Good small town mechanics are great to have!
I like doing everything he did for you myself, but it's still nice knowing a good mechanic. Not having a lift, you just approach things a little differently sometimes. For example I re-filled the manual transmission oil from the top using a funnel that has one foot hose attached. Whatever gets the job done.
I did my first manual transmission oil change @ 30,000 miles, & it looked super clean like your oil did. I did my 2nd manual transmission oil change 50,000 miles later (@ 80,000 miles), & it looked clean again. I'm going to stick with Red Line MTL every 50,000 miles.
Mirage is a great little car.