A Great 6th Anniversary

As promised, here is a picture of one of the presents I got for Chantay.

Since we were married in Salt Lake City, this ad ran in the Salt Lake Tribune the day of our anniversary, and it was the only thing in the “Special Announcements” column, which was very nice.

I also got her an opal ring with matching opal earrings and pendant. During the course of my research for the jewelry, I found out that what she has been calling “Fire Opal” for years is actually “Precious Opal” (or more commonly, just plain “opal”). So, as an added gift, I told her how wrong she has been. Since that doesn’t happen very often (usually it’s the other way around as she frequently reminds me) it was like a gift for both of us.

Chantay got me the gift to beat all gifts. Originally, she had arranged to buy me my dream car: a black BMW 330i with a manual transmission. Smart girl that she is, after arranging for financing, taking a test drive, and getting everything all set up she decided to make sure it was okay before she dropped 30 Grand. It wasn’t. I just can’t justify spending that kind of money for what amounts to transportation. I’ll keep driving my used Honda that’s almost paid off and retire a year earlier instead.

So faced with the let down of not being able to give me a Beemer, what was she to get me? How about a first edit mint condition of Star Beast by Robert Heinlein (read my profile – he’s my favorite). That wasn’t enough, though. She had to get one signed by Heinlein! This is a gift that I absolutely treasure, and always will. As if that were not enough, she also go me a couple more signed Ray Bradbury books, which brings our collection of signed Bradbury to 5 (including Fahrenheit 451, and The Martian Chronicles).

When I got home on Friday night, Chantay presented me with this menu that she made herself:

Suffice to say, the meal was amazing! I threw the diet out for a weekend (I’ve lost 35 pounds so far, by the way) and just enjoyed myself. And enjoyed myself. And enjoyed myself...

Also on Saturday, we received a really nice card from my grandparents in Houston. To them, 6 years of marriage must seem like 6 days. Still, it was nice that they remembered (thanks, Grandma!).

Brinley (my daughter) made sure to get in on the action. She insisted on serving us the meal on Saturday night, and got us a card and a present: a box of each of our favorite candy (and the diet takes another hit).

All in all, I think this was the best anniversary ever.