Happy, Happier, Happiest...

May your celebrations be full of memory making moments! From all of us to all of you we wish you the happiest of holidays.

A new year awaits.

Sunday Indulgence

Currently, my favorite tune. (Seriously, it's Jason Mraz, how could it not be?) It's getting lots of radio/mtv play this side of the pond, please tell me you're hearing it on the other side too!

Blowing Through

As written on the Parkpop website:

"Whoever says pop music, says The Hague. The Hague has for years been The Netherlands' pop city number one. So every reason for this to be the venue for one of our country's oldest and largest pop festivals"

And who was at Parkpop this year? Oh, just:

Sheryl Crow, Kula Shaker, Mala Vita, Moke, Kleine Jay, Concrete, Jason Mraz, The Hoosiers, Orishas, Maj Farah, Morgan Heritage, Racoon, The Proclaimers, Silkstone, The Opposites, Monte Montgomery and Matt Bianco.

Not bad, eh?

We made our plans weeks ago to attend (especially as my the one and only Jason Mraz would be appearing) and held our breath that the skies would be blue and the day sweet and sunny so we could not only attend, but also enjoy without umbrellas and rain gear.
Everything went according to plan and the only misstep we made was mentioning the day at the park to Andrew a few hours too early upon which announcement he took upon himself the role of cruise director and made personal (multiple) invitations to all family members to attend the special event:

"Hey Dad, are you gonna go to the park with us today?"

"Emma, did you get ready now to go to the park?"

"Ian, you gotta get your socks and shoes on now 'cause we gotta go to the park!'

"Mom, we all gotta go to the park. Now. Okay, Mom?"

And with all that planning on behalf of a five-year-old enthusiast, the afternoon was a delight. We all mounted bicycles (except Andrew who gets the sweet ride on the back of my bike) and kicked off for Zuiderpark. Once there, we laid out our blanket and spread the picnic food around and sat back to love the music, watch the people and dream the afternoon away. (with scent of marijuana in the air, could that be helped? I ask you.)

Better words to explain the event are those first sung (and now covered by Mraz) by Seals and Crofts (circa 1972):

See the curtains hanging in the window
In the evening on a Friday night
A little light shining through the window
Lets me know that everything's all right

Summer breeze, well it makes me feel fine
Blowing through the jasmine in my mind
Summer breeze, it makes me feel fine
Blowing through my…making me feel-right
Making me feel, making me feel fine, makes me feel fine
Blowing through the jasmine in my mind

Oh, sweet days are summer, the jasmine’s in bloom
July is dressed up and playing a tune
And when I come home, from a hard day’s work
And you’re waiting there
Oh yes you’re waiting there, without a care in the world
I see the smile a-waiting in the kitchen
a-Food a-cooking and a-plates a-there for two
You, I see the arms that reach out to hold me
In the evening when the day is through

Summer breeze, well it makes me feel fine
Blowing through the jasmine in my mind
Summer breeze, it makes me feel fine
Blowing through my…making me feel-right
Making me feel, making me feel fine, makes me feel right
Blowing through the jasmine in my mind

And oh, did I ever feel fine.

Breezing along with Music Monday today.

Sunday in the Park

Mraz.

click here for the rules.

Leave word if you're playing.
Leave word if you too love Mraz.
Leave word if you've been by.
Hey, there's a theme here: LEAVE WORD!

In the wordplay today:

SMID

Flower Child

Anneke

Jan

Goofball

Mama Rehema

Rhythm is Gonna Get You

Music enters my body through my feet. And I am not talking about the toe tapping response to rhythm, or even the vibration of sound reverberating through the floor, but something more subtle than both.

Like energy.

Energy produced by musicians and laid down on tracks; strummed out on guitars; pounded out from pianos; belted out through voice boxes. Energy which starts at the tips of my toes and penetrates every cell of my skin as it traverses the gravity defying path upward, through my very veins and breaks into a pounding heart at the center of my chest. At the moment pulsation of arteries and energy of music combine there is an explosion of sorts and that music bursts outward in extreme electric shocks.

Vibrating through my trunk, down my arms, out my fingertips, and POW out the crown of my head.

That's when the dancing starts. It can't be helped, it is an ingrained, automated response, as natural to me as blinking or breathing.

Music, good music, does that. Music which is full of passion and meaning and passion and flair and passion. Music flies into my soul right through my feet.

Saturday, Don and I traveled to the neighboring city of Rotterdam to attend Night 2 of The North Sea Jazz Festival. A three-day affair hosted at the large Ahoy. convention center in the city, it was an incredible celebration of music. The place is ginormous (I can use this word because I just learned it has been admitted into the dictionary) and boasts several stages--count 'em, 15--for performers. There is action in every corner and down every corridor. In spite of the large crowds, which is never my favorite thing, it was an absolute thrill to be there.

My toes tingled.

We began our concert tour Saturday with a 14-year old jazz singer named Kim Hoorweg. Working our way through stages and rooms we caught the tail end of the show by Steely Dan (yes, Steely Dan!), and introduced our ears to several new-to-us artists throughout the night--Joe Bonamassa, Curtis Steigers, New Generation Big Band. For the midnight show we parked ourselves in the crowd aching to hear from Jason Mraz at one of the outdoor stages. Though he has fame and reputation in the US, he is not, as yet, well known in The Netherlands.The crowd was large, but not crushing and we staked a place quite close to the stage so we could enjoy his performance.

(It would have been THE PERFECT place were it not for one REALLY OBNOXIOUS American tourist who continually insisted upon explaining lyrics to her Dutch boyfriend and without tolerance or understanding for the culture she was visiting made herself look a fool over and over again. I will save that rant perhaps, but just suffice to say I was deeply annoyed by my fellow countrywoman.)

Jason Mraz is a completely engaging performer with unbelievable talent dripping out his fingertips and through his vocal chords. I was mesmerized and completely taken in.

Before I share a little clip of my *new* boyfriend, I just want to mention that this extravagant music festival happens every year, and I am just wondering, which of you I can count on for company at next year's venue?

I promise, your toes will tingle.