Je (coeur) les cabanons, et vous?
In Books: I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany
Jamais deux sans trois (zhah-may-deuh-sahn-twah) expression
: never two (catastrophes) without three
A Day in a French Life…by Kristin Espinasse
The French have a saying in regards to bad luck: jamais deux sans trois ("never two without three"). Leave it up to me to test this numbers theory…
And so Tuesday began with a flat tire and, by Wednesday, my book manuscript had disappeared… into the mishap mire! What could possibly happen next?
(À propos "never two without three"—et quatre et cinq et six!—we'll talk about those disasters vendredi.)
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Salon de Talk Talk
Because comments are the best part of French Word-A-Day, we are assigning them (that is you!) their own column. Welcome to Salon de Talk Talk. Nothing literary here… just us (we?) language and life lovers chatting by the fireside (or poolside, depending on the weather, chez vous). Won't you join us now to continue this conversation in the comments box? Here we can discuss the word of the day, talk about the story, ask & answer each others questions about France and French life, or simply share what is on our France-friendly mind!
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Click here to join in the discussion. After writing your comment in the first box, you will see three more boxes. In the first, type your name; in the second, your email address (this remains private). You may leave the third box ("url") blank—or type in your blog address or some other web address that you might like to share (a charity, for example). Any spam comments or links will be deleted.
French Vocabulary & Audio File
note: the audio file feature will return on Friday…
Je (coeur) les cabanons, et vous? = I (heart) cabanons, and you?; à propos = in regards to; et quatre et cinq et six = and four and five and six; le vendredi (m) = Friday; chez vous = in your area
"Lucy Je T'Aime" Lucy I Love You. Comment on this photo.
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Exercises in French Phonics, bestseller by Francis W. Nachtman, on French pronunciation and how to pronouce French words correctly!
French Demystified: A Self – Teaching Guide
Learn French In A Hurry: Grasp the Basics of Français Tout de Suite
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Boy, Kristin, I can feel your frustration – can’t wait for Friday to get the whole story.
As for the picture, I’m not a great lover of graffiti. I think it shows that there is something missing in the area/city/country – like something for the kids to do besides paint up the town. It’s why I don’t like Italy – there is so much graffiti on just about everything. This graffito ruins the beauty of this old building.
Jamais deux sans trois… cela peut etre de bonnes chose aussi bien que des mauvaises…. Karen in Kenilworth
Oh Kristi!
May your blessings come in threes also!
Quickly:)
Kristin,
I was worried when there wasn’t a post yesterday but was hoping it just meant the WiFi was down. I know that would not have made Jean-Marc happy but better than a flat tire and whatever else you might have to say in tomorrow’s “word”.
I know the idea of bad news or luck comes in threes. I worked very hard to avoid that this week when our slushing roads kept freezing overnight and fortunately, I succeeded! It is interesting how we carry these superstitions around with us but we do since it seems there is some truth to it.
We had lovely snow in NC and I spent the weekend photographing the colorful array of birds that braved the storm to come to our yard and dine. Your photographs were an inspiration to me as the sleet was hitting my face. My cat who never sets a paw outside was so taken by the beauty of it even dashed out for a closer look much to my surprise and hers I might add.
Margaret in slushy, thawing Durham, NC.
My Grandmother was a big fan of things coming in threes – when the fourth would happen, she said it was one all over again and to start counting!
I love the graffiti, especially when it is colorful and involves hearts!
Jeanne
Hi Kristin,
Yesterday after work there was a black cat sitting on the hood of my car. The first thing that went through my mind was, “Oh great! Bad luck!” So far nothing’s happened. Knock on wood!
Ahhhh – another l’insolite of life that’s giving you grief.
OK – I’ll bite. For this assignment I’ll pose a question to Newforest. I’m wondering how you’ve acquired what appears to be a lifetime of knowledge about the French language and life? Is it all through your education? Has it been a lifelong love of yours? I am in awe of not only the depth of your knowledge but of the lovely presentation of thought that lies behind what you write.
Thanks.
Kristin:
I hope that you were able to recover your manuscript. Did you?
Salut Karen,
Thanks for asking about the manuscript. I lost it when I was tidying up my computer (what with so much time on my hands during the loss of internet). Looks like I swept the book out of the publishing software program! I will see if Jean-Marc can reset my computer to last Tuesday (he has done this type of “reset to the former state” before, with success. We’ll see… Otherwise I will see if the publisher can resend the last ms.–at which point I’ll roll up my sleeves, kiss the just edited bits goodbye, and start over.
