Fort Langley, BC cottage

The village of Fort Langley is a stone's throw from Trinity Western, where our son has started his first year of college. The village sits aside the Fraser River, the same name as the dorm where my son resides. Going to school in Canada fits him well, and several times he remarked how similar it felt to Germany. We moved him into his dorm room, met his new roommate, shopped around for some necessities, hung out nearby for a few days, then eventually had to say goodbye. Returning home, we find ourselves empty-nesters. This will take some getting used to, but we made it a point throughout our marriage to do things together without our kids just for fun, so the habit will definitely help us out.

Vancouver, BC Chinatown

Here's a sketch of a spot in Chinatown, near a place where my son found a local skate park. There's a great hole in the wall there where we found some delicious pesto and pasta. My son started at college, so we are officially empty-nesters now.

Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose

Here's the Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose where we stayed last weekend. My wife got a great deal on a room there and we really had no idea of the beauty of the place until we drove up. A wedding reception was in progress when we got there, so we checked in and found an amazing place to eat in "Little Italy." In the morning we enjoyed the jacuzzi and pool before heading over to Davenport beach, where I fell asleep on the sand, listening to the pounding of the breakers. Stopped in Davenport for an ice cream, then headed home.

Henry's in San Jose

My wife and I are in that very emotional time of life when we send our kids out into the world. Our emotions are compounded in that both of our children leave the nest within two weeks of each other. My daughter heads to Long Beach where she will work and save money for grad school, and my son leaves for college in Canada. Our daughter left Saturday morning, so rather than walking back into our empty house, where we'd have to walk past her empty bedroom, we decided to get away for a night and a day. We ended up staying in San Jose, at the Dolce Hayes Mansion, a sketch I will post eventually here. We didn't actually eat at Henry's BBQ, but I just liked the look of the place.

Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary

It has been two months now since I began working at Fresno Pacific University. Here is a sketch of the seminary building on campus, which I see quite often. The seminary is part of the Mennonite Brethren Church. What I didn't know is that the church has three seminaries, one of which is at Trinity Western University, the school that employs my wife, and where my son will attend college.

Kaffeepause

Traditional Education

What worked in the past does not necessarily work today. Even if the content or the principles have not changed, the methodologies must be continually evaluated and adjusted. Kids today have many of the same questions about life and the world that they have always had; but there are new questions that need to be addressed that we never asked our teachers. To be effective in education we need to have our ears and eyes attuned to the cultures in which we live.

Captain Kidd the Concierge

There he is, Captain Kidd, had he been a concierge for Caribbean Cruises instead of a treasure seeking pirate. A kinder, gentler figure he is. Still the skull and crossbones topping his hat, but adept at customer service and always ready with clean towels and room service.

Hot Weather Suit

It's been so hot here in the Fresno area for so many days in a row that I decided to design my own hot weather suit. As you can see, it contains many useful features, including a global positioning tracking device if you happen to pass out from the heat in remote areas.

Crazy for Gelato

It's been a while since I've put out a drawing. I finished up a year of teaching, took a week vacation, and just finished my first week at a new job, working at a local university. This is the first time I've not been in a classroom in something like 25 years. The weather has been scorching hot, usually around 108 degrees, which makes our pool feel like bathwater and our grass feel like velcro. So, to get my mind on cooler things, I decided to draw a welcome sight on hot days in Italy- a gelato joint. How wonderful it sounds, even now.