This is Life!: Revolutions Around the Cruciform Axis

A Somewhat Narcissistic Description of My Christmas Booty

I suppose the whole blogging thing is fairly self-referential anyway, so in the same spirit of myopic narcissism, I present a Gollum-like enumeration of some of my favorite acquisitions up through this ninth day of Christmas (but then, who knows what the next three days may bring?!).

Two icons: one of our family's patron, St. John the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco (to be placed in the icon corner); and one of the blessed parents of the Theotokos, Joachim and Anna, the ancestors of God, which will hang in our bedroom.

DVDs: the two Spider-Man movies, and the extended edition of "The Return of the King" as well as "It's a Wonderful Life."

CDs: Tim McGraw's "Live Like Your Were Dying" and U2's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."

A new prayer rope.

Books: A "pocket-sized" edition of the Orthodox New Testament (translated by the Holy Apostles Convent and Dormition Skete); a hardcover edition of The Ladder of Divine Ascent; The Dialogues of St Gregory, including the second book which is the life of one of my patron saints, Benedict of Nursia; The Northern Thebaid, compiled and translated by my other patron, Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim of Platina; and--drumroll as I reveal one of my lesser known indulgences--two new collections of Robert E. Howard stories, The Bloody Crown of Conan, and The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane.

But so that I may somewhat redeem this excursion into self-preoccupation . . .

Anna received some nice gifts, including several clothing items of the maternity fashion kind. And, if I do say so myself, her stocking was the best she's ever gotten from me: nifty travel gadgets, a booklet of baby names, just enough candies and sweets to make it worthwhile, and, my favorite, a bag of sunflower seeds, usefully ensconced in a spitting cup. (I'll leave to your imagination as to how well my Oklahoma gal can spit.) Anna will receive another gift tomorrow that will surprise her, I'm confident. But secrecy necessitates silence on that for now.

Sofie, well, what can I say, Sofie made a haul. Family can be too dadgum generous if you ask me. We'll have to move into a three bedroom house just to hold all the toys she got. But two of my favorite gifts she got came from my mom: my old spring rocking horse, newly refurbished, and the ten volume set of Bible stories I cut my teeth on. Yep, I read every one of 'em several times up to going into junior high.