There are important people in our lives, people who impress us so much that we change our course, they change our lives. Mariusa was that for me. She lived at Villa Santa Barbara at the same time I worked there. Most afternoons she sat at her easel, a striking figure in her elder years placing careful brush stokes to canvas. Eventually we became friends and shared many conversations. But it was her example of being at the easel in continual practice that impressed me to pick up the brush again. So last night as I painted and listened to the Sacred Arias I remembered Mariusa in her Santa Barbara studio doing the same. I am preparing to go to the Sierra to study the colors of trout as I have been offered a contract to paint trout images for a large company. Mariusa's influence positioned me to be prepared for this opportunity. Still, she was more than a mentor. She was more than wonderful friend. She liked to say we were related, which I adored! She introduced me to her family so that I feel close to Rosalina and feel like family. Fond memories.