tag:davidandida.com,2005:/blogs/blog?p=2
Blog
2023-01-07T23:13:44-06:00
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
false
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/7134580
2023-01-07T23:13:44-06:00
2023-10-16T09:56:42-05:00
Welcome home!
<p>We spent the summer of 2022 apart. I was traveling for almost 3 months, to Kyrgyzstan to immerse in the untouched natural beauty and to Sweden to spend time with family and friends. <br>I'll be sharing the photos from Kyrgyzstan in a slide show as soon as I get to the organizing of them. There's a lot of them ...! </p>
<p>David and our cat Kimba Troy were in Nashville holding the fort when I was away on my escapades. On New Year's Eve as we were sharing with friends what our highlights of 2022 were, David said "missing Ida" was the top one ... how sweet is that ...!</p>
<p>Missing is such a powerful emotion, that sparks gratitude and love. We spent our first years together actually apart a lot of the time, living on two different continents. And our love story couldn't have been any more powerful, maybe because of this missing, as we filled this distance with songs, stories, poems and love. </p>
<p>When I got back to Nashville last August, I was greeted with a "<a contents="Welcome Home" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyLHdYL6ONM">Welcome Home</a>" song by David. He had also gathered a bunch of our friends to sing and play on it. Such a sweet welcome back!</p>
<p>You can listen to it here and imagine to change "Ida" to your own name, and feel the wonderful feeling of being "welcomed home". </p>
<p>You can hear Kimba purring at the end as well : )</p>
<p>/ Ida </p>
<p>Welcome Home - Lyrics and Music by © David Llewellyn 2022. </p>
<p>On Youtube: <a contents="Welcome Home" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyLHdYL6ONM" target="_blank">Welcome Home</a></p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/7088652
2022-10-25T19:01:40-05:00
2022-10-25T19:02:35-05:00
I Love The Rain
<p>Nashville has been eerily dry this year. Pretty much no rain for months. But today it finally came. We've been working day out and day in on our old craftsman's home in this dry spell. Don't get us wrong, dry is good for painting, cutting, staining and so on but we were excited to put the power tools and paint buckets away this morning for ... rain. So we crept back into the bed that we're staying in these days as our floors are getting sanded and fell asleep to be awoken by the sound of water. Life giving water and this song came to mind by our friends and songwriting colleagues Tom Kimmel and Lisa Ashman. Still half asleep in bed we thought we'd sing it raw and ready into the phone to ourselves and to you, and our little Kimba Troy of course, who had snoozed with us in bed this afternoon and now had jumped down to watch the trickles on the window. All life craves it, we all love it. Rain.</p>
<p>(Update: Video only seems to work on HD setting). </p>
<p><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="314" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKristinAndLlewellyn%2Fvideos%2F782235712866696%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="560"></iframe></p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6899296
2022-02-16T11:07:14-06:00
2023-01-07T23:14:39-06:00
New songs blowing in from ...
<p>Moments like this, when the salty wind whispers songs in your ear, and the glowing sunsets open your heart even wider.<br>Seems like one of the songs is blowing in from ... South America - can't wait for you to hear that one! Our studio back in Nashville is starting to come together, and we CAN'T wait to lay down the new tracks for you ...</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/89101839ef12735832cf4100165adde1b24dadd5/original/david-and-ida-feb-2022-florida.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/5f50e663730b1f9a2a0e1f04f7f16a00f600b28a/original/beach-feb-2022-davida.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6838840
2021-12-12T23:10:02-06:00
2022-10-25T18:53:14-05:00
Zen moments putting black ink on textured paper
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/3610f9b6ad1e25568f0882662188fbac3c992d16/original/banner-etsy-photo-final-3360pxx839px-greeting-cards.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The Yin & Yang Christmas series is getting some five star reviews:</p>
<p>★★★★★ "This card is so charming! The design and quality are fantastic and the shipping was very quick. It arrived in perfect condition..." Rebecca A. Dec 12, 2021 </p>
<p>❤ <a contents="Go check out my Yin & Yang holiday series on Etsy!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/TouchPaperArtwork" target="_blank">Yin & Yang holiday card series on Etsy!</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://etsy.me/3dMZG3S" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/2330157041203e08a3ee71ddbbbf3ab90b8b6852/original/christmas-photo-promo-we-fit-together.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a></p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6757646
2021-09-25T21:58:12-05:00
2022-02-24T20:57:43-06:00
The devil is in the details - Musings on songwriting and other stuff
<p>When it comes to pretty much anything - traveling documents, studio equipment, recording, building, bread baking, health insurance, finances, cat food, contracts, supplements and pretty much anything that you feel the urge, or rather the need, to google, the devil is in the details. The painstaking research that is needed to do pretty much anything. Bricking a sidewalk, fixing a pipe, putting up a website, what tree to plant, I mean it’s all messing with you. Your desktop, your brain, your good mood. Am I talking to the void here or do I hear an aye? There’s just no exit, it’s just that ongoing wormhole into another universe of never ending questions marks, where there’s never really a straight answer, just more pros and cons and weighing each other out. Ok, like minds overthink alike, so if you’re not getting it, maybe it’s just me. </p>
<p>But here’s the weird thing. When it comes to songwriting, the fun stuff is in the details. That’s where the joy is, the truth is, the yay!! It’s the waking yourself up in the middle of the night to write something down, that little turn down instead of up at the end of a melody, or the twist of a word in just the right moment. I mean there’s nothing devilish about that, that’s just .. bliss. It’s that moment when spirit comes through and injects its pure essence into an absolutely ordinary earthly three dimensional insignificant moment in time. A moment that suddenly feels so sublime, so utterly graceful and just for a flash in existence, you’re invincible and what just happened is like God just exhaled and you happened to be in it. <br>And if it really was, then when you sing it to someone, they feel it too, and you may record it and it’s felt over and over. And if they don’t, then it was just hybris and it goes into the bottom of the drawer. Still, those little details of bliss, that is not about the head and there’s definitely no google involved. <br><br>I mean, there just seems to be too much information out there, too much … too much … virtual … stuff! There needs to be a big clean up, I mean a massive ether clean up. Perhaps a humongous solar flare is needed after all, to just wipe out all those giant servers holding just, too. much. stuff. What happened to making something out of bare necessities, what happened to making something up with what you happened to have around, I’m talking a world without Amazon, without … Google, woooooh, ok relax, don’t hyperventilate, I’m just musing here. It was just a thought. Take a breath. Ok, so everybody’s good, all is well and internet is still a thing. They’re still putting up 5G everywhere, and I mean everywhere, like right outside our door everywhere. Not too happy about that, but hey what can you do, we’re just the little players, the consumers, in the big buck company market, and what do we know after all, we’re just following the algorithms, I mean we pretty much are made of algorithms at this point, right? It’s how you got here, reading this. </p>
