Almost 20 years have passed since she stepped off the plane with nothing but a few changes of clothes, some cherished family photos and a suitcase filled with classics from Chopin and Tchaikovsky.

After a lifetime of concert piano performances in Russia, Kira Merzhevskaya had big dreams of starting over in Salt Lake City.

Perhaps she could make a living as a pianist here. Maybe her husband, Vladimir Tolstik, an orchestra conductor and flutist, could pursue a musical career similar to the one he'd held in Leningrad, and her sons, Yuri, and Vladimir Jr., would one day find work as violinists.

Maybe. Perhaps. It took only a few months for reality to set in.

To pay the bills, Kira and Vladimir took jobs as janitors, teaching music lessons on the side and performing with their sons at churches throughout Salt Lake County. They replaced the belongings they'd left in Russia with treasures from yard sales, even buying a house one afternoon from a couple who were selling everything inside.

It wasn't the life they'd dreamed about, but it was a good life. Kira, who had survived the 900-day siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) as a girl during World War II, did not expect to experience another tragedy, let alone two.

Four years ago, when her husband died of a heart attack, followed by 45-year-old Yuri a few months later, "I felt all the music was taken from my life," Kira says. "Why did this happen? But now it's the music they loved that makes me feel better."

Hoping to catch up on all that has happened since I first met the family shortly after their arrival in Utah 19 years ago, Kira and Vladimir Jr. recently asked to meet me for a Free Lunch of steak and shrimp at Marie Callender's restaurant, not far from the home they bought at that garage sale.

Kira, who recently celebrated her 75th birthday by performing with Vladimir Jr. for Salt Lake City's Russian Culture Club, now works four jobs to fulfill her husband's dream of paying off the mortgage.

Besides teaching private piano lessons, she instructs music students at Utah Valley State College and cleans Lamb's Restaurant six nights a week with her son. She also took over Vladimir Sr.'s old job, helping mentally challenged people living in a Project Turn group home.

"I must always be moving — it is good for my health," says Kira, a vibrant woman who looks much younger than 75 and often demonstrates her vitality by doing the splits. "I am very glad that I can work, especially when so many have no jobs."

"There has been much hard work for us, but America is truly the land of opportunity," adds Vladimir. "You can be anything you want to be." He puts his arm around his mother and pulls her close to him in the booth.