Une balançoire, or swing, in Paris to illustrate today's word…. une saute d'humeur     : mood swing No dog is immune to a mood swing.Aucun chien n'est à l'abri d'une saute d'humeur (from the book Tout sur la psychologie d'un chien (All about Dog Psychology) A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE     by Kristi Espinasse This past Tuesday, nervous about the aller-retour to the big city, … Continue reading Mood swings in French + Catcalling Workmen?

In this week's Wine Spectator Magazine, Robert Camuto has written a cohesive account of how things fell apart at our vineyard near Bandol. Find a link to the article in the following column. BASCULER     : to topple over, to change dramatically Il y a 15 mois, alors que tout "roulait" pour moi, ma vie et celle de ma famille a peu à peu … Continue reading Basculer: How bad choices (and an old tractor) killed a winemaker’s dream: Jean-Marc story is featured in this week’s Wine Spectator

Solitude revives the soul and the senses. Solitude is the crucible of the mind, the good is purified there; the fake evaporates there.La solitude ravive l'âme et les sens. La solitude est le creuset de l'esprit, le bon s'y épure; le faux s'y évapore. Citation de Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste ; Dictionnaire universel (1800) Photo taken in St Cyr-sur-Mer, at our former vineyard (there were also these magnificent … Continue reading Les Bienfaits de la Solitude or The Benefits of being alone

After I began watching Invisible People (homeless interviews) a series of unusual things happened here in the sunny south of France. Our heater broke. Then it snowed. Then our water heater broke. Then our car would not start. And then our daughter's car broke down! And then I ended up all alone for two weeks. This is not to say that you will have bad … Continue reading Third greatest Frenchman after Charles de Gaulle and Louis Pasteur + Charlie Chaplin’s big French heart

I woke up this morning thinking about my grandmother, Audrey Young. I was remembering a phrase she shared with me at the end of her life, in a nursing home. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease!" she would say. It meant that if you don't pipe up people will not help you! Sister Emmanuelle, who we learn about today, would have high-fived my Grandma Audrey–and … Continue reading Enquiquineuse: The famous French advocate who was known as a pain in the neck

Read The Family Under the Bridge to a young person and help spread homelessness awareness. "Armand, an old Parisian living on the streets of Paris, relished his solitary life. He begged and did odd jobs for money to keep himself warm and fed, and he liked his carefree life. Then one day just before Christmas, a struggling mother and her three children walked into his … Continue reading Invisible People (aka SDF, sans-abri, sans logement, va-nu-pieds)

In order to express thanks and gratitude, in Arabic, the term "chukran" is used. (Hear this sentence in French, below.) Photo taken on the northeast coast of Morocco, at Tmadet Sidi El Bachir.  Today's word: "afin de"     : so as, in order to,  AUDIO FILE: Listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the following sentence in French:  Click here to hear the sound clip Afin d'exprimer remerciements … Continue reading Afin de + When, just like that, a cultural curiosity is demystified