<p>Ok, I’m back where I started, see how hard it is to get out? Because you get into this wormhole, that we dug ourselves into, a wormhole of algorithms and now we’re not sure how the heck to get out. But what you do, you stop. You take a breath. And you. do. nothing. Yes, it’s a thing. Nothing. That’s the starting point of anything that is truly good. That is real life. That’s how you have a real thought. That’s how you come up with a song. That’s how you stop consuming and start being. So here goes, to nothing.<br><br>- Ida Kristin</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/52842b84e6dbab1aecbc17a8a8a59c847d2f8057/original/img-3013-2.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small"><em>Kimba Troy, an expert in doing absolutely nothing at all.</em></span></p>
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<p> </p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6261390
2020-03-25T09:56:42-05:00
2020-03-29T23:27:57-05:00
The heart of the matter
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/2880b948fb3a37c4de1126ad7bbe5727f73447eb/original/img-8021.jpeg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpeg" class="size_m justify_center border_" />Sometimes life intersects all the avenues of change into a moment in time, where you’re helplessly pulled out of any comfort zone you thought you had built around yourself. </p>
<p>When the heart of the matter, the heart of your life, as literal as that may be, lies naked and exposed on a table, is stopped to make it run a while more. And although I’m forever grateful for that surgeon’s steady hand, mine were shaking as I woke up that morning, on that blessed Friday 13th. 10 days of not knowing, 10 days by his side and now all I can do is sleep. </p>
<p>And I know now that there’s a longing in love - all that you could do together, all that you could feel. No limits, no inadequacy, just an endless seeking towards each other and then as you reach, it widens and radiates out so that all that is, is infused by this mighty beingness we call, love. </p>
<p>And as I come home for a moment from the hospital to feed the cat, the neighbor’s kids have drawn on the driveway, how two clouds full of tiny raindrops can form all the colors together, all the experiences, not discerning one as good or another as bad, just the full spectra of that which is. </p>
<p>Sometimes life intersects all the avenues of change into a moment in time, where you are helplessly pulled out of any comfort zone you thought you had built around yourself. And you sit there by your love and your own heart feels as beaten up as the one they stopped and cut and you have to be the strong one and keep your head on your shoulders and protect your heart with simply your own ribs, or nothing would come back together again. </p>
<p>When the roof of your house could just as easily have been torn off just as your neighbor’s, when if you hadn’t decided to go to the emergency room that morning, not only your house but your life and your heart would have been ripped apart. When it’s not safe to touch anything or to dry your eyes and you have to make sure the elevator is empty before you walk in and elbow press for floor number four. Six feet apart at least, no-one can hug you now although that’s probably what you could really need. Cause you have to protect the heart of the matter, this time you’ve been given, this man by your side. Where your head needs to be focused to keep track on what’s going on, ‘cause only you know this man, that is helpless without you right now. </p>
<p>A heart is a heart to the depth of its existence, made by God knows what, and it beats by some power that runs this show although it never shows. And little by little he comes together, with stitches and glue and hope. With the calling from a woman who knows him maybe best of all he have ever known. That needs him more than maybe he’ll ever know. </p>
<p>Sometimes life intersects all the avenues of change into a moment in time, where you are helplessly pulled out of the past, and put into now cause there’s no future there on which you can count. And so you pull yourself together again and stick to what you have to do, hoping it’ll be enough. </p>
<p>Cause the heart of the matter is that love is it. That’s all that’s worth fighting for. The cheesy love songs weren’t cheesy at all, at the core it’s brutal and raw. And who cares about the news talking about a virus or some storm raging through. </p>
<p>And you protect the one that needs your help and you feed the cat that needs food, and you change the sheets for guests who expect them and you cook clean nourishing food. And you try to protect the beaten up hearts that are trying to stay in rhythm, and you beg for just a moment of sleep just so you can keep going. </p>
<p>It’s harder to see a loved one in pain than feeling the pain itself, and so you do what needs to be done and try to eliminate any invisible threats. Cause the heart of the matter is the harbor for love and it needs to be filled again, it needs to be the nest of peace and joy so it can love again. So you do what you must cause that’s all you can do, and you hold and you guard and you fight. And you sleep when you can and you cry when you must and you pray for this wonderful man. </p>
<p>- Ida Kristin</p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6261387
2020-03-25T09:52:36-05:00
2022-05-29T09:57:54-05:00
Storm
<p>When I opened my phone today, a song I wrote more than twenty years ago came on all of its own from someone’s playlist on a streaming service that I don’t even have a subscription for anymore. God knows how that happened. </p>
<p>Here we are, just after the tornado hit Tennessee, on the morning of David's surgery and as COVID-19 is taking the world by .. well .. by storm. This song turns on out of nowhere on my phone, after 20 years of silence, talking about this time that it apparently could see coming in those, what I now realize were, pretty idyllic days. And it has a message: </p>
<p>“There’s a storm that’s gonna blow tonight <br>There’s a cloud that’s gonna darken the sky <br>There’s a fire going on in the West <br>So hurry darling we’re gonna have to love our best” </p>
<p>- Ida Kristin<br>March Friday 13th 2020 </p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/17uWQKG3MLGYLDddqiSlss?si=Pe9iZNXwQmGtwMntEfccQw&utm_source=Facebook_SimpleMusicStories&utm_medium=sms&fbclid=IwAR3nPndhbfmp9nOEUH55d5gCClmUu7zngwuX6X9L1w3ZijTv8plSmyNBQXg" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/f671dbe679cf7badc61dcfa6cfe43d275eb799e0/original/screen-shot-2020-03-25-at-9-51-30-am.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a></p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6241378
2020-03-07T21:18:28-06:00
2020-06-04T00:23:48-05:00
Walking in the aftermath of a tornado
