If flowers could talk (and who says they can't) then these are shouting ALLEZ ZOU! After oggling this sunshiny plant forever–and owning it, for a time–I broke down and ordered the Helianthus grosseserratus or "sawtooth sunflower" seeds. If you, like me, believe your garden or balcony or windowbox cannot live without this jumble of happiness, then order some seeds like I just did! And now … Continue reading Winetasting invitation! + “Allez, zou!”
Only scarecrows are immune to canker sores. The rest of us are sitting ducks! (photo taken in the Queyras Valley, in the French Hautes-Alpes) If you are new to this word journal, I hope not to scare you away with an ugly first word. (You could always skip to the story column and learn sores–I mean scores–of flowery vocabulary…) I've been nursing a burning and … Continue reading Semence: Sowing seeds for a French flower garden
""The rare Frenchman who uses the crosswalk" Computer is back and so are some long-lost photos from years ago! Youpie! Yay! une béquille (beh-kee) : crutch, stand; kickstand (bike) Audio File: listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the following expressions: Download MP3 or Wav file Elle marche avec des béquilles. She walks with crutches.mettre une moto, un vélo sur sa béquille = to put a motorbike or bike … Continue reading How to say crutch or crutches in French
A stylish window in Alsace. I love decor… even if decorating intimidates me. Read on, in today’s story. le convive (kon-veev) : guest Audio File: listen to me read the sentence below (I may have made an error, by not making a liason between “convives” and “étaient”…: Download MP3 or hear the Wav file Nos convives étaient sous le charme de la bouteille de lavande tressée par Marie-Françoise. Our guests … Continue reading convive
Though you can't see it, this basket has a hole in the bottom… which reminds me of a wonderful French idiom: "un panier percé" ("a pierced basket" or a spendthrift!). The expression is très imagée (one can easily visualize money falling right through the hole of the basket, as the reckless spender practices that iffy prescription known as "retail therapy"! le panier (pan yay) : basket … Continue reading panier
le muguet (mew-geh) n.m. : lily of the valley Question: So what are the French doing today, the first of May, besides la grasse matinée? Answer: Waving snow-white porte-bonheurs through the air and wishing each other good luck! Along little cobblestone paths in the French hinterland, and at noisy intersections across the city, French vendeurs de muguet are taking over street curbs with buckets of lilies of the … Continue reading The muguet tradition in France: Lily of the Valley sold on French street corners on May 1st
