Kristin Espinasse's Blog, page 30
June 28, 2019
Une vue de l'esprit - what a great term in French!
A special thanks to those of you who left a comment following the previous post, about writing. if you only knew how much your words keep me going!
une vue de l'esprit
: attitude of mind
: pure illusion, a mental projection
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
You may have heard about the current heatwave in France. Here in La Ciotat we're melting! At the farmers market, the cashiers fanned themselves with cardboard and la canicule made as good a topic of conversation as any:
C'est une vue de l...
June 24, 2019
Seize the day (then write about it!) Une causerie with writer Sylvain Tesson at Château de Pibarnon
The above is part of the invitation Jean-Marc and I received, to attend a most inspiring causerie. Read about it in today's chronique....
Today's Word: une causerie
: une causerie is an informal talk by an interpreter, given in a familiar tone and often accompanied by a demonstration, a theatrical animation, a slide show, etc.
Click here to listen to the example definition in French
Une causerie est une conférence informelle d'un interprète, faite sur un ton familier et qui est souv...
June 19, 2019
Ephemere (Jean-Marc is taking over today's post...)
With my new Lover : Ephemera :) Today's Word: "éphémère" - Qui est de courte durée, cesse vite. - That which is short-lived, stops quickly
Click here to listen to the soundfile for today's word
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE... by Jean-Marc Espinasse
Ephemeral... like this unusual short edition. When, this morning, I asked Kristi to mention that a few cases of my Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Natural Wine (Ephemera) were still available in the US, she offered to let me write today's po...
June 12, 2019
le congé sabbatique, career break
Vacationers in the neighboring town of Cassis, France
Today's Word: le congé
: leave, time off
: sabbatical, career break
Sound file: Click here to listen to the following sentence:
(En France...) Toute personne ayant au moins six années d'activité professionnelle et ayant passé au moins 36 mois dans son entreprise actuelle peut bénéficier de ce type de congé sabbatique. -Wikipedia(In France...) Anyone with at least six years of professional activity and having spent at le...
June 6, 2019
On June 6, 1944, 1,213 warships (battleships, destroyers ...), 736 support ships, 864 freighters and 4,126 gears and barges land 20,000 vehicles and 156,000 men on the beaches of Normandy.
Diane Covington-Carter’s memoir, Finding Gilbert, a Promise Fulfilled, recently won a Gold award at the Society of American Travel Writer’s Western Chapter meeting in Tucson Arizona. The faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism wrote:
“This is a gripping travel memoir of how childhood stories of World War II turn into a quest. A lot of travel is driven by the quest for answers–and this book fulfills that desire to find the truth in faraway places. This piece about a father...
May 29, 2019
To flip somebody off in French
Today's spicy story takes place here along the boardwalk in La Ciotat...
faire un doigt d'honneur à quelqu'un
: to flip somebody off
Click here to listen to the following sentence
The driver--a woman in her 50s--flipped us off.
La conductrice--une femme d'une cinquantaine d'années--nous a fait un doigt d'honneur.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
Oh, this wind! It's Day 2 of Le Mistral and this morning my husband actually said a prayer to protect us from people's humeur o...
May 23, 2019
L'Herisson and... A Childrens Book?
July 6th - 13th. Paint in the Charente - 30% off.
Paint Provence with Tess welcomes you to Limetree House in Montemboeuf, a beautiful village in the Charente near to Lakes, Chateaux, Bordeaux, rolling hills and vineyards this is a perfect time to holiday away from the heat of the South of France. Reserve here.
Book Update:
Jean-Marc and I will soon publish Chapter 4 of The Lost Gardens--a memoir of 10 passionate years on two vineyards in Provence. If you have not purchased our book-in-progr...
May 18, 2019
Veinard, charrier, bienveillance: A colorful story by Cécile about the traditional carénage, or boat maintenance
Today, my belle-soeur, Cécile, shares about the carénage--that yearly maintenance all wooden boats undergo. (photo of fisherman caulking a boat, the ancient way--with rope. picture from Wikipedia, by Rmoorlag)
Book update: For those reading our vineyard memoir (we are finally telling the story. Do not miss it. Sample chapter here.), Chapter 3.5, written by Jean-Marc, will be posted Saturday....
Today's Word: veinard
: lucky person (lucky devil, lucky duck)
May 8, 2019
What does 'carénage' mean? + What wine and boats really have in common....
My dear friend, Barbara Barrielle, an investor in our first vineyard and a longtime resident of Aix-en-Provence, has found Provence in the U.S. in her hometown of Healdsburg in the heart of Sonoma County. A well-published travel and wine writer, her travel book on Sonoma County titled THE LOW DOWN allows the reader insight into what the locals know and love in this magical and diverse part of Northern California.
Today's Word: carénage
: boat service, boat maintenance, careening
May 3, 2019
Today's French expression: Se donner le mot (also le pointu, manque de chance, la pissaladière...and hangry...)
Are French bakers in cahoots? Read on in today's story. Also, see our book update at the end of this post.
Today's Expression: Se donner le mot
: to pass the word around
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
by Kristi Espinasse
A few days ago, my husband and I were headed to the old port, to take out the little pointu we are trying to buy. The wooden fishing boat is not ours yet, but the owner has kindly allowed us a few sorties, or outings, until Provencal bureaucracy kicks in and we are granted the...