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://vimeo.com/user38666442/review/396226983/da0fda9a53"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="BkXBFFF1zvQ" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/BkXBFFF1zvQ/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BkXBFFF1zvQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></a></p>
<p>Tennessee, March 7th 2020 </p>
<p>In a time when something as ingrained as handshakes have turned into elbow bumps, a presidency has turned into well.. Trump, and my daily morning walk through the old magical fairy grove and charming neighborhood has turned into a game of jackstraws and whole streets of restaurants, churches, venues, small shops and a hundred year old homes have been ripped into its fundamentals of piles of bricks, tiles, metal scrap and wood - a woman I’ve never seen is sitting on a chair in her living room in a gaping house, a house that I’ve passed so many times, her family’s most intimate space on the floor above her now revealing their beds for all to see, intact with headboards, no exterior walls, nowhere to hide, nowhere to reset, nowhere to store her things, her food, photos, computers and backup hard drives - all that seemed so important, so precious. <br>In a time when old giants of trees that just the other day stretched tall and brave waiting for spring seeming they would outlive us all, sharing the secrets to life if I just listened intently, are torn out of the ground never to burst into another cascade of green. When old established political and economical systems have started to crumble as if from a global earthquake, I wonder - is anything permanent…? </p>
<p>And suddenly in the garden of one of the few remaining houses, neighbors have gathered around a couple of people singing and playing through an amplifier. There’s talking and laughter, experiences being shared and new relationships being made, and it’s like water just sprung out from the desert and I sense the faces of death and life suddenly sharing the same coin and the Hindu Kali truly is the goddess of both violence and destruction as well as motherly love and rebirth. </p>
<p>And so is anything permanent? And I answer my own question, yes ... music .. and love. <br>I believe there will always be and has always been music. <br>And what is the force behind this constant change, this constant creation if not love? This force that keeps congregating and conglomerating things, us - making new homes, new businesses, new relationships, new magical groves, new music. </p>
<p>And I elbow bump another neighbor, another new acquaintance, another one that went through Kali the tornado, and she tells me that tomorrow Sunday there will be a music and community singalong at Five Points here in East Nashville, in and around where the destruction was the worst, and I take a photo of her phone to share and I'm thinking that through it all runs the river, sweeping through like a loving breeze .. of music .. soothingly gathering us when we thought we were cast aside. Slowly already starting to build anew that which was ripped apart.</p>
<p>- Ida Kristin</p>
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David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6150700
2019-02-03T18:00:00-06:00
2021-12-23T10:32:11-06:00
Out of hibernation
<p>The spring weather yesterday here in Nashville just got me out of my apparently genetical winter hibernation. It surprises me every year and I don't even know I'm in it until woken from it. </p>
<p>In Sweden everybody's in it, it's an agreed on factor of winter, equaling darkness, which makes you not realize that it could be considered an oddity. Also we're fed by the flashes of fluffy snow where we can all feed from the sun's reflections off the white, play in it and enjoy the hibe<span class="text_exposed_show">rnation dream state in fairyland. </span></p>
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<p>It makes sense there. Here, it's just an odd tiredness that you can't put your finger on, until one day - yesterday that is - spring comes and it's gone. </p>
<p>It doesn't really matter if the cold comes back, the bear is out of its den and it's time to start feeding and going hunting for new adventures...<br><br>We'll see you out there :)<br><br>- Ida Kristin</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/c131b5df92d20baa50b34af4fbc5ac8933fff2f3/original/winter.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6ODAweDUzMSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="531" width="800" /></p>
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David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6150699
2016-10-27T19:00:00-05:00
2020-03-25T10:02:39-05:00
Moments that count
<p>There are moments in life that demand your full attention. Those are usually the moments that really count - if you’re someone that likes to count that is. You know, the kind of counting that most of us do; how old, what year, how much, how long, how many times…</p>
<p>On some tiny islands out in the nowhere of the Pacific they don’t care so much for that kind of calculating. For the Hawaiians, life goes through stages, not years. Days follow the sun, not clocks. Mountains are wisdom keepers and homes for powerful creatures, no matter how tall they are.</p>
<p>On those kinds of mountains, you can have moments that call for your full attention. Invited to play a few gigs on Kauai (click player on bottom to have a listen to excerpt of shared songs and tales with DJ Steven Meredith at "Kauai LIVE" on KKCR!), we headed off into the natural and spiritual wonder of the Hawaiian islands. After a couple of days on 'the Big Island' a new friend offered a tour of one of the telescopes on the dormant volcano of Mauna Kea. The natives of Hawaii tried to stop this station of stargazing as their ancient laws only allow hereditary chiefs to visit the sacred peak. Not surprisingly, despite their efforts, Mauna Kea now houses the world’s largest observatory with telescopes operated by eleven countries. It’s a fast climb of 2 hours from sea level to 13,802 ft, so altitude sickness is a definite factor.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/13947c9d53a05f7d58e4c7d1860943a05e28dca3/original/mauna-kea-hawaii-may-2016-med.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NzUweDQ5OCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Craterscape of Mauna Kea" height="498" width="750" /></p>
<p>But numbers and facts seem to matter less when it’s freezing cold, about half of your normal oxygen level and you’re looking out onto a moonscape of craters against a sea of dense clouds, onto which the shadow of the mountain on which you stand is reflected back at you by the setting sun. Your brain is confused for obvious reasons, and your heart takes over for a second, breathing it in as the miracle it all truly is. You experience what the mountain experiences, pulsating as one. And then the cold takes over and your attention is scattered again, trying to find the door of the observatory to get warm, realizing it’s gotten darker, checking if the moon is up, if the stars are out, how out of it am I, should I use the oxygen mask? And you find the door, have a cup of hot chocolate and some astronaut candy, and then, once the blood has returned to your toes and fingers, you dare to peek out again. Out into the darkness of Mauna Kea, and again you’re engulfed. Now by the waking stars and moon, to which you have never felt this close before. And you feel not like a tourist but like an astronaut thrown out of gravity to experience the beauty of life in its non-earthly form.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/c497830a5e2812fa2112953ef7c8911439f62e5d/original/mauna-kea-hawaii-sunset-may-2016-med.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NzUweDQ5OCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Sunset over the observatory on Mauna Kea" height="498" width="750" /></p>
