Mardi Gras

Here's a blast from the past:  My brother, Al, and I, during carnival season in Cuba, dressed up for a costume party.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Happy Anniversary, Al and Kathy!

My brother, Al, and his wife, Kathy, have just celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary. Al and Kathy's marriage had a bit of a rough start: They married in September and my mother passed away in October. The first baby came along in February and my father passed away the following November. So many life-changing events in such a short period of time, and they were so young! The odds were long on this pair . . .

Yet here we are! These two have somehow figured out how to make it work, while tackling life's challenges and raising three children. Today I heard Kathy call my brother “her best friend.” Al, a quiet man, just looked at Kathy with eyes that conveyed a world of affection . . .

God bless them both!

Happy Mother's Day!

I celebrated my first Mother's Day by having my firstborn, John, baptized, on May 11, 1989.


We were surrounded by loved ones, but especially meaningful to me, my beloved godmother, Mamá Lala, as always, was standing by my side.


My beautiful mother-in-law, Lillian, was also there to witness the event. Good memories of a very happy day.


Wishing you happy Mother's Day memories . . .

Happy birthday, Scott and Colin!

We spent the day yesterday at the home of my brother, Al, and his wife, Kathy, seen below with her father, Phil . . .

My son, David, came, too . . .

Scott, the oldest of Al and Kathy's three sons, and Colin, the youngest, have always shared celebrations because their birthdays fall just a few days apart . . .

They are such hams . . .

I love these birthday parties when three generations of family get together. Here's Kathy's brother, Dan, and his wife, Kelly . . .

Al and Kathy are very laid back, and their house has always been the hangout for all their kids' friends. Below, my nephew Kevin and his friend, Shawn, watch me prepare a Greek salad . . . Actually, I think Kevin was just keeping a close eye on the Kalamata olives . . .

I love the openness of Al and Kathy's kitchen, where you can cook while the party swirls around you . . .

Greek salad . . . olives, tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, lettuce, feta cheese . . .

The birthday boys with their auntie . . .

Staring contest between David and Jake-the-dog . . .

My nephew, Kevin . . .

Colin and his friend, Jenii . . .

Beautiful cupcakes by Jenii! I'm going to have to try making these . . .

We've gone to these parties every year ever since the boys were born. It's been a privilege, and a true pleasure, to play a small role in their lives and watch them grow up!

Happy birthday, Al!

Today, my baby brother is turning 50! Yikes! Somehow, this is harder to process than my own 50th birthday which happened almost two years ago!

Here is a picture of the two of us at Al's 3rd birthday party. Behind us is the Nativity Scene that was part of our Christmas celebration. The desert landscape in the background was painted by my uncle Armando on a canvas that was rolled up after Epiphany and reused every year.

 

I remember being in love with my dress, which was made of black gingham with yellow rick rack trim forming a band at the bottom of the skirt. The party hat I wore was made of yellow shredded tissue paper, with white trim and pom-pom. I recall, as only an older sister can, Al being a brat that night. He was given a party horn and wouldn't stop blowing it right in my ear! Even when this picture was taken, he wouldn't let go of it. Finally, the photographer talked him into hiding it behind his back. Happy birthday, Al! And many, many more!

I love Adobe Photoshop!

Psst! I have a secret . . I think I'm addicted to Photoshop. My darling husband gave me this computer program for our wedding anniversary and I've just begun playing with it. I had wanted it so I could learn to restore the old black and white photos that my parents managed to sneak out of Cuba. I've just begun to get into the program, with my son John as tutor-par-excellence. Even with my limited experience, the improvement is remarkable!

This photo is of my brother, Al, at age 8. I started with this one because it wasn't in too bad a shape. Still, it's easy to see the changes.

This is before . . .
And this is after . . .

Now you know where you'll find me in the foreseeable future . . .

My brother Al and his family.

This is my brother Al's family: His wife of 24 years, Kathy, and his three sons, Scott, at whose wedding this picture was taken, Kevin (all the way to the right) and Colin (on the left).

Al and I have a complicated relationship that I would describe as a work in progress: We struggle frequently to find common ground: He's Pepsi, and I'm Coke. He's the White Sox, I'm the Cubs. He's a Republican, I'm a Democrat. These are just some of the ways in which we differ, and boy, it'd be nice to have some easy stuff on which to build, though I think that our upbringing and personalities have seen to it that our relationship would never be easy.

At the core, however, we love each other, and we both believe the effort we put forth in our relationship is very much worthwhile. And, although we don't often understand one another's point of view, we like each other. So there's our common ground: Love. We are just working on the details . . .



Al and Kathy have built a strong marriage, and have raised three beautiful, loving sons. These young men are fun to be around; I enjoy them so much. And they are so kind. Al and Kathy can feel justly proud that they are sending out into the world three genuinely nice human beings who will bring joy to others.