The reply to my invitation came in a handwritten note.

“One does not refuse an invitation to tea from the Queen,” it read. But when I opened the door to Sylvia, an elegantly dressed, vibrant 86-year-old woman, it became obvious who the real queen was.

Although this was the first time we were meeting in person, we were friends waiting to happen. A longtime reader of my column in the Pasadena Star-News, Sylvia led with condolences for the loss of my mother and husband as we hugged on my front porch.

It was my friend Barbara who found the Queen. Actually, it was Barbara’s houseguest who set the unlikely scenario in motion. The guest had wanted to locate the house she’d lived in a long time ago.

That house turned out to be the one Sylvia has occupied for the past 63 years. In fact, Sylvia was clipping bushes in the front yard when Barbara and her friend found the house. After hearing their story, Sylvia graciously showed them around.

While chatting, Sylvia mentioned that she reads the print edition of the Star-News. Barbara said she had a friend who writes a column the paper publishes. Bingo.

That evening I received an email from Barbara.

“You should meet this woman,” wrote Barbara, describing Sylvia’s book-filled house and immaculately kept home and yard. “And she loves your column.”

Related Articles

Who could resist that? So I invited Barbara and the retired librarian to tea. Such a good move. Such delightful conversation.

We learned that, not only had she made the stylish outfit she was wearing, but she loves to sew and makes all of her own clothes.

“I like designing and making vintage clothing and have a closet full of things I hardly wear now that I don’t travel as much.”

And speaking of traveling, a wanderlust she inherited from her father, Sylvia has been, well, everywhere.

“Not quite,” she corrected me. “I think I still have another trip in me when it’s safe to travel again.”

In the meantime, she indulged her love of music by treating herself to season tickets to the Pasadena Symphony. Her pick-up-and-go attitude takes her pretty much wherever she wants to go, one of the many things I learned from her. Sylvia is no-nonsense with class. One minute she was asking about the history of my antique sideboard, and the next she was showing me how to clean burn marks off my tea kettle.

And then there was the kitty Lark, who showed up just as Sylvia said she would like to meet her, jumping onto her lap and lapsing into her signature motor purr. That cat has great people instincts.

There are some people you are destined to meet because they will enrich your life. Sylvia is one of those people.

Email [email protected] follow her on Twitter @patriciabunin visit patriciabunin.com