Because I gotsta lot ta do....

One of the folks in my area has rigged their house with lights timed to music. We ended up staring at it through most of "Silver Bells" and all of "Good King Wenseslas." Then we got cold.

Say no to credit. Seriously. Banks' profit plans are built around poor folks' minimum payments and overdraft "protection." This recession is bad, but at least I don't have creditors calling about some dress I bought two years ago. Everything we own (except the house) is paid for in full. It's a nice feeling.

My fella buys me silver. Silver-wrapped synthetic core Dominant strings for my fiddle. They are so thick and soft, so easy to play compared to the steel wires that came with my cheap-buttock e-bay fiddle. *sigh*

This holiday, no one had money. Fella's family declared that only the kids should get presents. Of course, Fella and I ignored that and continued to do Santa's Work, like we do every year.

This year, the whole family rebelled against the "kid's-only" Christmas, and the adults made items for each other. Everything turned out to be much more meaningful, and instead of the whole, "Oh, cool. Thanks," people started sharing stories, talking about growing up together and how they felt.

We made duck for the Christmas Dinner Detox, and they were lazy birds, taking many hours to cook. I think a double-oven will be in my future -- it's difficult to roast something inside when you're also baking rolls and keeping things warm. In all, it was a relaxing time and everyone ended the evening near-comatose and full, so I'd call it successful.

Fella and I went to see Avatar last night at the IMAX in Kent. It was, indeed, gorgeous. But as gorgeous as it was, it still felt empty. And REALLY -- a knife. Really?

Yes, I'm waving farewell to being the target demographic.

In other news, we are experiencing warm, dry weather. In Texas, it has been snowing. Creepy.

A-a-nd, a client of mine (a small, tidy little project) has started sending me these partial payments for a pay-in-full invoice. I wouldn't mind it if they would just talk to me, so I can budget.

Have a great week!

Feast of the Holy Innocents
Sounder Train

My one, dear Reader,

If you are one of the twenty-six people who attempted to phone me in the last few days, I deeply apologize. My four year old free cellphone appears to be coming perilously close to the end of its useful life. It suffers from an ailment known as "intermittent ring tone", meaning I can apparently only receive your call if I happen to be looking at the phone at the moment you call and can see the face of the phone illuminate.

Christmas was fantastic. On the eve, Francine and I decorated the tree with the help of fully 50% of the various children and step-children*. For dinner, that number bumped to 75%**, the maximum allowed by law.

Christmas Eve Mass (I can't really call it "Midnight Mass" since it began at 10PM) was simple and homey. It's a small parish, Saint Rita is, and in need of a little liturgical renewal*** to put some of the solemnity back into the celebration. We're singing the "Mass of Glory", which sounds suspiciously like a Billy Joel pastiche. It makes me grind my teeth, and that can't be a good thing at Mass.

Father's homily was electric, and the place was packed.

On the day itself, this merry throng of five was joined by an additional three, as Francine's niece Cara, her boyfriend Erik, and Cara's mother arrived.

I may have more thoughts on this later.

Among the eight people there, I counted at least three colds and one miscellaneous physical ailment. We went through an unexpectedly large amount of tissue.

Several hours later, with the parlour demolished and everyone sufficiently egg nogged, presented, and stuffed, the party dispersed. Eventide, Francine, Sam, and I headed over to singingbarista's for more food (duck! duck, I say!), games, and general jolliment. There's really nothing like a game or three of Guillotine to liven up Christmas!

This was followed by two days of illness, lethargy, and collapse.

This week, I'm back to work. Fortunately, I only have to go into the office today. It's amazing to think that only 21 months after I was promised I could work at home two days a week, they're finally going to let me. This one time.

I'll be fairly close to the only one in the office today. Everyone in my division is on holiday. In fact, my writing partner Andy Spletzer and his wife Heidi are currently in Paris. Most of the rest of the company are likewise engaged elsewhere.

I hope you are enjoying your holidays, as many or as few days as you have.

---

* Victoria and Sam, for those keeping score at home.

** Add Michaela.

*** AKA "Reform of the Reform", "Counter-Reform", or "Can we move out of the 80s now, please?"

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." (Gospel of Saint Luke 2:8-14)

We finish Advent with O Magnum Mysterium, which is technically a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas. These days it is sometimes used in the Masses of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (though not, I venture to add, in any parish within two hundred miles of this writer's present location).

Though it was originally a chant, I recently discovered this polyphony version by Tomás Luis de Victoria that is simply sublime.



O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in præsepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum.
Alleluia.

Englished:

O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
Christ the Lord.
Alleluia!

---

Enjoy, and if I don't see you before this evening, please allow me to wish you a very merry Christmas.

blessings and love,

thom

Mmm.

This week, we salute the Tacoma Utilities workers, in particular, James B., who not only left a knobhanger note on our front door telling us that we had an internal water leak, and then drove back over to our house to help us find the leak in person!

This dude's free plumbing diagnostic allowed us to find the water leak and fix it for about $25.

It was the toilet tank. We had to gut out all the workings and replace them ourselves. I detest plumbing. I swear that our bathroom was put together with spit and bubblegum before we bought it. We have a hose that was patched with rubber tape, I kid not. In the 3 years we've lived here, we have found "repair" work and other surprises that would horrify anyone. Fella and I will most likely build our next house, just to avoid all the... whew. I mean seriously.

It goes far beyond a light switch in the back hall that turns off the dishwasher and the main water shut-off valve being broken and buried a full arm's length down into the front lawn.

This weekend, I rolled up a Hackmaster Character, a stunningly naive fighter-guy, 6' 7" tall, weighing in at 168 pounds.

The tree is up in the living room, and it is sparkly. Fella and I sang "O Christmas Tree" when it was done and danced until 3 a.m.

