enchère
dimanche

couche

Couche-de-soleil copier
While this coucher de soleil was taken one year ago, it is the same sky that I wrote about in one of Pear's photo vignettes, here.

There are several new mini-vignettes which accompany the photos over at "Pear's Portrait Gallery" (more about "Pear," in today's story). In case you missed it, you'll find a link to the gallery here. Click on any of the photos to enlarge--and don't miss those story-captions below each photo.

Pear will be up for auction through Monday, October 6th, 12 p.m. (Pear Paris time)! Read all about this auction, and about our accidental starlet, here at http://enchere.notlong.com


couche (koosh) noun, feminine
    : coat, layer (painting); stratum

The word "couche" has many "layers" of meaning (ex: "hotbed" (horticulture) and "diaper"); why not expound on today's word by adding a few "couche" expressions and examples here, in the comments box?

Thank you for your help. Meantime, I'm updating today's story column with a behind-the-scenes vignette concerning our first auction!


A_day_in_a_french_life
My daughter and I are seated at the computer, viewing a gallery of photos* in which our dear Pear* is both the star... and the ticket!* I thank Jackie for the "Flying Dog"* prop, for if she hadn't been outside training our golden retriever to jump, I would have never gotten an exciting "action photo" for Pear's
portrait gallery.

When I ask Jackie which is her favorite "portrait," she names her dog's "high jump," of course. Then, after looking at all of the images in the gallery, my eleven-year-old makes a striking declaration:

"Mom, even I could paint that pear!"

Quickly, I elbow my daughter and take care to begin speaking in French: for Pear's creator is seated in bed, just behind us, eating chocolate-covered licorice and framing, in her mind, her next oeuvre* ("Mother and Daughter seated at the Cyber Gallery"). I wonder if she'll paint the little wooden chair, the
seat of which Jackie and I are sharing, my arm wrapped around her shoulder so neither of us fall from the narrow seat.

After my daughter's biting comment, I notice that Jules stirs. Has she suddenly understood an entire French phrase? No, she is not aware of our conversation: she is lost in thought about her next painting...

"My mother never put her arm around me like that," Mom laments, still framing Jackie and me in her mind, capturing our portrait there at the computer screen. I tighten my one-arm embrace, and turn to look into my daughter's eyes.

"Jackie," I say in a hush, mindful of the artist. "Pear may look simple, but she is DEEP! She has many, many layers..." I explain. I think about Mom's palette knife and all those layers of paint. And I think about Mom's own superimposed past, and how its rainbow strata, ranging from fiery red to somber blue, can still color her mood.

*** Auction Update***

"Pear" has received her 7th bid! If you are interested in our "Sweet Pear", then check out the "CURRENT BID" section at the end of this most recent story: http://enchere.notlong.com


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~References~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
gallery of photos = (see them here); Pear = a painting by my mom, Jules Greer; the ticket = the goal behind this auction (to buy Mom's return ticket to France); "Flying Dog" = (see the photo); une oeuvre (f) = a work of art



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shopping~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rosetta Stone Version 3: French Level 1, 2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion
1926 Paris Letter Gift Wrap Decoupage paper,vintage look poster or print
In French music: Putumayo Presents: Paris
Read Paris Match magazine, in French.

A Message from KristiOngoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.

Ways to contribute:
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Or purchase my book for a friend and so help them discover this free weekly journal.
For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety

Comments

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Janine Cortell

Another couche: couche d'ozone
couche de poussiere

Alice Freeman

How about couche-couche?
That would be a Moroccan pasta used in making tagine. Tee hee!

Newforest24


By the way,
Je suis "couche tard" (a night owl)
and you?.......


Newforest24

My first post seems to have disappeared! How strange... Starting again...

---> COUCHE = LAYER
- une couche de neige (snow)
- une couche de poussière (dust)
- une couche de crasse (dirt, filth)
- une couche de graviers (gravel)
- une couche de confiture (jam), une couche de fraises (strawberries) .....

- Familiar expression: “une couche” (une “sacrée” couche) is a person who is really “thick” (imagine a stubborn brain covered with layers and layers of ignorance ...)

---> COUCHE = LAYER, STRATUM
- une couche argileuse (adjective argileux/se, from: “argile” = clay)
- une couche calcaire (adjective calcaire, from: “calcaire” = chalk, limestone)
- les couches atmosphériques --> strata / layers of the atmosphere)

---> COUCHE = COAT
- une couche de peinture (paint)
- une couche de vernis (varnish)

---> COUCHE = NAPPY (UK) / DIAPER (US)
- une couche culotte = disposable nappy / diaper
- changer la couche de bébé = to change the baby's nappy / diaper

---> COUCHES = CHILDBIRTH
- être en couches = to be giving birth
Words in this context belonging to same family:
- accoucher / donner naissance = to give birth
- accouchement = delivery, labour...

-----------------------------------------------
This list isn't exhaustive.
-----------------------------------------------

By the way, I am a night owl -> Je suis “couche tard”
and you?

Clare

Couche mince - a thin film, as in the kind of thin film coating used as the refelective or recording layer on a DVD or CD

Ray

In south Louisiana (USA), couche-couche is a dish of corn meal fried in a little oil, eaten for breakfast or evening meal. When I was a child this dish was very popular and cost-efficient. The degree of nutrition was debatable, but it was usually served with syrup and or milk.

Jennifer in OR

Beautiful sunset over the vineyard!

Jon North

From time to time, I'm moved to remind readers that the English language comes in more than one variety (like grapes, chocolates and many other good things). Kristin naturally uses US English, but where I come in the UK from diaper (couche) is 'nappy', and (going back to her older list of children's language) wee-wee the object (kiki or quéquette) is 'willy' and countless other words, while wee-wee (pipi) is what comes out and (if you're lucky) gets caught in the nappy!! Forgive me if I seem to have kept to a rather monotonous theme in this message - I will try to raise the tone in future ones!

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