I enjoyed your question to Newforest. Will be checking back for any answers 🙂
I hope you can recover your manuscript work. The key is to have backup files to reset to.
As for graffiti, it depends on quantity with me. Right now I would love to have a really good graffiti artist come paint a mural (of my design) on a particular part of our fence so that I could look at it as I gaze out the kitchen window. But would I dare ask one? I don’t know. I rather view graffiti “artists” as outlaws as they are defacing property across the world!
I guess I missed a discussion of Newforest. I believe that’s in England and would have been interested.
Kristin, Just a mechanical question here. I tried to post something to Que Faire a Aix-en-Provence and it wouldn’t accept it. Are old posts closed to comments? Are there length restructions? Just a little housekeeping clarification please. Thanks.
Enjoying sun, following snow yesterday, here on the east end of Long Island.
Hi Claudia,
Not sure why the comment didn’t post. Please try again (and I am terribly sorry for any info that was lost). I’ll send a note to blog support.
Claudia –
I tried to add a comment to that column a day or so after it was originally posted. I was locked out, too.
I figured it was a problem with Kristin’s ISP (or host, or whatever), but plenty of people have posted since then.
I’m a former Long Islander—maybe that’s the problem? : >
And, obviously, I can post to this column well enough.
Ah, désolé, Kristin pour votre chance.
I’m so ignorant about computers (while so dependent on them) that I’m always afraid I will hit a key and destroy the computer. As I piled more and more photos on my laptop, as well as my blog entries and other writings, I finally started to panic that I, too, could lose something vital. So a year ago I bought a megagig external drive, spent the money on new backup software, and have my computer yell at me a minimum of every ten days that it is time to back up. Until I do that it yells (more or less) every time I turn on my machine. So off I go to do what I should have done this weekend. I don’t need bad luck in threes this week.
Best of luck, Kristin on the recovery.
Regarding the technical difficulty with posting: I had one day that I had to fill in my information below the comment box for it to “take” my comment.
I should be out shopping for staples for the pantry as we are due for yet another major snow storm tomorrow BUT Salon de Talk Talk has taken its hold on me instead.
On the subject of graffiti: I was in the Apple store a few months back and sitting next to me at the Genius Bar was a gorgeous young man who was purchasing an external hard drive to back up his artistic designs. I asked him what he did for a living and he said that he had a BFA in painting but he credits his formal training in art to his life as a graffiti artist in 1986. He now shows his work mostly in in New York galleries.
http://billymode.com/
P.S. I, too, worried when you didn’t appear on Wednesday. I even checked my calendar to see if I was off. I hoped for the best, like you were on some wonderful adventure. If had been worse, I reasoned, your mom would have let us know. So glad it doesn’t seem to be a disaster you can’t weather.
Claudia and Bruce I am also a former Long Islander. Most of the family is still there.
Kristin I was also worried when Wednesday’s post didn’t appear.
I do hope you can get your manuscript back. Computers can be a challenge. I just upgraded my apple computer and I lost mail, finally after getting a bit worked up I restarted the computer and guess what there it was. WHEW!!! Hope your retrieval goes as smoothly.
I DETEST graffiti! It seems to me like stealing!! We live the lovely countryside of Burgundy and there is one little remise where one turns towards our village that constantly has graffiti on it. Actually not so when we moved here 12 years ago. Then someone started – and it is complaining of whatever… The poor owners of the building have painted over the graffiti at least 5 times, and finally have given up. The same graffiti has now stayed there for over a year! How does someone think they have the right to deface someone else’s property. It breaks my heart to see it in big cities all over important (maybe even historic) walls and buildings. Maybe it is sweet to tell someone you love them – but maybe in a card or even a big sign!
I have heard that somewhere in the south of France, one of the universities have a degree in graffiti??? Is that carzy??
I spent one Sunday afternoon recently trying to figure out how to AutoSave to a different location. The computer kept yelling at me to do it, all attempts failed..until towards the end of the day. Moi a commputer genius? Non!
Artistic graffiti is nice, tagging just to tag is awful. Our fence has been tagged numerous times. The one that got the police attention was the one that said “cop killer”. The police took one look at little dinky me and started laughing and said “oh yeah….you look dangerous.
