Frylie's Five!

Our little boy is growing up - Frylie is five years old today!

Happy Birthday little man - we love you!

Snow Day!

Fry was loving the wintry weather this week, especially since his body was kept warm with his winter jacket and his paws were protected with his favorite paw wax from Musher's Secret. I hate to sound like an advertisement, but that stuff really works.

That's my boy!

Juggling

With my thoughts and actions racing around in so many different directions over the past month or so, I feel like I've started this year off juggling my entire life! While it's a good thing to have so much going on, sometimes I wonder if there really can be too much of a good thing. I have paintings on exhibit in a variety of venues in Raleigh and Cary and am happy about that, but I've had to start a spreadsheet so I can keep track of just what is hanging where and when it needs to be picked up. I'm not generally much of a spreadsheet kind of person, but out of necessity, I'm quickly learning to become one.

Also, I've begun taking pastel classes with Addren Doss out of Greensboro. We're starting out with values and in that vein, I've been painting nothing but still lifes for the past two weeks.

Still Life Homework Assignments in Greyscale and Color

While I think (hope?) that's helping me better understand value and temperature in color theory, I have to admit I'm looking forward to eventually getting back to painting my beloved landscapes and animals!

And speaking of animals, Frylie was quite ill over this past weekend with some kind of stomach upset. Fortunately, he appears to be well on the road to recovery now, but he gave us quite a scare when he went off his food and suffered nausea, vomiting and lack of energy or interest in anything for those few days.

Lastly, but certainly not least, the handwriting on the wall has reached massive proportions such that I can no longer pretend that my weight gain and lack of fitness don't need to be addressed. In light of that, I'm easing back into a regular exercise regimen of brisk walking/hiking and bicycling. With the cold and rainy weather this winter has brought, I've been limited to the indoor exercise bike, hand weights and yoga most days, but I suppose that's better than nothing. And I can still dream, while I'm pedaling away in the house, of warmer drier days in the coming spring when a hopefully slimmer and fitter me can get back outside on actual mountain bike trails...

Sertoma Arts Plein Air Group Show

The Plein Air Group Show at Sertoma Arts Center is now going on, and it is beautiful! There are lots of talented artists participating, with a tremendous variety of styles and media including oils, acrylics, watercolors and pastels. Show runs January 4 through February 28, 2015 at Sertoma Arts Center, 1400 West Millbrook Road in Raleigh NC.

© 2014 Tammy Kaufman - The Cove - pastels on Uart 600 10" x 8"

Happy Birthday to Me!

"Just celebrate the life you had, not the life you could've had." ~ Magic Johnson

Happy Birthday to my Inner Child! This has been a whirlwind of a year, wrought with anxiety about growing older of course, yet still so much fun with many new and exciting adventures. Life happens in a series of moments, so to celebrate the last year of my "early" 50s, I figured I'd celebrate my birthday with a photo slideshow retrospective of just some of those wonderful moments from 2014. Looking forward to what 2015 has to offer!

If you are unable to view the slideshow in Flash, click HERE for the link to the photo gallery.

Into the Night

Since the weather was so nice today and the forecast is for cold and rainy tomorrow, we decided to go ahead and take the bikes out tonight, with Frylie by our sides of course.

Pausing for a quick drink of water

Ever the awesome trail dog, Fry says "Let's Go!"

Ready to Go!

Night riding is fun in its own right, but is even more so with my best buddy on my wheel.

Singing the Blues

Continuing with the "blue" theme, I discovered over the weekend that a bluebird couple has taken up residence in the bluebird house in our backyard! They were busy nest-building and making the little box their new home, and after having the box sit empty for over a year, it's such a joy to have them sharing our yard with us now.