Jean-Marc, watering 5,600 baby vines by hand. When I posted this picture on my Facebook, Jeanne Asakura wrote: Such a peaceful scene. There’s a reverence about it as well. Jeanne, your words couldn’t be more true. Read on in today’s story… Tirer sa révérence : to go, to pass away Beautifully renovated and decorated home in the Luberon. 4 bedrooms and a study … Continue reading Tirer sa reverence & Jean-Marc’s quiet tribute
Sorting and saving seeds with a group of French with special needs. Ouf! I think we all landed safely, you and me, after yesterday's switchover. French Word-A-Day has changed email carriers and just in time… I have so much more to share with you: words, photos, dreams and more. le pois chiche (pwah-sheesh) : chickpea Audio File: listen to Jean-Marc Download MP3 or Wave file … Continue reading le pois chiche & new permaculture friends!
That's Mama Braise and she's got two wildflowers just for you. Do you know what kind they are? Reaching my ankle, they are low to the ground (unlike poppies, which would have been my guess… ) Click here to classify this fleur sauvage in the comments box. un méli-mélo (may-lee-may-loh) : a collection of miscellany; mishmash, hodgepodge : chaos; muddle Cool! While researching … Continue reading Un meli-melo – a collection of miscellany, hodgepodge
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
Jackie. This is my daughter and she tells the best stories, just like her grand-mère, Jules. (photo taken in 2010) "It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. Today, for instance, as man and woman, both lover and mistress, I rode in a forest on an autumn afternoon under the … Continue reading beurre
What does a mom do when her kids use the M-word (see today’s story)? Does she look to an old French billboard for the answer? (This one, an ad for “La Roue” savon–see the old red wheel in the background?–seems to suggest a good old-fashioned washing-out-of-the-mouth with soap! SAPERLIPOPETTE (saah-pair-lee-poh-pet) exclamation : gadzooks! goodness me! Update: my friend Alicia just wrote in, adding this: … Continue reading saperlipopette!
The Beverly Hillbillies meet the Hexagone… Photo taken in front of our "baraque": a bidet, a bécane, a lot of beton and, beyond, a breathtaking view. bécane (bay-kan) noun, feminine bicycle, bike, machine "Bécane" is also slang for "motorcycle" and "machine". You can use the noun to designate a computer, a calculator or any machine upon which one works. Oh, the possibilities for employing today's … Continue reading bécane
In books: From Here,You Can’t See Paris, by Michael S. Sanders. la mémère (may-mer) n.f. granny, grandma Like “fifille,” “mémère” is a somewhat old-fashioned and informal word, used as a term of affection–“old dear”–when not uttered in a teasing way: “That hat makes you look like une mémère!”) Photo: A former mémère hangout in our village. In Quebec, “mémère” refers to a chatty, indiscrete person … Continue reading mémère
A special treat for you today: Barbara is back with a column on French homonyms. Read it in English or French. Either way, enjoy! pareil, pareille (pa-ray) adjective 1. the same 2. equal Expressions:du pareil au même = exactly the samen’avoir pas son pareil = to be remarkablesans pareil = unparalleled, uniquerendre la pareille = to get revenge on someone Citation du Jour:Le tennis … Continue reading pareil
