Our colorful, wine-making village of Sainte Cécile-Les-Vignes: a scenic place to ride your bike, with no-hassle parking.
livre d'or (leev-ruh-door) noun, masculine
: "golden book", guestbook, visitors' book
I hope you'll sign my livre d'or — this would make me so happy! You might include your name, location, a few–or many–things about yourself, and how you happened upon this word-of-the-day website…. and why not sign off with your own mot-du-jour? I love learning (or relearning… because I often don't "get it" the first time around) French words. Merci beaucoup!
Sound File:
Listen to my son, Max, pronounce the French word livre d'or and the following example sentence:
Veuillez signer le livre d'or de ma mère s'il vous plaît.
Please sign my mom's guestbook.
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Bonjour Kristin et bonne année. Je te souhaite bonne santé et beaucoup de succès en 2009. Meilleurs voeux à toute la famille. Tu nous apportes beaucoup de bonheur avec tes courriels tous les jours. Merci!
Hi Kristin – really enjoy your blog and happy to sign your livre d’or. Has anyone told you that you bear quite a resemblance to an English actress called Amanda Holden – see picture here.
http://www.starpulse.com/Actresses/Holden,_Amanda/gallery/SPX-016035/
Anyway – happy new year to you and your family.
Hello and Happy New Year or should I say Bonne et heureuse annee. I’ve put you on my reader this year so I should be able to follow on a more regular basis.I read your blog because some day I WILL go to France.
Bonnee Annee, Good to see you back. Holidays are good. this is Joyce at Buckroe Beach house on the Chesapeake Bay in Va.
Bonjour Kristin. I am new to your site. I have been to France 4 times and will continue traveling there every other year. Sadly, my French is VERY week and I am looking to improve. I love your site. It combines the French lifestyle with the language. What could be better?
Bonjour et bonne annee. I enjoy your website a lot. Thanks for a very interesting and informative site.
Bonjour et Bonne Annee! I just found out about your site because I bought your book at an independent bookstore here in Chicago a few days ago. I am enjoying it and thought it would be fun to subscribe to your newsletter. I was a French Major in college 24 years ago and am trying to refresh my French (difficult to do in the United States). Anyway, thanks for doing this!
Bonjour Kristin,
I found your site after I read your book. I enjoy both! My partner is French Canadian and we are raising our 4 year old daughter to be bilingual. Not an easy task in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (Western Canada is English for all you non-Canadians). I go to this site to learn new words, read about your family adventures, look at the great pictures (and paintings). We are returning to France this summer, Gabrielle’s 3rd trip. Hope to have some of your wine!
Merci et au revoir.
Bonjour, Kristen, et Bonne Année! I have been following your adventures online for a couple of years. They give a real feeling of life in France for an American transplant. I am a retired French teacher, so I love staying in touch with the daily language feature. I am also inspired to add a Golden Retriever to my family!
HAPPY NEW YEAR KRISTI
I am so happy you are back to work – I love
each little word that processes from your beautiful mind into your blog. Please don’t retire this year – I am sure I’m not the only one who relies on your post to brighten their day. I hope all of your friends at French-Word-A-Day will take the time today to REALLY tell you what you mean to them. You are a bright star in my life and of course always MY ANGEL. In real life you are the only person who has ever made me laugh until I cried.
Your writing last year touched my heart, I can’t imagine what lies ahead for your number one fan. Will you forge ahead into gardening (if only your friends at FWAD could have seen that pathetic photo of your little garden – maybe I will post it on my blog. Will you turn your vineyard into a little farm full of chickens and goats? Will you allow a select few of your fans the joy of renting your little “Jules Studio” for a real taste of French Word A Day?
Thank you for introducing us to the wonderful characters that live in your world – I wonder who will wander into your life this year? I must say you really lucked out when you were blessed with Newforest, what a gift she has been to you.
XOXO
JULES
Bonne année! How could I refuse such a charming invitation. I am a recent (haven’t even received my diploma yet) French & English graduate. This blog is a pleasant way of getting a little more French into my daily life.
