FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

The game of tir à la corde is illustrated here by our pups.

le tir à la corde

    : tug-of-war

A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse

This'll be quick today... for by the time you receive this missive, I will be on a train heading north to the American Library in Paris. And, on a less exciting note (so as not to say "sad note"), by the time you receive this letter the puppies will be gone.

Gone from our home, to be exact--yet settled in to a new nest.

I took the following pictures a few days ago, when the remaining four puppies were busy with a game of tir à la corde.*  Watching them "tug" and "war" reminded me of les hauts et les bas* that life will throw at them, no matter how good their new homes may be. 

And so, to our 6 darlings, I would like to tell them that in this vie*...

You've got to know when to clamp down....

...and when to tug...

and, sometimes more importantly,

 
you've got to know when it is time to let go.... and refuel.

Also...

It helps to be a team.

Have fun and don't struggle so much.

Never lose hope...

Give... a lot!

In this way you will always be a winner.

We will miss you Dixie, Épice,* Étoile,* Sugar, and Dune (the last two names we're just trying out... until the new owners let us in on the permanent prénoms*...)

As great grand-mère* Jules suggested, we'll have to have you all over to our house for a big birthday party in one year's time. I can't wait to see how you will have grown (I hope I will have too). Which brings me to the last lesson (or second-to-last lesson): never stop learning and never stop loving.

lots of love,

Grand-mère Kristi

PS: my, how you've grown!

Comments, corrections--and stories of your own--are welcome and appreciated!

~~~~~~~~~~French Vocabulary~~~~~~~~
le tir à la corde = tug-of-war; les hauts et les bas = the highs and lows; la vie (f) = life; une épice (f) = spice; une etoile (f) = star; le prénom (m) = first name; grand-mère (f) = grandmother

Coming this Saturday in Cinéma Vérité ... photos from Suze la Rousse! Don't miss them.

Shopping:

SmartFrench Audio CDs Intermediate/Advanced

French Demystified...simple enough for a beginner but challenging enough for a more advanced student.

Lego Make & Create Eiffel Tower 1:300

Cavallini Carte Postale * Vintage Paris * set of 12 cards Keepsake tin:  Regular & Joyeux Noel

A brocanteur and his santons in the town of Suze-la-Rousse.

languir (lahn-geer) verb

    : to yearn
.

Verb conjugation:
je languis, tu languis, il/elle languit, nous languissons, vous languissez, ils/elles languissent => past participle : langui

Audio File & Example Sentence: Listen to this sentence: Download Wav file or Download MP3

Je languis de vous voir à Paris! Venez nombreux -- amenez des amis!
I long to see you in Paris. Everyone's welcome -- bring your friends!

A Day in a French Life...
by Kristin Espinasse

Such characters in the town of Suze La Rousse! I look at all of the lively locals who I had missed when visiting the village last fall, with my mom (known to many of you as "Jules"). Mom and I had hoped to spend more time in the village, but the chill in the air sent us quickly back to the warmth of our car, with the promise to return when the weather was warmer.

C'est un été indien! Alone now, I listen to the French tchatche* about the extended summer that we are enjoying, as I stroll solo through the central parking lot, where a bustling brocante* is well underway. Noticing a basket of santons on the ground, I stop to talk to the brocanteur,* who, I soon discover, has as much character as all three of the santons that he is now holding.

The brocanteur tells me he is half Portugais* half Français* and I can see that he is wholly one of a kind. With his chiseled cheekbones, his salt and pepper hair swept back into a ponytail, and his piercing black eyes... He would be the perfect character study, I muse, for any aspiring novelist... 

He might be a villian... or a viscount
A policeman... or a prisoner
A hick... or a high-society socialite
A sailor... or a swordsman
A male model... or a monk
A French farmer... or a Finnish funambulist*...

Oh, the possibilities. Yes, he is the perfect character study, I muse, for a forlorn fiction writer... With that, I sigh, and begin to negotiate a price.

"The santons start at 15 euros each," the brocanteur informs me.

I point to my camera with its telephoto lens--hoping to give him the impression that I am a professional.
"I am here to take photos, not to shop," I begin my argument, "...but if you'll take twenty-five euros..." I bargain, "for these two santons and... and... for that pichet* over there," I add, (quickly pointing to anything to seal what I calculate to be a good deal...) "then you have yourself a sale!"

With that, the character of my unwritten book yields--as any one of his alter egos might while facing a feisty female-- and wraps the old santons, in newspaper, and the jug, in papier à bulles,* and I, the aching to be inspired novelist wrap my hands around my camera lens to capture my hero on film... if not in words.

To respond to this story, click here and access the comment box. I love to receive your feedback, even if I don't always have the chance to respond. Mille mercis!

To see the photos that I took in Suze la Rousse -- please subscribe to my private photo blog. You'll discover the villages that surround my own (Camaret, Tulette, Serignan...) via a gallery of images for each village. You might also give a gift subscription to a friend -- for the perfect Francophile cadeau! Click here for more information.

Note: if you are planning on attending the American Library in Paris event this Wednesday, Oct 7th, then please be sure to let me know so that I might look for you! Mille mercis to Ann Mah for organizing this event!

