Last night my bed felt as cozy as the steel walls of a Paris train station…
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veille (vey) noun, feminine
: sleeplessness, wakefulness
from the Latin, "vigilia"
Also:
en veille = watch (nightwatch)
en mode veille = in sleep mode
la veille = the day before
veille-sommeil = sleep-wakefulness
Please help add to this list in the comments box.
English Grammar for Students of French: The Study
Guide for Those Learning French
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A Day in a French Life…
by Kristin Espinasse
I was up late last night with a touch of insomnie. What is usually a warm and cozy bed… felt like a camping cot over which I tried, in vain, to rest a chatty head.
Under the couvertures there seemed to be a draft… for I could not get the chill out—no matter the extra blankets… or the robe piled over all that.
Pajamas legs now tucked into my chaussettes… I slipped my chilly hands under my arms and burrowed down deeper into the bed in search of warmth.
The room temperature had not changed and the blankets were the same… I could not understand where sommeil had gone… were it not for an over-active brain—
Where thoughts danced around like the larmes of a clown,
faster than laughter beneath the "big top"
before the tent is finally taken down.
***
Listen to my daughter read these words: Download WAV or MP3
Les horaires veille-sommeil peuvent être perturbés en de nombreuses circonstances. Un bon exemple est le jet lag syndrome (syndrome du décalage horaire). Periods of sleep-wakefulness can be perturbed by numerous circumstances. A good example is the syndrome of jet lag. (LE MONDE – Le Monde Interactif – Mar 15, 1989)
la veille (f) = sleeplessness
une insomnie (f) = insomnia
une couverture = blanket, cover
une larme (f) = tear
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A Day in a Dog's Life…
by Smokey Dokey
The picture heretoforthoverandabove (just practicing my vocab, as my Gramma K is wont to do…)
was taken back when I was a wee munchkin. Now I'm a tee-hee munchkin!
Those thereyonderbehind are my sisters. There were 6 of us in the litter and I was the only boy. Tee-hee! More pictures of my sisters coming soon—so stay tuned and tell your friends about my column—where we're learning some English for a change!
Love,
Smokey
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Hot water bottles are great for the cold and a litany of prayers sometimes works to get me to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night.
I believe veilleuse can also mean a pilot light, such as one on a stove.
Every person is different, so what works for one might not work for another. Reading in bed usually helps me fall asleep. Sometimes I am too preoccupied to sleep, such as after a car accident a few weeks ago, or when concerned about jobhunting, etc. Generally, the more we can decompress and shift gears, the better. Many folks have an evening routine which includes taking a shower or bath . . . I’ve heard one should avoid strenuous exercise before sleeping, although swimming laps, since it exercises all the muscles, usually helps me sleep.
I think the advice to avoid liquids well in advance of bedtime is the best, since having to get up at night is disruptive. Experiment, as well, to find the best temperature, and maybe keep a spare throw or blanket at the foot of the bed in case you wake up and want another. I personally like being under lots of covers, but some folks manage fine with one blanket, electric or regular.
Sometimes mentally reciting poetry or songs can help one drop off.
Rest assured that the cure for insomnia is insomnia. Eventually you WILL be able to sleep. Good luck!
Hi Kristin,
Enjoyed your post today. I couldn’t sleep last night but it was because mon mari “ronflait.” Is that the right word? I went outside to look at the stars and I was rewarded with the most beautiful starry night sky!
For hopeeternal, Reveille as pronounced by the US military: REH-vuh-lee! accent on the exclamation point! hihihi…(French for hahaha…Kristin’s next word.
Mom,
Good question about “are we to put our photos in the new colorful boxes?” I don’t know. I’ve only figured out how to turn them on! They do color up the comments box, don’t they? Wouldn’t photos be nice?
Patience, thanks for your comment, which had me re-reading Jacqui’s words… which then reminded me that I dreamed of roobai (sp?) tea last night–and dreamed of my dear Uncle Rusty, too–which then made me realize that I did not have insomnia last night! Thanks to all of these helpful tips!
Cerelle, Socorro, at ami(e)s, keep these goodies coming! The tips are “terrible!” as the French say (that’s “excellent”… just in case 🙂
Candy, So nice to read your notes — and this one about our friends here. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a reunion? It may have to be a “virtual” one! I am thinking about starting a community section here — where we could start topics independently of this column. It is the “tech” side that is daunting… but it may be a way for us to reach out to one another.
On the other hand, if the comments box isn’t broke… then why fix it (if this area is working well to bring us all together, then is there a reason to change things?)
One 500mg capsule of l-tryptophan (a harmless amino acid)20 minutes before bed always works for me. It’s available at Swanson Vitamins, on sale currently for $13.95 for 90. I guarantee it will work, and you won’t feel any ill effects the next day. I loved your poem.
http://www.swansonvitamins.com
Oh, Smokey, I just discovered your baby picture. How adorable you were… and are.
Dear Kristen,
Has ANY entry in your blog ever received this much commentary??
I finally whiz-scrolled to the end, so maybe this idea is already in there somewhere: try to find, in a drugstore or health-food store or large super-marche, liquid melatonin. You can adjust the amount you take so easily with that, compared to in pill form. Ever since I started taking that – just one tsp., not the 2 and a half tsp. suggested on the bottle, I have NEVER had a single night of insomnia, not at the beginning & not during the night either.