Bonne Annee! Merci for sharing your French words with us.
A mot-du-jour from Blacksburg, Virginia: Hokie, defined here: http://www.vt.edu/about/hokie.html.
Cheers and Go Hokies!
Bonjour Kristen,
My friend and French classmate told me about your charming website earlier this year, so when I was visiting my hometown Berkeley, CA last week, I stopped by Paul Marcus Wines to buy her a bottle of Domaine Rouge Bleu for a New Year’s gift. She was thrilled!
We started a French class in my home last year in a small wine-growing town in northern California. Our class consists of six woman ranging in age from 45 to 75 and our wonderful instructor who grew up in Renne and taught French at a private school in Santa Rosa. We have so much fun at the same time we are learning to parlent un peu francais. We are a very diverse group (investment banker, antique dealer, caterer, jeweler, gardner and moms) but we all love France and her people.
Many thanks for your delightful blog.
Amicalement, Janice
Bonjour et Bon Année, Kristin.
I’m a student majoring in English and minoring in French. My dream is to teach English at a college level in French-speaking areas worldwide, until I get tired of traveling and find myself a tenure-track job stateside. (I’m not sure the latter will be possible, since I seem to have an insatiable wanderlust, but we’ll see!)
I have been near-obsessed with all things French since the first time I took a class in the language, back in middle school. (I don’t want to tell you how long ago that was! Yikes!) I found your site ages ago when I was actually looking for a reliable French-English dictionary online. I have been a loyal fan ever since. I think your stories are delightful and you really brighten my day each time you post a new one. 🙂
Bonjour et bonne année de la Californie du nord!
If that’s the idiom. I am never sure — I had studied French in school, and picked it up again earlier this year for a summer work assignment in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Really enjoyed your book, and loved how a word a day can anchor a whole moment in life.
My mot-du-jour would be “alors”. I remember closing my eyes in the Neuchâtel market and hearing “alors…alors…alors…” everywhere around as people shopped, sounding like doves.
Bonjour, Kristin! Merci beaucoup for your blog and bringing a touch of France to our lives. I was a student there, in Angers, many years ago. My wife Mary and I now live in South Pasadena where we run a small, professional theater company bringing one hour adapatations of the classics, especially Moliere, to family audiences. So far we’ve done “L’Ecole de Femmes”,”L’Avare”, Les Fourbieres de Scapin”, and this spring bringing back “L’Invalide Imaginaire”.Audiences love his comedy. Please include any info you can about everyday life in 17th Century France if you get a chance. Love your work.
Bonjour Kristin et Bonne Annee. I discovered your wonderful website over a year ago here in Spokane, Washington, USA. My daughter was in her 2nd yr. of college and taking french. I scrolled backwards through your posts as not to miss anything. I loved french class in high school and in college. I love your stories, I have your book and your pictures are so amazing. You make ‘logging on’ a real treat.
Thank you Kristin,
Tammy
Bonjour! I love your sight and have had it linked on my blog for a long time. Thank you for this sight – I just love it. As I try to teach my kids French (hopefully they will speak better than I!) your sight is very useful and I LOVE the book selections. I would love to live in France so live vicariously through you! Bonne Année.
Bon jour et Bonne Annee, Kristin. Une aimee led me to your website. I’m a new student of french, and your website is only one of the ways I’m attempting to learn. I also listen to Radio Lingua’s Coffee Break French. I received “French Demystified” as a Christmas gift, and grab it whenever I have a second. And, on my one night a week to myself, I’ve been renting french movies, and trying to learn to decipher the dialog; that’s not been too successful yet, but I’ll keep trying. It occurred to me that I have several movies in my DVD collection that I’ve seen many times, so I’m hoping that they’ll have french subtitles so I can try learning that way too. Little by little I understand more and more. What fun!
i don’t know if you will remember bill and me, but we told you about how we got a couple of bottles of rouge et bleu and had our son and wife over for a festive dungeness crab, san francisco sourdough bread, avocado and papaya dinner. brian and sally did come to france to the dordogne but were too far away to visit you. they had a magnificent time and were hoping to come again this summer, but economics got in the way so they will have to wait a bit. bill and i just hit 90 and are celebrating our 68th anniversary. i love your column = it’s the highlight of my day. happy new year to all of you and do keep up your good work, love, muriel and bill
Bonne Annee Kristin and to your family,
I read your wonderful book a few years ago and am a faithful reader of French-Word-a-Day here in Boston. You have a wonderful way of writing about life in general, and I hope that 2009 will bring you many insprirations to share with your readers.
