Month: July 2015

Braise The Dog, Smokey

The 5 senses in French + Smokey’s Grief

Pictured: Sam and Breizh, in 2009. Smokey's parents met and eloped in Marseilles. It is the most amazing story ever. A miracle! Please read  "Chien Perdu" here. (But don't miss the update, below). l'ouïe (wee) noun, feminine    : hearingRelated Terms & Expressions:  l'ouï-dire = hearsay, rumor  avoir l'ouïe fine = to have sharp hearing  avoir l'ouïe un peu dure = to be hard of hearing  être tout ouïe = to be all ears  à portée … Continue reading The 5 senses in French + Smokey’s Grief

Kristin Espinasse98 Comments
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avoir de la veine + Learning French strengthens your brain!

A meaningful gift our recent guests left us: drawing by Bill Logie.   AVOIR DE LA VEINE     : to be lucky AUDIO FILE: Listen to Jean-Marc read the following example sentence:Download MP3 or Wav avoir de la veine. Maggie et Michael, et nous même, avons eu de la veine de se rencontrer.to be lucky. Maggie and Michael, and we ourselves, were lucky to meet each … Continue reading avoir de la veine + Learning French strengthens your brain!

Kristin Espinasse45 Comments
Recette / Recipe

Meet Morrie & French fruit soup recipe

   Jean-Marc, returning to his vine fields after delivering me this tree! Meet Morrie! We welcome to our vineyard a new tree, a morus alba pendula . This weeping mulberry tree, a permaculture gardener's dream, will lend a delicious dimension to today's recipe: French Fruit Soup. Read on! la cueillette (kuh yet)     1. picking, gathering    2. crop, harvest Also: cueillir (to pick, gather, pluck)  AUDIO FILE: hear Jean-Marc … Continue reading Meet Morrie & French fruit soup recipe

Kristin Espinasse31 Comments
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French Marriage advice, and weakness and sacrifice

Jean-Marc ("Chief Grape") and Kristi. My husband records the sound files for this journal (today's will be late), and I write the stories. Photo by Cynthia Gillespie-Smith chétif (chétive)     : puny, meagre; undersized, poor un enfant chétif = a weak childune récolte, une plante chétive = a meagre harvest, a puny plant Example:Nous n'avions pu voir qu'une vigne chétive, souffrante et d'une pousse … Continue reading French Marriage advice, and weakness and sacrifice

Kristin Espinasse53 Comments
mother-in-law

Pillow talk, Ex-girlfriends and my Mother-in-law

My mother-in-law has discovered google translation as a way to read these posts in French.  I hope Michèle-France will enjoy today's story! (Picture of the red sunflowers growing in our field of cinsault grapes. To see the yellow tournesols, join me on Instagram.) oreiller (oh-ray-yay) noun, masculine     : pillow Related Vocabularyprendre conseil de son oreiller = to sleep on it (re decision making)une taie … Continue reading Pillow talk, Ex-girlfriends and my Mother-in-law

Kristin Espinasse31 Comments
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Another way to say “Mind your own business!” in French

Choose a better hiding place next time, Smokey! Now that you are found, let's go inside where it's cool and make a delicious and easy tomato tart. While it cooks we can take the leftover tomato scraps and do cleansing spa masks! Read about that, below. Meantime, today we learn a fun French idiom: Est-ce que je te demande si ta grand-mère fait du vélo?Literally: … Continue reading Another way to say “Mind your own business!” in French

Kristin Espinasse17 Comments
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tresser & weaving with lavender

How to making iced tea in Provence…. (As for how to make lavender wands… read on!)  tresser (treh-say)   1. to plait, to braid; to twist  2. to weave, wreathe (basket, garland) synonyms: natter (to plait, braid), entrelacer (to interlace, intertwine)AUDIO FILE: listen to Jean-Marc pronounce today's word and quote:mp3 or wav Tressons, tressons ces fleurs, hâtons-nous, jeune amie, Les songes et les fleurs demain ne seront … Continue reading tresser & weaving with lavender

Kristin Espinasse33 Comments