What a fabulous day I've just had!  I should be exhausted, as I couldn't get to sleep last night and am running on about 3 hours sleep, but for some reason I don't feel tired at all!  My day started at the Waterloo airport at 6:00 AM.  The flight into Minneapolis was delayed for a full hour while we waited for the de-icing machine to do its work.  That meant that my connection in Minneapolis was a quick one!  But I made it to the gate just in time to board-  and then waited for another 45 minutes for THAT plane to be de-iced!  Sounds bad, but I didn't mind all of the waiting at all!  I was about 1/2 way through the book I was reading-  about Congresswoman Gabby Giffords- so I had hours of uninterupted reading time today.  What could be better?  (I highly recommend this book, by the way! Gabby is an inspiration- and what interesting lives she and her husband Mark Kelly have led!)

I've spent the day thinking about my friend, Karen- who made this trip to Napa/ SF with me several times over the past 10 years.  When I entered the gate at SFO, the first thing I saw made me think of Karen-  a full-sized, driftwood sculpture of a horse.  We would always take a few minutes to look at it upon arriving at the airport. 

Then, as I walked past the first gift shop on my way to the baggage claim,  I thought of Karen again.  There was a tall stack of See's brand taffy for sale- Karen's favorite!  On one of our trips together, we stumbled upon a See's store, where they sold every flavor of taffy imaginable.  We spent a considerable amount of time having samples, and Karen always loaded up on boxes of taffy to bring back to Iowa to her family and friends.

Visiting the Muir Woods is ALWAYS done with Karen in mind.  We so enjoyed walking through the woods and looking up---.  The silence- especially in the Cathedral Grove- is amazing.  We used to sit on the benches there- just listening to -nothing.

And tonight, Pat Wolfe had her usual wine and cheese party at her home, to kick-off the annual Brainy Bunch Renewal.  It's such fun connecting with friends from across the county that I only see once each year.  As I was getting ready to leave and go back to my hotel room, Pat stopped me and said she had something to show me.  She led me upstairs to her bedroom, where there was a book on her nightstand.  She said that she had just discovered it in a box of books earlier this week- and had forgotten that she had it.  I don't even remember the name of the book--- but inside the front cover was a handwritten note in Karen's beautiful script.  She had given the book to Pat- and had signed it "Your Forever Friend, Karen".  Pat said that when she came across the book, she sat down and cried.  After pulling herself together, she made a New Year's Resolution in Karen's honor.  She is now journaling every night-  and making note of what she is thankful for each day.  The first entry she made, was that she was thankful for having known Karen Wente.

For those of you who don't know Karen, she was one of the kindest, gentlest, most generous people I've ever known.  For those of you who DID know Karen, you understand completely what I mean when I say she was 'one of a kind'. 

On October 26, 2008, Karen had a massive stroke.  She never regained consciousness, and died nine days later.  Sometimes I still can't believe that she's gone!  When Karen had her stroke, she was at the Gallegher-Bluedorn, helping with a memorial reception for the husband of a colleague.  She was fine one minute, and then it just happened.  One thing about that day that I will never forget--- and that I love remembering--- is that when Karen had her stroke, there was a harpist playing the most beautiful music just a few feet away.  As we scurried around to attend to her- to hold her while we waited for the paramedics to arrive, and while they attended to her and took her on a stretcher to the ambulance--- the harpist kept playing. In all of the chaos,  the harp music kept playing.  I'm sure that Karen loved that.  It was so fitting!

So...  It's been an enjoyable day-  reading, traveling, sight-seeing, and remembering Karen.

Tomorrow:  Learning about the Adolescent Brain! Can't wait!