Christmas sarcasm is starting to feel pretty lame to me. You know what I mean, comments like "Wishing you a steaming pile of Christmas." It's not clever, it's just boring and negative. The Griswalds are not folks we should aspire to. If you don't enjoy the traditions, then change them. Then, maybe you'll be able to apply meaning to the holiday so you can be excited about it again.

So many people are sad and stressed this year, because their kids won't get a bunch of presents. But there's many studies that show that kids want to have parents that are unstressed and able to spend quality time with them, rather than being grumpy or tired all the time.

Fella's mother sent out her yearly Christmas letter, to everyone she knows. According to her letter, we are "having a rough time with unemployment" and "trying to keep positive." Dismiss a moment the whole "freelancing = unemployment" issue and the breach of privacy for a moment.

• We're eating amazing meals.
• We're finding and pursuing new hobbies we didn't have time for.
• We're going for a 2.5 mile walk 3x per week.
• We're touring the light displays in our community at night.
• We're having quality time together on a regular basis.
• We're working on our house.

Fella also has the time to perform the chores his mother doesn't care for, such as driving across town to take her garbage out, driving her and his brother around and ...rrr.

I guess we're just a couple of polyannas.

What is with this weather? It's like Naboo out there most days. We've been waiting for some solid cold weather so we can relocate a wasps' nest in our gable vent, but they are still buzzing around at least once a day.

A-and that's it! Have a fantastic holiday of your particular flavor. As for me, all I want for Christmas is for folks to find happiness. Please pause, take a deep breath, and remember that you can only ruin your own holidays. You can have a great time, heartfelt meaning, or joy anywhere. Let me know how it turns out.

We come to the last of the O Antiphons, for tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the Vigil of the Nativity.

I mentioned yesterday that the O Antiphons were arranged backwards into the song Veni, Veni Emmanuel. This was by design, for the Antiphons themselves are a backwards acrostic.

The first letters of the Messianic titles — Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia — spell out the Latin words ero cras, meaning, "Tomorrow, I will come".

Which is pretty neat.



O Emmanuel, Rex et légifer noster,
exspectátio Géntium, et Salvátor eárum:
veni ad salvándum nos, Doómine, Deus noster.

Englished:

O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

With Christmas literally days away, we hear the penultimate O Antiphon this evening.

I mentioned a couple of days ago that the antiphons might sound vaguely familiar to you. In the 12th Century, an unknown songwriter compiled versions of the O Antiphons into a single Advent hymn, called Veni, Veni Emmanuel. You know the English version as O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

The song's verses are in reverse order from the order of the antiphons. More on that tomorrow.



O Rex géntium, et desiderátus eárum,
lapísque anguláris, qui facis útraque unum:
veni, et salva hóminem,
quem de limo formásti.

Englished:

O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.

Short, sweet, and on the solstice.

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone." (Isaiah 9:1[2])

Today is also the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle in the old calendar.



O Oriens,
splendor lucis ætérnae, et sol justítiæ:
veni, et illúmina sedéntes in ténebris, et umbra mortis.

Englished:

O Rising Sun,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Continuing on, we come closer and closer to the birth of the Messiah, "the holy one, the true, who holds the key of David, who opens and no one shall close, who closes and no one shall open" (Rev. 3:7).

If you are interested in learning more about the O Antiphons, I recommend Fr. Zuhlsdorf's site here. The format is bare-bones, but the information is thorough.



O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israël;
qui áperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo áperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo cárceris,
sedéntem in ténebris, et umbra mortis.

Englished:

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

By now some of you might be thinking that the O Antiphon words might be sounding kind of familiar, even though you're not really up on your Gregorian Chant.

In fact, these antiphons are some of the earliest attested antiphons in the Divine Office, being mentioned in passing in the works of Saint Boethius in the early sixth century. The version we're listening to is the Solemn Tone. There are also less complicated versions in the Monastic Tone and the Simple Tone.



O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populórum,
super quem continébunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabúntur:
veni ad liberándum nos, jam noli tardáre.

Englished:

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Last night was the first time Francine and I had prayed Vespers in community since shortly after leaving our former parish. Sam joined us. The lack of practice really showed - we were disjointed and could not even chant the opening or the Magnificat correctly.

Tonight, we'll trot out some of our old books and see if we can't put it together a little better.

Today is the second "O" antiphon, O Adonai. These videos, which I will be embedding each day until Christmas, were recorded by the Dominican student brothers at Oxford in 2006.



O Adonái, et Dux domus Israël,
qui Móysi in igne flammæ rubi apparuísti,
et ei in Sina legem dedísti:
veni ad rediméndum nos in bráchio exténto.

Englished:

O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

As Advent draws to its end, we begin the "O" antiphons at Vespers.

Last year, we attempted to chant vespers every night during this period at my old parish. A series of snowstorms disrupted that plan, though I do have warm and gracious memories of Francine and I alone in the parish chapel chanting one cold, dark night.

Sadly after The Incident, the parish no longer offers chant, and we are no longer at that particular parish. Maybe next year. For now, we will be praying Vespers in our dining room.




O Sapiéntia, quæ ex ore Altíssimi prodiísti,
attíngens a fine usque ad finem,
fórtiter suavitérque dispónens ómnia:
veni ad docóndum nos viam prudéntiæ.

Englished:

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other mightily,
and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Today I resolve to listen to the Ninth Symphony, and probably the Third as well. You should too!

Yesterday evening I attended our parish Advent Reconciliation Service. I arrived late, having had to walk up the hill from downtown, and of course I ended up dead last in the longest line for confession.

It gave me some additional time to examine my conscience, but it also afforded me the opportunity to observe people going into and out of the confessionals.

It's amazing to watch people walk out of the confessional; it's like they're floating on air.