As with most everyone else I was concerned about no Wednesday post and also looked to see if I had the day wrong! 🙂 I hope all is well (or soon will be) in your world Kristi, I look forward to Friday!Gray and blustery (expecting rain again) in Santa Rosa, Ca
Pour se faire l’avocat du diable, je propose que Graffit n’est pas si mauvais! It shows art where there is nothing. Some city planners, ask talented kids to paint murals on park walls to prevent crazy graffiti. I’ve even seen an amature movie, Searching for Bozo Tazino, who painted railroad box-cars and signed everyone with a little Mexican sleeping with a cactus! The filmers were searching for the graffiti artist who painted on so many railroad cars that went all over the US. I don’t know the result, however.
OK, for an intersting word: ostensoir = a monstrance [a cup in which the consecrated Host is shown for adoration in the Catholic church] Is there any other simpler explanation?
I LOVE LUCY TOO! Well, at least the 1950’s Comedy that was on television for years. That is what your picture of the grafitti(sp) reminded me of. Merci beaucoup!
The email line was burning red hot between NEWFOREST and me last night trying to figure out where our Darling Kristi was. A tip for all of you if this ever happens again-go back to the last post received because you can bet that I will be there posting away ‘WHERE ARE YOU KRISTI’ in that days COMMENT BOX. I figured this would be the fastest way to get Kristi’s attention as
I know she can’t stay away from her comment box, she is addicted to your notes, as I am.
I see that she has opened the gate here in her comment box and renamed it, I always though it would be great if Kristi had a ‘Salon’…now we have one. Of course my favorite subject is KRISTI, she is all I ever want to talk about. Kristi called me a few minutes ago and we naturally talked about all of you (our favorite topic when we are together). In the back of my mind I am still playing with the idea of a road trip with Kristi when I am 65, so please remember to post your location and weather if you want to land on my list of places to
visit when we place our foot on the gas for that trip. I always go directly to Google Earth to look at your city when you put it in the comments box. I always want to ask for your address, then I could see your house from Googles satalite, but I am too shy to ask…but…if you would like to send it to my email: julesinprovence@gmail –
then I would feel like I had hit pay dirt for planning our trip. I can just see Kristi and I cruising down your street, right up to your door for a personal little “Salon de Talk Talk”. One of our commenters “Ellen” has already bought into my dream so it looks like we will be in Virginia…is anyone else out there from Virginia??? or nearby??? Robin, aren’t you in Washington D.C.???
Kristi is encouraging Jackie to redecorate her bedroom (as of yesterday). Jackie wants to paint (3×4 ft.) abstract in grey and black and white, to match her new grey bedspread. I gave Kristi a list of supplies to purchase, plus a plastic drop cloth – I hope to soon see a photo of Jackies progress, I personally think she should add a touch of red to make it pop.
I also of course gave Kristi lots of other advise, but she would faint if I posted it here…maybe someday on our trip I will share some of my secrets with you.
XOXO
JULES
Well, Thank God, all that is behind us now and we can move on to whatever it is that occupies our own mind
I hope your two does not become three, four, five, and six. I have not found any scientific evidence as to why that should be. : )
I do like the picture but would have loved it without graffiti. Even when extremely artistic I don’t approve unless of course the graffiti artist asked the owner and they commissioned him to do the graffiti. I know, I am not cool and hip and with it!
Now I wish that you set things back in order and un, deux, trois et encore plus for things going right, right, today.
A bientot,
-m
I offer another translation for “jamais deux sans trois”: “it never rains but it pours.”
I had trouble in threes, too, and yes, it was with the computer. I had to practically start from scratch, with new hard drive, new operating system, and new software, which I have to learn since it’s a newer version.
In terms of saving, I recommend flash drives. I could tell my machine wasn’t feeling well, so bought several flash drives, labeled them with categories, and started copying documents onto them while the computer was still working. I was able to salvage most of them. Now I get to copy them back onto the computer,though plan to save them regularly also to the flash drives (such as tax info), so as to avoid having to completely re-create time-consuming work. Kristin, be sure to put your manuscripts onto flash drives, removable DVDs, or something in addition to the computer. I’ve heard of services where you can save your documents in cyberspace (often for a fee).
It is pretty here today, with a high expected around 40 degrees F., but I’ve heard we will have another blizzard in the next couple of days. I’m glad that we still get snow now and then, an indicator that global warming hasn’t reached disastrous levels in the D.C. area yet.
Was the snow you had in St. Cecile usual? Is it all gone? Do French children ever have snow days?
I never realized that Ricky was tri-lingual!