Note: if you drink alcohol after about 7 p.m., it can cause you to have trouble going to sleep, or going back to sleep if you get up to use the restroom.
Here in the Midwest it’s sold at a super-store called Meijer; I’ll check the name brand & send you that demain.
BONNE NUIT!!!
affectueusement,
gypsy
Réponse à:
Please help add to this list in the comments box
–> “la veille” (the day before) can also mean the fact you are wide awake.
-> with the word “heures” -> 3 heures de veille = 3 hours without sleep, being awake for 3 hours
-> with the word “état” -> être en état de veille” = to be awake, to stay awake (instead of sleeping)
-> Après tant d’heures (after so many hours) de veille, elle est épuisée (épuisé = exhausted / worn out)
–> “veille-sommeil” is an ADJECTIVE, made of 2 nouns, invariable / neutral,
so, this adjective doesn’t agree with feminine, masculine, singular, plural.
In French, it is often used with the words “rythme”, “cycle” or “alternance”
–> Le rythme veille-sommeil -> the sleep-wake rhythm
–> le cycle veille-sommeil -> the sleep-wake cycle
–> l’alternance veille-sommeil -> the sleep-wake pattern
In this context, one speaks of our “horloge biologique” / rythme biologique = our ‘biological clock’ / biological rhythm
–> “une veilleuse” = a night light – also a pilot light
but… une lampe de chevet = a bedside light
See you later
(7am, English time, so 8 am French time…. My biological clock is “un peu fantaisiste” and I’m going back to bed right now)
…hot water bottle for the feet….
…pen and paper by the bed to write down your worries (or annoying thoughts) so you can forget about them for the night…
…electric hand on a stick for turning pages on a cold night that my husband vows he is going to invent…zzzzzzzzzzzz
So many great tips, can’t stop reading. AND…A HUGE welcome back to you, Newforest!! You were so very missed.
I’ll add my vote for the good ol’ hot water bottle, the low tech, ancienne solution. I wrap mine in flannel (an old pillow case) and rest it on my stomach while I read my book in bed in preparation for sleep. I also drink a cup of tilleul (linden flower) tea last thing at night, something I learned here in France. I passed on that trick to an American friend who has regular problems with insomnie.
For getting rid of those pesky thoughts running around in your head, nothing helps me like writing them down.
I AM STILL GIDDY WITH JOY TO SEE NEWFOREST BACK.
For any of you who don’t know who NEWFOREST is you just experienced one of her little gifts above. It would be well worth your while (that sounds like something my Mother used to say, how funny, it just popped out on my keyboard) for us to pressure Kristi into giving us the date (or WORD) when NEWFOREST first showed up in the comment box a year or two ago, then we could collect her comments into a little side journal to help us on our French path.
WE LOVE YOU NEWFOREST – YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORK SO HARD FOR US-just knowing you are here again is enough for us.
XOXO
JULES
My Grandma always liked a glass of warm milk before bed to help with sleep. I will always think of her on a restless night. 🙂
Kristin, for YOU my remedy would be redundant; however, for my moments of insomnia I put on my learn-to-speak French tapes. Works every time!
Ok Candy in SW KS,
I got my LAVENDER EYE PILLOW at the Southern Women’s Show in ORL FL. but her website is http://www.kozycollar.com and she offers all kinds of products too.
I have several of them. The ones for the neck are AWESOME. They have slippers for those of you in the longer winter areas! You can microwave them, freeze them. She will even do them unscented if you have allergies or for your man who doesn’t want lavender.
She was a teacher who was in a horrible car crash who designed it to stay on her neck for therapy then came up with the other products. The design is what is so great about them. And durable too…my chihuahua,Goliath,decided he likes lavender and was sitting there just chewing away but didn’t get thru the fabric. I wipped it down good and zapped again it for good measure! Holds up great!
I love them for my headaches and my back. Or when it’s down right cold! They make great gifts and they also offer sets. She is a sweetheart from Florida too. And sewed me two unscented and had them to me in a few days! They are well worth ordering!
When I have trouble sleeping, I read something. Many times it takes just a page or two to do the trick. Sometimes I read more, but I believe the secres has little to do with the amount of reading, as with the fact that I read something. It does not always work, but it does most of the time.
Chicago area, temperature in the 30’s F.
Some of these solutions work for me, but I have to vary them. At times I only need one of these and at others a combination works best. Aspirin; meditation; yoga breathing (includes putting chatty stuff on an imaginary cloud pillow); reading; a bit of warm milk; or Valerian (herbal supplement). When nothing works, my exhausted body kicks into sleep and I just go with the flow. . .hard to do with all that you have going on. Good luck!
When you can’t sleep, don’t count sheep, talk to the Shepard.
That’s SHEPHERD.
I didn’t hear mention of Jean-Marc?? But someone did say above that her husband provided a lot of warmth. The one thing I miss about my X–he was always hot as that French boiler. which didn’t work so well in Key West (3 horrible years) sorry if any of you love it there.. Or Hawaii (10 years the second five divorced) then Oh La La I NEVER had insomnia just lots of great guys in bed.