss; human, spiritual.

And I have so many friends: from childhood; high school; music; church; Ananda; local and global.

I have a loving husband with whom I share the spiritual path, a commitment to serving through music, and the joy of living in spiritual community.

I have amazingly good health, all things considered.

I’ve always lived in pleasing, healthy, safe environments, and many were stunningly beautiful as well.

I could go on and on, but I think I’ve made my point.

Thank you, God. Thank you, family. Thank you, friends. Thank you to every person who’s been part of this blessed life.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

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A fun family lunch

L-R: Me, Brian, Dad, Cathy

I had a very enjoyable lunch with Dad and two of my siblings on Saturday.

I’m not the greatest selfie-taker, but (for once!) I actually like how this turned out.

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Grateful for Dad & family

Today’s celebration of Dad’s 90th birthday was a resounding success.

It left me both exhausted and deeply appreciative of how blessed I am to have grown up in a large and loving family. Especially considering that my wonderful Dad is who he is thanks to his family.

So, here’s to family — quirky, flawed, complicated, challenging — but loving one another just the same, to the very best of our ability.

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Parco San Grato

Turns out that yesterday’s walk up the hill above our apartment was just a warmup for an excursion with Ramesha’s family today.

We went to the quite amazingly beautiful Parco San Grato, located high above Lugano, to walk the grounds and have a picnic.

There are plenty of photos to share, but I’m too pooped to deal with them tonight.

We only walked/hiked for about two hours altogether, but there was plenty of up and down, plus dealing with uneven, rocky ground. All in all, it was the most physical activity I’ve had in a while and I am definitely feeling it this evening.

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Loving connections

Free puzzle heart love illustration

Yesterday was about connecting.

We had lunch with all the members of Ramesha’s family who currently live in Switzerland (father, brother, sister and brother-in-law, niece and boyfriend) at a pizzeria in Lugano Centro.

Silvio with Nicole, his granddaughter

We very much enjoyed our first “official” pizza of this year’s trip…and boy was it good!

Then in the evening we had dinner with the Lo Menzo family — Dudo, Karin, Samuele, and Lia. They’re some of my favorite people on the planet; unfortunately, we laugh so much when we’re together that I almost always forget to take any pictures. 😂

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Valentine’s Day reflections

We don’t really go all in on the Valentine’s Day hoopla. When possible we make sure to eat dinner together, ending with some sort of heart-shaped dessert (usually cookies), and that’s about it.

Mainly it’s a day when I find myself thinking a lot about love; most especially how fortunate I am to love, and be loved by, so many wonderful people.

My husband; my family; his family; friends from school (junior high through conservatory); friends who were professional colleagues; spiritual family from around the world; and on and on it goes.

So, what Valentine’s Day means to me is simply LOVE.

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All talked out

We started the day enjoying cinnamon rolls and coffee while catching up with fellow singers, who recently returned from travels overseas. We talked and talked and talked…

That was followed by a family Zoom call to connect with my brother and his wife in Sunnyvale. More talking, talking, talking.

A quick bite of lunch, then one final meeting to discuss upcoming choir events and catch up with another friend. No surprise that I’m completely talked out.

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Happy birthday to (most of) my family!

Four out of us five siblings have our birthdays in June! Clockwise from top: Brian (the exception; his birthday is in MARCH!); Gilbert; Cathy; Jonathan; and me.

Yes, today is my birthday, but first thing on my mind this morning was the fact that I owe birthday greetings to a lot (and I do mean a lot) of family members.

I got so busy after returning from Europe that I fell behind on acknowledging the early June birthdays. So I want to catch up on those, but I’m also thinking to save myself some stress by going ahead and sending July birthday greetings as well.

So, happy birthday to my brother Gilbert and his wife Carolyn! And happy birthday to my niece, Janaya! Happy birthday to my sister, Cathy; to my brother, Jonathan, and to another niece, Lauren. And that does it for June.

Moving on to July…happy birthday to Lauren’s daughter, Malyah; to yet another niece, Nina; to Dad; and a happy heavenly birthday to my mother, Louise!

Then there’s Ramesha’s family, and friends who are like family: Happy birthday to Lia, Samuele, Nancy, Nicole, and Karin!

If ever we plan a June/July birthday party it will be huge. 🎂