This picture, snapped on the way back from the Luberon, has me singing Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
en avant! (ahn ah vahn) expression
forward march!
.
Next Meetup: PARIS! On March 1st at Shakespeare & Company bookshop I will be talking about writing, publishing, and–bien sûr–blogging! (Starts at 7 p.m.)
Blogger Espinasse has taken a step backward in the evolution of media
by converting selected contents of her Web log into a book. Beginning students of conversational French will profit from many of
these brief entries, and supplemental tables of expressions go far to
demystify French idioms for anyone wishing to speak and write more
fluent French. Order a book here. (Booklist)
..
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A Day in a French Life…
by Kristin Espinasse
Here at the farm we were without phone and internet for two days and by the time I finally got Mom on the line she had a LOT to say, given her role of maman inquiète.
Speaking of LOT, I am reminded of a story that Mom still tells me, a lesson on letting go of the past and forging forth….
To illustrate the immobile, stuck state we find ourselves in when we dwell on the passé again, and again, Mom reminds me to focus on the horizon or "home" and not to look back like The Woman Who Turned To Stone.*
That would be Lot's wife, the one who was told to flee the fallen city* and warned to never look back… but in the time it took her to hesitate (to mourn her "things" and the good ol' days) it was already too late….
I often picture this scene in slow motion. I see the woman turning back… her face now looking over her shoulder… until, alas, she is frozen in her very tracks! In one simple image we comprehend that looking back is a dead end. It "hardens" us to the present moment, turns our senses to stone, keeps us stuck and far from home.
"Home" may be a destination, though we sometimes question whether home is ahead of us… or something we left behind. Then again, some say "home is where the heart is" which, as anyone reading this might agree, our heart's location (if not plain to see) is surely not behind us in a dimming city.
***
Post note: I had planned on telling you about our string of misfortune last week… oh well, out of time now. En avant!
Salon de Talk Talk
Please use the comments box to share your thoughts (for those of you who have sent in email, I am very sorry for the delay in getting back to you… It may be a while. "Home" as mentioned in today's story, is calling me–along with my family's needs. Thanks for your understanding! Now join in for some fun and chat away, here in the talk talk room.
P.S.: This column may be going through some growing pains… as we search for a name for the comments section (do you like "Salon de Talk Talk"?). Also, Jules (a.k.a. "Mom") has urged me to frame the story column because all these characters seem to run together. When I suggested a line of asterisks she insisted on "hugs and kisses" (hence all these XOXOs…)
French Vocabulary: une maman inquiète = worried mom; le passé (m) = the past; The Woman Who Turned To Stone = Lot's wife (Genesis 19:26) and "stone" (rather, she was "fashioned" into a pillar of salt); fallen city = Sodom
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French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture, the Capretz Method: Part One
501 French Verbs with CD presents the most important and most commonly used French verbs
arranged alphabetically with English translations in chart form, one
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A Day in a Dog's Life….
by Smokey "R" Dokey
Talk about The Woman Who Turned To Stone! You should have seen Immobile Me after I woofed down something that remains a mystery. I scared Gramma K silly! After one lifeless day I am back to my normal self again. Now if we can get Gramma K to quit feeling frightened.
Love,
Smokey
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Hi,
French Parler – to speak
English (and American) – Parlour – a room to talk in. So perhaps your salon de talk talk could be a “parlour des amis”.
Without looking back we cannot go forward since it is our past which shapes our decisions about the future. All that is needed is perspective and proportion!!
Keep up the good work – lang may your lum reek.
Bob Lyle SW France
Great Bill! I get it. Very true.
Kristi, whatever you decide to call this “place” – that is open to all no matter our nationalities, our beliefs, our likes and dislikes, our comments or lack thereof, our chatter or seriousness, but always our love of language and culture – I will be here. “What’s in a name? A rose with any other name would smell as sweet!”
Hi Candy (in SW KS)
re-reading your first sentence….
Yes, our love of language and culture should be a uniting factor / purpose, whatever…. (the whole list of what you gave).
Today, the term “Coin Commentaires” has been adopted by Kristin in “CINEMA VERITE”. Have you seen the bunch of photos?
As for that ‘special place’ in the FWAD Newsletters, let’s wait and see whether it will become a “Coin Commentaires” … and whether it will be possible or not to have a “Coin Bavardage” too.
re looking back, worrying about tomorrow…one of our favorite Papa-isms: “If you are standing with one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow, then you are pissin on today”. I know it’s crude, but really there is no other way to say it with the double-entendre!
Tammy as crude as that may sound, it is so true. All too often I relive the past and worry about the future. Next time I do that, I will think about that saying. There is too much time to think with all this snow trapping me inside. Though home improvements, and cooking are keeping me busy.
Kristin, I like the phrase En Evant….everyday should be an adventure!
Pool Smokey, for his so rough start to life. His struggles continue. Love his little scar on the cheek. Don’t like Salon Talk talk so much.
that was supposed to be Poor Smokey…..