Ricky you have some “splaining to do”!
Hi Kristin,
I was thinking like Marianne also, because “when it rains, it pours” came to mind…Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.
On the positive side….Good things can come in threes!
“Jamais deux sans trois”! … and let’s hope that in the Espinasse household, bad luck was unable to count further than “TROIS”!
J’ (coeur +) “les cabanons et les cabanes de tout genre”, built originally by people who used to work in the fields or in the woods. They have a beaten earth floor, you can discover names, dates, initials discretly (and sometimes, artistically) carved on bricks, stone or old beams… They may be partly tumbled down and covered with ivy but they are sacred places to me… and I’m so pleased when the thick ivy takes over and preserves them from modern graffitti!
J’ (coeur ++) les petits abris (little shelters) untidy and comfy at the bottom of a vegetable garden. I don’t have a vegetable garden… but I have a mini-chalet (a posh shed, you might think? hmmm yes and no)
J'(coeur +++) a particular mini-chalet. It allows me to escape in my own garden and enjoy a peaceful rest after gardening. I love to keep the door wide open. The evergreen shrubs and foliage make the area very secluded… I feel so grateful to my husband who fixed, on one side of its roof, a little solar panel that activates a water feature a few meters away…
My children (coeur +++) their “cabane dans l’arbre” (tree house) – the tree was a dead apple tree. My husband built “une cabane” to make them feel happier at the time they both got chicken pox… and yes, it had the pointed roof they wanted, an it was a proper roof that didn’t allow the rain to get through… the entrance was ‘strickly for children’, … inside, a wall was converted into a blackboard where they could do drawing and writing with their pieces of chalk. It had so many exciting features!
J’ (coeur +) = J’aime bien = I do like
J'(coeur ++) = J’aime beaucoup = I like very much – I am very fond of
J'(coeur +++) = J’adore = I love
PS – “La cabane de mes enfants” (my children’s tree house) ended its existence when they were young teenagers. The dead tree came down. The space has become our compost area … etc etc etc
I am enjoying your stories of Provence. My sketchbook group from Eugene, Oregon, will be there for 2 weeks in May – staying outside Avignon (Noves). Any “must see” places on your list?
J’aime bien le billet sur la cabane dans l’arbre!
Agathe dans la nouvelle orleans
Kristin,
If we have learned nothing else today, we have all learned that we set our compass by your thrice weekly post. You must feel quite powerful knowing that we were convinced that somehow all printing companies had made an error in printing dates on Feb. 2010 calendars because we all knew that it could not possibly be that you missed a post!
Margaret
HIP – HIP – HOORAY!!! WE HAVE A PLACE TO STAY!!!! Not really “stay” but I am pretending to be a poet like Kristi today. We do have an address sent in to my email from our dear friend Eileen here in the comment box. I am so excited, I am going to forward your address to Kristi so she can see what is in store for us when we make our journey across the U.S. Eileen I do believe I see a little American Cabanon in the field south of your home, and I can see horses in the fields. I am smitten.
I think the best thing is for Kristi and I both to fly into New York to begin our journey and then rent a car or take trains
around the East Coast. I am starting to feel the excitment of a new journey.
XOXO
JULES
Kristin,
Suddenly, last September, we began to see lots of graffiti en Provence, where we had never seen it before. Hearts or no hearts, it should not be tolerated by the residents or the local officials, especially on old traditional buildings, such as the one in your photographs, even if they are abandoned.
Hi Jules…you are welcome to stay here. Remember I will have an empty nest this summer when Tara goes off to college and 4 empty bedrooms!
My french fiance, who is a perfumer, created a perfume for me which he called Jamais deux sans toi. A little play on words, but more romantic I think.
What fun comments today! Je (coeur++)tous! J’espere que tout va bien aujourd’hui chez les Espinasse! JULES and Kristin, je (coeur+++) if you would come through my little town in the heartland of the country on your road trip. I’ll email you JULES!
Coucou, les ami(e)s!
Mom is correct: I would indeed FAINT if she shared with you here some of the practical and housewiferly (is housewiferly a word?) advice that she shared over the phone! Mom never could understand why she reminds me of Lucille Ball. I realize now just why: They are both lovely and lively–and they always make me laugh until I cry.
Hello Kristin,
Please Always include the phonetic pronunciation for every french word so I don’t “butcher’ the beautiful french language by giving words or phrases a spanish sounding incorrect flair. Thank you! Love your site except for this one suggestion…your family & fur chioldren are darling!
