"New Day". Smokey reminds us to live simply, slowly, and not to make a cheese about things! Speaking of fromage, tell us your favorite kind in the comments section. Picture taken from our last vineyard. TODAY'S WORD: en faire tout un fromage        : to make a fuss about something      : to make a mountain out of a molehill      : to make a … Continue reading Cheese, Wine, and etiquette: is it bad manners to ask for seconds in France?

Books make great gifts and this one is for anyone who loves France and the French way of life. Click here to order Words in a French Life. Et merci d'avance! Today's Word: les proches (m/f pl)     : loved ones, close family, close friends Click here to listen to the following sentence in FrenchQui n'est pas utile à soi-même ne peut être utile … Continue reading Les Proches: loved ones in French + what brings satisfaction

Levain, in a figurative sense, is "what is able to excite, to brighten (feelings, ideas). Ce qui est capable d'exciter, d'aviver (les sentiments, les idées). This is exactly what I'm feeling today in writing about bread. I hope you enjoy the story and will share it with a bread lover. Listen to Jean-Marc, pictured with this morning's loaf, or miche, here: soundfile–click here to listen … Continue reading Levain: Giving bread its spark of life…in France or in The Wild West

Here is where a themed photo usually appears, above the word of the day. But you don't want to look at potato peelings do you? Enjoy, instead, a picture of our garden from springtime 2018. Strangely, all the red coquelicots, or poppies, did not return in 2019…. Today's Word: épluchure     Une épluchure, c'est un morceau de peau d’un légume ou d’un fruit    … Continue reading une épluchure, les déchets, la poubelle: words in today’s caper…involving compost