A lovely day spent with an old friend.

We have had a couple of beautiful days of sunshine, big fluffy clouds and mild, warm weather. The flowering pear tree is blooming, the lavender is coming to life, and the daffodils are blooming. The tulips are pushing up through the dirt in my pots and the Muscari (or grape hyacinth) is spiking its beautiful, bright blue fowers through clumps of green grassy leaves. Spring is "bustin' out all over".

My friend Karen invited me to her house, in Ione, for lunch yesterday. It was a perfect day. The weather , as I said, was lovely. I haven't seen Karen for quite a while because of my busy-ness in the bay area and because Karen has had a lot of sickness which I have talked about before. She has had way more to bear than most folks and is in an on going struggle to stay well. Yesterday was our opportunity to get together and celebrate our birthdays and spend the afternoon just talking and laughing about our lives.

Karen looked great! and she was feeling really good. It was nice to see her this way because she has been so sick, off and on, for so many years. She didn't think she would make it into her 50's and 60's, but Thursday was her 64th birthday and ..,Karen, my friend, you have weathered many storms in your life but you are a much stronger person than you think you are. You have fortitude and an inner strength that fights all the demons and gets you through the hardest times. I know that you give all the credit to God, but I believe that this strength is only given when God sees our resolve to keep trying , to always make an effort.., and you do. I was so happy to celebrate your 64th birthday with you. The lunch was delicious and your home was, and always is, lovely. Thank you for the belated birthday present. It was not necessary but just charming. I will tell everyone about it next Wednesday. Thank you for everything. I wish you many more birthdays and I love you.