Kristin Espinasse's Blog, page 61

Down memory lane: Marianne

Benches along a trottoir in Collioures, France. Photo taken 11 years ago, when Jean-Marc and I celebrated our 11th anniversary, while dreaming of owning a vineyard one day.

TODAY'S WORD: le trottoir

: sidewalk

Mas de la Perdrix-the perfect home to celebrate special occasions with family and friends…click here.




ECOUTEZ/LISTEN: listen to Jean-MarcDownload Trottoir

En France et en Suisse, par métaphore, le trottoir est aussi le nom communément donné au bord d'une tarte ou d'une pizza...

Se rendre compte & We can be heros, just for one day

The sunflower that bloomed herein January. Today it reminds me of a search light, combing the sky above, looking for a starman....

TODAY'S WORD: se rendre compte

: to realize

ECOUTEZ/LISTEN hear Jean-Marc read this quote
Download MP3orWav file

J’ai toujours pensé que j’étais un artiste intellectuel, je me rends compte aujourd’hui que, la moitié du temps, je n’ai aucune idée de ce que je suis en train de faire. Et plus je vieillis, moins je réfléchis à ce que je fais.

I'm terribly intuit...

The Lazy Man's French Cake & faire son beurre

Occasionally someone writes in to ask about room rates at our vineyard. Now's a good time to clear up any confusion: the rental ads seen in this newsletter are not referring to our home (how I'd love this to be our kitchen! Hélas, it belongs to Mas de Perdrix, a dream-come-true place to stay in Provence, with it's well-appointed kitchen and well-appointed everything!

Mas de la Perdrix-the perfect home to celebrate special occasions with family and friends…click here.


TODAY'S EXPRESSION :"...

Bonne Année! Dependency and what I gave up

Sunrise here at our vineyard, and a new day. Make that a new year!

TODAY'S WORD: labienveillance

: goodwill, kindness, loving-kindness


ECOUTEZ/LISTEN to Jean-Marc read this example sentence

Download Bienveillance

Développe en toi l'indépendance à tout moment, avec bienveillance, simplicité et modestie. - Marc-Aurèle
Develop at every moment in yourself independence, loving-kindness, simplicity and modesty.

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE

"Independence in the Land of Coffee and Wine"

by Kr...

A realization + Bon bout d'an in English

TODAY'S FRENCH WORDS: Bon bout d'an!

    : Happy end of the year!

ECOUTEZ/LISTEN to Jean-Marc pronouce these words: Download MP3 or Wav

Bon bout d'an. Il est de tradition, en Provence,  de souhaiter un "bon bout d'an"  à la fin de l'année.  Happy end of the year. It is a tradition, in Provence, to wish a "good end of the year" at the end of the year.

MAS DE PERDRIX. A home in France that artists and writers love to rent.  Work on your...

The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Story

Christmas lights in our village of  St Cyr-sur-Mer

MAS DE PERDRIX. A home in France that artists and writers love to rent.  Work on your creative project in this inspiring environment.

TODAY'S WORD: le menuisier

    : carpenter


ECOUTEZ/LISTEN: hear Jean-Marc pronounce the following sentence: 
Download MP3 or Download Wav

    Le menuisier. Le menuisier a donner à Kristi un cadeau de grand signification.
 ...

Is your work good? Truth, Chiaroscuro, and the Creative life

An artist painting at the port near our vineyard

TODAY'S FRENCH WORD: clair-obscur

    : chiaroscuro 

Chiaroscuro in art is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modelling three-dimensional objects and figures. Similar effects in cinema and photography also are called chiarosc...

Monkeys, Encouragement and French

Smokey, illustrating today's story. Thanks for reading and sharing this post. 

TODAY'S WORD: le singe

    : monkey

ECOUTEZ/LISTEN: Download MP3 file

Les singes sont bien trop bons pour que l'homme puisse descendre d'eux.
Monkeys are much too good for men to have descended from them. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE...

    by Kristin Espinasse

La Vie en Rose... rose as a monkey's nose!

I started my day with two swift...

Tiens bon! How to say "Hang in There" in French

When nature decks the halls. Photo taken in Serre Chevalier, near Briançon.

TODAY'S WORDS: TIENS BON!

    : hang in there!


ECOUTEZ / LISTEN - hear Kristi pronounce today's expression: 

Download mp3 or Download wav file

 

WHERE TO RENT IN FRANCE? Special thanks to our longtime sponsors--Marilyn, David, and Marianne--who have been a great support to my newsletter! See their French homes, click on their highlighted links, below:

MAS DE PERDRIX ....

La Joie de L'Ame. Where to Find The Soul's Joy

More photos from my time with Susan, here at Instagram

TODAYS WORDS:  La Joie de L'Ame

    : the soul's joy

 

ECOUTEZ / LISTEN to Jean-Marc pronounce today's French words:
Download Joie-de-ame or Download wav

    La joie de l'âme est dans l'action.
    The soul's joy lies in doing.

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE...
by Kristin Espinasse

Un hommage à L'Amitié / A Tribute to Friendship

IT all began at the train st...