Kristin Espinasse's Blog, page 46
August 16, 2017
Adieu Mas des Brun: Last dispatch from the vineyard & Ratatouille recipe!
Goodbye Mas des Brun. Thank you for 5 wonderful years!
FARNIENTE--from the Italian fare (to do) and niente (nothing). Farniente is a new word for me, and an old one when it comes to naming a home (Jean-Marc tells me many French people name their homes farniente. Help us find a name for our new place, submit your suggestion in the comments at the end of this post
SOUNDFILE
Click here to listen to Jean-Marc read the following French words
Nous cherchons un nom pour notre future maison...nous...
August 8, 2017
Finally, Some News: We are now squatters...
These are now the good old days. Yesterday we drove 2 hours north, to the notary's office, to meet 9 people involved in our complicated, 4-hour transfer of property. Ça y est! We've sold our home and vineyard! We move on August 21st... (Photo by the previous previous owners of this stone mas, the Fraser and Moss family. Thank you, Maggie and Michael, for selling us your home in August of 2012 and for all you did to help us along the way. Thanks especially for your support in turning this pag...
August 3, 2017
Superhero in French & What SDF stands for
If there were sharks near our Mediterranean beach, I'd want to swim with my sister-in-law. She's a superhero--Batwoman and Wonder Woman combined! Read on....
SDF (Sans Domicile Fixe)
: "without permanent home", homeless
Sans Domicile Fixe--Click here to listen to Jean-Marc read the following French:
Les personnes sans-abri, sans domicile fixe, sans logis ou itinérants, anciennement qualifiées de clochards ou vagabonds, à ne pas confondre avec les mendiants, sont des personnes qui ré...
August 1, 2017
New Month, New Life? We're Packing! On Fait des Cartons!
"Let every belonging see the light" -- an epiphany I had while packing up my Mom's paintings. (photo of my Mom taken in Roussillon, around 2010)
"faire des cartons"
: to pack boxes
Click here for today's soundfile:
On fait des cartons mais, surtout, on se débarrasse de tout ce qui ne sert plus.
We are packing boxes but, especially, we are getting rid of what no longer serves.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
From here on out whatever we have in our home should be living! It doesn't have to...
July 27, 2017
Un Pot de Départ for Max & July Vocabulary Roundup
Our 22-year-old, Max, had a wonderful send-off party at the beach in Les Lecques (that's him centered beneath the sombrero). His closest friends gathered to wish him well in Mexico, where he will be on an exchange program through May 14th, 2018.
un pot de départ
: farewell drink
Bonne lecture - Happy Reading!
If you missed a post this month, no worries you can rattraper, or catch up! Here's a list of all the missives that went out.
July 24, 2017
Des Clopinettes & Old slang used by a new generation
Sometimes the best things in life are free...to go swimming in the sea costs nothing. (Photo of the bay in Les Lecques and La Madrague Port in St Cyr-sur-Mer)
"des clopinettes"
: peanuts, chickenfeed, next to nothing
Click here to listen to the following French words (English translation above)
Parfois les meilleurs choses de la vie sont gratuites - aller se baigner dans la mer, ça coûte des clopinettes
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
by Kristi Espinasse
At Port de la Madrague there is...
July 22, 2017
Eplucher + More about friendship... and Bernard's Courgette Carpaccio!
Eplucher is the word of the day. You've got to peel a few zucchinis to make this easy recipe....
Eplucher
: to peel
Il faut eplucher quelques courgettes pour réaliser cette recette fastoche....
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
by Kristi Espinasse
One reward of offering to help Bernard in the kitchen was learning a delicious, fast, and easy recipe. "Tu vas voir, c'est très facile," Berna...
July 17, 2017
Best City in which to live? La Bonne Reponse...
Cannes, Cassis, Annecy...what is the best city to live in? Read the response below.
la bonne réponse
: good answer
Listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the following French translation of our opening sentence:
Cannes, Cassis, Annecy...quelle est la meilleure ville pour y vivre? Lisez la réponse ci-dessous.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
by Kristi Espinasse
Saturday night we drove to Marseilles to celebrate two guys birthdays. Alexis and Bernard were collectively turning 100!
At Bernard's...
July 12, 2017
Boire la Tasse: Short story by the sea including funny French sayings
If you have to swallow a mouthful, better to do it in the sea, than in the pool. Photo taken this morning, while swimming with our golden.
"boire la tasse"
1. to swallow a mouthful, to swallow a lot of water (while swimming)
2. to lose a lot of money, to go under
Listen to Jean-Marc read the French translation to the sentence above
Si on doit boire la tasse, il vaut mieux que ça soit en mer, qu'en piscine.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
by Kristi Espinasse
This morning, while swimming wi...
July 10, 2017
Porquerolles sea-hunting trip + My husband's creative (and quirky) side
If you have ever been harmed by words, today's quote may help you. (Photo of me by Jean-Marc, more in today's lighthearted story.)
"la lance"
: spear
The most destructive of weapons is not the spear or the siege cannon, which can wound a body and demolish a wall.
The most terrible of all weapons is the word, which can ruin a life without leaving a trace of blood, and whose wounds never heal.
Let us, then, be the masters of our tongue and not the slaves of our words.
Even if words are...
