Your posts always feel like a cadeau when they hit my inbox!
Did you know that although ‘cadeau’ is the only officially correct spelling of the Dutch word for gift, informally the alternative spelling ‘kado’ can also be used? And since we love diminutives, we’ll often use ‘cadeautje’ or ‘kadootje’ when we talk about a (small) gift.
Yes! I remembered this, too while I was reading. I lived with a Dutch family outside of Amsterdam and cared for their two small children. I only remember a few words, but cadeautje and alsjeblieft are among my favorites!
It’s so good, right? I particularly loved hearing little kids say it with attitude while they regretfully handed over whatever they felt was rightfully theirs. alsjeBLIEFT!
Ahh, I am just loving this exchange between you both -- I haven't come across cadeautje in Antwerp yet, but am so happy to know about it now 😊 Uruguayans love diminutives too and it was always one of my favorite things about speaking Spanish there, so it's fun to hear I'll be encountering them in Dutch as well!
Such a lovely post, Candace! I loved the pictures and the idea of how certain words stay with us. I’m always drawn to sadhana (from Sanskrit) and cha (Mandarin) or chai
Thank you so much for your comment, Priya -- it's always so wonderful to hear from you. And just like Switter in his comment below, you both read my mind about the post I'm about to publish this week ;)
I so look forward to sharing it with you tomorrow, and I hope you'll feel inspired to share more about why you're drawn to sadhana and cha, as I'd love to hear more! 🤍
The Danish word for gift is “gave” and the Danish word “gift” means “married.” So.... yay, mnemonics 😀 I’m fascinated by Dutch, though ... it has a melodic quality to it, very few stops and flows like a river ...
Yes! My husband and I both share in your fascination with Dutch -- we love the sound of the language, too, and you're so right about it having a certain melody to it. Thanks so much for reading, and for sharing a bit about Danish here as well 😊
Candace, once again you put my mind in a happy memory place.
We have bits and pieces in our family vocabulary from the places we lived over the years. You eat tangerines; we enjoy naartjies. You are annoyed by mosquitoes; we slap at udzuzus. Elena loves her grandmothers; my kids love their oomas. You have luggage; we have katundu. You have medicine; we have muti. And when the back window of your car gets dusty, it says “wash me;” when mine gets dusty, it says “омой меня.”
And when my kids gossip or argue, they do it in Russian or Turkish or Russish.
Switter, I can't say enough how much I love your comment here -- and as I just shared with Priya above, you both read my mind about the post I'm about to publish this week ;) I'm even more excited now to share it with you tomorrow, and I hope you might feel inspired to share a little more about one of the fascinating words you mentioned here, as I'd so love to read more.
I'm happy that you are inspired to share your process with us. Yes, I've been surprised and pleased with the attention to detail that the "font folks" who program these scripts into the word files have applied to their letters. It's amazing and fun. But to merge those fonts onto a painted image is something I've always struggled to do, so I'm more impressed now with how you do t hat.
It connects to my laptop and means I can do all the hand-lettering directly in Photoshop, which helps a lot when placing lettering on top of artwork -- but I look forward to sharing more about that with you in a process post soon :)
I loved this. Beautiful storytelling. And I was thrilled to hear about your adventures in Anatolia on the Evliya Çelebi way. He was a remarkable person. All this brought back memories of happy years in Anatolia. Thank you!
Ahh, it's wonderful to hear that you know of Evliya Çelebi, Jeffrey -- I'm sad to admit I hadn't come across him before learning about the walking route I followed in Turkey, but I so enjoyed learning about him during that journey and in the months afterward as I began writing about the experience.
And it's just as amazing to hear that you've spent so much time in Anatolia -- may I ask what you were doing there? I hope that's something you might share more about in your newsletter one day soon!
That walk must have been incredible. I've never done it. I was living in Ankara for a few years, because of my work. It was a great base from which to explore different parts of that amazing country. And yes, I guess I'll write about it at some stage.
I lived in Holland for 6 years. Cadeau is a loan word from French, but the Dutch put their own spin on it, making a diminutive from it and using it as an adverb. Looking forward to hearing more from Antwerp.
Thanks so much for your comment, John, and for sharing more about the history of cadeau -- that adds even more layers to one of my new favorite words in Dutch. By the way, it's lovely to see you live on Whidbey Island. I've spent a lot of time on Vashon and Salt Spring (on the BC side), so that part of the world holds a special place in my heart. Looking forward to reading your own stories!
What a lovely small world! I was just over the border in 's-Hertogenbosch. The south of the Netherlands has much more in common with Flanders culturally than is does with the north. Starting of course with the zachte g!
Stanley, there's nothing that means more to me as a writer than to hear that a story I've written has helped transport someone -- thank you so much for sharing that, and for letting me know that you connected with this story 🙏
Your posts always feel like a cadeau when they hit my inbox!
Did you know that although ‘cadeau’ is the only officially correct spelling of the Dutch word for gift, informally the alternative spelling ‘kado’ can also be used? And since we love diminutives, we’ll often use ‘cadeautje’ or ‘kadootje’ when we talk about a (small) gift.
Yes! I remembered this, too while I was reading. I lived with a Dutch family outside of Amsterdam and cared for their two small children. I only remember a few words, but cadeautje and alsjeblieft are among my favorites!
“alsjeblieft” oh that brings back memories. We took a trip to Holland when I was seven for a family reunion, this was one of the few words I learned
It’s so good, right? I particularly loved hearing little kids say it with attitude while they regretfully handed over whatever they felt was rightfully theirs. alsjeBLIEFT!