I’m with Bill in St. Paul on the graffiti issue. I see it as very selfish and self absorbed to think that one should be the one to alter and deface the property of someone else. The costs to remove it are expensive and so often (as in our state) paint is applied in the color of the wall or building to mask the offending graffiti. This newly applied paint forever changes the years of beautiful patina rendered by Mother Nature and robs each one of us of our right to be surrounded by natural weathered surfaces and the beauty of time.
Salut Kristin:
I enjoy ‘good’ graffiti. There are some very good artists out there that seem to prefer the sides of rail cars to canvas, but that doesn’t diminish their talent. Some cities have designated graffiti sites while others spend a lot of money on whitewash. But, i suspect there will always be two camps.
Je suis un ‘Military Brat’ that grew up in Paris in the late 50’s early 60’s. We lived there for 4 and a half years, and a part of me still considers Paris home. And, that is why I enjoy your Blog so much.
Thanks for helping to keep my memories alive.
Barry
I can’t agree that there is any “good” graffiti when it’s done on private property, be it a house, a garage, a railroad car, or any place that has not been set aside for graffiti. The problem with graffiti on railroad cars is that the graffiti covers up the railroad cars’ id bars and the railroad car cannot be automatically identified, but must be manually scanned, costing time and money. (Geez, I’m sounding preachy, but I see so much graffiti on my daily walk by the railroad tracks that it really bugs me.)
Not to be contrarian, but I wonder why so many posters assume the graffiti is on someone else’s property. Maybe it’s the owner of the cabanon who loves Lucy. C’est possible, non?
Hello Jennifer Jaffe, and Bill
If you read my previous post -> paragraph starting with:
J’ (coeur +)
you’ll understand I feel like both of you. When mentioning ivy, I know I expressed my feelings about grafitti rather indirectly. I didn’t want to say more, because I decided to carry on along the “cabane” line and what I love, using the verb aimer as a heart between brackets.
J’ (coeur +++)
You might like to know that, a few years ago, in a little town near where I live, children / teenagers got their own “skate park” with big concrete ramps for skape boards and BMF bikes. A huge concrete wall was erected along two sides of it. The bare sections of the wall had a purpose: grafittis. One section was painted by a “graffitti artist” and the others were left to anyone who wanted to have a go!
I have to admit that the result – there, on those concrete walls, in that environment – didn’t look out of place and were… interesting…, but, generally speaking,
–>
j’ (coeur —–) les grafitti.
To say ” je n’aime pas”, I had to use the minus sign after the word “coeur”, as I have no way to type a bar across the “coeur”! How many minuses did I put?…
CANDY IN KANSAS – how could we ever think of missing out on meeting you! Send me directions to the yellow brick road, we’ll find you.
XOXO
JULES
There seems to be an innate need for expression in all of us and so we speak, write, paint, sing, dance and make music … no doubt some come across more harmoniously than others in that conveyance. Perhaps the earliest known grafitti is found in “cave paintings” and aren’t we glad they gave us a peek into their way of life. Our children scribbled on our walls as soon as they could hold a crayon … annoying but, thankfully they eventually found paper. My viewpoint is always instantly upifted while hiking or walking on the beach and spotting a heart painted on a rock or scribbled in sand. For those who have not yet found paper or appropriate means of expression I am warned to take great care myself in how my smllest expression might touch others.
Love your posts Kristin. Am learning so much from these.
Your “phrase” for today also reminds me of the saying that bad things happen in three’s. Or is that good things as well?
Thanks for all your hard work. Cheers.
Chere “Jewels” — On your drive to celebrate your 65th birthday, Kristi knows where we live and you are most welcomed.
Fred and his young wife who keeps him on his toes.
My spirit is definitely not uplifted when I see grafitti, especially when someone has placed it in nature, as on a rock face. In fact, I cringe when I see spray paint used in such a negative way. In your photo, someone has defaced this beautiful old building–it is a sign of disrespect. Those who do such things have not been taught how to love nature for what it is or to respect the property of others. There are other ways to express artistic abilities without causing others or nature harm.
Hello,
It is nice to have a new phrase, that actually sounds nice to go with things that seem to happen to me in bundles…, thank you.
On a different note, we are supposed to get up to 24″ of more snow tomorrow, yuck! I am looking forward to going out in the early morning to take pictures (black and white), using an old 35mm camera my mother gave me several years back.