FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Where French dogs go to perk up & prettify their pelage.

Update on Words-n-Wine: The book event in Aix-en-Provence has been cancelled due to a "rupture de stock" at Book-in-Bar (and difficulty re-ordering the book ).

"Pimsleur French I" includes 30 lessons of essential grammar & vocabulary. More French language software here.

le pelage (puh-lazh) noun, masculine
  fur, coat

Synonyms: le poil (fur), la toison (fleece), la robe (coat); la fourrure (fur)

Le rugissement du félin évoque le bruit de l'allumette contre le grattoir, tout comme les rayures de son magnifique pelage rappellent des flammes qui dansent. The big cat's yawning snarl evokes the spitting sound of a struck match, just as the colors of its fiery coat suggest dancing flames.
   --bilingual text from "Matchbox Labels" by Jane Smith and Natasha Lomas

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In thirty-six days my tile floors will be carpeted, never mind that wall-to-wall moquette* might be kitsch in France. It's the dog that is cramping our home style. If Braise* keeps this up, the shedding of her summer pelage,* then we'll have new floor covering within five weeks.

The upshot is that we will no longer need to wear slippers to buffer our feet from the cold ground. But then, all that fur tends to stick to the toes, toes which get carried into the bed each night, the fur ending up in the sheets, forming another blanket and there's no need for that as we already have feather couettes* to keep us warm at night.

All this fallen fur means that vacuuming has gone from a weekly to a daily chore. Various hose attachments are needed to draw up the clumps of golden retriever hair which land on the sisal rug in the kitchen, beneath my daughter's iron bed, under my belle-mère's* rush-bottomed chairs and below the fake Christmas sapin,* the hair imitating just fallen snow.

This morning after I had vacuumed the rez-de-chaussée,* I sat down to rest only to notice the fur-lined couch. I looked over to my daughter whose sweater's weave now including pet poils.* I glanced down at my jeans and discovered a fur ball teetering on the cuff. Saperlipopette!* My daughter and I were carpeted just like the floor had been, fur-coated just like the couch! And while several thousand poils beneath one's toes eliminates the need for slippers, I draw the line at wearing dog fur on my back.

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References: la moquette (f) = wall-to-wall or fitted carpet; Braise (pronounced brez) = our 7-month-old golden retriever puppy; le pelage (m) = coat, fur; la couette (f) = duvet, comforter; la belle-mère (f) = mother-in-law; le sapin (de Noël) (m) = Christmas tree; le rez-de-chaussée (f) = ground floor; le poil (m) = hair; saperlipopette! = my goodness!, gadzooks!

Listen to French: Hear my son, Max, recite today's quote: Download pelage.wav

Le rugissement du félin évoque le bruit de l'allumette contre le grattoir, tout comme les rayures de son magnifique pelage rappellent des flammes qui dansent.

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In Gifts:
Geo, a French-language magazine, reports on ecological issues around the world more French magazineshere.

The charming Bistro Leon wall clock

Woman's Best Friend: Women Writers on the Dogs in Their Lives. And don't miss this delightful story from this woman writer.

A book my son, Max, is reading over winter break (you might love it too!).