Chère Buffy,
1st off: late happy birthday wishes to you, you who is now 42! (Im catching up, here in the comments box, on an email that you sent me). We share the same age now! I enjoyed the info on swing dancing, too. Merci. It looks like you are snowed in, so why not dance with the broom, in between stirring the soup and dusting? (This is simply advice that I might give myself… Of course, dont listen to me–I have a habit of *leaping* over brooms, due to our family room/kitchen doubling as an obstacle course for the dogs.)
Happy dimanche to all.
Kristi Darling,
I must say this could be one of my favorite posts…I can feel your pain, then (this is why I love you so much) I am witness to your struggle to focus on your blessings and lift your head up and march on. I sense your homesickness, desire for the old
comfortable love of your childhood. Why don’t you come and visit me after your Paris reading.
XOXO
MOM
Yes, “Coin Commentaires” is excellent!
Hi Marianne and Eileen, I am still thinking of you both snowbound – hope all is o.k.
I love all of your comments, they always leave me with a happy feeling…Kristi and I both have always loved the way you share your life with us.
XOXO
JULES
Hi Jules,
I think Marianne got the worst of it…like 30 inches or more. We ended up with 14.5″ but that was on top of the other snows that hadn’t melted. We are supposed to get more on Tuesday! I am getting my exercise shoveling!
I love “Coin Commentaires”
bon dimanche!
Chère Eileen, sending you and Marianne a virtual chocolat chaud! And vive le coin commentaires! And, P.S.: Hi Mom. Alls well. No worries!
Kristin,
I like Bob’s suggestion, “Parlour des Amis” or Salon des Amis! Here in Central New Jersey we were on the northern edge of the big storm and had a foot and a half of snow yesterday but beautiful sunshine today. Our Shih-Tzu Boomerang is recovering from a cornea infection … drops every two hours, pain killers and she is now snuggled up with Westie Bijou comforting her. Boomerang can sympathize with Smokey R. Dokey. She, Bijou and our other Westie, Mr. Darcy have had many an upset tummy having eaten mushrooms in the yard. The worst was some aged rabbit parts they found under the evergreens which had been left by a hawk or cat. The worse it smells, the better it seems to a dog.
Am looking forward to seeing Jean-Marc in Brooklyn for the wine tasting … a lot of us from Brooklyn Law School will be there. Can’t wait.
Kristin, I was so happy to see that the wall of that charming house was not covered in graffiti! Please start a campaign to rid France of it. Love all the work you put into this site. Helen, Parks, Arizona
Kristin,
Thank you for the birthday wish! It is funny that you mention soup. I did throw one together this weekend with stuff I happen to have here. It was cream of potato, spinich, cheese and chicken. It may not sound great, but it wasn’t bad. My 17 yr old son,who would usually look at that and say yuck, actually liked it.
I have also been dancing around the house, with my dog looking at me like I’m nuts. He has been stir crazy being snowed in this weekend, so I took him for a walk, that ended up feeling like an adventure you were talking about the other day. With over 24″ on the ground, each step was a knee up exercise. What a workout!! Hopefully I will make it to work Tues…the roads are still a mess.
I should probably put French words in these comments more often, but my vocabulary in French is limited to cooking.
Take care
Buffy
Hello Kristin!
I agree with a comment made earlier (by Newforest, I believe) that it would be useful to keep comments regarding the vocabulary or theme of the day separate from Le Coin Commentaire (for more general talk).
Bonjour la compagnie! Greetings from the Napa Valley where a beau soleil d’hiver is shining down on the dormant vines and the mustard blossoms which grow underneath.
Jules, you are so right when you say that the commentaries are a great treasure. They have also helped us know Kristin, you and the family.
As for what to call it, I do like Coin de Commentaires much more than Salon de Talk Talk. To throw another consideration into the ring, there is an old French word that you don’t hear very often – le Parloir – the room where one receives guests and engages in discussion, from which we get parlor of course. Those of you who are familiar with the Sèvres-Babylone neighborhood in Paris might remember there is a Protestant church that has a parloir, I believe it’s on the Rue de Sèvres, not far from the Caserne de Pompiers.
Smokey Dokey’s mystery meal reminds me of an old friend from high school who used to explain his cat’s lack of enthusiasm by telling us he must have eaten a bad mouse. (Comme s’il y en avait des bons!)
Un grand merci, Kristin, for a regular connection to France, to this wonderful, but sometimes beguling language, and to your charming famille.
Chére Kristin,
Merci pour le chocolat chaud virtuel!
Hi Jan,
Thanks for wanting to buy the new book. Ill ask Jemma, at Shakespeare and Company,
if I can bring books along for sale or for consignement 🙂
Cheers and see you soon. P.S.: Pray for me that I get my act together (Im working on my speech now….)
voici quelques suggestions, au hazard …
AU SALON DES AMIS
AU COIN DU SALON
LE SALON Où L’ON CAUSE
AU RENDEZ-VOUS DES AMIS
LA BOITE à LETTRES ou LE SALON DE LETTRES
…ça vous suffit …???
nadine