Jillsy Girl Studio

Wonderment

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:04:00 +0000

mommy, that tree looks scary

there's nothing to be scared of dear

it's just cold

its summer clothes have fallen to the ground

leaving only bare arms to face the cold of winter

wait until the first snow

when it dons its winter white coat

that sparkles brilliantly in the sunlight

wait until spring

when beautiful fragrant blossoms

sprout from its fingertips

wait until summer

when its bare arms can no longer be seen

for all its lush green attire

wait until autumn

when it comes ablaze in color

and once again begins shedding its summer clothes

just wait

that tree is not scary

it is full of wonderment

:: focus 52 ::
:: the creative exchange ::

until next time,

Piece by Piece

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:03:00 +0000

are you a jigsaw puzzle person?

i haven't done one in years

but since the weather has been so nasty lately

i decided to buy three of them last week

this one was only 300 pieces

and i completed it within a day

the other two are 1000 pieces

which i know will take me much, much longer

or will drive me crazy and i'll give up before they're done

no i won't, i'll persevere!

for those of you who love jigsaw puzzles, i just found this site for online playing
JIGZONE

in fact, here is one for you to try, right now!

:: focus 52 ::

until next time,

No one Lives There Anymore

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:41:00 +0000

she baked cookies every tuesday

the children's faces beamed as they ran off the bus

straight to her front door

chocolate chip

peanut butter

and

sugar ~ colored with sprinkles

all heaped high on a plate

a pitcher of milk close by

waiting

her eyes twinkled

her soft smile

unnoticed

as she watched them devour

her creations

tuesdays

were special

the day her husband's loving touch

came to an end

and silence walked in and replaced it

the neighborhood children

seemed to help

their smiles and laughter

warmed her heart

the house is now empty

but the love still exists

for those who knew her

:: the creative exchange ::

:: texture tuesday ::

until next time,

Love Birds

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:14:00 +0000

on love.....

marv to mitzy: i'll watch your back, if you'll watch mine.

mitzy to marv: ok

enjoy the weekend!

Abstractions

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:01:00 +0000

along Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA

"I don't think of form as a kind of architecture.
The architecture is the result of forming.

It is the kinesthetic and visual sense of position and wholeness

that puts it in the realm of art."

~ Roy Lichtenstein ~

curves, squares or lines?

(curves for me)

until next time,

Pitter-Patter

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:53:00 +0000

As mentioned in my previous post, the silence in our house was deafening with the absence of Simon's everyday sounds. The pitter-patter of his little paws on the hardwoods, the lapping of water as he drank from his water bowl, whimpers by the back door letting us know he had to go out (he still knew how to get everywhere despite his blindness), his soft breathing in between us while we all slept in "his" bed. Such a little guy he was, but his presence was huge. That silence led me to start searching the internet for Yorkie breeders. Not to necessarily bring home another any time soon but to gather names. Hubby requested we wait a little while, at least through the holidays before starting the "search". I agreed. BUT.....it never occurred to me that because it was right before the holidays, breeders would have litters ready and waiting for new parents to come, look, choose and take! How can anyone ignore a gift horse like that? So, of course, I convinced hubby to take a drive and have a look with me.

Here's the outcome.....meet Miles!

all 3.5 lbs. of him

we've had him almost 6 weeks now and he just turned 5 months old last week

he's definitely a handful, in every sense of the word,

but he's been wiggling his way into our hearts, regardless.

who could stay mad at a face like that?

take a look at the cheeky little devil a few days after we brought him home....

Miles in Action

I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of Miles!

until next time,

Black Friday

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:29:00 +0000

I had told you in my previous posts that I had some good and some not so good experiences to report that had happened during my blogging absence. Well, this one is the "not so good", well actually awful, and will probably be the most difficult post I've ever written. Some of you are already aware of what this post will be about, but I'm writing it for those of you who have not yet been informed.

Black Friday has always held a bad connotation in my mind since the term became popular over the past several years. I was content just hearing the day referred to as "the day after Thanksgiving" when everyone went shopping. Well, now it will forever be a real Black Friday, and one that is not associated with shopping.

