The book fair in Roussillon. All photos taken by mom (a.k.a. "Jules"). See her, and her gallery of photos, in today's edition. attrape-tout (ah-trap-too) adjective : catch-all The French word "attrape-tout" refers to a vague political plan destined to seduce the greatest number of voters. In today's story, it refers to a bookseller's plan to seduce the greatest number of potential buyers… Read on.Audio File: … Continue reading attrape-tout
Field of poppies in Provence by Warren Plauche. A surprise for you today: a veritable "vernissage" by artist Warren Plauche! See all twelve "oeuvres," and don't forget to vote for your favorite watercolor. vernissage (ver-nee-sazh) noun, masculine : varnishing; glazing : private viewing (art), preview, opening (art exhibition) Audio FileListen to the French word vernissage and the example sentence, below: Download vernissage.wav .Download vernissage.mp3 Elle … Continue reading vernissage
WARREN CHARLES PLAUCHE’ MD FACOG Dr. Plauche’ was born in Houma, Louisiana in 1933, and was educated in medicine at LSU. A self-trained fine arts painter for over 45 years, he began painting in the 1960’s while in Ob-Gyn specialty training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. Early works were landscapes and seascapes in oil on canvas. Dr. Plauche and his … Continue reading Artist Bio: Warren C. Plauche’ MD
***Book Fair near Bonnieux*** Please come and see me and my mom, Jules (pictured). We'll be in Roussillon (Luberon) this Sunday: she, in her colorful poncho, a just-swiped flower in her fedora… and I'll be the one who needs to loosen up a bit. Michel Thomas Speak French For Beginners: 10-CD Beginner's Program beau-fils (boh-feece) noun, masculine : son-in-law synonym: "gendre" (more synonyms, a great … Continue reading beau-fils
Tomette tiles and old French keys at an antiques store in the town of Piolenc. clef or clé* (klay) noun, feminine : key (from the Latin, "clavis") *the two spellings are correct Can you guess what the following terms & expressions mean and do you know of others to add to this list? Answer here, in the comments box. mettre la clef sous la porteclefs … Continue reading clef
Heart-shaped leaves (lower left), old vine trunks, and white flowers mingle with our grapes. Read:Quiet Corners of Paris ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~COURBATURE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~courbature (kor-bah-toor) noun, feminine : ache, muscular pain You can help with this edition by adding any related terms and expressions for today's word, "courbature". Do you know another translation for "courbature"? Does one talk about "courbature" when one is ill, rundown with the flu ("J'ai des … Continue reading courbature
Braise and John, harvesting the grenache. Read John's letter to his grandson, Vincent, in today's story column, below. ~~~Cara Black will be at the Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore in Paris!~~~If you are in Paris on September 25th, don't miss this author. Cara will be reading from her latest book, "Murder on Rue Paradis". Further details at the RW Books blog (http://rwbooks.blogspot.com) la gamme (gam) noun, feminine … Continue reading gamme
Our tractor's girophare (upper left) and Braise-the-Dog (lower right, hidden). Click on image. Today's word is "girophare", though "friggin' girophare" would be more correct, or simply "frigging" (which fits the mood of our story better and which is, you all might agree, a much more common and useful word (never mind the English) than "girophare"). Hélas, as this Gallic gazette is used in classrooms, we'd … Continue reading girophare
Laundry, motorcycle, burrs… read on in today's column! se grouiller (seuh-grooyay) verb : to get a move on [the verb "grouiller" means "to mill about") New, in books: "The Black Tower" by Louis Bayard : Expressions: grouille-toi = buck up! Yesterday, after dropping off the kids at school, I headed out to the field of Grenache grapes: to those torturous low-lying vines "en gobelet"*–as opposed … Continue reading se grouiller
Fall is around the corner and the grapes are landing in the baskets. Day three of la vendange. Grape harvest update: eight more helping hands have arrived, two of which belong to my mom… stay tuned. cuve (koov) noun, feminine : vat : tank, mash tun; cistern Hear today's word and this example sentence: une cuve. On met les raisins dans la cuve. Download cuve.wav. … Continue reading cuve
