The vacation continues

The view from our balcony:




Did I mention we brought Shamu to the beach with us? Although he doesn't appear interested in splashing salt water with us down at shore, he seems to be having a good time. He's getting lots of attention with us not dashing away to the office, and rubs and extra tinned cat food - forget the dry rations this week!

Shamu likes sitting in my lap. He doesn't like the camera in his face so much.






He's quite vocal when he inquires about breafast, until I turn the camera on him. Then, he quiets down.




While he's not dashing off to the office, Mr. T, my husband of just about four months now, brought some of the office with him. I expected that — he's on his laptop and the phone, making calls, writing e-mails and drafting briefs.

Mr. T isn't a fatcat attorney. His passion is Sunshine Law — forcing local governments to act in the sunshine, and going after them when they don't. He also defends clients caught in the hooks of foreclosure mills, usurious credit-card holders and other rat bastards.

Mr. T at work.

And he does it with zeal. That's one of the things that drew me to him. I'm glad he's getting out of the office and getting some relaxation this week.

Things that make me go {sigh}

I've been phasing into the Presbyterian Church without becoming active in it yet, and I'm pretty happy there. I thought I would miss the Episcopal rituals, but for the most part, not, and I haven't missed the "stuff" in this diocese.

Then bloowie, I was propelled eight years back in time. A couple of months ago, the Presbie Church, y'all may have noted, OK'd gays/lesbians to wear the collar. The world didn't end or anything. Clouds still roll by. The sun sets and rises.

At its June 21, 2011 meeting, the Session followed the lead of the Presbytery of Central Florida and passed essentially the same motion that had been approved by the Presbytery, when it met on June 7.

“We believe that when the Book of Order states in 2.0104b (Amendment 10-A) that ‘standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life’ that this means among other things that officers in the church are required to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to live according to these requirements shall not be received, ordained or installed as ministers of the word and sacrament, elders and deacons in .... FL.”
...
This motion is to provide guidance to those nominating committees and the Session itself as the ordaining and installing body of this congregation. Rev. Frank Allen, the Stated Clerk of Central Florida Presbytery attended and gave guidance to the Session in its discussion of this motion. The motion passed on a 5-4 vote of the 10 voting members present.

Sigh.

Same old stuff here in Central Florida. Still, the national church's action is encouraging, and the fact the motion narrowly passed here on a 5-4 vote is encouraging, too.

I haven't heard any of the nastiness that was going around here in the Episcopal parishes post Robinson. I hope that's because there isn't any, and not just because I'm not "in" enough to be hearing it. There's certainly been nothing in the sermons.

I think how easy it was for Mr. T and me to get our marriage license and get married. Then I think of some of the people I know who have been in committed relationships for many years, and can't make it legal, even in the civil sense.

Sigh.

How we want to make God subservient to our prejudices and wants.

Second honeymoon

Ah, yes. We're in the second day of a glorious week at the beach. It was a wedding gift from dear friends who own a beachfront condo.

Mr. T and I had a mini-honeymoon in the Keys a few weeks after the wedding. Now, we've got more time to relax. Right now, my warrior is napping, exhausted from working so many hours so he could get away.

Not that Mr. T will get away completely. He never does — the trip to the Keys was tied to a case he handled while we were down there. But it's good to get a break.

Last weekend we spent near Birmingham, Alabama, at the invitation of Mr. T's aunt. It was a great Fourth of July weekend, with a big multi-family bash and a great cookout. I met some distant cousins of mine, so I had some family there, too.

My cousin Jack is from West Virginia, like my father, and from the same little county, though they never knew each other. My father would have been a little older. Jack's wife is named Pat, like me.

Then, away this week. I'm prepared for a nice, relaxing time. Reading, beaching, blogging, sleeping, whatever I feel like doing. The good life.