For Thanksgiving, we drove down to Florida to spend the week with my Mother. Everything was fine when we left, but when we got there, Simon seemed uncomfortable with the surroundings. Being that he was a year older since we had been there, we didn't give it too much thought since being blind is not an easy thing when in strange surroundings, that is, until Wednesday afternoon when his demeanor seemed to worsen and his appetite began declining. Then, on Thanksgiving Day he began pacing and bumping into things. His breathing also became belabored. In the wee hours of Friday morning his symptoms became so bad that he couldn't sleep. He started running in tight circles at rapid pace and screaming. Being away from home we had to find a 24 hour vet hospital, which we did, that wasn't far away (and shoppers were out in droves). The vet ran some tests and took an x-ray but could not find anything seriously wrong. What he believed Simon was dealing with was a canine type of vertigo and would go away within 2 to 3 days, so we took him back home which was now about 5AM. His breathing was extremely disturbing, though. He seemed to have fallen asleep for only a very short period, but even then, his breathing was in short, rapid gasps. When we got up at about 8:30 in the morning, we took him out of bed, but when we put him on the floor he couldn't stand up. I took him outside to see if he could do his business, but he immediately fell sideways, frantically panting. At that point we knew it was much worse than vertigo, and as he was laying there on the driveway, I began saying my goodbyes. Tears were flowing down my face. I knew, just as any mother would, that his time had come. We drove back to the vet hospital where we were faced with making the ultimate decision. A different vet was there who told us his lungs were beginning to fill with fluids due to his heart being overworked for such an extended period. So, what started off as a holiday vacation ended up being disastrous with us taking little Simon P. back home in a box.

He was the light of our lives for 14 years and made us laugh every single day until the end. Here are three of my favorite photos I would like to share with you ....

Simon's final resting place is now in our backyard and we visit him every day.

The silence in our house was deafening so I began searching the internet a few days later for Yorkie breeders with the intention of only gathering names. I'll tell (and show) you the results of that innocent intention in my next post.

Until then,

How To Deflate A Male Ego

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:57:00 +0000

if only our men worked so hard!

until next time,

A house is not a home until you make it so

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:46:00 +0000

Before I get into my post, I first have something very important to say....Ya'll have made my day....no, my month! 21 comments on my first post after 4 months on break! What can a girl say other than...Wowza! That is WAY more than I expected! I had said to myself, "Jillsy, you'll be lucky to get 6 or 7 comments, tops." True, I did have several peeps write and ask me to come back, but to have so many of you who actually kept me on their RSS feed is amazing! I thought ya'll would have file thirteened my lifeless blog, fo' sho', by now! So, thank you, thank you for keeping me around! I feel totally honored....or else you guys need to clean up your reading lists! ;-) But, to humor myself, I will continue to believe it was because you had faith in me and my blog! Please give me a few days to get around to all of you who have visited me....I look forward to seeing what you've been up to!

Okay, now to the meat and potatoes of this post.....as I had mentioned, I would fill you in on some of the happenings that kept me busy over the past few months, some good, some not so good. I decided to devote a post to each one.

Today's is a good happening, and one that was sixteen years in the making. I don't know how many of you have lived in the same home for 16 years, but this is the first time in my life that I have ever lived in any one residence for more than 6 years (including my childhood). I think the only way I can stay content in the same place is to continually make changes, so it's probably a good thing we bought a fixer-upper or else we probably would have moved long ago.

The things we've done to this house over the past 16 years have practically transformed it into an entirely new house existing within the same 32 year old walls. Two levels out of four were completely renovated from nothing into a custom office, home theater, full bar, guest bath, laundry room and a shop/craftroom. Another level received a complete face lift that included a totally new kitchen and dining area that, to our astonishment, received first place in a remodeling contest and got published in a trade magazine. The final renovation was the remodel of the master bathroom and new carpet for the upstairs level which was the project we just completed.

When that was finished back in October, I was torn between being totally elated and somewhat sad. I'm torn emotionally because I remember all the excitement we experienced for each project we completed and the anticipation and all the planning for the next one. Now what? Just maintenance. All the sweat equity we have in this house. It would be difficult to let go, for sure, but I hope we don't get bored and end up wanting to move. For now, we're just enjoying the fruits of our labor.

What's the longest period of time you've spent in one residence?

Until next time ~

Back in the Saddle

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:04:00 +0000

hello again, it's me!

have you wondered where the heck i've been?

on an extra long blog siesta, that's where, and i have to admit...

i liked it!

i even considered staying there permanently,

but after quite a few requests for my return (to my surprise),

i figured it's about time

to get my lazy ass back into clicking and posting again!

and what better time than the start of the new year

so, here i am, back in the saddle

not sure of how much i'll be riding

or what i'll be posting

but if you're interested, you can find me here

and just in case...

if i tend to slack off, just give me a kick or two!

i just hope ya'll have been better about blogging

and taking photos than I have

and i hope I can remember all the stuff

that took me months to learn.

if not, i'll have to start re-teaching myself.

i'll fill you in on a few things that happened during my siesta, some good, some not so good
on my next post.

until then....

Spa Time

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:51:00 +0000

Nikki (my sidekick)

is off on her annual spa vacation

after another year of

hard labor

that,
as well as my mom visiting
has been keeping me busy
doing other things

i'll get back into the swing of things
in a couple of weeks

until then....
happy blogging everyone!

