In Denver, I got to meet "Sunny", my sister's 5th chien de berger anglais ancestral, and enjoy a longawaited reunion with family. Read on and bienvenue to new subscribers. Delighted to have you with us!
Today's Word: redémarrer
: to restart, start again, to get moving
FRENCH SOUND FILE: Click the following link to hear Jean-Marc pronounce the French words in today's post. Then scroll down to the vocabulary section to check your French comprehension.
Have you read The Eight? It takes place in France, is loaded with history, and Mom loved it! Order it here.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
Et hop-and just like that-summer is over. The French call this time of year la rentrée, "the start of the school year" or simply the return from vacation for those of us heading back to work. It is time to redémarrer or restart this blog with a quick update from our home in La Ciotat.
From the Rocky Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea…
It feels good to come home to France after a solo, three-week visit to Colorado. And like anyone returning from a getaway I have a lot to catch up on including, apparently les mites! Hungover from jetlag I stood in our kitchen pointing to le plafond as my husband balanced himself atop our wobbly dining table, a sharp wooden stick in his hand. You need such weapons to scratch the buggers loose from from their encrusted nests. Allez! Oust! Begone unwelcome weevils! Get out of my oatmeal, get out of my rice, get out of my life!
It is time to calm down and focus on writing and it doesn't come easy after a two-month pause. Writing for a living means the brain is constantly churning. Everything is grist for the mill! The mind chatters possible sentences, edits phrases, rearranges ideas and words only to scatter when facing a blank page. All that brain sweat for nothing. Two summers ago I decided to go on summer break "just like teachers do," and rest my head. I still don't know whether that's a good idea or not. I think this summer taught me that writing regularly is more than a healthy discipline–it is an anchor.
There, I've said everything but what I came here to tell you. Let those previous paragraphs be a warm up and now let's sprint to the finish with a recap of my time in Denver: After 3-and-a-half years apart from my family, I had the chance to see my sisters, Heidi and Kelley, and our Dad for a belated 80th birthday celebration. While this was the highlight of my trip, so were the many hugs from my niece and nephew, and seeing the two off to college at CU in Boulder. I also got to experience a “Tailgate party” before the CU football game, and, back in Denver, savored enough Mexican food and pastrami sandwiches and Triscuits to hold me over until the next time. Oh, and we discovered Elk burgers (thanks Rondo and Tom!) and Colorado corn so good it makes organic French maïs taste like cardboard. I will need to better explore the French farmers markets during corn season–and update you.
My sisters Kelley and Heidi, our Dad, and me in Boulder.
Other highlights included a special gift delivery from a reader (see painting below), keeping up with my sister on daily walks with sheepdog Sunny (Heidi is a jet plane while I'm a hangglider) and a sober dance in the rain at a biker bar! But I'll save that one for now. A writer must always have a story up her sleeve and the option to leave it there!
Now, back to those pesky pantry invaders and to other areas needing attention and care here at home. Tell me, how are you and how was your summer? I would love to hear about it in the comments. And thank you so very much for reading these French-infused updates, moths and all!
Amicalement,
Kristi
Edits to this post are welcome and appreciated. Merci beaucoup!
FRENCH VOCABULARY
Are any of the following words new to you? Which is your favorite term and which is hardest to pronounce?
le chien de berger anglais ancestral = old English sheepdog
bienvenue = welcome
redémarrer = to restart
et hop! = and that's it! and just like that!
la mite = moth
le plafond = ceiling
allez! = go on!
oust! = get outta here!
le maïs = corn
amicalement = yours
Thanks, artist Judy Feldman, for this precious rendition of our dearly departed dog. Those eyes! That tongue! That soft, silky, golden hair… That's our Smokey! Hard to believe he's been gone two months.
Discover more from French Word-A-Day
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Your dad looks great! 80 will be here for us before we know it. his picture encourages me.
It must have done your soul good to hang out with family. Three weeks – a good amount of time to totally disengage.
I affirm the summer off…..so your creativity well can replenish.
Welcome back!
It is so good to start September with your blog. I agree that Smokey’s sweetness comes through in the painting.
I am looking forward to being in Bandol at the end of the month for a good rest.
Bonne rentrée !
Love the family picture – your Dad looks great. I remember fondly meeting him and Jean-Marc at a wine shop in Newport Beach many years ago. Both were delightful.
Good morning, It is good to have you back. The painting is truly wonderful; such a nice gift to you. You will miss him every day. Little things remind me of our beloved family member. Summer had some tribulations but also some steps toward working through those. I just started a much needed vacation after working too much as usual. So I also spent the summer dreaming up my adventure. We had a few unwanted pests in the backyard. A rat almost ran into me while After I had just finished yoga (laying back on the mat). Thank goodness my ears perked up and heard it coming just short of my May as I sat up.
Take care
Welcome home. So glad you got to visit family. Your dad does not look 80! The painting of Smokey is awesome. I had weevils once. I think that I just threw everything away that had them, then kept all grains in airtight containers. Maybe a little clove oil as a deterrent.
Interesting your note about the taste of corn….we are finding that the frozen peas and carrots in WA seem tasteless as compared to those we purchased at Picards!
As a retired educator, three to four works of non-work seemed to be all I could do before sitting down and getting ready for the next academic year. The only time I did more was the summer I traveled to Haiti for my first overseas trip. Even then, the last week, I was thinking through the course work for the next term!
Bienvenue, it is good to have you back but I am so glad that you got to visit with your family. You all have wonderful smiles.
It is good to be back in France after an absence of 5 years, but this time were are visiting Brittany. Dean and has been here before and I wanted him to see it, but I so miss Provence – Next year.
Great painting of Smokey. He will be remembered as the dog who survived the fight. Eventually another dog to help keep Jules Jules company and also both of you. A new child 👦
Looking forward to the next blog.
Peace, Kathleen
Hi Kristin,
Just a cou cou from Seattle, we met you guys many moons ago in Marseille at a wine tasting, when we lived in Les Milles and you were helping us learn French. Your blog helped us keep our vocabulary a little broader than the kids (after we moved back), but we couldn’t compete with their perfect accents when we were visiting in July.
Thanks so much for your efforts and words of the day!
You have such a beautiful family!
We all missed you. Welcome back!
Is Jules nurturing any new birds or other lucky critters who may have wandered by in your absence?
Chère Kristi, Le première fois j’ai lis votre blog était il y a vingt ans. J’ai allé sans lire pendant un certain temps et j’ai redémarré il y a cinq mois avant j’ai voyagé à Aix pour un mois en Mai. J’ai visité le charmant restaurant local au-dessus de Cassis que vous avez recommandé, j’ai vu le village de Cassis et passé une journée dans La Ciotat. Merci pour toutes vos recommendations. Elles m’ont aidé à rendre mon voyage en France spécial. Je continuerai lire!
Welcome back, Kristi. 🙂
I don’t recall ever having seen or heard of Kelley before. Nice to see the family photo.
Looking forward to seeing your posts again.
I’m a little late in saying “Welcome back!” When I saw your entry on Max’s very stylish condo I thought I’d better backtrack. I missed your blog so much. Glad for you, though, that you got to reunite with family. I hope when the time is right you will find another furry friend and that you will always have happy memories of your faithful Smokey.