Mille mercis,
Susan
Bonjour et bonne année, Kristen!
Form a fellow expat, fellow blogger, fellow house restorer (Arrgghhh!) and fellow wine maker (amatuer)…
Bonne Chance!
(I hope I spelled that right…..)
I can’t remember how I “discovered” your site but it was awhile ago. It really makes my day! I’ve read and re-read your book and it’s always refreshing. We just returned from our latest 2 month stay in Paris. While there I joined the cours francais, which was offered in the Cite des Arts. I learned a great deal but my favorite word was “blague.” I had to learn to pronounce “blog” differently after that so that the people would know I wasn’t making a joke!! Bonne Annee!
Bonjour an Happy New Year to you! Thank you for keeping me smiling with your wonderful newsletter. May 2009 be good to you.
🙂
Bonne année from Gettysburg, Kristin
For many years, I was an Alliance Française member, but I lived so long in the southwest without an opportunity to practice that I’ve lost my ability to converse readily. Your French Word-a-Day stimulates my vocabulary. Your descriptions of daily life open my imagination about what it might be like to live in France.
One of your many regular readers,
Mary
Bonne Annee, Kristin et Jean Marc – Meilleurs souhaits pour 2009! Nancy and I enjoyed your wine over the holidays and we wish we were going to be in France again this January! It seems impossible that it has been a year since we met you – the time flies so quickly. It’s great to be able to keep up with you and the family through the blog, and we toast you every time we open a bottle of Rouge-Bleu. Warm thoughts for an uneventful winter and an early spring. A bientot, Linda & Nancy
Bonne Anee to Kristin and your beuatiful family.
You have enriched the lives of so many of your readers through observations on not only France and french, but on being a parent – distinct from parenting.
Thrice-weekly you bring a smile to turning on the computer at work. Thank you for providing a constant reminder of what is truly important in life.
Kristin-
Congratulations on another successful year. I so enjoy your words and photos!
From sunny Las Vegas,
Nsncy Allf
Hello Kristen,
I recently found your site while looking up the spelling of a french word for a music cd (of french songs) for my niece. I love it and am just starting to receive the word of the day. I took French in high school and have been there a few times, but have not spoken it in a while. I thought your word of the day would help me out.
Happy New Year to you!
Beth Leonard/Columbus, Ohio
Bonjour et Bonne Année from Austin, TX!!!
I’ve been reading your blog for a year or so. I’m a 36 years old Mexican woman married to an amazing 36 years old French man living in the US. Most of my friends here in Austin are also foreigners from Europe or Latin America and Americans married to them. So my regular life is pretty much trilingual on daily basis. All the wives of French men here are always struggling to learn the language… thru one of them is how I learn about your blog.
I’ve been taking private French lessons for also a year, once a week… ay, ay, ay! Sometimes I feel I’m having a short circuit in my brain between the 3 languages! For me is easier to think in Spanish when I’m learning French (since it is more similar than English) but for some reason that I can’t understand, every time I have my lesson… I’m thinking in English!!!
At some point I was feeling I wasn’t learning anything at all because I still can not speak properly… THE PRONUNCIATION, OMG!!! But until our last trip to France (May 2008) for my own surprise I just realize I can understand a lot more… so I got a second fresh air of motivation and I’m trying harder.
My main motivation is to learn the language of my husband so I can speak into his heart in his own language (we usually speak to each other in our second language –English- and it can be frustrating sometimes because of the misunderstandings) and since we are planning to start a family soon, we want our children to be trilingual too. Suggestions are welcome!
Receive blessings and my best wishes for you and your lovely family in 2009!
