Welcome to Our New Wall

I found a little paint that Santa left here when he finished our bathroom.  I sat on my idea of what to do with the paint for a few days, then deluded myself into thinking I had time to paint a wall of our TV room.  Once I was sufficiently deluded, that wall started to look more and more offensive until, finally, I shoved the furniture out of the way and brandished my brush at it.  Three hours and numerous interruptions later, the wall was yellow.  I meant to have the whole thing looking peachy (yellow cling) by the time Scott got home, but sadly, he walked in just as I was rolling on the last coat, staving off curious kids with a well-placed grand battement derriere here and there.  Needless to say, everything was in a shambles.  Welcome home, honey!

The focus of this area, in case you didn't know I was going to go with a "theme," is New York.  I have always felt a certain pull towards NYC.  I know I have ancestors who spent time there, and some that came through Ellis Island, but I think it's just the whole New York vibe that I love.  Bloomington, Indiana, is only 12 hours away from NYC.  I made the drive more times that I should have during my four years of college.  I had first gotten addicted to the energy of the city when I was 13.  My parents took me at Christmastime, and I was breathless with excitement the whole time.  In fact, I passed out in Saks Fifth Avenue, lending new meaning to the term, "Shop 'til you drop."

Scott and I went to New York together the year we got married, once on our way to Europe and once on our way home, two months later.  On the return trip, we had tickets to see Rent, but our flight was delayed when we inexplicably had to land in Ireland to refuel.  It's probably better that we don't know all the reasons for that detour, but we arrived in New York about 30 minutes too late to see Rent, which was the hot ticket in 1996.

Funny story:  I was always bummed that we never saw Rent, so when it came to Salt Lake, I went to it myself.  Scott was over it by then.  The funny part is that I had literally JUST taken a pregnancy test and found out I was expecting our 7th child, through some sort of divine intervention.  I hadn't told Scott;  I was too stunned, and I didn't have time before the play.  My veins were coursing with otherworldly joy, and my brain kept shouting variations of, "Do you know what this means!?!?"  So I sat through Rent at Pioneer Theater and didn't absorb one word or note.  It all washed completely over me as my body zinged with possibilities, worries and anticipation.  So we definitely missed our window to enjoy THAT musical!

Santa Claus, with his jolly sense of humor, left this mural of the Brooklyn Bridge and attached a photo of Scott crawling across it in his green pants. (Click for story) I think we should make that a tradition!

Two pillows made by the wonderfully talented Michelle Fitzgerald.  The green one, she made out of a Geiger sweater I bought in Austria when I was 15 and didn't want to part with after it became horribly out of style and was attacked by moths.

This is the first painting Opa ever did, according to Nana.  It's a paint by numbers.  As always, DeBrys, my policy is that any of you can have anything I have of Opa's.  I only have these things because I happened to be there at the right time, on a day when Nana was cleaning out, and I wouldn't want anyone to feel like they don't have anything of Opa's.  You are welcome to anything I have, just say the word.

I love Ellis Island. I could go there over and over, and actually, I have.  I bought this book there.  You can't look through it without crying.  I love how the little Dopp family Tiffany made mirrors the group of immigrants on the cover of my treasured book.

A piece of pottery we found at Imperial Beach that says "New York."  And some new candles Tricia and Jim gave us for our anniversary.  Thanks!

The cutest scrapbook Golda made, documenting the Golda-Ruby-Scott trip to New York last summer, on top our family copy of the Book of Mormon, which, admittedly, has lost out to digital versions.

Trajan just gave us this black-and-white photo of Manhattan, taken in the 1950's.  It's interesting and cool, but also gives your eye a place to rest, unless you want to study out the different neighborhoods and see how the city has changed.  This photo was taken before the rise and fall of the twin towers.

My mom's desk, illuminated by a little lamp Scott and I got on our honeymoon in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  On the wall, it says, "The secret to having it all, is knowing you already do."  It's so true.  You can never really have it all unless you appreciate what you have, including the memories you have accumulated.  Our house will never look like a model home, but it will always be changing and it will always reflect where we've come from...

...and where we're going.