Women's Day

I did not attend the Selle Club meeting yesterday. It was at Jackie Peterson's house on Selle Road, beginning at 11 a.m. Dione called me last week to tell me about it and encouraged me to come. I've been hit-and-miss over the last year or so with Selle Club, usually because something else, like a story deadline, stands in the way.

Selle Club meetings also involve preparing a potluck dish for the luncheon. Considering that and knowing I had two other meetings to attend yesterday, I decided to take the easy route and skip the first meeting of the day. That allowed me to get a few things done around here, including the addition of electric wire to several chewed-up fence posts around the barnyard.

For some reason, January is prime fence-chewing time for horses. They're defiant about it too. I fling a snowball and an insulting message to Lily as she's eyeing me head-on and chewing away like a beaver. She reacts with a dirty look, a run the other direction, a rear and then a quick trip back to the post to resume her chewing.

So, yesterday's goal was to save some of the half-eaten posts that hold up the nice boards. Those nice boards are covered with ridges where teeth have been gnawing away for no other reason than to gnaw-----maybe to drive me crazy too. After adding some wire in strategic places and plugging in the fence charger, I watched.

Those horses know when new strategies are employed, and it takes them a lot of watching to figure it all out. They want to touch but they know better. So, I was minimally successful and will remain so until they figure out the next tricky way to get at the wood.

With that and other errands accomplished, including a BIKE RIDE IN JANUARY (can't believe it), I cleaned up and headed for town to attend the first meeting of the Women Honoring Women at Kathy Chambers' home and the leaders meeting for Girl Scout Service Unit 402 at Community Hall.

In both cases, the members were revving up for busy months ahead. Saturday, June 19 at the Tango Restaurant in Panhandle State Bank has been set for this year's Women Honoring Women luncheon. Soon information about the program will be hitting the media. Well, sooner than that, it has hit Slight Detour, so tell them you heard it here first.

Each year the program honors women over 65 who have made positive contributions to the community and who exhibit overall exemplary qualities, including interest in education, compassion for others, a clear sense of direction and generosity in their tangible and intangible gestures toward others.

The greatest satisfaction on the part of the Women Honoring Women is to find the "diamonds in the rough," i.e. unsung, deserving heroines who would be totally floored by such an honor. Once five women are chosen, they're recognized through newspaper features and as guests of honor at the annual luncheon. In addition, the sponsoring organization takes time to get to know them through other social functions.

So, if local readers have any ideas for this year, be looking for the upcoming announcements and submit your nominations.

My second meeting of the night at Community Hall involved a lot of women and several young women who came along with moms who were meeting to learn the multitude of details dealing with the multitude of Girl Scout activities coming up over the next few months. Participants last night came from Bonners Ferry and Bonner County.

I attended this meeting to glean some information for my next column, which will spotlight my daughter-in-law Debbie who's the program and member development coordinator for Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. I was impressed with the enthusiasm, and I learned that my learning curve about Girl Scouts is pretty steep.

I know, after attending the meeting, that the program involves a lot of energy and dedication on the part of its adults. It's already apparent that many of the women I saw last night give inordinate amounts of time and energy to provide opportunities for the scouts of all ages.

In a nutshell, I was impressed. And, of course, I liked the fact that they're very business-like, but they still like to have some fun. One leader dressed up in a Samoa cookie costume for me. That was after a mother/leader yelled out into the main hall to her daughter to come into the meeting room.

The daughter was astute.

"I'm not coming in there to dress up like a cookie," she yelled back.

Later, when she saw a camera flashing inside the room, she changed her mind and donned another colorful costume for me to photograph.

All in all, my day of meeting with women who are doing things for other women was both inspiring and fun. Lots of energy out there and good things to come in the months ahead.
And, that includes Girl Scout cookie sales in February. Get ready!