Weddings, anyone?

As I was contemplating our near-arch of roses this morning, the thought came to me of how to turn it green. I think I could find some place on the Web that would make me an ordained minister for a relatively small investment. With my papers in hand, I could conduct WEDDINGS!

After all, who doesn't dream of being married surrounded by roses. Just step into my bower, dear hearts, and I shall be happy to commit you to a life of (a. happiness, b. misery == pick one).

And, after the rain, a carpet of rose petals.

Sometimes, my brain just stuns me.

Me and the Times

O.K. I've been reading Mike's blog for a long time now and I've been through his problems with his job, the Mormons, Utah, his kidney cancer, his lawyer daughter, his running son and that ugly dog of his. (Man, he's gonna love that.)

So, I've decided to bare my soul and tell you of my problems with the Newspaper of Record, the New York Times.

For months, maybe years, now I've been taking the Sunday Times delivered to my driveway. Since I live in Lower Butf--k, Arizona, I find this amazing at best. Every Sunday morning, I open my door and there lies the Times in my driveway. Except some Sunday mornings when the delivery guy has had a meth overdose or something and my paper didn't arrive. Or some mornings when it's been lying in the rain or snow for long enough to soak it through. (Note: you can't dry it out in the microwave.)

For this great convenience (mainly for SWMBO who gets through the whole paper in one day while it takes me two, three, four or more days) I pay the New Yorkers 26 bucks a month.

Until this month. I noticed a payment deducted from my bank account on May 6th for $52. Well!!! I called the Times (very convenient: 1-800-NYTIMES) and was told I had been double-billed because I had not paid anything in April. I checked. Yes, I had. My bank account had been debited for $26 on April 8th. I told the guy on the phone about it and he said they had no record of it. I faxed them the proof. (This was on about my third conversation with a third person - - you never get the same guy or gal twice.)

Everyone I talked to said the same thing: we have no record of it but the billing department has opened an investigation and we'll get back to you. I finally asked them to tell the billing department to call me. They never did.

Somebody once told me: go to the top.

So last night, I e-mailed the Publisher (Arthur Sulzberger Jr.) and the President and General Manager (Scott H. Heekin-Canedy), told them the whole story and asked for their prompt attention.

This morning at 8:15 I received a call from someone who said her name was Tanya, who sounded cooperative, or perhaps cowed, who asked me to fax all the bank proofs of my various payments (which now are $78 more than I owe) and she would definitely take care of it. She gave me her private, direct telephone number. She was very sympathetic.

Of course, this is Friday. The beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. I am hoping that maybe, just maybe, by next Tuesday I will hear something back. If not, maybe Mr. Sulzberger and Mr. Heekin-Canedy (what kind of a name is that?) will receive yet another e-mail from me.

Grillin' 'n' Chillin'

Oh, yeah. It's time to fire up the grill.

What we have here is some asparagus, several boneless skinless chicken breasts and a half a hunk of Artisan bread wrapped in foil.

SWMBO fires up the gas.

This is not time-lapse photography but the first side of that chicken is done. The bread is heating on an upper rack.

The asparagus is in the grill basket. Oh, yeahhhhhh!

Can you smell that chicken?

Can you taste that asparagus and chicken?

Oh, yeah. Fill my plate. Add some brown rice. And my salad: grated carrots and apple, some poached raisins and toasted slivered almonds.

Let's see. Anything else? Oh, yeah, a glass of red wine.

I'm in heaven!

Progress(?)

The local newspaper was full of letters from outraged citizens for months about the damage the construction of a new Lowe's store was doing to a hillside in Prescott. Before that it was more of the same for another hillside for a Wal-Mart construction. Before that it was the "leveling" of Bullwhacker Hill as the Gateway Mall was being built.

But I haven't seen a single comment about the ugly hillside drivers are confronted with as they enter Prescott from the east. As graders and bulldozers have carved away at another hillside to make way for the long awaited highway intersection improvements, they have draped the top of the remaining dirt with some strange type of netting. This has offered (from my car) the rather odd two-toned view as one enters the town. Certainly distracting and definitely not a pretty entrance to the city.

Where are the letters? Or have their authors just given up?

Note: Clicking on the photo will make it even uglier.

More flowers - more snow!

I wonder if this is what is called a rose arbor.

Some different colored neighbors.

But . . . what's that in the distance? We had rain here last night but up on Mingus Mountain, it was what an old disc jockey friend of mine used to call Celestial Dandruff.

Flowers again

Wouldn't that beauty look good in a lapel of one of Tom Wolfe's white suits?

Smoke likes nothing better than to share the patio with us. Especially after he has taken a dirt bath!

The prince of the manor!

Through the lens, blurrily!

It's the front patio flowers bursting into bloom. That time of year. First, the pink roses.

And my favorite, the firecracker rose.

And the pinwheel.

Wait a minute . . . how did that get in here?

Oh, yeah, pansies. That's what I meant.

A mix of geraniums and marigolds.

The marigolds of peace. (Oh, realllllyyy, Catalyst!)

The ever-present Vinca.

Now, I think you can see what I mean. Some of these pictures are a little blurry. Had nothing to do with me holding the camera in one hand and my drink in the other. Just inexperience with this damned camera. One of these days, I'm gonna read the manual. If I can find it.