Flowers drinking in the lumière next to an unsolicited fountain. Lumière (loo-mee-air) noun, feminine light The memory of that midsummer night is quickly fading and my mind's eye must squint for the scene to come into view again, fragmented and incomplete. I can just see the subject in the foreground and how the light playing upon him, along with the quiet night, made for a … Continue reading lumière
Lazy days at a beach in Cavalière, along the Blue Coast. Paresse (par-ess) noun, feminine laziness, idleness ; sloth By the time my aunt and uncle from San Francisco arrived for a three-day visit, my home, my yard, my kids, my spouse, my dog and I, all in our Sunday best, were as put together as a family of paper dolls. All I needed … Continue reading paresse
Photo: My 8-year-old and her new chiot. Chiot(she-oh) noun, masculine puppy I once knew a French woman who, every time her husband asked, "Chérie, where are my keys?" (or sunglasses or clopes or…) would answer deviously, "Dans les chiottes!" Chiottes? My mind conjured up the image of a toilet. I imagined the poor husband's … Continue reading chiot
Pétillant (pay-tee-yahn) sparkling, bubbly, fizzy When I finished mopping the apricot tiles of our home, I considered my next mission: to prevent so many little feet from pottering across the clean carrelage. The messy four o'clock goûter would just have to take place outside today! I would not risk cake crumbs or spilled drinks on this clean floor! I gathered Max, his two neighborhood friends, and Jackie into … Continue reading pétillant
View from my mother-in-law's apartment, in Marseilles. Tapenade (tapenahd) noun, feminine olive paste When my mother-in-law, Michèle-France, looks out the window of her two-room apartment, she can just about see the paquebots leaving Marseilles's Old Port, for Casablanca. That is when the memories of childhood in her beloved Maroc come flowing back. One floor below, Janine is also staring out to sea from behind her tiny … Continue reading noyau
Noeud (neuh) noun, masculine bow Heading down the couloir, I hear a low hum coming from my daughter's room. Peering around the door, I find Jackie sitting on the floor, one leg extended, the other bent with the knee up. Her arms encircle the bent leg with its scraped genou and her fingers are … Continue reading noeud
Blue door in the medieval village of Les Arcs-sur-Argens (Var) toc-toc(tok-tok) knock knock Everything about Martine could be known by her knock: unhesitating, energetic, persistent. It was the kind of knock a policeman might use: "Toc-toc-toc! I know you're in there. Come out, come out!" Though law-abiding, Martine was always on the run. "I passed by your … Continue reading toc
, known for its plaintive cooing, affectionate disposition and devotion to its mate
“…trois poules Françaises, deux tourterelles et une perdrix dans un poirier.”
“…Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves and a partridge in a Pear Tree.” –from the 12 Days of Christmas
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Jean-Marc with his genial 'mop-spear'. Read on… Lance(lahnse)noun, femininea spear While preparing for a romantic getaway, I asked my husband where he had set his suitcase. That was when he informed me he wasn't taking one. I guessed the shirt on his back would be, once again, sufficient for an overnight trip, and that he would just … Continue reading lance
Béton (bay-tohn) noun, masculine concrete My son has mentioned wanting to be a baker or a construction worker when he grows up, but I suspect his talent might lie in styling. For the past year Max has been working hard at perfecting what I call the gentleman's Mohawk: "gentleman's," for the understated height of the hair, so subtle you could almost get … Continue reading le béton
