August in Marin

My calendar pages were filled with family, friends, fun and lots of relaxing, too.

One of the highlights of the month was a visit from Mary and Craig Brown, cousins who live in AZ and made their way home via Marin. They are dear cousins and I loved having them be able spend some time with my family. These two photos were taken as they were telling a joke. Craig started off and then the joke was amended by Mary. We all got a good laugh and Elsa looked on somewhat amazed that the elders could be so funny.

Our Watercolor Journal Group had a paint out at the SF Bay Model in Sausalito. Most of us painted scenes from the Bay but I turned around and did the building. My nephew, Joe Mc Cormick, is Captain of the Racoon, a Corps of Engineers boat that goes and and picks up debris to keep navigation safe. Last week they pulled a dead whale out from under a pier in the East Bay. I wanted to capture the Corp of Engineers Building for Joe.

We put all our books down so I could take a photo.

It was  gray day, thus there is not a lot of bright color on our pages.

This was our other outing to the Community Gardens in Larkspur. 

I sat in my car and tried to capture the ridge line with The Tamalpais 

and condos on the hill.

The construction project, which I call "The Bathtub", is coming along. 

It has been so interesting to watch. I am very grateful to live on the other side of my building so I don't hear all noise. 

My neighbor, who lives right above the site. invites me in to take photos. 

She knows I like construction and want to keep a record of the building.

We had a Blue Grass group give a concert in Garden this month at The Redwoods. There were all ages. 

The kids did a great job and our residents 

had a lot of fun clapping and enjoying the music.

On a quieter note, I sat during our Art in the Garden afternoon and captured one small zinnia in my journal. Doing these somewhat botanical renderings is so relaxing for me... just to take my time and capture the colors and details on the page.

I still enjoy making name plates for friends, here is a recent one.

Finally, several of us noticed a small blue lobelia growing right up out of the pavers in our Church's Frost Garden.. It was situated under a patio table protected from footprints. When I painted this sweet flower it reminded me of a CS Lewis quote.

 "God's magnificence is seen in His attention to the smallest detail."  

When I see wildflowers and other minute colorful creatures in Nature, I often remember this quote.

Last but not least, was Elsa's 8th Birthday on 8/24/2015.

She is growing up so fast. I love her dearly and am so blessed to have her in my  life.

I make a name plate for her each year. 

These are some of the things she loves.