I finally decorated the studio for the holidays yesterday. I'm so dedicated to my pet nursing service that I've neglected my creative self and my studio, which I consider my sacred space. I waited until I was fifty to fully embrace the artistic life and "just go for it." When I'm at the studio everything seems peaceful. Even if I'm not feeling creative or inspired, I look at books, or sit on my fantastic balcony or sometimes I just go around the place and view the art as if I'm seeing it for the first time. So, when I came into the studio yesterday I did just that. I looked at it with fresh eyes and realized I had neglected a dear friend. I got out the decorations from last year, went and bought a few more bulbs, made snowflake confetti in shades of blue and then I celebrated my space. I bought a real wreath so it would smell like Christmas used to smell for me, placed the blue and green bulbs in various nooks and table tops, sprinkled the snowflake confetti around to make it look more festive, and then I looked at my Grandfather's picture and wished him a Merry Christmas and thanked him for blessing me with a little portion of his talent. That's my greatest gift of all, and of course, helping all those wonderful animals.