How to say “seat belt” in French & learning to pronounce French

Félicitations to our Max, who begins un stage, or internship, in Reims, for the champagne house Lanson. Go back with me, today, to his very first job at the age of 3: teaching his mom how to correctly pronounce French! Read on in today's story, below. Today's word: la ceinture de sécurité  : seat belt Some of you enjoyed viewing the vocabulary list before the … Continue reading How to say “seat belt” in French & learning to pronounce French

A colorful way to say “I’m so hungry!”

Jean-Marc (here, with grape stains…) and Kristi will be in Denver soon, for a wine tasting of Provence and Chateauneuf du Pape wines that Chief Grape exports to Colorado. This event will take place September 13th from 3 to 6 PM at The Vineyard Wine Shop, 261 Fillmore Street, Denver, CO 80206. Tel : 303 355 8324 We look forward to seeing you there! Just … Continue reading A colorful way to say “I’m so hungry!”

The French word for Puppy (see Smokey and his 5 sisters when they were baby goldens)

Our Smokey turned 9 last week (here he is with 2 of his 5 sisters, in 2009). Following the previous post, I received several emails about our golden "showing his age." Funny, I didn't notice the gray in his beard or his eyebrows..until now. And it's all got me thinking about how we need to treasure every day with him.  We'll keep the rest of … Continue reading The French word for Puppy (see Smokey and his 5 sisters when they were baby goldens)

le déchet : What the tourists regularly toss into our garden

Jean-Marc and Kristi will be in Denver soon, attending a wine tasting of Provence and Chateauneuf du Pape wines that Chief Grape exports to Colorado. This event will take place September 13th from 3 to 6 PM at The Vineyard Wine Shop, 261 Fillmore Street, Denver, CO 80206. Tel : 303 355 8324 We look forward to seeing you there! Today's Word: le déchet   … Continue reading le déchet : What the tourists regularly toss into our garden

A near disaster & Ouf! Phew!

Sometime during her second week in France, Mom moved out of grandson Max's room and into her own independent "space." Here's a view looking down from my bedroom, to Mom's "front patio" (really just the edge of our driveway that meets the house). In order to block the view of our cars–and the slew of tourists who pass by on their way to the beach–we've … Continue reading A near disaster & Ouf! Phew!

Gérer, débrouiller: How to Let Go…and Grow.

Midsummer night in La Ciotat. Families at their pop-up picnic tables, people swimming into the night, and the historic shipyard in the background, beneath a mauve sky. I'm going to bottle up this peaceful scene and shake it out in bits–in the kitchen, in the bedroom–wherever there's conflict….Two words today: gérer and débrouiller   : to manage and to sort things out Audio File: Click here to … Continue reading Gérer, débrouiller: How to Let Go…and Grow.

Faire bon ménage? Golden retriever and chickens & CONTROL JUICE (is it fueling you, too?)

If you take one thing away from today's post (about letting go…), let it be this: Control Juice is for wet chickens, or scaredy-cats. (Le jus de contrôle c'est pour les poules mouillés). Let go of your fear–and your controlling nature will disappear.  Faire bon ménage     : to get along Click here to listen to Jean-Marc read the following sentence Faire bon ménage signifie bien … Continue reading Faire bon ménage? Golden retriever and chickens & CONTROL JUICE (is it fueling you, too?)