I made a promise to share about our 2020 House Hunters International episode, as I am always reminded of it when I lead the Portugal retreats.
The group in October were interested in the episode, as well as hearing about my music career. They were mostly from the Bay Area and they got me reminiscing about our time in San Francisco – which seems like forever ago, but it has actually been less than six years!
We filmed the San Francisco scenes on my 49th birthday. Mark biked around the city with his cycling friends, eventually leading the film crew to the top of the Lyon Street Steps, where I was teaching an outdoor yoga class. The spectacular view of the bay was shrouded in fog. It seemed like the perfect SF moment.
A couple of weeks later, we were filming in Tavira, Portugal. Four days of 10-hour shoots, a heat wave of brutal sun making us squint and sweat in front of the camera. We had to wear the same outfits most of the time, to make it look like we were visiting all three locations on the same day. We got a much-welcomed costume change for our “six months later” shot in our apartment on the final day of shooting.
I always refer to our episode airing debut (March 7, 2020) as the day the world shut down. What a surreal memory! That time also signifies a shutting down of my musical pursuits as I knew them. We had recently moved across the country to NYC. For the first time in 20 years, I stopped pursuing live in-person music gigs, as there were none during lockdown. As things eventually opened back up, my attentions shifted.
In the past five years I have done a handful of live gigs in New York (when asked, and without much pursuit). I still sing and dance in my yoga classes (as always, the Singing Yogini) and have had the chance to use my original music in two art meditation video projects. I even have a new song (which I refer to as my Five Year Song) and I hope to record it during this year, my 55th on the planet.
We have a five year old cat, Morris, who came into our lives last October. He’s been to Portugal twice so far. As for me, I just took my 19th trip to our home away from home. It’s a thrill every time.
High fives all around. I have no regrets of the last five years. I still relish the memories of playing music on the regular with my friend Steven Strauss, San Francisco native. How proud I was to hear us both (along with full band) blasting through the loudspeakers at the SF Giants game years ago. I shared this story with the retreat group as we danced and sang together in a secret garden at the Igreja de São Francisco in Tavira.
I wish you all a thankful and happy November, full of cherished memories and promise for the year to come.
