Hibernation is life sleeping inside of us. L'hibernation, c'est la vie qui sommeille en soi. –Claude-may Waia Némia Today's word: paresser : to be lazy : lounging, loafing Click here to listen to the French sentence, above Lately, I've noticed that when the sun goes down I'm ready to get in bed. But I wonder if 6 o'clock in the evening isn't an … Continue reading To be lazy in French & Why we should go to bed when the sun sets
I hope you'll enjoy the following re-run or repost or revisit (ah, better word!)–it is the chance to see a story that would otherwise be lost to the spiraling depths of this blog's archives (do you ever go there?). Thanks for reading (or re-reading). Today's Expression: se moquer de quelqu'un : to poke fun at somebody, to tease, to pull somebody's leg Audio … Continue reading Tu te moques de moi? Why I don’t knit anymore….
Because I forgot to mention, in my essay below, what it was that most moved me about the biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, I'll say it now: Freddie Mercury refused to let anyone, whether a close family member or a hot-in-pursuit suitor, define him. With his bold example he won my heart. Today's Expression: voir un film en VO (version originale) : to see a … Continue reading Voir un film en VO, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Freddie Mercury’s new fan
"Writing is for the birds!" Photo taken here in La Ciotat this morning, when things were peaceful…. Today's Word: les guillemets : quotation mark I set out to tell you a story about fugitive hens (no worries, they're back) when every possible distraction known to man or bird befell me. Welcome to a typical beginning to each and every writing session. If I am … Continue reading They hopped the fence: how our ideas (and our chickens) take off
Today, photos and a bêtise or gaffe or no-no during Saturday's filming at Château de Pibarnon. (I hope this compte-rendu isn't a further no-no–as I don't want to end up on the cutting room floor!). Today's Word: La mise-en-scène : staging A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE When you gotta go, you gotta go! by Kristi Espinasse Recently, Jean-Marc and I had the … Continue reading Mise-en-Scène: A funny thing happened before the camera got rolling!
Merci beaucoup for the sweet messages, encouragements, and support you left following the anniversary post. I am fired up for another 16 years of writing and will read your bonne continuations whenever I need a motivational pick-up! Fun fact: this post will take you 2 minutes and 38 seconds to read to the end. If you were to read it out loud, that would take … Continue reading Caviar d’Aubergine: An easy, delicious family recipe for you
The anniversary of this French word journal passed quietly by last month, unbeknownst even to me. But now that I've put two-and-two together, I'm not letting this milestone go unfêted (another lapse into franglais?). In keeping this brief, I will share the one thing that comes to mind when I think about writing this newsletter to you, and that is "Bundle of joy." Now here's the part … Continue reading A Bundle of Joy: Celebrating The 17th year of this journal!
"Broody" is less useful to you than the French word for grumpy (unless you're a hen), so we'll feature the second term–in verb form–today. Two mini columns follow: the first is a response to Audrey, who lives near the Spanish border, and the second is an update on our moody poule. Today's Word: ronchonner : to grumble, growl, grouse Voici des verbs similaires à ronchonner … Continue reading Grrr! Grumpy and grouchy and broody in French! (Plus a fiery recipe…)
Random photo of Smokey and some lettuce as I don't have a politically-themed image for you! On November 6, 250 million Americans are called to the polls. A portion of the senators, the totality of the representatives, a group of governors and local elected representatives will be renewed: the stakes are high. (translated from the French, below) Today's phrase: être appelé aux urnes … Continue reading My story: Political elections + friendship: The stakes are high (L’enjeu est de taille)
The perched village of Le Castellet, level with the moon My website is experiencing technical difficulties… Let's get straight to the story before the lights go out! Bananes flambéesbananes flambéesbananes flambéesbananes flambées …that's how many times we ate the rum-drenched dessert last week (and tomorrow's guests are getting more of the same–or du pareil au même). Now, I can hear of few of you chattering: "Rum-drenched … Continue reading Recipe for Disaster & “To return the kindness” in French
