Daily Archives: January 8, 2006

Christmas at Dad’s

We went out to eat with Dad and Sharon, to their favorite restaurant, Paradiso. Dad had the capaesant gratinia and I had the misto di mare. Both dishes had scallops. Dawn and Erin and I shared a bottle of Monte di Torre Pinot Grigio.

Rob hates immigrants who work at McDonald’s and don’t learn English. They apparently don’t know how to toast the muffin of an Egg McMuffin correctly.

I had an awful awkward moment when I opened one gift and it was the same printer that Marianne and John and Erin had given me the day before. Sharon and Main had both bought it off Amazon from my Wish List, but something went wrong. I felt so bad for Dad and Sharon. It’s an expensive and generous gift and I felt like I was disappointing them by already having received it.

Although it’s a sweet sweet piece o’ computer accessory. I had stayed up late the night before setting it up. Dawn and I haven’t had a working printer in months, so it’s a big improvement over the status quo. Plus it’s a copier and scanner. And it’s fast and quiet.

Dad and Sharon also quite generously gave me the Palm Z22 PDA that I was wanting. My Handspring Visor is really old and I’m worried it’s going to die any minute now. I keep so much information in that thing. An old girlfriend of mine used to refer to her purse as her ‘life,’ because everything she needed was in there. I think of that when I think of my old Handspring Visor. Hell, it was like one of the first gifts another old girlfriend, Erin Sellman, gave me, and we broke up in 2001. I think she gave it to me for my birthday in 1999, so it’s coming up on 7 years old.

The biggest treat of the day was getting to see my Dad’s paintings. He’s been learning to oil paint for the last couple of years, but I’d never before seen any of his work. He showed us his little studio in the basement with like a dozen works. Mostly they were studies on paper. But one was a terrific seascape on canvas that he said was his first painting. I figure if that one was his first, then he’s going to do some great stuff. And he says that he’s doing it so he’ll have something to give his children, so I’m all excited about having a painting done by my father.

Actually, something of both an inspiration for him as well as maybe a burden is a painting he has done by his father. It’s a landscape done in watercolors and it’s absolutely amazing. It’s signed and dated, the date being the year 1924, so my grandfather painted it when he was 12. So on the one hand my father treasures this, but on the other hand it’s so unbelievably well done that I would find it incredibly intimidating.

Although I suppose it’s similar to the way that I think of my grandfather when I’m working on the house or making something in the woodshop. Grandpa built his own house and was a master craftsman, and I’ll never be able to do his level of work. But I’m happy being able to do what I can do. My father is confident in what he’s doing and having fun doing it and wanting to learn more, so I’m happy for him.

Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord

Most days the readings all tie together somehow, most Sundays anyway. But I love on feast days when they really go all out to tie the anticipation of the OT with a Gospel reading and then throw in the yummy goodness of a Pauline epistle that strikes home as well. Today was just such a home run.

The first reading is from good old reliable Isaiah.

[A]ll from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

A great reading for Epiphany, what with Matthew for the Gospel.

They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

But I especially like the tying it all up with Paul from Ephesians.

It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Luke and the shepherds notwithstanding, the first to recognize the Messiah are foreigners. The Magi are from Persia or wherever. They of course stand in for us nowadays. We are all foreigners bringing our gifts to Him.

(Also fun to note is that, in his homily, Cardinal McCarrick explained that he liked to think that, despite the popular image of the wise men with the holy family in the stable, Joseph likely had found some better accomodations for himself and the wife and kid by the time the Magi arrived. He likes to think Joseph was a good manager.

And, heck, Matthew does say that they saw Mary and the child on entering the house. No stable by then. A house.)