I love this picture of my friend, David, at his farmhouse in Lorgues. Notice the garden boot about to fade into the wall beside him. It belongs to his lovely wife, artist (and gardener) Tessa Baker. If you have the chance to attend Tessa's "Painting in Provence" course, this beautiful mas and its relaxing garden will be your inspiring retreat, and these cherished friends will be your … Continue reading Delightful words and company: ravigoter
Smokey gets his stitches out today (test results back next week). Here he is taking a break from that uncomfortable cone, the protective collerette he has worn for two weeks. Tomorrow is le premier Mai. Click here to learn what the French are up to. s'esclaffer : to guffaw, to burst out laughing AUDIO FILE: listen to Jean-MarcDownload MP3 or Wav S'esclaffer, çela veut dire … Continue reading S’esclaffer: Never do this alone in France
Friday is May 1st. Be prepared by reading about the Muguet tradition : Click here or here. And many thanks to the writer Mary Ellen Gallagher, whose thoughtful notes and research inspired today's post. le mois (mwah) : month ça fait des mois = it's been monthsarrondir ses fins de mois = to supplement one's incometous les trente-six du mois = rarely, once in a blue moon … Continue reading Mois & May in France: two things to know
Do you listen to the audio files in these posts? Here are the French men who record them: my 19-year-old son, Max, and my husband, Jean-Marc. The treasure of sound files for this blog dates back to when the kids were 7-years-old. Here is a gem you must listen to and share!: A nine-year-old Max, reading Rudyard Kipling's inspiring poem, "If". Click here. coursier, coursière … Continue reading Coursier: Delivering my dog’s tumor to the post office…
I pick up Smokey from the clinique in half an hour! His operation went well to remove the tumor and we will have results back in two weeks. Thank you for the thoughtful wishes you've sent in, including this exquisite note from my favorite calligrapher, Joy Fairclough, based in the South of France. See her Studio French Blue !) bon rétablissement : get well … Continue reading Get well soon, in French + photos from our winetasting!
Come to our home, this Monday, April 20th at 3p.m. for snacks and a winetasting. (We live near Bandol) To reserve your seat, email kristin.espinasse@gmail.com (p.s if the fava beans are ready, we'll try some 🙂 droit au but (dwaht-oh-bewt) to go straight to the goal, directly to the goal to get right to the point AUDIO FILE: Listen to Jean-Marc read the French words … Continue reading Droit au but: Smokey update
Jean-Marc, laboring his 1st year vines. He is pushing a motorized plow, or motoculteur avec charrue, the idea being the plow would do most of the work. But as I snapped this photo from the upper field, I heard a lot of French cussing as my husband struggled to direct his new and unwieldy assistant…. WINETASTING – APRIL 20thPlease come to our home, this Monday, 3p.m. … Continue reading Come to our winetasting Apr. 20th + Smokey’s lump
French Word-A-Day goes out twice a week, but the stories continue in pictures over at Instagram. This snapshot, above, is subtitled "Following in a musician's steps, in Aix." I had been hurrying along behind the stranger, on my way to a meeting, when a little voice whispered: Snap out of it. Sometimes we are so clamped down on our track to the future that we are … Continue reading Rabbit recipe + How to say DEADLINE in French?
"Where's my chocolate bone?" Smokey, a day or two after Easter. I post pictures daily at Instagram. Follow me, here, to see what's next… le lapin : rabbit, bunny Improve your French pronunciation with Exercises in French phonetics. Click here. AUDIO FILE: Listen to Jean-Marc read this list of lapin terms and the example sentence which follows: Download MP3 or Download Lapin le coup du lapin = whiplashle … Continue reading How to say Rabbit or Bunny + Easter in France
Have you ever picked wild asparagus? Some call these thin green (and purple!) shoots “The harbingers of springtime.” Pictured: les aspèrges sauvages picked around our house, and lined up in the back of an old remorque, or wagon. une asperge : asparagus asperger = to spray or to splashune (grande) asperge = a beanpole (person)une pointe d’asperge = asparagus tipune botte d’asperges = … Continue reading Asperge
