Category: mother-in-law

Eulogy, mother-in-law

Les dents de bonheur – “Happiness Teeth” are part of this elogy

Dear Reader, The regular edition of French Word-A-Day will return in a few days. Meantime, I've been trying to write a eulogy for my belle-mère without sounding too sentimental, too dramatic, or too poetic–but all of these things, from poesie to sentimentality, evoke the richness of Michele-France's life. This–and her humor, her stubbornness, and that charming gap between her front teeth (the French have a … Continue reading Les dents de bonheur – “Happiness Teeth” are part of this elogy

Kristin Espinasse99 Comments
mother-in-law

Sad news: Une triste nouvelle concernant ma belle-mère

It is with great sadness that my family and I announce that Michèle-France–mother, belle-mère and granny extraordinaire–has passed away on Christmas Eve.  We will share more about her life when we return to France for her funeral, which will take place on January 4th, 4 pm local time in France.   Amicalement, Kristi, Jean-Marc, Max, and Jackie  Continue reading Sad news: Une triste nouvelle concernant ma belle-mère

Kristin Espinasse280 Comments
Bilingual Story, mother-in-law, Recette / Recipe

Rondelle + Recipe everyone’s asking for! My Mother-in-Law’s Summer Pizza!

Michèle-France's Pizza d'Ete. Summer Pizza. TODAY'S WORD: une rondelle     : slice Note: rondelle, in this sense, is used for slices of tomato, zucchini, lemon, sausage etc. Careful not to ask for a rondelle de pizza! Instead, ask for une part de pizza. ECOUTEZ – hear Jean-Marc pronounce today's word and read his mother's recipe. First, listen to the soundfile, then check the text (in … Continue reading Rondelle + Recipe everyone’s asking for! My Mother-in-Law’s Summer Pizza!

Kristin Espinasse34 Comments
mother-in-law

Pillow talk, Ex-girlfriends and my Mother-in-law

My mother-in-law has discovered google translation as a way to read these posts in French.  I hope Michèle-France will enjoy today's story! (Picture of the red sunflowers growing in our field of cinsault grapes. To see the yellow tournesols, join me on Instagram.) oreiller (oh-ray-yay) noun, masculine     : pillow Related Vocabularyprendre conseil de son oreiller = to sleep on it (re decision making)une taie … Continue reading Pillow talk, Ex-girlfriends and my Mother-in-law

Kristin Espinasse31 Comments
French Hospital, mother-in-law

Embracing Diversity: Lessons from a Hospital Waiting Room

I made a lovely acquaintance. Don’t miss her in today’s story. Picture taken in Morocco, where my mother-in-law once lived and where we celebrated her 70th (in 2011). la conscience multiculturelle : cross-cultural awareness Audio File: Listen to Jean-Marc: Download MP3 or Wav Comment développer la conscience multiculturelle et le respect des autres régions du monde? How to develop cross-cultural awareness and the respect for other world regions? … Continue reading Embracing Diversity: Lessons from a Hospital Waiting Room

Kristin Espinasse72 Comments
mother-in-law

relancer + pomegranates and grandmothers c’est sympa!

Miam-miam is French for yum. Recently, Jean-Marc bought some used wine-making equipment. The farmer's wife who sold it to him threw in a couple of  antique wine-presses, some old  wine barrels, and even a bucket of pomegranates! (Have you ever eaten one? Inside, there's a bunch of ruby red fruit, the size of a tooth. The French use it to make the famous grenadine syrup–but the … Continue reading relancer + pomegranates and grandmothers c’est sympa!

Kristin Espinasse72 Comments
Characters, La Ciotat, mother-in-law, Recette / Recipe

How to say tenant in French?

Wish I'd gotten a picture of the hero in today's story. Meantime, here's a lovable stand-in. Photo taken somewhere in the Vaucluse… le locataire (lo h-ka-tair)     : tenant Audio File: Listen to Jean-Marc: Download MP3 or  Wav file Le locataire ouvre grand ses bras. "Entrez, je vous en prie!" il dit.The tenant opens his arms. "Come in. Please!" he says.   A Day in a … Continue reading How to say tenant in French?

Kristin Espinasse84 Comments
Mischief, mother-in-law

How to say kleptomaniac in French?

La Grotte – the restaurant at the end of Marseilles located dans les Calanques de Callelongue (les Goudes) un kleptomane (klepto-man)     : kleptomaniac Audio File: Listen to the sentence below: Download MP3 or Wav file Un kleptomane ne peut se retenir de dérober des objets, la plupart du temps sans aucune valeur. A kleptomaniac cannot help himself from lifting objects that are, for the most part, … Continue reading How to say kleptomaniac in French?

Kristin Espinasse90 Comments
Ma belle-mère, mother-in-law

mal barre = up the creek, in big trouble, screwed

When Paris looks a little like Provence. Note the subtle details: the outside-the-window cloth blinds, the "pigeon discourager" (can you see those sharp little pins on the window ledge?) the peek inside the stylish interior…  TODAY'S WORDmal barré (mal-baray) DEFINITONup the creek, in big trouble, screwed AUDIO FILE: listen to Jean-Marc read the French words below: Download MP3 or Wav file c'est mal barré = it's not looking … Continue reading mal barre = up the creek, in big trouble, screwed

Kristin Espinasse104 Comments
mother-in-law

douze

Thank you for the encouraging feedback you sent in, following Monday's video! I learned so much from your comments and am reminded to just keep on keeping on! If you haven't yet, check out our Youtube channel–and look for the "subscribe" button! Today's picture was taken in the Queyras valley, near the French Hautes-Alpes. douze (dooz)     : twelve les douze apôtres = the twelve apostles … Continue reading douze

Kristin Espinasse31 Comments