This year we have 17 stockings hanging. This is Max, me, Christina, Dana, Roxanne, Richie, Jason, Zyon, Igor, Roki, Marlie, Daina, Jadore, Nadja, Aggy, Shonda and Sian. The only year I had more was in 1990 when the SOS (Sepultura, Obituary and Sadus) Tour was raging across the US! I had 30+ stockings covering an entire wall of the living room! The bands were super surprised when they arrived and saw the huge stocking collection, all for them!
We usually have a giant tree but this year we let the wee ones decorate for us, so we decided on a shorter model. We always place the tree in our living room, and we don't get it too early. In Arizona, the dry air gets to them quickly and they fry up. One year, I swear our tree turned grey because it was up a couple weeks. I learned my lesson that year!
Above the TV in the living room, near the tree, we have 3 glass cabinets full of awards but the top cabinet is full of unusual artwork. A voodoo doll from Papau New Guinea, a masked dancer from the Brazilian candomble religion, a skull cup from Bulgaria, a crazy statue of Max and me raising hell (from a famous Brazilian artist), dolls from China, and Jamaica, and even a statue from Easter Island made from the stone the statues there are made of. It's a very interesting cabinet!
We also receive a good amount of fan art...art objects made by Max's fans. We have many, many items depicting Dana...wooden wall carvings, pencil and charcoal sketches and this giant painting of him, painted on a t-shirt. We save them all and they are displayed in our home and the homes of our children.
On another wall of our living room, we have a painting of our family that Christina commissioned from Christopher Scarvell. She gave it to us for Christmas one year. It is tucked behind a grandfather clock and an Indonesian mask that Uncle Iggor put on top of his drums, one year on a Sepultura tour. To the left is a mask the Xavantes Tribe presented us when we went there to record. To the right, a framed newspaper with Max and the tribe and a photo of Max and me that has my green hair hand painted on it.
Our kitchen is where Old Saint Nick resides. He has spent over 40 Christmases with me and has never run off or wilted! He stands in front of my Holy Corner. I am Russian Orthodox and the Holy Corner is where we all pray and light candles for specific people and blessings or simply to give thanks. This is also the corner where Max wrote many songs during the Sepultura daze. I can still see him and Dana at the table, excited about their lyrics for Attitude.
This wraps up our Christmas tour of our first home we ever bought. We love its coziness and the many memories that can never be distorted or stolen. Come visit anytime and I will show you some of the secrets...there are zillions!! And please, from our home to yours...Have a very Metal Christmas!!!!
Class dismissed....