Those are definitely some pleasant words to remember in a foreign language! :)
Ahh, I am just loving this exchange between you both -- I haven't come across cadeautje in Antwerp yet, but am so happy to know about it now 😊 Uruguayans love diminutives too and it was always one of my favorite things about speaking Spanish there, so it's fun to hear I'll be encountering them in Dutch as well!
Such a sweet story. The cherry and plum paintings make my heart sing!
Thank you, Monika! I was also really happy with how that little plum turned out, so I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it too 😊
Such a lovely post, Candace! I loved the pictures and the idea of how certain words stay with us. I’m always drawn to sadhana (from Sanskrit) and cha (Mandarin) or chai
Thank you so much for your comment, Priya -- it's always so wonderful to hear from you. And just like Switter in his comment below, you both read my mind about the post I'm about to publish this week ;)
I so look forward to sharing it with you tomorrow, and I hope you'll feel inspired to share more about why you're drawn to sadhana and cha, as I'd love to hear more! 🤍
Ah, Candace... such a beautiful story and a true cadeau for us. Love the watercolors and always, the Elena bits. 💚
Thank you so much for your lovely words, Roseanne -- I'm so glad you enjoyed the story! 🤍
The Danish word for gift is “gave” and the Danish word “gift” means “married.” So.... yay, mnemonics 😀 I’m fascinated by Dutch, though ... it has a melodic quality to it, very few stops and flows like a river ...
Yes! My husband and I both share in your fascination with Dutch -- we love the sound of the language, too, and you're so right about it having a certain melody to it. Thanks so much for reading, and for sharing a bit about Danish here as well 😊
This is so beautiful Candace 🥹🥹
Thank you, Jessica! It means so much to hear you enjoyed this story 🤍✨
This was a joyful read, thank you! 💗
Thank you so much, Kaitlyn! I'm so glad to hear this story brought you joy 🤍
@Candance Rose is so talented. The painting, the words and the thinking behind them. Love them all.
Thank you, Medha! It means so much to hear this story resonated with you 🤍
You inspire me!
Thank you, Sharon! That means so much to hear 🤍
Candace, once again you put my mind in a happy memory place.
We have bits and pieces in our family vocabulary from the places we lived over the years. You eat tangerines; we enjoy naartjies. You are annoyed by mosquitoes; we slap at udzuzus. Elena loves her grandmothers; my kids love their oomas. You have luggage; we have katundu. You have medicine; we have muti. And when the back window of your car gets dusty, it says “wash me;” when mine gets dusty, it says “омой меня.”
And when my kids gossip or argue, they do it in Russian or Turkish or Russish.
I love it.
Switter, I can't say enough how much I love your comment here -- and as I just shared with Priya above, you both read my mind about the post I'm about to publish this week ;) I'm even more excited now to share it with you tomorrow, and I hope you might feel inspired to share a little more about one of the fascinating words you mentioned here, as I'd so love to read more.
And I didn’t even mention that you drive a car, but we drive a galimoto!
I'm happy that you are inspired to share your process with us. Yes, I've been surprised and pleased with the attention to detail that the "font folks" who program these scripts into the word files have applied to their letters. It's amazing and fun. But to merge those fonts onto a painted image is something I've always struggled to do, so I'm more impressed now with how you do t hat.
Thank you, Sue! It's great to hear you would enjoy reading more about my process, and as a sneak peek, the secret is all in my trusty little digital writing tablet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S1RR3FR/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
It connects to my laptop and means I can do all the hand-lettering directly in Photoshop, which helps a lot when placing lettering on top of artwork -- but I look forward to sharing more about that with you in a process post soon :)
my husband has one of those and LOVES IT!
I loved this. Beautiful storytelling. And I was thrilled to hear about your adventures in Anatolia on the Evliya Çelebi way. He was a remarkable person. All this brought back memories of happy years in Anatolia. Thank you!
Ahh, it's wonderful to hear that you know of Evliya Çelebi, Jeffrey -- I'm sad to admit I hadn't come across him before learning about the walking route I followed in Turkey, but I so enjoyed learning about him during that journey and in the months afterward as I began writing about the experience.
And it's just as amazing to hear that you've spent so much time in Anatolia -- may I ask what you were doing there? I hope that's something you might share more about in your newsletter one day soon!
That walk must have been incredible. I've never done it. I was living in Ankara for a few years, because of my work. It was a great base from which to explore different parts of that amazing country. And yes, I guess I'll write about it at some stage.
I lived in Holland for 6 years. Cadeau is a loan word from French, but the Dutch put their own spin on it, making a diminutive from it and using it as an adverb. Looking forward to hearing more from Antwerp.
Thanks so much for your comment, John, and for sharing more about the history of cadeau -- that adds even more layers to one of my new favorite words in Dutch. By the way, it's lovely to see you live on Whidbey Island. I've spent a lot of time on Vashon and Salt Spring (on the BC side), so that part of the world holds a special place in my heart. Looking forward to reading your own stories!
What a lovely small world! I was just over the border in 's-Hertogenbosch. The south of the Netherlands has much more in common with Flanders culturally than is does with the north. Starting of course with the zachte g!
Just delightful 😊
Thank you, Vicki! I'm so glad you enjoyed this story 🤍
This was so lovely! Thank you for continually making my day :)
Ahh, Veena, you're the one making my day over here with your comment 😊 Thank you so much!
I felt transported by theses words.
Stanley, there's nothing that means more to me as a writer than to hear that a story I've written has helped transport someone -- thank you so much for sharing that, and for letting me know that you connected with this story 🙏
You are welcome! As a writer myself, I recognize both the sincerity and accuracy of your words.