<p>Hawaii holds mystical beauty, fascinating creatures and generous hearts. Just like the rest of the world. Don't believe everything that you hear on the news. Believe in love...<br><br>We're ALWAYS excited to hear from you, so leave your comment below! Or in our <a data-imported="1" data-link-type="page" href="/guestbook" target="_blank">guestbook here</a>!</p>
<p>Peace be with you,</p>
<p>- Ida Kristin</p>
<p><a data-imported="1" href="/files/799861/kauai-radio-may-1-2016-excerpts.mp3" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/c16012aecfeecaafe510ace55d48e4e3ccb6a741/original/kauai-for-radio-show-1may-2016-med.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6Nzg5eDUyNCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="524" width="789" /></a></p>
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David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6150698
2016-01-04T18:00:00-06:00
2020-03-25T09:15:25-05:00
Tinges of blue
<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="6egq5-0-0">Just had a walk in the healing tinges of blue. The kind that you only find by the sea as the sun stretches its long tired arms over the water, sand, clouds and birds. <a data-imported="1" href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1050079558356136&theater" target="_blank">Made me think of this song...</a>
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<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="d1it4-0-0"><a data-imported="1" href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1050079558356136&theater" target="_blank"> </a></div>
<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="5itlb-0-0">"So sleep my friend and dream this night</div>
<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="dgb7f-0-0">Of cockle shells and driftwood</div>
<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="aq3oj-0-0">For soon I too will drift ashore</div>
<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="5scfk-0-0">For I am headed homeward ... to you"</div>
<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="fague-0-0"> </div>
<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="74tse-0-0">"Homeward" on iTunes: <a data-imported="1" href="http://bit.ly/iTunes_davidandida" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/iTunes_davidandida</a>
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<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="cc66b-0-0">- Ida Kristin</div>
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<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="avan3-0-0"><a data-imported="1" href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1050079558356136&theater" target="_blank">Music & Lyrics "Homeward" © David Llewellyn 2011</a></div>
<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="b6p1q-0-0"><a data-imported="1" href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1050079558356136&theater" target="_blank">Photo Florida © Ida Kristin 2016</a></div>
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<div class="_45m_ _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="b0jsv-0-0">Video link: <a data-imported="1" href="http://bit.ly/DavidAndIda_Homeward" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/DavidAndIda_Homeward</a>
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David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6150697
2015-11-17T18:00:00-06:00
2020-03-25T09:15:53-05:00
Sweet grapes and gratitude
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/f87f7ac95e642fba80998cdaf643847f7b7174d5/original/tuscany-or-sweden.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NzAweDUyNSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="525" width="700" /></p>
<p>We’re in the middle of November, and after a long warm fall here in Sweden, the weather is finally starting to make sense. Although the roses are still blooming in fragrant peachy colors and we’re still harvesting sweet grapes (the garden photo above is from yesterday…!), the cold and spiky rain is taking over, and allows for moments in front of the fireplace, and warm woolen socks.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/e8520cdffe0398adc356bb3685aa8f7c0cea1564/original/fireplace-and-woolen-socks.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NTI2eDcwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="700" width="526" /><br> <br>David is making way on his Welsh solo CD over in Nashville, while I’m finishing up some loose ends here in Sweden. The reports coming are sounding even above my expectations. Tender, rich and crisp… – okay that may sound like a tasty meal, but those are the words that come to mind at this point, and I can hardly wait. I feel like five years old, and the ice cream truck is teasing somewhere in the distance and I’ve got my money ready and everything and that wonderful tune is playing and my mouth is salivating, but the frickin’ truck is just circling the outskirts of the block like an elusive, rare-sighted butterfly and sometimes the song grows louder and my heart takes a jump but then it fades off again, and aarg..! Sooo, I thank the up above that I have grown my patience over the years, and try to tend to my own business.<br> <br>If you follow us on facebook, you’ve probably already heard this – a song that came about this fall after having gone way too long just wanting things, instead of being thankful for the gifts already given. The technology of today allows for hair-trigger reactions, so written and recorded within half an hour onto the iphone (it’s amazing how easy it is to say ‘thank you’ once you remind yourself to do so), I texted off a recording to David, who sent back his added vocal and guitar from the studio. So I leave you with this phone/studio result. I just wanted to send a little hi to remind you that what you think, feel and do is important. I believe we’re all hooked up collectively and the love we feel for whatever reason or for no reason, is of benefit to all. So any forgiveness you can give to yourself or other, dead or alive, and any gratitude, love or peace of mind that you allow in you, means more than you may ever know. Yes, we see proof that there are narrow-minded low-vibrating people in this world, who want nothing else than have us being stuck in fear, separation and hatred. They are not comfortable in happiness and expansion and so want to have the rest of the world in their dense state of mind. But as the world is focusing on the love and bonding they feel with the people directly affected in Paris, Russia, Syria, Nigeria…, their efforts are in vain. Instead of separation, their attempts can have the opposite effect with the world coming together to support each other more than ever before.<br><br><a data-imported="1" href="http://bit.ly/ItTakesTwo_IdaKristin2015" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/ff101f353754beff3730f1173927be1d39d0a8f7/original/it-takes-two.png/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NzAweDUyNiJd.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="526" width="700" /></a><br><br>Peace be with you,<br> <br>- Ida Kristin</p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6150696
2015-09-20T19:00:00-05:00
2022-05-10T00:34:20-05:00
Happy International Day of Peace!
