LA PIQURE: A Mystery That is Really Bugging Me

C'est bientôt l'été. It's almost summertime! To stay cool we'll keep these volets closed and the ceiling fans spinning. Now to find a solution for summer pests, following a recent slew of piqûres… Read on, in today's word fest. STRESS-FREE TAX FILING for Expats!If I can do my expat taxes anyone can! I recently completed and filed my US Tax Return & FBAR electronically using … Continue reading LA PIQURE: A Mystery That is Really Bugging Me

How to say “cleaning frenzy” in French! + photo vocabulary!

Gone fishing! I'll see you in a week, when the next post goes out. Meantime, keep up your French vocabulary by visiting the French word archives. Thanks for reading and for sharing our language journal with friends and family. See you soon–with more photos and stories from a French life! Bisous, Kristin  la frénésie de ménage (fray-nay-zee deuh may-nazh)     : cleaning frenzy  … and … Continue reading How to say “cleaning frenzy” in French! + photo vocabulary!

How to say wasp in French… and the fascinating life inside a figue!

"Ignorance is Bliss." Remember this photo from last September? Back then, while eating my way from one end of this fig tree to the other, I had no idea there was more to a fig than meets the eye….  une guêpe (gep)     : wasp Terms, Expressions, and an example sentence: la taille de guêpe = slender-waisted, hourglass figurele nid de guêpe = hornet's … Continue reading How to say wasp in French… and the fascinating life inside a figue!

astuce

Gone fishing. Home now. And so good to be back at work, putting words down on the blank page and watching a story come to life. Read today's slice o'life… and learn a trick or two!   Mas la Monaque - rent this beautifully restored 17-century farmhouse! Click here for photos and availability. une astuce (ahss tooce)     : tip, trick (or "recipe" for solving a problem) … Continue reading astuce

Understanding the French Word ‘bête’

     Jackie (toasting with her papa) une bête (beht) noun, feminine 1. an animal; a bugadjective: stupid, silly, foolish, idiotic Hear the word bête pronounced: Download bete.wav Also: une bête à bon dieu = a ladybug une bête féroce = a wild animal ………………… Expressions: une pauvre petite bête = a poor little guy/thing une bête noire = a pet peeve chercher la petite … Continue reading Understanding the French Word ‘bête’

le plafond

                                                  Jackie at her cousin's housele plafond (plah-fohn) noun, masculine  1. ceiling; roof (of car, cave) Also:plafonner (verb) = to reach a ceiling or maximumle plafond de crédit = credit limitle prix plafond = maximum price Expressions:être bas de plafond = to not have much "up top" (in the … Continue reading le plafond