Get Your Grub Here!

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:55:00 +0000

linking up with...

Focus52

Which Way?

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:37:00 +0000

stay home

::
go to lake

stay home

so to lake

stay home

go to lake

dealing with this all week

~ which one will win ~

in either case...

wishing all of you in the states

a great holiday weekend!

One Old Grump

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:52:00 +0000

Funky Do

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:36:00 +0000

Next to the hummingbird, this beautiful, big daddy of woodpeckers with its funky do comes in a close second on my favorite bird list, and whenever I see one my heart does a little jig. Sorry the photos are not crisp, he was higher up in the tree than the power of my zoom could handle, but at least I was able to capture him.

The very first time I ever saw one was inside my living room. It was sitting on one of the window sills (on the outside), and I was in awe! It was an adult, and I was taken aback by its beauty. Unfortunately, back then I was not into photography, but the image will be forever ingrained in my memory.

Mr. Pileated Woodpecker.....(I believe he is a juvenile because I've seen much larger ones)

linking up with
World Bird Wednesday

Along the Road

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:35:00 +0000

on our trip to the beach a couple of weeks ago....

in the heart of Alabama....

at 65 mph.

linking up with....
Our World Tuesday

Weekend Exposure

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 02:06:00 +0000

This gorgeous butterfly I've never seen before

landed in front of me on our garden path.
I identified it as a "Gulf Fritillary"

linking up with....

The Creative Exchange
Focus52

Fab Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:52:00 +0000

Recipients ~ fee free to grab the badge!

another week passes so quickly

i have to wonder where it went

scary sometimes

when you stop and think about it

this week the parties weren't quite as active as normal

and i have to partially blame myself for that

a party hostess must stay attentive at all times

which i admit i've faltered with a bit

but i also know that august has its annual demands

that keep us all scurrying about with other things

and since we are in the midst of the Dog Days of Summer

even our pets haven't been very active

which was the theme at Party Random

maybe not the best timing for that theme

but even so

there were still a few

partyers that made a hit

even though the party itself was a bit sluggish

party animals don't pay attention to lack of attendance

they have the uncanny ability to have fun and get noticed

no matter if they're the only ones in the room!

clicking the actual image will take you directly to the original Flickr page

at Party Wildlife

the theme was Hummingbirds

take a look at these babies!

by Gail @ Louisiana Belle
magical!

above and below by Reena @ Missing Moments
she had them eating out of her hand!

Party Macros

was all about showing only a tidbit of themselves

and making the others figure out what they were

Can you guess what this is? I couldn't.

by Lauri @ Life Accomplished

New Party Themes:

Party Wildlife: Soar!

Party Macros: Cut Glass/Crystal

Party Random: Beautiful Mistakes

I promise to be a better hostess!

An Artsy Mistake

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:23:00 +0000

this was a blatant mistake

but one i fell in love with the moment i saw it

~ just mildly edited ~

By George, I finally got one!

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:21:00 +0000

Just last week

I commented on someone's post saying

I never had any luck capturing a hawk inside the box

and then....

only a couple of days later

I was talking on the phone on our back patio

and caught sight of one of our local hawks swooping through our yard and landing on a tree branch

this, in itself, is not unusual

it's just the lucky opportunity of having:

1. the hawk land within eyesight

2. the hawk land close enough for my zoom lens to capture any clarity

3. the luck of having my camera close enough to start shooting before the bird flies off again

I've just never had the good fortune of having all three elements lining up together

that is, until that afternoon

I abruptly ended my telephone conversation

ran inside and grabbed my camera

thinking to myself, he'll be gone when I get back outside

but to my delight was still sitting on the same tree branch I had sighted him on

which was a distance from our patio

I walked as slowly and as quietly as I could

to our garden shed which would be the only obstruction

between he and I

I got to the shed and peeked around the side

and there he sat quietly

beautiful, isn't he?

then I crept a bit closer, trying my hardest not to make a sound

still no notice of me

then he looked around

but was still unaware of me

so I continued to take lots of shots

not knowing what would turn out

after a good five minutes or so

he finally noticed me

and then the shouting started

which scared the begeebees out of me

since everything had been so quiet

and I was THAT close to him!

here's what it sounded like

Red Shouldered Hawk Call

turn the volume up to imagine what I heard right beneath him!

when he didn't stop ~ that's when I decided I better scram!

I know what those talons are capable of!

~:~

linking up with

World Bird Wednesday

~:~

Weekend Exposure

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:23:00 +0000

ExPoSe YoUrSeLf!

show us what you shot this weekend

here are mine...