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/4190a4eff75636000859e02855a9814cbf660153/original/skarmavbild-2015-09-21-kl-23-43-31.png/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTE3NHg4MzAiXQ%3D%3D.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="830" width="1174" /><br><br>Happy International Day of Peace!<br><br>A great day to do an act of peace, don't you think?<br>Like choosing to forgive somebody or yourself for something, or letting go of something that you've held on to long enough. Little or big, there's always something that can make your life a little more peaceful..<br><br>Yes, there's a lot of chaotic things going on in the world. But don't forget, the direction is 'From Inner Peace to World Peace', not the other way around..<br><br>Let us know what you came up with, and what happened as a result! We're always thrilled to hear back from you - <a data-imported="1" href="http://davidandida.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261&id=a48275edde&e=8f57b48988" target="_blank">leave your mark in our guestbook</a>, a <a data-imported="1" href="http://davidandida.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261&id=73fe7f8d2e&e=8f57b48988" target="_blank">message on our Facebook</a> or email us at <a data-imported="1" href="mailto:info@davidandida.com?subject=Hi%20David%20%26%20Ida!" target="_blank">info@davidandida.com</a>.<br><br>Wrote this song on a beach in Florida. About magic, and what happens when you allow it in. Put it with some photos from moments of peace that we've felt, <a data-imported="1" href="http://davidandida.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261&id=f99d3560c3&e=8f57b48988" target="_blank">beginning with a sunset from that very evening in Florida</a><a data-imported="1" href="http://davidandida.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261&id=a5b0d1d2e5&e=8f57b48988" target="_blank"> - "The Real Peter Pan".</a><br> <br>Wishing you a bit more inner peace and to be in touch again real soon!</p>
<p>- Ida Kristin<br><br><strong>Read more about International Peace Day here: <br>Unify <a data-imported="1" href="http://davidandida.us8.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261&id=cee0d10f3b&e=8f57b48988" target="_blank">http://unify.org</a><br>UN <a data-imported="1" href="http://davidandida.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261&id=225e533c4d&e=8f57b48988" target="_blank">http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/</a></strong></p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6150695
2015-08-20T19:00:00-05:00
2020-03-25T09:16:36-05:00
Head over heels like the bees :)
<p class="null"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/f37c4307a4d99c10b6eb8bd150b303828d91934b/original/2.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTE4MXg5NTMiXQ%3D%3D.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Kerrville Folk Festival 2015" height="953" width="1181" /><br><br><strong>How has the Summer been so far?</strong><br>Blissed out? Stressed out? Yup, us too. All of it. Chaos is close to God, isn't that what they say? We’ve spent the last few months apart and together, on different continents, islands, cities and villages. It started with a fabulous time at Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, which involved flash floods (we’re talking people kayaking in the camping area!), new inspiration from fantastic artists such as Ellis Delaney and Anna Tivel (check ‘em out!) and catching an ad lib ‘house concert’ with Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell in a hotel lobby with the drummer playing on his suitcase(!), long river baths, juicy texmex barbecues and had a blast sharing the Sundown Concert with two good friends from Nashville - Buddy Mondlock and Dana Cooper. Thanks to all of you in the audience who helped making it such a sweet last night under the full moon (photo above). </p>
<p> <br><strong>A couple of more gigs</strong> around Texas and catching up with Austin friends from David’s years there (p.s. twice we’ve spent a couple of hours waiting for those half a million bats that are supposedly living under the bridge in Austin to no avail. To Austin’s defense however there is a gigantic Whole Foods to comfort yourself with, if you’ve got some ‘monetas’ in your wallet that is..) and then we road tripped ourselves back to Tennessee with a flight waiting to take me to Stockholm. The Summer's to be spent on our solo projects - David’s finishing up his album with songs inspired by his upbringing in the coalmining valleys of South Wales (yes, it will include 'Take Us Down'), and I’m focusing on my third solo album (yup, it will include 'To Be A Woman'). We’ll let you know how it comes along! Sad to go, but good to draw in again the fresh air of the Scandinavian outdoors, bags were quickly packed and goodbyes were said.<br><br><strong>There's something about the flowery coolish</strong> Summers here in Sweden that help me relax. The walking barefoot and the bees digging into the pink thyme blossoms and the pots of basil on the stairs. The deep vibration in the ground as the cows slowly walk over to a greener patch. It's just a little easier to be delighted by the good things in life. and so while David's reporting back how it's steaming up with heat and humidity in Nashville, the coolishly warm Småland makes me want to do like the bees and jump in head over heels into the sugar of life. And so I do, with walks, swims, writing, long talks with good friends and yes, of course, lots of baking. What could possibly be a better way of jumping headlong into sugar than a chocolate caramel tart with a twist of salt? (<a data-imported="1" href="https://www.facebook.com/KristinAndLlewellyn/photos/pcb.982847328412693/982840221746737/?type=1&theater" target="_blank">Recipe on our Facebook page</a><a data-imported="1" href="https://www.facebook.com/KristinAndLlewellyn/photos/pcb.982847328412693/982840221746737/?type=1&theater" target="_blank">)</a>. As you may have noticed already, food is something we’re both very passionate about. Until we met, David may have been more passionate about the eating side of that, rather than the making, but inspiration seems to have overtaken him and he’s now making headway into delightful yummy smoothies and creatively lush greens with nuts and fruits. Although loving to cook with the guideline of “food is medicine”, there is much to gain in soul and mind from going all the way every now and then into passionate rendez-vous with sinfully blissed out creations explosive with feel-goods.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/9b132e7c459316111a7a438c8b9a7fd9bb9a4054/original/bees-2015-cropped-med.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTE4MXg5MTYiXQ%3D%3D.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="916" width="1181" /></p>
