From Phoenix, With Love

Many moons have waxed and waned since our last talk; my apologies. Speaking of moons, I read this morning that a blue moon occurs when two full moons appear in one month. As our last full moon was May 2nd, and the next will arrive next Thursday, we are in the midst of such an occurrence. (You can thank Clay Thompson and his delightfully whimsical writings on the back of the AZ Republic's Valley and State section for this information. Today's piece also explained the "Arsenic Tubs" on the San Carlos Indian reservation, which, rather ironically, are said to be soothing mineral baths, rather than the kind of agony one might assume would come along with an arsenic bath.

The best part about that random opening thought is that it prevents me from admitting that my morning began with a failed effort to take our family's dog to the groomers. (I was told that I could drop her off before 8:00; the "Closed" sign in the window, and lack of movement within, proved that a falsehood.) It's just that dog grooming, bless those of you who might ever pursue such a noble profession, makes me feel...funny. As though a life of macramé and Geo Prizms awaits... This isn't making sense, is it? On, therefore, to better things.

This here iMac that I am typing on is not only rather old (one of the lovely G3 boxes, still beaming in a fine Ruby color) but also contains a number of pictures I'd not yet been privy to. My folks took some when they visited Georgia last fall, and as I am a bit uncomfortable (read: self-conscious) about keeping your attention with text only, I offer up a few selections from their trove.