Un oubli? No, I did not forget today's photo! I need to leave out pictures, this one time, in an attempt to solve a mystery: "The Vertical Letters Mystery"…. After reports by readers about text "running down the page"–instead of across it–we are trying to pinpoint the issue. You can help by reporting any formatting glitches to support@feedblitz.com (The photo-filled newsletter will be back next week. … Continue reading How to say ‘forgetful’ in French + today’s giveaway

Apparently the vine leaves are changing up north, but in our area of Bandol the zinnias and the cosmos and one or two hollyhocks are still in bloom. And can you believe one little sunflower just blossomed, here on the eve of November…. marcotter (mar-koh-tay)     : (of plants, especially strawberries) to layer–or when plants develop airborn roots, then skip across the garden, replanting … Continue reading Winner announced + the French word “marcotter”

Sharing for an abundant future. This post is for my belle-mère, Marsha, who recently welcomed a dear and cherished grandson, "Christian," born trisomique (Down's Syndrome). Today we ask ourselves how to say "special needs person" in French? Meantime, here is a related word, learned recently while gardening with a group of special needs students in France: minutieux (minutieuse)     : careful, meticulous, fastidious Soundfile: Listen to … Continue reading How to say “special needs person” in French?

Exercising restraint after posting a recent slew of dog photos. Enjoy some flowering melisse (lemon balm) and this stone cabanon instead. (More about dogs in today's column…) Breizh (pronunciation uncertain. Here we say BREZ)     : in the Breton language, Breizh means "Brittany" Breizh, le nom breton de la Bretagne, vient lui d'un ancien Brittia. (Wikipedia)Breizh, the Breton name for Brittany, comes from the ancient "Brittia". A … Continue reading Breizh is a name and a place and a dog in France

Only 54 minutes to complete today's post–in time to profiter or take advantage of the garden before tomorrow's rain! Don't miss the bullet statements below–including information on Thursday's winetasting. (photo taken yesterday, at our local supermarché) un jeton (zhuh-toh(n)     : token, chip Example Sentence from Wikipédia:Le jeton est une sorte de monnaie ou de méreau aux fonctions multiples.A token is a kind of money … Continue reading Thursday Meetup! + Jeton (do you know this handy word?)

Photo taken at Le Parc du Mugel in La Ciotat, where today's story takes place.  October 9th (Thursday) Winetasting Join us here at home for the next dégustation. Teetolers welcome (you can sit beside me and my pitcher of Eau de Provence!) 10 euros per person. Email jm.espinasse@gmail.com  joie de vivre (jwah-deuh-vee-vruh)     : love of life    Audio File: listen to Jean-Marc read the … Continue reading October 9th meetup + joie de vivre