<p> <br><strong>Life tends to hoolahoop its way</strong> into the making of cycles and rides, and it's not always we get a moment to stand still in its midst. Having had some time this Summer to reflect back, is it not true that when things seem the most confusing and chaotic, that’s when we’re the closest to truth? Then what is the truth? Well, I mean just that, when we’re the most true. True to ourselves, the kind of honesty when we expand beyond our self-set limitations. In those moments of confusion or struggle, when things are questioned, we’re growing and the skin starts stretching. So, really when we feel the worst, is it not when we should rejoice the most? I've started to believe that it's always the opposite of what I first think about something that is the truth. Like, when we think it's somebody else's fault, it's usually not wrong to turn that finger around, or when we want something, is it not really the time to be grateful for what we already have? Wouldn’t life, other people, the Universe, be more inclined to give us more when we’re grateful for what we already received? And doesn’t it just feel so good to feel happy for something, for someone? That’s what love is, isn’t it? It ended up in this song - written and recorded within half an hour into an iphone (it's easy to say 'thank you' once you remind yourself to do so), texted it off to David on the other side of the Atlantic, who answered with his added vocal and guitar from the studio. If you had the chance to say thank you to someone, who would it be? Alive or passed on, what would it be for?<br>Link on Vimeo: <a data-imported="1" href="https://vimeo.com/136962598" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/136962598</a><br> <br> </p>
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<p>“It Takes Two” (Ida Kristin © Aug 2015) <br>(Recorded straight into the iphone as a text message with David's added vocal/guitar from the studio on top). <br> <br><strong>Not far after, David made a surprise visit</strong> from Nashville to the secluded forests of Småland. I had taken the train to Southern Sweden from Stockholm to meet with family for my birthday and was two hours late due to the fact that the train must have been in an extra hurry, as the doors closed right in our faces as we were lining up to get off and the train set off to its next stop . Anyway, the Universe and David must have been in cahoots, ‘cause this gave David the time to land a little after his last minute 25-hour-trip from Nashville and have a shower before I stepped through the door. A little greeting chit-chat with family in the kitchen and my mother suggests that we put on some music. She steps into the room where the CD player is and gentle guitar music appears. The instant good feeling of calm, which comes over me, doesn’t let me hesitate who’s playing for a second. I step into the empty room and ask; “I haven’t heard this recording before, did David send you guys something new?” As stated, the room is empty, and weirdly enough the CD player is not on. I’m confused and look around with a tiny seed of hope glimmering in my gut. I slowly look behind the door, and there he is on the bed playing “Let It Be Me”. Okay, so needless to say an awesome birthday week! And perhaps the “coming of age” made me want to be a kid again, but we celebrated with the wildest local funfair ride, and swore that “That was awesome but I’ll never do it again”. Chantarelle mushrooms from the forest and traditional crayfish from the lake and I’m good to go for at least another forty.<br> <br><strong>We’ve received some</strong> great acknowledgment among the folk scene critics for our duo album, and your support in any shape or form is more than highly appreciated!! If you click on the <a data-imported="1" href="http://nodepression.com/album-review/david-llewellyn-ida-kristin-%E2%80%93-songs-around-kitchen-table" target="_blank">link here for the review in No Depression</a>, they’ll be more inclined to put our album in even more visible places, so we've been told ;-)<br><br><strong>We're always thrilled to hear back</strong> from you - any questions or comments - <a data-imported="1" data-link-type="page" href="/guestbook" target="_blank">leave your mark in our guestbook</a> or below, or simply email us at <a data-imported="1" href="mailto:info@davidandida.com?subject=Hi%20David%20%26%20Ida!" target="_blank">info(at)davidandida.com</a>.<br><br>All the best to all of you and hope to be in touch soon!<br><br>- Ida Kristin</p>
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David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6150694
2015-04-21T19:00:00-05:00
2020-03-25T09:18:51-05:00
Happy earth day!
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<p><strong>This winter </strong>we’ve been so busy being wowed by snowy Nashville weather, being thrown off – and airborn! - in an unexpected (yet exciting..) mega-bump in a cement-tray-toboggan-ride, paying subsequent visits to the chiropractor, being surprised and utterly happy about the response from the USA and UK/Europe radio release of our duo debut album Songs Around The Kitchen Table, finishing up <a data-imported="1" href="https://vimeo.com/124757609" target="_blank">the animated video for Only God Knows – that by the way had its online release last week!!!</a>, loving the people we’ve met at concerts in Tennessee and Missouri and being swept up into the craziness of the International Folk Alliance Conference in Kansas City, that we haven’t had a chance yet to sit down to let you all know what we’ve been up to until now. Okay, so that’s pretty much it - in one exhale :)<br> <br><strong>At the moment, </strong>sweating in a hot humid Florida after just having rescued a turtle from being baked on the pavement (I think she was looking for a good spot to lay her eggs and it just wasn’t doing it for her), and spending a couple of days with family until we'll cross the state and spend the weekend playing on the East coast. If you're around Miami or have friends in the area, help spread the word!: <br><strong>House Concert Saturday</strong> night at <a data-imported="1" href="http://www.chrystalhartiganpresents.com/2013/10/david-llewellyn-ida-kristen-house-concert-stuart-fl-42515/" target="_blank">"Chrystal Hartigan Presents", Stuart Fl - 4/25/2015, 7pm Tickets $10 - $15</a><br><strong>Also, tune in</strong> <strong>Sunday 2pm - 5pm</strong> on WLRN 91.3FM or <a data-imported="1" href="http://wlrn.org/radio/programs/folk-acoustic-music" target="_blank">www.wlrn.org</a> for the live radio show <a data-imported="1" href="http://wlrn.org/radio/programs/folk-acoustic-music" target="_blank">"Folk & Acoustic Music"</a> where we will join Michael Stock for a chat and a couple of songs (Miami, Fl) - Sun 4/26/2015
