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A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
“I love the rainstorms, don’t you?” Mom (Mama Jules) is tucked into her bed, gazing out the window at the calm after the storm. Her doves, Mama and Papa, are pecking away on the windowsill, eating God knows what. It might be a bit of kiwi leftover from lunch, or oatmeal from breakfast. Mom enjoys offering up a variety… or maybe she’s just being creative now that she’s banned from giving them too many seeds, attracting flocks from across the Mediterranean!
“Just don’t give them any more raisins,” I suggested, as we studied les tourterelles who came to live here the same year Mom immigrated.
“They drink all the water I give them!” Jules brightens, ignoring my suggestion. I wish Mom would take a lesson from her doves and keep hydrated.
Back to those storms…the downpour sent water rushing through the streets of neighboring Cassis. Mon dieu! Our town didn’t flood; instead the rain helped put out a fire at the end of our block, after a local restaurant burned to the ground overnight. And just like that, la rentrée was off to a dramatic start.
With the first clouds of fall the cool air has rushed in and the blankets have come out. On my way to store some video equipment in Jackie’s armoire (now that she’s moved out…) I spotted my fluffy gray slippers on the bottom shelf and promptly stole them back. I was feeling pretty clever and efficient until I realized Mom needed slippers too. While going through Jules’s closet last spring, I discovered her woolen pantoufles amidst a pile of purple fluff. It seems some little mouse ate them for lunch!
The image of that little mouse sends me back to the days before Jackie left for New York. I can still see my daughter in the backyard, hanging her laundry out on the line. When she suddenly called to me I hurried out of the kitchen to find her kneeling down on the ground beside the sweetest little souris you’ve ever seen. Cute, until its tail came into view: the long wiry queue resembled a rat’s tail! Any cuteness could be explained by the fact that this must be a baby….
“Papa, viens!” Jean-Marc, just a few feet away, came out of his wine cellar where he was reorganizing his cuvées. We huddled around the tiny creature, who was frozen in fear… or indigestion? No matter how close we approached, he would not move.
Jackie disappeared inside, returning with a few crumbs of gruyère. The wayward rodent accepted it, but remained in a daze (then again, some of us eat chocolate in a daze!). I hope it is only the stuffing from Jules’s slippers that is slowing him down.
When next we checked on Monsieur Souris he was gone—parti like this week’s storm, and the fire, and even my girl. And here I sit, looking down at my fluffy slippers, wondering how to end this ramble… Perhaps it’s best to close with a breath of fresh air. Une bouffée d’air frais—just like my daughter, Jackie. Here she is now, with her next entry. Je vous souhaite bonne lecture.
Word of the Day – Une bouffée d’air frais
by Jacqueline Espinasse
“I am leaving the city”
That’s it, after a couple of days in New York, I’m off to… Connecticut! Et non, I’m not moving back to France (yet). Did my title surprise you? Good. I like a little spice.
Vin has family an hour away, so we headed to Grand Central Station and zipped our way out of the city for une bouffée d’air frais. Suddenly, the sound of firetruck sirens was replaced by the soft calls of night owls. My little candle in the living room turned into a big wood fire in the patio garden — and my metro card is now a fishing pole! Life feels good.
Honestly, I feel lucky. I thought leaving the family cocoon would make me homesick. Maybe it will, eventually. But so many little things keep me in my home routine.
Take, for example, my first walk the day after I landed. Vin lives just a block from the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge Park. Boats float by just like in La Ciotat; I even thought I saw my dad’s boat, un pointu. I go on morning walks just like I used to with Mom, and Vin even has a water filter like the one I had at home. These small details are key for my mental state here.
So that’s my little update — unpacking and repacking. I don’t have much more to write about this week, but pictures can tell the story today. Here are some snapshots of my first steps in Brooklyn and beyond.
Love,
Jacqueline
FRENCH VOCABULARY
les tourterelles (f) = turtle doves
Mon dieu! = My God!
la rentrée = back-to-school season; return to work after summer holidays
une armoire = a wardrobe, armoire
les pantoufles (f) = slippers
une souris = mouse
une queue = tail
les cuvées (f) = wine batches, vintages
parti = gone, left
une bouffée d’air frais = a breath of fresh air
Et non = And no, nope
un pointu = a traditional fishing boat from Provence
Je vous souhaite bonne lecture = Wishing you a pleasant read
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REMERCIEMENTS
Thank you to the following readers for your donation this past week to this journal!
Lisa M.
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P.S. If you’re reading this newsletter in Outlook, could you let me know how the photos appear for you? Do they display in a normal size and format—or are they so large that they throw off the layout? Your feedback helps me adjust things for a smoother reading experience. Merci!
KRISTI’S FRANCE TODAY LIVE INTERVIEW
Did you see the France Today Live event with Sophie Gardner-Roberts? I would love to know! If you missed it, you can replay it online via the links below.
