Kristin Espinasse's Blog, page 28
October 29, 2019
Le Frelon: hornets drove away our bees; Jean-Marc made honey
Yesterday, harvesting our first honey from La Ciotat, I saw a swarm of hornets in one of our abandoned hives. (Listen to Jean-Marc read in French, below.)
Today's Word: le frelon
: hornet, Vespa
Click here to listen to Jean-Marc's sentence:
Hier, en récoltant notre premier miel de La Ciotat, j'ai vu un essaim de frelons dans une de nos ruches abandonnée.
Gift Idea: Scratch off World Map poster - a great gift for your favorite adventurer to plan a trip on the world map wall poster then record their journey. Or...
October 25, 2019
Orageux: Stormy Night and visit chez le podologue
Chapter 9 of our vineyard memoir is online now. Mike, reading along from South Africa, writes: "For me, quite the most enjoyable chapter so far, because it gives insight into your personal migration over the years." Merci, Mike! For all of us, the pursuit of a dream, whether life in France or a satisfying relationship, involves an emotional migration of the ego and soul. This message is at the heart of our book, available here .
TODAY'S WORD: ORAGEUX
: stormy, tempestuous
October 17, 2019
Art and Contretemps, and a walk with writer Catherine Berry
My dear friend Tessa is organizing more art escapades in France, check them out here. Her colorful flyer, above, sets the tone for today's topic: art.
CONTRETEMPS (con-truh-tahn) noun, masculine
: mishap, mischance
: hitch; delay, inconvenience
: syncopation (music)
arriver à contretemps = to arrive at the wrong moment
jouer à contretemps = to play out of time
Click here, listen to Jean-Marc read the following sentence
Nos destinées et nos volontés jouent presque toujours à contretemps. Our destinies and our wishes are almost always out of step. --...
October 14, 2019
Fournisseur: Photos from the Grand Opening of Jean-Marc's wineshop!
On Thursday, October 10, my friends, suppliers and other guests came to the official opening of Le Vin Sobre La Ciotat. (See the French translation and listen to Jean-Marc read his words, below)
Today's Word: le fournisseur
: supplier, provider
Click here to listen to the example sentence in French:
Le Jeudi 10 Octobre, mes amis, les fournisseurs et d'autres invités sont venus à l'inauguration officielle du Vin Sobre La Ciotat.
October 7, 2019
S'emballer: Jean-Marc's heart after the 2019 Ironman Barcelona
In between these letters, you can follow colorful updates on my Instagram @kristinespinasse
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Today's Word: s'emballer
: to race, to bolt, to soar, to rocket
=> s'emballer also means to get carried away, to lose control of yourself
Listen to Jean-Marc read the following update, click here
À 28 kilomètres de la ligne d'arrivée de l'Ironman Barcelona, mon cœur a...
October 4, 2019
A lost phone and a found skill: Max's foray into juggling
Learn and listen to this sentence in French, below: Juggling is an exercise of skill that consists in its strictest sense of throwing, catching and relaunching objects in the air. It can be a game, a sport, an art or a religious rite.
Today's Word: lancer
: to throw, toss, launch La jonglerie est un exercice d'adresse qui consiste dans son sens le plus strict à lancer, rattraper et relancer de manière continue des objets en...
October 1, 2019
Dolphin...and other seaworthy terms in French
Many people are unaware of it, but this sea is home to dolphins, whales, cachalots, and pilot whales. Learn this sentence in French, in the soundfile section, below.
Today's Word: le dauphin
: dolphin
: heir to the throne
: runner-up (beauty competition)
In books: Pronounce it Perfectly in French
Click here to listen to Jean-Marc pronounce dolphin in French in the following sentence
Beaucoup l’ignorent, mais cette mer abrite des dauphins, des baleines, des cachalots, ou encore...
September 27, 2019
Relationship tip? Keep 'em guessing! Deviner is the word of the day
For our 25-year marriage anniversary, I reserved a surprise for Kristi. Guess where we are going to go... (Listen to Jean-Marc read his sentence in French, below.)
Today's word: deviner
: to guess
: to figure out
: to surmise
Click here to listen to the following sentence in French
Pour notre 25ème anniversaire de mariage, j'ai reservé une surprise à Kristi. Devinez où nous allons aller.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
When Jean-Marc told me he had reserved a sur...
September 22, 2019
On s'aimera toute la vie
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse (the following passage is a postnote from the end of chapter 8...) The title of this book (from the 50s) reads: We will love each other all our...
September 18, 2019
Two Milestones: News about Jean-Marc and Jackie
Photo of our family in Le Vin Sobre wine shop--a project Jean-Marc has been working on all summer. The doors officially opened, here in La Ciotat, on Friday. (left to right: Jackie, Jean-Marc, Max, and Kristi.)
Today's word: vieille canaille
: old scoundrel
Click here to listen to the following sentence
Bonjour, c'est Jean Marc. Je vous invite à venir visiter ma cave à vin - épicerie fine à La Ciotat. Vous y découvrirez toutes mes sélections ainsi qu'une section intitulée "vieilles can...