.<br><br><strong>Speaking of turtles</strong>, if you haven’t yet seen our animated video for Only God Knows with original illustrations by Spanish artist Raquel Aparicio and animations by Jorge Parras - <a data-imported="1" href="https://vimeo.com/124757609">Watch it now!</a> We’re so happy what came out of this collaboration and really excited that it got more than 1000 views in its first week from places all over the planet. Being that we wanted it to bring the world together in its own small little way, we're really excited about the spread of views from Seattle to Zurich, London, Madrid, Buenos Aires and Antananarivo in Madagascar!!<br><br><strong>'Only God Knows'</strong> came up as a titel or hook in the way that something just wants to be written; Write me! Now! As we sat down with our guitars, we realized that we wanted to bring up the big questions flying around in the world right now - about the relationship between people and between man and nature - about love and respect. We wanted to avoid being preachy, and instead add a touch of humor so that people would be able to take it to heart. Even though the perspective is from human frailty and struggle, we wanted to highlight the awe-inspiring beauty and wonder of it all, so that you come out of the song with a sense of love and gratitude for this planet that we're all a part of. <a data-imported="1" href="https://vimeo.com/124757609" target="_blank">Have a look yourself</a> and then let us know what you think in <a data-imported="1" data-link-type="page" href="/guestbook" target="_blank">our guestbook</a>!<br><em>”Life begins and ends in tears, and quite a struggle while we’re here - then why so precious? Only God Knows...”. (Excerpt from the lyrics).</em><br> </p>
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<p><br><strong>If you’re interested</strong> to hear a little more in-depth stories to some of our songs,<a data-imported="1" href="http://northernspiritradio.org/episode/whole-universe-sweden-brazil-nashville" target="_blank"> 'Song Of The Soul' on Northern Spirit Radio "invites you to a soul-level encounter". An hour where I am interviewed by the engaging Mark Helpsmeet</a>: I shares songs from our duo album "Songs Around The Kitchen Table" and upcoming solo songs "To Be A Woman" and "Serenity Song" from myself as well as "Homeward" and "Aberfan" from David.
Be sure to post a <a data-imported="1" href="http://northernspiritradio.org/comment/1798#comment-1798" target="_blank">comment on Northern Spirit Radio's website after listening</a>!<br><em>"Hailing from Sweden, with maternal Brazilian influences, and living part-time in Nashville, Ida leads hearts and souls to stir, ponder & laugh, even more potently when paired with Welshman David. Inspired by biological science, tried by hardship and rooted in meditation, Ida sings a powerful song of the soul...".</em><br><br>Any questions or comments, <a data-imported="1" data-link-type="page" href="/guestbook" target="_blank">leave your mark in our guestbook</a> or email us:<br>info(at)davidandida.com.<br><br><em>Animated Video Link to share with friends and family this Earth Day: <br><a data-imported="1" href="http://bit.ly/OnlyGodKnows_DavidAndIda" target="_blank"><strong>http://bit.ly/OnlyGodKnows_DavidAndIda</strong></a></em><br><br>Much love to all of you and hope to be in touch soon!<br> </p>
<p>- Ida Kristin</p>
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David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6150693
2014-12-31T18:00:00-06:00
2020-03-25T09:27:34-05:00
Holy crap - we've found the holy grail!
<p class="null">Frosty winds moaning in a bleak midwinter Stockholm. We’re struggling with upside-down umbrellas to our favorite Russian lunch hangout by the choppy black waters, which will soon turn inviting and white. The sun is lazy, hardly making it to have a quick peek over the islands. Still, it’s hard to leave as the huddling around lit candles and hot spicy wine not only warms frozen hands and toes, but hearts too.<br> <br>It’s been a trip and a half on this side of the Atlantic this time around down narrow flooded mud lanes in the English countryside, with a cartoony “AARGHS!” soundtrack when we discovered that big trucks with tight schedules too use these tall historical hedgerow-lined “roads” as potential shortcuts. The map was telling us we were in green farming land but all we could see was insurance money flying out the rented car window. We made it through though, again and again, and were starting to suspect that we had an angel with us in the car.<br> <br>Truth would show that we actually did, and miraculously she would reveal her face to us in all her splendor…<br> <br>Have you ever heard of Glastonbury? Yup, they have a big music festival there in the summer, and druids, fairies and “King Arthurs” seem to join the circus. Well, this was our first time there, and the grey windy Somerset Winter seemed to keep most visitors away. After reading up on the place with a couple of proper English scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam at a tea place in the mainstreet, we were ready to climb the famous Tor (old English for “hill”). Filled with some knowledge of the place, we felt a tingle of excitement. Nowadays, it’s a center for pilgrimage for a wide range of religions and beliefs and one name for the special energy of the place is the “Angel of Glastonbury”. And we could definitely feel her presence as we started our climb. Suddenly a rainbow appeared next to the top. The only other person there was a Dutch lady, who told us that she’d walked up the Tor for seven years every day and never seen one. This rainbow seemed somehow different, slowly but steadily starting to grow in both directions. And before our eyes it turned into a majestic portal pending between intensely fiery and soft - alive and breathing. The Dutch lady's chin dropped, as did ours', and she explained: <em>“Legend says, that when a rainbow appears above the Tor, someone’s found the holy grail”.</em></p>
<p><a data-imported="1" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eFjjOOL4vQ&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=David+Llewellyn+%26+Ida+Kristin+Newsletter&utm_campaign=f71e21e21f-Newsletter_November_201411_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa25c9534b-f71e21e21f-267894797" target="_blank"><img src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261/images/e061a780-8801-45c3-88c3-f8adb62f1403.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" style="max-width: 700px; outline: none; vertical-align: bottom;" width="324" /></a><br>Click image to see video! (Photo: David Llewellyn)</p>