If you’re not already a subscriber, France Today is offering you a free 30-day trial. Simply sign up for the trial, then find the interview using the links below:
- Start your free 30-day trial here: https://francetoday.com/30-day-trial-kristin-espinasse/
- See the interview here: https://francetoday.com/france-today-live/in-conversation-with-author-kristin-espinasse/
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I read your blog in Microsoft Outlook, and today’s photos were just fine, comme d’habitude. Frédéric en Uzes dans le Gard
Thank you, Frédéric! I forgot to ask: are you reading on a laptop, PC, or smartphone?
Both these stories are lovely. Jackie, I’m glad you have those little reminders of home as you adjust to life in New York. Kristi, I read the post on outlook and also had perfect photos. I’m really enjoying these mother/daughter posts! Bisous à tous
I have WhatsApp chat. Not ab
You asked about the pictures in Outlook. The pictures are perfect now (in the past they were way too large)!
Hi Kristin and Jackie,
You asked Outlook users to respond and tell you how the images look.
I’m reading this message in Outlook. You can see what I received below.
The images are fine, much better than when you first started using this new platform.
The pictures were way too big, and the text didn’t fit in the reading pane.
It was hard to scroll back and forth to read it all.
I know that Outlook can do crazy things with layouts, but this is fine with me.
(My husband unsubscribed because of the layout in Outlook. Perhaps now he’ll resubscribe!)
Dorothy (Tucson, AZ)
Hi, Kristi,
Earlier this year, some of the pictures in your posts were really huge, and entire photos were too large to view all at once.
I use Outlook, and lately, the pictures on both my desktop and my phone are looking normal. So it seems the glitch was fixed.t
On a separate note, I struggle these days to be tech-savvy. I’m going to try to access your WhatApp channel.
Marianne
Kristi, you may want to know about a “Day in the Life” book that has just come out on Amazon and Kindle: “Book of Days” relates the saga of a single peasant clan in the Loire region across the astonishing span of 972 years, from 1003 through 1975. Each chapter recounts a single day in the life of a member of the Lefief clan as he or she founds a dynasty in 1003, sees a son come home from the Crusades in 1193, stands in the parvis of Chartres on the day of its consecration in 1260, bakes a loaf of bread in 1669 … on and on till the only surviving record of the clan’s existence, two faded studio photos of a peasant couple in 1905, were bought for five centimes in a flea market in 1975.
The book has been getting rave reviews on Goodreads and the more upscale literary websites. You can read it for free here .
DearDana,
Just so you know, there is no link for the free read of the book. Who is the author? And is the title actually “Book of Days”?
Bullis is the author. I did find it on Amazon.
Lovely pictures on both sides of the sea. It sounds like Jackie is adjusting to life in NYC. I imagine it is quite noisy compared to home. How is your mother doing? How are you adjusting? It all takes time. With your new venture into What’s App, it gives you a different focus and that can help. I don’t have that, so I will continue to follow you on this blog. Always eager to hear about life in your home. You write so well, it feels like we are sitting by your side enjoying a beverage and catching up on daily life.
Bonjour Kristi:
Les photos sur Outlook sont bonnes.
Merci, Janine
Get Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef
Hi Kristi – I have What’s App on iPhone, but can’t seem to find your channel there. Any help with that?
Hi Beth, Let me know if this link works 🤞
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6sNOT1CYoSx2avxc41
Our dears Kristi and Jackie,
Hearing from both of you is an absolute treat! Mother and daughter definitely share a wonderful talent for capturing your imaginations with charming details we can all relate to!
And! Ma chere Kristi,I so enjoyed your interview the first time and even more the second time! You are so poised ,natural and lovely!
Blessings always.
Arms tight around you all.
Love
Natalia xo
Oui, Kristin- les photos me paraissent parfaitement par Outlook! Merci beaucup pour toutes les nouvelles.. et en plus celles de la part de Jacqui!
Dee de New Hampshire, US.
Your photos arrive in outlook just fine, jackie
The photos look fine in Outlook.
I\’m reading in Outlook – not the app, but the web-based \”hotmail\” and while the photos are large, they are not throwing off the format. I certainly do know what you mean and have seen that happen before.
Keep up the awesome work!
Carrie
There is something so adorable about those doves and your mom! We feed doves here, but just the ones in the neighborhood.
Jackie does sound as though she is getting settled in her new neighborhood. Now, for some NY pizza!
Thank you both.
For Jackie,
Fun to read about your new life in NYC…and yes, the photos are sized perfectly (once I diminish the size of my email, which is not a problem).
Enjoy your new adventures!
Lindsay
Hi Kristi! I just joined you on WhatsApp (I think). I’m basically computer illiterate so gave myself a pat on the back for using my Android phone! I read all the messages so am up to date on your activities. I thoroughly enjoy hearing about you, your family, and Ricci. I don’t even know what Outlook is but all photos on my iMac
are great! And I did see your interview with Sophie. I know you must miss Jackie but she is happy with Vin for now. However, New York can never compare with Ciotat!! Ciao for now!
I’m reading your missive, “From Storms to Fresh Air,” in Outlook email and the photos look perfectly fine. I very much appreciate your blogs.
Rick Boyd