versatile blog award... and the restaurant mural story.

well, a few weeks ago, the lovely charla gifted me this blog award...
and, a few days later, chambanachik did the same, here. :)

thank you so much, both of you, and bear with me, as it's been a year or more since i've had to iron out me-details for an award. heh.
now, for seven random facts about myself.

1. sentimental heart by she & him is my favorite song by them as of now. here's a link for the lyrics. and the video, i chose live, because her voice is just something else when it's not canned.
there's something about the lyrics, something about her voice, that drives something into your heart. or should i say my heart, since these facts are supposed to be about me? nevermind. it's a bit of a heartwrencher song. in that quiet, simple lyric way. my favorite way. reminds you of the things that are never going to be. no matter how much devotion you're heaving, as the lyrics go.

2. shorts are nice, yoga pants are awesome, but there is nothing like a sun dress on a day like this with the temps in the early 80's, sun, blue sky, and gorgeous leaves moving in the breeze.

3. i'm growing in gratefulness for sisters even more these days.
siblings are [or at least, can be] . . . life changers.

4. i cope with coffee.
now, my coffee intake has been sporadic because i contracted some sort of cold from the sweet kiddos i watched thurs-fri, and just because you totally want to know the schedule i've been on . . . thursday, yes. friday, none. saturday, yes. sunday, none.
today, yes. most definitely yes. i need that dark roast. it almost reminds me of reality; how dark, time-fully roasted, and somber it is. but also how good.
so yeah. strange as it may seem, and as obsessed as i may be, coffee is one of my ways for coping with working out mind problems for life stuff going on around me and my heart.

5. there's nothing like oldies to touch that deep hopeless romantic part of me. you know? like this song. ^^
ahhhh. ohmygoodness. i'd never heard this song before today. olivia mentioned it in her post about their reception.
embraceable you, by frank sinatra. cheek to cheek. i'll be seeing you. time after time. if you are but a dream. in the mood, by glenn miller. seriously, people. there's nothing like oldies.

6. over the course of our childhood (us three older ones, that is) we had a few turtles. not all at the same time. over a few years. one, we named mary. then we found out that it was a male, and we named it mary franklin or something like that. hmm. it was quite a while ago, i can't remember correctly. or was it mary jeremiah? franklin mary jeremiah? caleb was the main turtle dude in our house, and he was around 5-9, obsessed with turtles. we don't have any pets currently, except for maybe a few chickens, but gold fish used to be another favorite way back when:)

7. i have procrastinated in posting about that wonderful monday so long ago...oh, alright, so it was only about a month ago. early may, methinks. i could do it in a nutshell, which then, at least, it would get written down, or i could wait even longer and remember even less to write down so it'd be a longer but emptier post.

in short, it was a monday. the night before, i'd been messaging a friend and we both wished each other a good monday. i, quite randomly, said "i'm hoping and going to try to make my monday not stereotypical."
well, i didn't do it in and of myself. nothing i've done alone has turned out very well . . . but the inspiration i reach for is all from my Creator and the in my faithful God is the strength i draw from to change and grow in areas i need. painful and good as they may be sometimes.
so, that monday afternoon --may 15, looking back in the messages-- mom and i went up to wildflower (the restaurant that hung my canvases in the past, the former owners sold the place and this new owner, susan, asked if i could paint a wildflower piece to see my work) with the wildflower canvas in hand.
she loved it. i named a price, and sooner or later we're going to put prices and cards by the art . . .
then she got to talking about the wall adjacent to where she hung that piece.

it's pretty big. when you walk in, it's to your right and there's something awkward and empty about it.
she asked me if i was into doing murals.
i said . . . sure!
we chatted back and forth about different ideas; maybe something larger wildflower-sky-ish or something like that.
she even asked me what my personal view of the place was or could be, what the potential and ideas were in my head.
when she asked me that, my mouth almost dropped open.
i'd been dreaming about the possibilities in this post for that restaurant, and i voiced a lot of them to susan. 
the wonderful thing about her is she's so open to possibilities. she's not one of those types who gives an image, says here you go, this is what i want and fences you in against a cement wall with no creative edges, twists or turns on anything.
a few words to describe her are open minded, calm, exacting, creative, and i'm so excited because she's in new york right now, she left on saturday and is coming back tomorrow from a trip into china town for sushi ingredients, and i'm hoping sometime i might get to try sushi for the first time.
you just have to do first-time things, you know that?
like the birds i painted. for my first time ever. i'd never drawn a bird, never painted one before. then this window opens and there i was, painting a canvas for a possibility of it being blown up huge-scale for the mural. that's the latest idea, and it's mostly stapled down as the one for the look we're going for.
i still have to post that canvas, by the way. but if you're friends with me on facebook, you may remember that one. ;)
so on that monday, we left the restaurant in the sunshine --i'm telling you, it was gorgeous out, so cool and windy and full of sun-- and my insides were just beaming with joy. my heart and head were filled with thoughts of amazement that i was going to be painting a mural.
i am painting a mural.
an artsy, beautiful, calm, inspiring mural.

she had given me this file to draw inspiration from and try to re-create if i wanted to.
and i did, the very next day.

i'm going to post this canvas soon, so i'm only giving you a piece of the sketch. ;)
a night of sketching, and a few very concentrated hours of painting, and it was done.
as i pushed through and finished, my mind was totally made up: i was not selling this first-time piece of testing and growing beauty for any less than $60.

and to some present-time news on the mural, this friday night around closing time we scheduled in some prime-the-wall time.
i'm. excited.
and if it's not done that night (9pm-ish to whenever) i go again the next morning before they open at 9am.
which would be totally fine with me, because when i went the other day to pencil in a time to start progress on the wall, she invited me into the open kitchen to pick anything to have for lunch, which we then sat down at a table with and talked and ate (shrimp-herb kebab, apricot couscous, a large slice of crouton) and entertained the former cook/owner who is selling greens and flowers of all sorts to susan for the menu and centerpieces.
gosh, it was lovely.
so that's the news, that's the stuff that has me excited these days!

now here's a question: have you tried sushi? did you like it, hate it, and what was the occasion; with friends, alone . . . ?
i honestly don't care how many people hate it. i know a few friend who like it a lot, and i'm going to try it out someday. :)

p.s.
i award these lovely bloggers:

jessica jane handmade

thoughts and whatnots

a coasties girl

bittywings baby

consider the lilies

and

where we love is home:)