A troupeau of sheep grazing on another pasture. Photo by Jean-Marc. la brebis (breh-bee) : ewe Note: brebis (masculine) refers to the cheese brebis égarée = lost sheep du fromage de brebis = sheep's cheese une brebis galeuse = a bad apple, a black sheep, or a personne indésirable Audio File: (check back later for the recording) Il avait eu une époque où … Continue reading brebis
Cabane de berger (the shepherd's wooden hut) photo by the Neurdein brothers. Here we have a slumbering sheepherder with his border collie and german shepherd (is it?) minding the troup. (When Mom sees this photo, she'll ditch her latest treehouse scheme… in favor of this fort-on-wheels with a nifty sliding door! Mom has had a hard time deciding where to anchor, here on the olive farm. This just may be … Continue reading berger
I wrote the story “crush widow” two years ago. Were you reading then? (Photo of a modern cabanon with its carpet of white flowers taken in Sainte Cécile-les-Vignes. In wintertime, the old, leafless vines always look, to me, like upended chicken feet—as do all the pollarded trees.) la veuve de la vendange (lah vuv deuh lah von danzh) : crush widow Audio file: Listen to Jean-Marc pronounce … Continue reading veuve de la vendange
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
Psst. There, in the right-hand corner. A cat in a box on a steep ledge. Ever feel like that? (photo taken in 2006, in Italy). même pas peur! (mem pah purr) : Not afraid! Même pas peur is an expression French kids say when confronted with something or someone daunting. It means “I’m not a bit afraid!” Audio File: Listen to me talk … Continue reading même pas peur!
"This side of Christmas". Picture taken in Bollène. confier (kon-fee-ay) : to confide in, to entrust Audio File: Hear today's word spoken, along with this French quote: Download MP3 or listen to the Wav file Il ne faut confier son secret qu'à celui qui n'a pas cherché à le deviner. One must only share one's secret with the one who has not sought to guess it. –Diane de … Continue reading confier
If you are not seeing the video, with Jean-Marc and the Provençal boats, then click here to enjoy the clip at the blog. Sign up to our YouTube channel to learn when new videos are uploaded. Click here. un pointu (pwan-too) : a little Provençal fishing boat A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE… by Kristin Espinasse Last night I hurried around the house, turning on the … Continue reading billingual video of Jean-Marc + un pointu
Remember that river cruise that my best friend Susan (a.k.a. "Rouge-Bleu") and I went on last month? I have some very good news to share with you: Jean-Marc and I will be hosting the next one along the Seine—and we would be happy if could join us! I'm going to let Susan tell you all about it here. Susan writes: Since coming back from France … Continue reading Join Kristin & Jean-Marc on a Seine/Normandy River Cruise!
Thank you for your encouraging feedback on the recent video I made with Smokey. But after trying and failing to make a follow up recording, I'm wondering if I should just stick to photography (today's pic taken on our Rhone river cruise) instead! In times like these, I find the following saying to be particularly reassuring: dix fois sur le métier, remettre son ouvrage! … Continue reading Need encouragement? How to say “If at first you don’t succeed try try again”
In 1993 I found myself back in the Arizona desert, having been deported there by one disillusioned Frenchman. Jean-Marc and I had tried to live together—lasting a full ten months—but all that sizzling chemistry that fueled us in the beginning eventually fizzled out, and our Franco-American romance was over. Jean-Marc's mind was set. To prove it, he bought me a one-way ticket back to Phoenix! Back … Continue reading My Journey from Arizona to France