<p>Awestruck and humbled we left Glastonbury and England and returned to Stockholm to celebrate Lucia. The first time for David in Sweden in December, but he seems to get the whole vibe of candles and traditions to lighten up the darkness with friends and family.</p>
<p><br><em><img src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261/images/e7f05bbc-3428-4ad7-b321-a56d678415a2.jpg" class="size_orig justify_none border_" alt="" height="300" width="400" /><br> </em><br>We’re getting excited that our EP “In The Bleak Midwinter” is getting airplay in countries as diverse as the US, UK, Netherlands, Italy, France and Belgium (<a data-imported="1" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/in-the-bleak-midwinter-single/id941943969?utm_source=David+Llewellyn+%26+Ida+Kristin+Newsletter&utm_campaign=9892284997-Newsletter+April+2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa25c9534b-9892284997-" target="_blank">click to listen/buy here on iTunes</a>) and are looking forward to the full album release to radio of <a data-imported="1" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/songs-around-kitchen-table/id824234088" target="_blank">“Songs Around The Kitchen Table” </a>(Feb 1<sup>st</sup> 2015). Our baby is leaving the nest and it seems, that it’s developing its wings in the leap.<br><br><em><img src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261/images/7da9aec9-4cf2-404e-b1e8-18a09e32cc72.jpeg" class="size_orig justify_none border_" alt="" height="268" width="400" /><br>(Photo credits unknown).<br> </em><br>Rounding all this up, we flew back to Nashville and then ended up in Florida for the holidays with family. Always such a treat to get to hang with family, dust off the summer closet, walk the beach and experience the dolphins and sunsets.<br><br>We're so grateful to all of you for the year passed. How sweet it is to have such beautiful friends all over the world. We feel that 2015 holds in store even more joy and inspiration for all of us. Looking forward to keeping contact with you all and wishing you a delicious New Year!!<br><br><em><img src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/0a7261a6ddea37ddc89aeb261/images/a072ec13-76da-454f-beea-b1ac171dc507.jpg" class="size_orig justify_none border_" alt="" height="265" width="400" /><br>(Photo: Ida Kristin)<br> </em><br><br>Much love to all of you!<br><br>- Ida Kristin</p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin
tag:davidandida.com,2005:Post/6150692
2014-11-12T18:00:00-06:00
2020-03-25T09:31:09-05:00
Let's make an illustrated video!
<p class="null"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393431/cea91e506e8373bc9064e6a4a760a35181c9f8c4/original/blog-newsletter-nov-2014-photo-150dpi-website.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NzY4eDM2OCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="368" width="768" /><br><br>Somewhere in the rustle and tear of what’s going on in the world right now, the idea was born to use our song <em>Only God Knows</em> to make a little comment out there into the void. There's just something with images and music together, that gets my heart beating faster and I decided to create a little animated video for the song. Somehow I stumbled upon Spanish artist Raquel Aparicio, and just loved her hand-drawn illustrations. So, through the magical window of Skype we’ve managed to put together a storyboard with Raquel and animator Don Jorge Parras in Barcelona, and the video is coming to life! Working over country boarders with these talented people, manifests the fact that this is very much a global project for us, asking the big questions in the way we know best how to – with a song.<br> <br>Finally in the same city - and continent for that matter – we’re celebrating by eating our way through Stockholm’s yummy organic cafés. Our favorites so far are <a data-imported="1" href="http://www.vurma.se/" target="_blank">Vurma</a>, <a data-imported="1" href="http://www.urbancoffee.se/start.html" target="_blank">Urban Coffee</a> and <a data-imported="1" href="http://www.petitefrance.se/" target="_blank">Petite France</a> (amazing raspberry meringue pastries with creamy "chocolat ganache"!), as we’re trying to work out the logistics for the radio release of the EP “<em>In The Bleak Midwinter</em>”. This is a favorite Christmas carol of our's together with <em>Only God Knows</em> and <em>Just Surrender </em>from the album. It’s our first big radio release, and will reach DJs across the US, UK, Ireland and some of the rest of Europe! It's a bit of a haze at the moment, but in a good way. <em>In The Bleak Midwinter </em>will be available as a single download online from December 1st on CD Baby, itunes etc.<br><br>Hard sometimes to get time to pick up the guitar when you’re playing record company, but we’ll be heading off a couple of weeks to England and Wales later this week to meet with some radio there. Looking forward to get time behind the wheel and sing, sing, sing :-)<br><br>It means that we’ll be in the UK this Thanksgiving, but fortunately there's always a time and space for gratitude and we're definitely feeling a lot of it at the moment. If you want to get a little deeper into what gratitude really is and why to practice it, have a read what the world's leading scientific expert on gratitude, Robert Emmons, Ph.D., is saying about it <a data-imported="1" href="http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/gratitude/definition" target="_blank">here</a>, and perhaps join this cool <a data-imported="1" href="http://gratitudechallenge.com/project-gratitude/" target="_blank">gratitude challenge</a>, and see what happens! Let us know if you feel this is in any way changing things in and around you :)<br><br>However, I'm sure we'll get a little turkey sorted out somewhere, probably at David's twin sister's house in Bristol. And speaking of food, I put together a gorgeous chocolate mousse last night. AND it’s healthy, so if you have a sweet tooth and like to eat stuff that’s good for you, have a go and mix it all up! You’d have to be adventurous though, as no measurements were being taken this time. But with these ingredients, you can’t go wrong (for two):<br>Cashew nuts (a couple of hands full)<br>Dates (about four, if they're hard, soak them in a bit of water for at least 30min)<br>Avocado (half)<br>Almond milk (until you like the consistency)<br>70 % chocolate (until you like the flavor; we melted half a bar, 50gram)<br>Ground vanilla (a pinch or two) <br>Sprinkle a few fresh raspberries on top! <br><br><br>Have a lovely November. Much love to all of you!<br><br>/ Ida<br><br> </p>
David Llewellyn & Ida Kristin