XOXO
Andrea
Happy New Year, Kristin. “Love your stuff.” Wife Karen and I are retiring this fall and plan to rent a place in semi-rural France for some months. I’m a Francophone and lover of all things French, lived in Paris and worked for AFP there and in Saigon 1966-68. Hope to collect ideas and suggestions from your readers and to connect with you along the line. Cheers, Robert Wildau
Joyeuse annee Kristin…
Je vous souhaite une tres bonne et heureuse annee 2009 ! J’espere que votre nouvelle annee sera pleine de bonheur et de sante pour vous et vos proches.
Merci infiniment pour votre site “French-word-a-day”.
Tom Mundis, Portola Valley, CA
Bonjour & Bonne Annee Kristin!
My french tutor gave me your book as a birthday gift and I’ve been totally hooked on your website ever since! I print each one out and LOVE to read through them! I’ve also ordered a number of things off your site–good job with the recommendations! Thanks for that!
I’ll be coming to France the end of February to attend language school in Villefranche for 6 weeks–can’t wait!! Hopefully when I leave, I will be able to string my (rather large, actually) vocabulary into meaningful sentences! It seems I know and understand quite a bit but just can’t quite make it work for me yet!
Thanks for all you do!
Judy
Happy New Year, Kristin! I’ve been a subscriber to your French-Word-a-Day for years–keep up the great work. Best wishes for a great 2009!
Happy New Year from beautiful sunny Brittany. Even if it is only 2c.
Your “Word a day” has increased my vocabulary immeasurably so I have loads of words now and can make lengthy sentences I just have to understand what people are saying back to me. I have quite a few Franglish conversations. Especially with my Grandsons teacher whose English is worse than my French but she insists on speaking to me in it.
Love it here though and wouldn’t swap it for the Californian sun we left.
Kris
Happy New Year Kristin! I am American, have always loved France and not too long ago met my second husband – the love of my life – who is French native. We split our time between NYC and France and I am working to improve my French beyond the tourist level. I love what you do – thank you!
Dear Kristin and family
Thank you so much, I really enjoy reading you articles. I sort of feel that I know you and your family, well written and really interesting.
I hope your year will be good, peaceful and prosperous.
Many thanks again
Suzie
Bonne Annee Kristin! I happened upon your website after finding your book and Barnes and Noble at Kierland Commons in Scottsdale, Arizona. I am a Phoenician. I understand you are from Arizona as well.
My love of French began at Greenway High School(Phoenix, Arizona) with Mr. Krietzman in the late 1980’s. Living in Arizona, I was encouraged to take Spanish, but I love everythng French – the language, the food, the wine, the people, the lifestyle. In the next several years, my husband and I would like to visit France which would be our first trip to Europe. And while I never did quite master my French, but I am hoping your book and website help me before we visit France.
I adore your blog. The pictures are amazing. I am a elementary school teacher and share some simple words with my first grade students; they love it!
Thank you for sharing your love of the language with all of us.
-Jennifer Burcham, Arizona
Bonne Noel Kristin, Bonne Annee,
After visiting France in 2006, I wanted a frequent reminder of the place where my heart lives and was fortunate enough to find your website. I adore your stories: They are so informative; you make me laugh and think, two wonderfully necessary qualities. You have a fan for life!
Like so many others, your French Word-a-Day, consistently brings rays of sunshine into my day. I still have some criticism about the written pronunciation of the words you choose to discuss, as in “poule” = pewel?, which I think is better pronounced in English as “pool”. As one who travelled (and worked) in France extensively, and who, at a ripe age, struggles to maintain oral French, I appreciate your sometime struggles, your delights, and your tales about your life in semi-rural France.
I visit France annually for the general assembly of les Amis du Monde Diplomatique, a monthly periodical with a unique outlook on world affairs, which I cherish for its points of view.
J’ai l’espoir que les années qui viennent seront meilleurs que l’année derniere, pour vous et pour tout le monde.
Amicalement, Morton B.
