A Balboa Island souvenir

We have a small but growing number of water colors and paintings that we have acquired in our travels, as a souvenir of places we'd like to remember. Sometimes a more impressionistic work of art captures the light in the Tuscan hills or the colors of Montmartre better than a photograph. With this thoughtfully in mind, several of our family members went in together on a Christmas gift for us, and gave us a beautiful painting of a scene from Balboa Island. While Balboa is not far from home, it can seem like it, and we have spent many happy times there. It is a longtime favorite spot in George's family, and this last September we spent a couple of weekends there with George's mother, sister and brother-in-law, our niece and nephew and their families, making Balboa Island now special to four generations of family. Thus, we were especially touched to get this gift.

We have a wall in the living room where we have started an arrangement of our souvenir paintings, and thought about adding it there. But there is a nice cozy spot in the family room where it fit quite well, so that's where it has ended up.