Summer's end

August 31, 2011. The summer is coming to an end and I can already feel the cold morning wind on my way to work aboard my little 50 cc scooter. The grasses are blowing and the skies are damp. At times I wish I was back in the dry California air, but in other ways I anticipate all of the German autumn traditions- the annual Kandern booth fest in the center of town with smells of waffles and bratwurst and new wine. God is good to this rich and abundant land.

Adolf Kussmaul's house

August 24, 2011. It's been so hot and sticky in Kandern this week, so I hung out in the town square last night until it got dark, sketching the Adolf Kussmaul house, with the grape vines full of fruit draped across the front. The square was filled with the voices of people sitting in front of the Italian restaurant at tables, enjoying the subtle evening breezes and something cool to drink. Apparently, Dr. Kussmaul was famous for many things. I read that he was instrumental in studying dyslexia, which he called "word blindness."

hot in Schliengen

August 22, 2011. It's been blazing hot in Germany this past week. Tomorrow is the first day of school, so after I got everything ready, I took my scooter down to Schliengen and sat in the shade with a Coke to do this sketch. Schliengen is actually engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, as the French thought they had won it in 1796. However, it is also mentioned on a monument in Vienna, as Austria claimed it had won the same battle. Either way, it's most popular with us for a restaurant there that has a Monday night special on pizza.

Willingen Viaduct

August 16, 2011. I'm at a conference in Willingen, Germany for the week. It's been a great time, but I'm ready to be home and see my wife. I had a couple hours today, so I headed over to this viaduct built during World War I, spanning the valley 30 meters high and almost 300 meters long. As there was intermittent rain, I had to keep making trips back to my car to keep the sketch from getting all wet.

Bob of Whittier

August 12, 2011. Here's Bob, or my attempt at Bob rather. I got to see him shortly while I was in California and we shared a Dave's burger together. He's a youth worker- loves hanging out and talking to kids about life. He was a big part of my brother and sister's life when they were growing up. Here's to all those people who take the time to befriend the young people in this world!

getting out the jacket

August 8, 2011. Herbert Bayer, Austrian graphic designer, artist, architect...etc. Since we've been back in Germany, we haven't seen too much of the sun, but that's fine. The wind is kicking up, throwing heavy clouds across the skies, occasionally allowing glorious bursts of sun, then heavy rain, then who knows what. I grab my jacket before going out, then put it under my arm after a few steps. It keeps you guessing.

man with a plan

August 7, 2011. I admire practical-minded people. Harry Beck was one such individual. In his spare time, he developed an easy-to-understand map of the London Underground subway system. It made traveling under the city and changing rails simple and easy. His design was later adopted around the world in cities with similar underground transportation systems. Beck saw that people needed simplicity. He realized that people wanted to get from point A to point B, and he developed something that would help them achieve what they needed.

Jet-lagging

August 6, 2011. I'm back in Germany and doing the jet-lag thing again, so I put together a very short video of our time in Huntington Beach at the Nike US Open of Surfing event. My son Micah took some great video footage and I made a little sketch on the beach.