Just back from a doctor's appointment in Marseilles (Youpie! No need for elbow surgery–just a lot of kiné, or physiotherapy visits to repair my coude. Today's photos , and the following post, are from 2 years ago. Meantime, it is not too late to enter the drawing for a one week stay in this Provençal village home. PEACE ON EARTH – LA PAIX SUR LA TERREThe … Continue reading Pin: A Provençale Christmas story
I have a little gift for you today. The gift of language. Today's word of the day–make that "words" of the day, for there are many here–is in the story below. You'll also learn about this photo–snapped December 19th in the town of Bandol. A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse Driving round and round the seaside town of Bandol, I heard a … Continue reading A Christmas story filled with French words
The other day while Smokey and I waited in the school parking lot for Jackie, kids filed past our car, occasionally stopping to point and to laugh: "Mais regarde sa langue! Just look at his funny tongue! Ahahahaha!" "Laisse tomber! Don't worry about it, Smokey. They don't know your story." So many stories out there… how little we know of the "strange" looking people we … Continue reading French Word for pine tree
Do you feel like this Santa, during the holiday rush. Just hanging on? Waiting for it all to pass? Read on. fêtard(e) (feh-tar, feh-tard) : party animal, someone who likes to party Audio File: Listen to the following sentence in French Download MP3 or Wave file Dans ma jeunesse, j'étais une fêtarde.In my youth, I was a party animal. A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE… by … Continue reading How to say “party animal” in French?
I'm getting ready to film the first in a series of videos about our home renovation. Don't miss a clip! - subscribe to our YouTube channel. Forward this and tell a design savvy architecturally-minded friend about the channel. They might have fun following us on this project in the sunny South of France (…meantime we are freezing in this heat-challenged home). Photo taken in Serre Chevalier, near … Continue reading How to say Christmas Tree in French?
Does the Christmas rush "kill" the joy of the holidays? And re gift-giving, how much is too much and how little, too little? or is it all just over the top? Are we remembering the reason for the season? Read on in today's story column. tuer (too-ay) : to kill tuer le temps = to kill time Reverse Dictionary killjoy (spoilsport) = un(e) … Continue reading Cadeau: My Daughter’s Christmas “Liste de Voeux”
The scene was so classic that I wondered, as I snuck up to snap the photo, if it wasn't staged! Notice the underwear: one per "hook"… Photo taken in Nyons (just next to a chichi restaurant. Well, that oughta show 'em!). de guingois (deuh-gehn-gwah) adverbial and adjectival phrase : askew, lop-sided marcher de guingois = to walk lop-sidedlytout va de guingois = everything's going … Continue reading How to say lop-sided in French: de guingois
Feeling harried this season? A little Christmas story you may relate to in the column below. sanglot (sahn-glo) noun, masculine : sob verb: sangloter (sahn-glo-tay) : to sob Listen to my daughter read today's word and the following quote: Download Sanglot . Download Sanglot "Dieu entend mieux un sanglot qu'un appel." –Saint Augustine "Mama said there'd be days like this… "(or Maman a dit qu'il … Continue reading sanglot: Christmas time and tears
Christmas decorations for Noël in the town of Valbonne. réveillon (ray-veh-ohn) noun, masculine 1. Christmas Eve Dinner, New Year's Eve Dinner, midnight supper (réveillon de Noël, reveillon du Nouvel An) 2. Christmas / New Year's Eve party Great French-themed books for children, by Catherine Stock:"A Spree in Paree" and "A Porc in New York". The illustrations are delightful! … Continue reading Le Réveillon: Christmas Eve Dinner in France and What We are Eating
croire (krwar) verb 1. to believe, to trust 2. to think Citation du Jour:Etrangement, on en veut souvent à la personne qui vous dit une vérité difficile à entendre, impossible à croire. Strangely, you often resent the person who tells you a truth difficult to hear, impossible to believe. –Marc Levy ………………………….A Day in a French Life… Max, Jackie and I are seated at the … Continue reading Croire & Santa Claus: “To believe” in French
