Stumbling over the vines… a swarm of soûlards or drunks. Read on… étourneau (ay-toor-no) noun, masculine : starling, star (bird) : scatterbrain, featherbrain, birdbrain (you get the picture) Les aigles … volent seul… ce sont les corbeaux, les choucas et les étourneaux qui vont en groupe. Eagles … fly alone…they are crows, daws, and starlings that flock together. –John Webster … Continue reading étourneau
Mistletoe in them thar hills! The Tuscan Vauclusian countryside. gui (gee ["g" as in "get"]) noun, masculine : mistletoe (gui de chêne) or "Druid's plant" Le respect que les anciens Gaulois avaient pour le gui et particulièrement pour celui qui croissait sur le chêne, est connu de tout le monde. The respect that the ancient Gauls had for mistletoe and particularly that which grew … Continue reading gui
tirailleur (teera-yuhr) n.m.skirmisher; soldier, infantryman, sharpshooter; sniper Example sentence:Les tirailleurs de l'armée française d'Afrique ont contribué par leur courage à placer la France parmi les puissances victorieuses de 1945. The sharpshooters of the French African army contributed, by their bravery, to putting France among the victorious powers of 1945. –from the book "Paroles d'indigènes Les Soldats oubliés de la Seconde Guerre mondiale" Book: A Savage … Continue reading tirailleur
Warmth and light in the town of Montpellier. paix (pay) noun, feminine : peace Qui vit en paix avec lui-même vit en paix avec l'univers. He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe. –Marcus Aurelius. by Kristin Espinasse (The following is a … Continue reading paix
"Vauclusian sky" by Jean-Marc buissonnière (bwee-sohn-yehr) adjective : living in bushes When a French student skips class, s/he goes and "lives in the bushes" for a day… We call this "ditching"; here in France it is called "l'école buissonnière" (literally "bush school"). Borrowing the bush term, and backtracking to my Arizona childhood, we hooksters (hooky players?) might've called ourselves "Creosote Class Cutters"* or "The Desert … Continue reading buissonnière
Culture color clash, but cute: my boys. Max (12) and Coco (10 weeks). chaton (sha-ton) noun, masculine : kitten In books: French for Cats: All the French Your Cat Will Ever Need Les caresses n'ont jamais transformé un tigre en chaton. No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it. –Franklin … Continue reading chaton
Snow in the French Alps le coin du feu (kwan dew fuuh) noun, masculine Download soundfile : fireside "But there is another realm where we can always find something true, the fireside of a friend, where we shed our little conceits and find warmth and understanding." Mais il existe un havre où l'on peut toujours savourer une relation authentique: le coin du feu chez … Continue reading Coin du feu: a childhood memory from Arizona
Our totally off-topic photo-du-jour: "Italian Wine Cooler". Picture taken in Alba, if I remember correctly. Note: no need to edit the photo captions. Photos will not appear with the chapters. Songe (sohnzh) noun, masculine dream A Restless Writer DreamsWhen William Faulkner, famous American novelist, poet and Nobel Laureate, came to stay with us here at the farm, I offered him … Continue reading songe
The handpainted sign reads: "To live well: love well and let others say what they will". ("Pour bien vivre, bien aimer et laisser dire."). attentionné,e (ah-tohn-syon-ay) adjective. : thoughtful, considerate. In books: A *bilingual* classic that fits kids' language-learning needs. When my father returned home to Idaho, from France, he had a few foreign banknotes left over from his trip. Thoughtfully, he tucked the paper … Continue reading attentionné
Medieval (and very-nearly-melts-the-heart): Les Arcs-sur-Argens, Var. fondre (fon-dr) verb to melt, smelt, merge to slim down Le même soleil fait fondre la cire et sécher l’argile. The same sun melts wax and hardens clay. –Clement of Alexandria In books: The Discovery of France: a narrative of exploration–full of … Continue reading fondre