I found you when I followed a link then another link then another… You know how that happens on the internet! I’m a high school French teacher in Texas. I love reading about your adventures in France. I lived in Lyon for a year (way back when), but I returned to Pennsylvania to continue grad school. Now I’m hoping that someday I’ll find my way back. Happy New Year!
Bonjour, Kristin
Je suis bibliotecaire scolaire comme travail, et francophile apassionée depuis longtemps. Quand votre livre a apparu, j’en ai lu une très bonne critique dans le journal Booklist. Je l’ai acheté, j’ai adoré, et dès ce jour-là, je lis votre blog avec beaucoup de plaisir.
Merci !
Bonne année, Kristin! Rachelle, à Houston. Merci beaucoup pour vos petits rayons de soleil français! J’espère que, cette année, apporte beaucoup d’amour, de bonheur et de paix pour vous, votre famille et vos amis. Mille bisous!
I’m a retired electrical engineer, who studies French, Spanish, and Italian. I can’t remember where I first heard of French Word-A-Day, as it was long ago. One of my favorite French words is “un vasistas”, a small window over a door. The word comes from the Alsace-Lorraine section of France, where such windows are popular, and a lot of German is spoken. When you knock on the door, someone appears at the window, and says, “Was ist das?” (“What is it?”). The French phonetic rendition of that phrase, /vass-iss-tass/, is what produced this curious French word.
Bonne Annee Kristin!
I found your website when researching blogs on life in France by other Francophiles. I’ve been to Paris and just love it. My only French comes from listening to tapes and French movies and reading your Word of the Day for the past year or so. I always love your stories – you are a gifted writer! No one can fill your shoes, so keep it up!
I have been reading this website for so long, I don’t remember how I found it. But I feel as if the Espinasse family are related to me. I enjoy hearing about their lives. I live in Georgia (USA) and the site carries me away to a beautiful country I have always loved. Went in 1982 and in 2005 (Paris both times and also La Rochelle). Love to learn as much as I can about France.
Debbie
hi Kristin,
I have been reading and enjoying your blog forever. It even inspired me to start one of my own ( about color, art and daily life). I list your site as a blog I follow. I enjoy reading you each week.
Toujours Merci,
Carole
Hi Kristin,
Happy New Year! We’ve shared coffee, a lunch, and now hope to try Jean-Marc’s wines. We missed getting together last year when we were in Mirabel. We’ll be back this year in the south of France, so save some wine for us! And keep writing the Word!
All the best to you all,
Annabelle and Bill, in snowy Ontario, Canada
Bonjour Chere Kristin,
Bonne Annee 2009 a la famille Espinasse,
I am a francophile from way back .I have studied French all of my life . Ma belle- mere Sonia is a native of St. Quentin in Picardie ! .
I am in awe of your creativity and crerative writing skills. It is always a pleasure to see your blog “French – Word Of – The Day” in my inbox .
I truly enjoy your invitation a la francais into the daily aspects of your life in semi-rural France.
Your husband , children , in laws , friends and your beautiful and charming mother Jules are all part of my “fantasy life” in France.
You have such a talent for writing .. it is such a welcome respite from the urban stresses of my life in corporate America.
thank you for your excellent tutorial – 3 x a week.
Also can we have more about your mother Jules ? She fascinates me too.
My words of the day would be the usage of “meme” and genial.
i last visited France in Feb 2008 in Paris .
I have visited nearly all of Feance -m so far my favorite part is Annency , Talloires .
I hope to meet you one day during a visit to France or during your visit to NY !
Bonne année, Kristin et famille et tous mes meilleurs voeux pour 2009! I fell into your blog over a year ago and remain a faithful reader. A Francophile for over half of my life, I always have felt a connection to the language and the culture that naturally has strengthened since marrying a St. Quentin-born but Basque Country-raised Frenchman who is the love of my life. Fifteen years together and two kids later, we can’t always visit France as often as we’d like, so your blog has been a welcomed addition to my repertoire–plus it makes the task of checking e-mail so much more enjoyable! Thank you so much for sharing of yourself and regailing your readers with the fascinating ins and outs of your French life. I sincerely hope to meet all of you one day!