~~~~~~~French Vocabulary~~~~~
tchatche (tchatcher) = to chat; la brocante (f) = second-hand goods, fleamarket; le brocanteur (m) = seller at a fleamarket; portugais = Portugeuse; français = French; le funambulist = tightrope walker; le pichet = pitcher; le papier (m) à bulles = plastic wrap with "bubbles"

Puppy Update!: Two of the puppies have left the nest! The happy "parents" are Christian, Marie, and Marie's son, Thomas. (Marie and Christian are cousins.) Marie has a Westie named "Cesar" and Christian has a golden retriever, "Sally". Wish them all the best!

Shopping:

Tune Up Your French :
This book is structured around numerous key areas for improvement, covering everything from tricky grammatical structures to gestures, slang, and humor.

Map of French Cheese (Fromages de France) on Printed Towel:
Printed with a map showing France through their famous cheeses

Staub Heart Shaped Fondue Set : Feast like the French!
(for cheese or chocolate )

Globe-Toddlers Adventures in France!
With 55+ words in French and English, Adventures in France DVD will help your child's vocabulary expand.

Provendi Revolving Soaps
The practical and very neat Provendi revolving soap fixtures have adorned public school washrooms throughout France for years.

Photo of the puppies (beneath my son's legs) with their little identity tags (having just returned from the vet). Read today's picture story "Puppy Fodder" in which Braise-The-Dog and I offer up our ears, fingers, and toes to the Puppy Gods... before they go. (This is their last week with us...)

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le fourrage

    : fodder

Audio File and Example Sentence Download Wav or MP3

A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse

Kids! Every parent knows that caring for them can be an all-consuming activity, that is, when the kids are not busy consuming you.

Yesterday, Braise and I, exhausted after 7 weeks... and 14 years (respectively) of child-rearing, decided to GIVE IN.  And so we collapsed on the front porch and put up our figurative white flags.

With that... the puppies rushed forth in victory!

After getting our ears, noses, fingers, and toes chewed on... and our shirts and fur slobbered on... on a eu assez*... That's when we decided to play dead in order to get these puppies off our heads!

(Photo, below: Braise, in the background, feigns la mort.* I follow suit, protecting my face just in case...)

Braise is a natural. Just look at her play dead...

In my case, the puppies aren't buying it -- though one stops to feel my pulse with her paws.....

After a bit of ceremonial concern (short-lived sympathy on their part) ... the puppies now esteem... that it is time to revive the drama queens. Let's get their ears! Let's pull on their hair! (Braise, in the background, continues to play dead, unfazed by the toutou* torture...)

The victor! (Actually, there were six of them. Each got his/her turn to rise to the sky as Champion, glorified. 

***
Have you ever let a band of puppies run all over you? Comment here. If not, I urge you to add this to your 10 things to do in 2010 list! (You are making that list aren't you? Why not share a few of the items with us, here? I could use a few ideas for my list. Thanks in advance for the inspiration!)

Also: if you are planning on attending the American Library in Paris event this Wednesday, Oct 7th, then please be sure to let me know so that I might look for you!

~~~~~~~~~French Vocabulary~~~~~~~~
on a eu assez = we'd had enough; la mort = death; toutou = doggie