Kristin Espinasse's Blog, page 72
October 8, 2014
Breizh is a name and a place and a dog in France
Exercising restraint after posting a recent slew of dog photos. Enjoy some floweringmelisse(lemon balm) and this stonecabanon instead. (More about dogs in today's column...)
Breizh (pronunciation uncertain. Here we say BREZ)
: in the Breton language, Breizh means "Brittany"
Breizh, le nom breton de la Bretagne, vient lui d'un ancien Brittia. (Wikipedia)
Breizh, the Breton name for Brittany, comes from the ancient "Brittia".
Beautifully renovated and decorated home in the Luberon.4 bedrooms and a...
October 5, 2014
Thursday Meetup! + Jeton (do you know this handy word?)
Only 54 minutes to complete today's post--in time to profiteror take advantage of the garden before tomorrow's rain! Don't miss the bullet statements below--including information on Thursday's winetasting. (photo taken yesterday, at our local supermarché)
un jeton (zhuh-toh(n)
: token, chip
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Example Sentence from Wikipédia:
Le jeton est une sorte de monnaie ou de méreau aux fonctions multiples.
A token is a...
October 3, 2014
October 9th meetup + joie de vivre
Photo taken at Le Parc du Mugel in La Ciotat, where today's story takes place.
October 9th (Thursday) Winetasting
Join us here at home for the next dégustation. Teetolers welcome (you can sit beside me and my pitcher of Eau de Provence!) 10 euros per person. Email jm.espinasse@gmail.com
joie de vivre (jwah-deuh-vee-vruh)
: love of life
Style & comfort in the beauty of the Provencal countryside.4 bedrooms & a study with a sofa bed, each with ensuite (full) bath. Villa comfortably sleeps 7-9 adult...
October 1, 2014
Handy tool in every French home
Visited Cassis last week with my belle-mère and my father. At La Plage du Bestouan we saw thischarming home perched over the sea. More photos and videos of this past week's happenings--at Instagram.
la serpillière (sair-pee-yair)
: floor cloth, mop, swab
une pompe serpillière = utility pump for draining flood water
la serpillière gaufrée = cloth with a deep waffle pattern, handy for soaking up water
Audio File: listen to Jean-MarcDownload MP3orWav file
Serpillière. Pour éponger l'eau de l'inondat...
September 27, 2014
Stepmother or stepmom in French
I am bookending today's post with photos of my belle-mère, Marsha--in honor of the beautiful and inspiring woman my father married 20 years ago. I dropped off Dad and Marsha at Marseilles International airport today after an enriching, cozy and delicious visit (many great meals in la mijoteuse and many more by the sea, including here at La Plage du Bestouan in Cassis.).
la belle-mère (bel-mair)
: stepmother, stepmom
: mother-in-law
Beautifully renovated and decorated home in the Luberon.4 bed...
September 24, 2014
Favorite French Customs and Traditions (and Quirks)!
Opening the windows pour faire courant d'air-- this is but one popular French custom. Today we are talking about French traditions and quirks so get ready to share your observations here in the comments!
une bizarrerie (bee-zahr-reuhr-ree)
: a quirk or peculiarity
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FAVORITE FRENCH TRADITIONS OR CUSTOMS (or Quirks!)
Today, following the Favorite French Words post, we are sharing our Favorite F...
September 19, 2014
Favorite French Words & next winetasting!
Last winetasting in September is on the 28th at 5pm. We would love to see you so don't be shy--nobody here bites! Email jm.espinasse@gmail.com to reserve your seat on the front patio.
mimi (me-me)
: cute, sweet, nice pretty
--from the word mignon. Mimi, in casual talk, means "kiss" (un mimi sur la joue = a kiss on the cheek). And in childspeakmimi means chat. (See a whole list of babytalk here)
trop mimi = too cute
c'est mimi = so sweet (or nice or pretty or adorable)
fais-moi un mimi = give me a...
September 17, 2014
Le quignon - is it your favorite part too?
One more winetasting in September--here at home. Join us!
Thanks, Sam Gish, for this snapshot taken at our winetasting. The next meetup is September 28th. Hopefully there will still be flowers on the bougainvillea. Email us today and let us know if you can make it! Confirmations to jm.espinasse@gmail.com
le quignon (kee-nyohn)
: heel, hunk, or end of bread
Audio File:Download MP3orWav file
Un quignon de pain. Smokey aime bien qu'on lui donne un quignon de pain le matin. A heel of bread. Smokey r...
September 12, 2014
Un mijoteuse: a must-have for cool weather comfort!
No picture of a crock pot to illustrate today's word. How about a windowsill, which is sort of in theme with the corresponding story (the first sentence anyway). P.S. This snapshot was taken in Ménerbes.
une mijoteuse (me-zho-teuz)
: slow cooker
Also: crockpot, crock pot, or cocotte
Audio file / Example Sentence: Listen to Jean-Marc read the following sentence (he's recorded it for me while harvesting grapes at Chateau Pibarnon... you can barely hear the vendengeurs in the background :-)Downloa...
September 9, 2014
Tarpin! How to say "super duper" in French?
2009. With Jackie, when Smokey was tarpin young. Lately everyone's growing up around here! (Picture taken months after Smokey's horrible attack.)
Today's word is listed under "Parler Marseillais," or Marseilles lingo, so it may be a regional expression....
tarpin (tar-pahn)
: a lot, very
Would then "super duper" = tarpin tarpin? :-)
Audio File & Example Sentence:listen to Jean-Marc:Click MP3orWav
Il fait tarpin chaud. It's very hot!
Il y a tarpin de monde. There's a lot of people here!
