Kristin Espinasse's Blog, page 48

Happiness is... a French quote about le Bonheur

A one-line metaphorical update on the sale of our vineyard here in St. Cyr-sur-Mer: For 7 months now, despite a mountain of bureaucracy involved in the transfer of our property, and with a few thousand miles to go...it seems we are about to come in for a rough landing--and I can almost see us all (Mama Jules included) spread out, along with all of our belongings--across a parched yard in La Ciotat where we will slowly pick up the pieces, water the garden, and move inside, to a new chapter o...

L'un pour l'autre + Deciding with (or for?) a family member

The room Mom usually stays in when she visits us from her home in Puerto Vallarta. This time we gave her Max's room, as he is away in Montpellier and will soon move to Mexico. But will Grandma Jules be there when he arrives? Read on.


TODAY'S WORD: l'un pour l'autre

        : for each other, one for another

Audio File, click here: Listen to Jackie read the following quote in honor of the writer Brian Doyle

Soyez tendres l'un pour l'autre. Soyez plus tendre que vous avez été hier. --Bria...

Vocabulary Roundup : the French words we learned in May

Fred and my Mom dancing, in May 2015

Happy Birthday Fred Caswell!

Fred turns 90 today! He is one of the first readers I ever met, around 2005, and I have had the pleasure of seeing this Middletown, Rhode Island resident several times in France: at our home in Les Arcs, our first vineyard in Ste Cécile-les-Vignes, and here at Mas des Brun. Fred and his beautiful wife, Nancy, are a great inspiration -- for their caring hearts, sense of adventure, and desire to continue growing and learning....

Did you know The French Salt rule?

Une paillote or beach restaurant in Ramatuelle

Rosé is Ready! Jean-Marc will be able to hand you your wine purchase in person, in Nice, June 3rd. Contact him at jm.espinasse@gmail.com

TODAY'S WORD: la salière

        :salt shaker, salt cellar



A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE

Les Bonnes Manières à Table

    by Kristi Espinasse

It's never too late to learn French etiquette. Yesterday while having lunch at  une paillote on the beach, I learned how to pass the salt for the first time since coming...

Faire du sport + "forest baths": your ideas and tips for relaxing mind and body

SABLET HOME- for high quality vacation rentals in the heart of Provence. Recommended by readers. Click here for photos.

 
Thank you very much for the feedback you sent in on the website redesign at French Word-A-Day. I've so far added a search box, included more posts on the front page and brought back the "recent posts" in the blog's sidebar and footer. Suggestions welcome in the comments (link at the end of this post).


TODAY'S WORD: faire du sport

    : to work-out
   : play sports, do...

Envers + Recipe for generosity

Today, try the online edition--and let me know what you think of the new background (from red to some lighter shade...). photo: Chris Davis

Speaking of  colors and shades our Mas des Brun is now available in the US at these addresses.

TODAY'S WORD: envers

     : to, towards
    : back

à l'envers = upside down

Try Mastering French Vocabulary with Audio MP3

AUDIO FILE: Click here to listen to Jean-Marc read the following in French

La vraie générosité envers l'avenir consiste à tout don...

Porter + en savate: A popular way to wear a French classic (espadrilles!)

Beneath the wicker baskets you can see the stand of neatly-stacked espadrilles at our local quincaillerie here in St Cyr-sur-Mer

SABLET HOME- for high quality vacation rentals in the heart of Provence. Click here for photos and more details.

TODAY'S WORD: porter

    : to wear

prêt-à porter = ready-to-wear

Click here to listen to Jean-Marc read the French words espadrilles porter en savate

Les espadrilles se portent en mode “savate” (talon ouvert derrière) ou avec le talon fermé. Petit...

Mon Grand: A Father's tender tribute to his son, in French and English

Our son Max turns 22 years old today. On this special occasion I have asked Jean-Marc to express his thoughts, which are especially moving in today's recording (don't miss the sound file in French). The English version of this letter follows, just below.

Where to find Mas des Brun Wines?
Thanks to those of you who have written in asking where to buy our Mas des Brun wine. Click here to find out.

TODAY'S WORD: Mon Grand

        : my big boy, my son, my darling



A FATHER'S TRIBUTE TO HI...

Bichonner & wise words concerning beauty by Sam Levenson

Today's bilingual post was inspired by Douglas's comment in a post called Papillon . Douglas shared the following recipe for beauty, adding it was from " Sam Levenson (although often attributed to Audrey Hepburn because she enjoyed reading it to her children)". Listen to our daughter read these sage words in French....

TODAY'S WORD: bichonner

        : to pamper oneself

Can you distinguish between the French U sound and the French OU sound? Take this quiz from FluentFrench.com

FRENCH CO...

To shut somebody up (in French): clouer le bec

Peace and quiet outside the Relais Odeon Bistro in Paris. Sit down and enjoy a slice of pie--just don't fling it at anybody....

TODAY'S EXPRESSION: clouer le bec

    : to shut somebody up

French listening tip: do you hear "le" in this French sentence?

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"Le Bec ( the beak) has lots of uses in French. It can be used to describe somebody who likes exquisite food "A Gourmet"...Il/elle a le bec fin ( one of the most expensive French restaurants in Philadelphia is calle...