Merry Christmas

Posted on by Helen Devries

From the people and pooches here in Costa Rica beside this year’s Christmas tree.

Look after yourselves, stay in touch with people who care about you, and make it a good one.

I hope you like this carol…a summer Christmas, in Africaans.

Published by Helen Devries

I'm at home with myself...je suis bien dans ma peau...but foreign everywhere else.

32 thoughts on “Merry Christmas”

    1. Glad you liked it.
      When Leo was in South Africa he found his Flemish…old fashioned dialect learned when he was a child, could be understood by Afrikaaners…and he could understand a fair bit of their language.
      Keep safe, look after yourselves!

  2. Ah! You found the missing tree?
    What a great site this is! Keep it going!
    Merry warm Christmas to you and Leo and the dogs etc….

    1. No decorations this year, low level thanks to Podge, higher level because my knees won’t do ladders, so this is the tree! The plant is a hoya, grown from a cutting given by friends, and gives a sweet scent in the evenings when we are sitting out on the balcony.
      Enjoy your howlidays!

      1. It’s amazing and have heard the scent is divine! I know what you mean about tree trimming-I didn’t put up a tree either and well the…ahem…decorations if you can call them that, are sparse and minimal. Can you count candles as Christmas decorations? 🥰

        1. Certainly can!
          We have plants climbing all the pillars on the balcony…cuttings from cuttings, but so far only this and one other have reached the top.
          We are spoiled for scent just now…the canna india is flowering downhill from the balcony, and the ylang ylang in the front garden so when things cool down in the evening it is rather like passing through a swanky perfumery department!

  5. That’s a fine Christmas tree and more than we erected this year and we didn’t have the excuse of a new puppy (although bad knees are shared). To you, Leo and the Horde of 12 we send our Christmas wishes full of kind thoughts and hopes that the holidays and new year will be chock full of good things to eat, drink, read, share and enjoy. Enjoyed the song – maybe the first Akrikaans carol that I have heard.

  7. You don’t have a tree like this? Send for your Fijians and they’ll knock you up one in no time…or perhaps a little longer than that, depending on the strength of the weed. And a pillar is not just for Christmas….cast down by moments of disapproval on the part of your lady wife and her guardian dragon – well, Max – you could imitate Simeon Stylites the Elder and have them send up food and drink on a pulley system.
    Our best wishes to all three of you, hoping you have a quiet, peaceful – no, not with you in the house – holiday and that you will not be tempted to leave the house wearing the underpants as a mask. Neighbours who have drink taken at the festive season might have a funny turn and the police are notoriously touchy when on duty at Christmas…
    Seriously, have a great time together and hoping you can make contact with the family….the most important thing of all.

  8. Happy Christmas to you and Leo. I am envious – we have a frost forecast for tonight. Your tree would not survive here. If you don’t put the decorations up you don’t have the bother of taking them down either.

  9. Merry Christmas to you both and let’s hope you can go traveling again in the year to come.
    Frost, snow and cold winds are things I do not miss at all!
    No problem taking down decorations…Podge the puppy is quita capable of undertaking the task….

  10. Merry Christmas to you both! And, thanks for the musical interlude. I don’t somehow care for the sound of spoken Afrikaans but it sounds quite different when sung like this and suits this delightful carol very well.

    1. It is lovely, isn’t it. I came across it when looking for something else, just when Leo was reminiscing about South Africa and Rhodesia, as it then was. His Flemish stood him in good stead in SA at the time.

  12. Very best wishes to you and Leo and may 2021 be a year of good health and tranquility (though the latter may be a challenge with a new pup!)

    1. Thank you! I always enjoy dropping into your world via your blog. I do hope next year does a bit better than this one….
      Tranquillity and Podge do not mix…except when sleep overcomes her.

  13. Now if only I could get the video to play!!!!

    Wishing you both all the very best and let us hope that 2021 will be one of hope and healing filled with love and laughter. Dianne and Nigel

  14. Very little hope, with everyone at home in lockdown it is worse than ever. Nigel wrote to the powers that be and although they realised the problems they said there was no spare money to spend. Even if the local village gets it we are almost 2 Kms away in our hamlet so we still will not get it. Sigh. 0.5 on. Good but generally less.

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