A very Mary day

Some readers may have noticed that I have a great time playing with words. Maybe I don't play fair all the time, but I still have fun. And so, when I think of a very Mary day, a variety of messages are whirling about my brain.

First and foremost, today is my sister-in-law's birthday. So, happy birthday, Mary. It was great to share a lovely dinner with you last night at Di Luna's. I hope you have a safe drive back to Tacoma and that you enjoy a festive party upon your return. I also hope your day is as nice as mine was yesterday.

It was a very merry day for numerous reasons. Visiting with my coffee cult buddies proved to be its usual talkative experience. We now have a round table where equal-opportunity hearing is supposed to be the norm, but I still miss a few of the morsals when side conversations take off.

Judging the pet show at Carter Country Feed Store came next on the agenda. One contestant brought her blind cat Stevie Wonder and another brought her Shitzo. They both competed in the pet tricks category. Neither animal chose to perform, however. Their efforts were trounced by the border collie who refused to roll over but happily shook hands, lay down, played dead, etc.

The most difficult category came with the "cutest." How can one distinguish between a long-eared bassett hound, a four-month old Yorkshire or a nicely attired rider who had spruced up her 19-year-old pony? We finally gave the nod to the pony cuz we figured she'd done more work to be cute.

With few entries, the pet show sped by ever so quickly. I was home within half an hour of its start. Next came some lawn mowing and a day's worth of listening to a beautiful CD sent to me by my penpal Robyne from New Zealand.

It featured a three selections where her daughter Giselle, an accomplished operatic singer, displayed her flexibility with her voice and flute while performing some hauntingly beautiful Celtic selections. The CD is called "Wild Mountain Thyme." Giselle performs with a group from Taupo called the Kilkenny Kats.

Listening to the selections over and over while thumbing through pages of New Zealand photo books brought out the goosebumps and good memories of my time spent there with Annie nearly two years ago.

My friend Jeanelle came by and surprised me as I was planting some more flowers in my garden. We had a nice visit, and then she was off with many projects to complete on her busy schedule.

We went to dinner at Di Lunas----Bill, Mary, Mother, Barbara, Laurie and me. Word had gotten out that it was a birthday celebration, so we enjoyed very special treatment from the kitchen and waiting staff, including a delicious huge piece of chocolate cake which made the rounds on that same round table where our coffee cult had sipped and chatted earlier in the day.

Home by 7:30, I wasted no time jumping back in the car to attend the 1985 Sandpoint High 20th-year reunion at the Elks Club. As always, a teacher's greatest reward comes at these events. The satisfaction of seeing so many former students happily settled into their lives is hard to describe.

I had a great time moving from table to table, gleaning little bits of information from dozens of students who had sat in my English class 20 years ago. And, I really knew that time had passed as some told me their kids had already graduated from high school.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself yesterday on what was definitely a very MERRY day. Thanks to all family and friends who made it that way.