The Adventurous One

has no problem leaving the others behind

and checking out strangers on a boat for a possible snack

she'll even throw in a drool for sympathy

fish....blah...i want something off that boat!

now she's even gotten the fish in on it....but nothing's coming

hark! something catches her attention

and she's off again on the never ending search for junk food

now show us yours

go ahead and expose yourself!

~:~

also linking up with

The Creative Exchange

~:~

Fab Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:46:00 +0000

recipients ~ feel free to grab the badge !

two weeks have passed since the last Fab Friday

so I have a double doozie one for you today!

The running themes were:

Reflections @ Party Random

Patterns in Nature @ Party Macros

Insects @ Party Wildlife

and we had many spectacular attendees!

so, here are this week's Life of the Party images:

to visit each photographer and leave a direct comment for them

just click on the image and it will take you to Flickr

~ Patterns in Nature from Party Macros ~

by Ruth @ RHWest Photography

by Jacqui

by Lauri @ Life Accomplished

~ Reflections from Party Random ~

by Fiona @ Lady Fi

by Debbie @ My Journeys Exposed

by Christine @ Have a Beauty Filled Day

by Debbie @ My Journeys Exposed

~ Insects from Party Wildlife ~

by Mrs. Audubon

by Christine @ Have a Beauty Filled Day

by Mrs. Audubon

weren't those fabulous!

thanks to everyone who attended the parties and made all three of them hits!

if you haven't partied with us yet, please do!
just scroll down and click on the images to enter

~ new party themes ~
Party Random: Pet Action!
Party Wildlife: Hummingbirds
Party Macros: What Is It?

Yes, YOU!

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:55:00 +0000

now that i have your attention...

would you like to be visited by the Fairy Hobmother?

i can't guarantee your toad will turn into a prince

but you might just get a wish granted

like i did

yes, a wish, which was really just a desire, was granted while i was on vacation!

in this post way back in May

i had mentioned something about wanting a gorillapod

and somehow the Fairy Hobmother found out about that post

and granted me that wish!

now how cool is that!

all you have to do is leave a comment on this post

and she just might leave you a little something under your pillow, too!

it might be a good idea to leave a hint as to what you might like

since I'm not really sure how she operates!

and on a sidenote....

the texture i used on the above image

(which i must add was graciously offered as a freebie)

comes from the talented Bonnie over at Pixel Dust Photo Art

this one is called "Silent Memory"

if you love playing with textures, stop by her digs to say hi and tell her i sent you!

The Cardinal Rule

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:48:00 +0000

walking through my kitchen

i glanced outside the large picture window

and saw something dead still on the bird feeder

i walked closer to the window to see what it was

and realized it was a baby bird
(later identified as a cardinal)
but oddly

it wasn't pecking at the food

it wasn't doing anything

no hint of movement

at all

i walked outside onto our deck

to get a little closer

still no movement

i ran in the house and went downstairs to grab my camera

came back and

still no movement

first photo from the deck

second photo from garden path ~ still no movement

now right up under the bird feeder ~ still no movement ~ eyes tight shut ~ notice the tail feathers in all photos ~ no change

mind you....approximately 10 minutes has now elapsed with no movement

i was getting a bit concerned

do birds fall asleep on feeders, i asked myself?

dead birds wouldn't be perched

so, what the heck was it doing?

i kept clicking away but nothing stirred the little one

then hubby came out on the deck to see what was going on

i motioned for him to come down and check it out

he walked all around the bird feeder which hangs about 6 ft. off the ground from a tree limb

and finally it opened its eyes

probably from the crunching of some leaves as hubby stepped

finally ~ a show of life!

but looking a bit dazed and confused

finally ~ acknowledgement of my clicking

i decided to walk to the other side of the feeder

and that's when it finally decided to take flight

although, quite amateurishly, i must say

it first landed on top of the deck umbrella

my heart skipped a beat or two because i wasn't sure she'd make it

i watched her get her composure and bearings back

and then she was off again

on another haphazard flight

up to the rooftop

again my heart flipped a couple of times

one look this way

and one that way

and then she hopped further back on the roof until she was gone from sight

my immediate thought was

not good

an easy meal

i just hope that didn't happen

~ The Cardinal Rule ~

don't sneak out of the house and always tell your parents where you're going

~:~
linking up with
World Bird Wednesday
~:~

SAD UPDATE:
hubby found the little one on our patio just a little while ago and it had died, probably from starvation.

Weekend Exposure

noreply@blogger.com (JillsyGirl) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:23:00 +0000

ExPoSe YoUrSeLf!

let's see what you shot this weekend!

here are a few from our long weekend at the beach....

~ beach birds ~

~ beach umbrellas ~

~ beach watch ~

~ beach fun ~

~ also linking with ~
The Creative Exchange

now show us yours!