une histoire à dormir debout
frigo

boussole

I Heart Chairs (c) Kristin Espinasse
Today's word might as well be motley or hodgepodge or pastiche or...

la boussole (boo-sol) noun, feminine

  : compass  

synonym: la tête (head)
perdre la boussole = to lose one's head; to go haywire, bonkers 

Listen: Hear Jean-Marc pronounce the word "boussole": Download boussole.wav

Vivre sans but, c'est naviguer sans boussole. Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass. --John Ruskin

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

A French Floozie--make that a Language Tarte

Bonjour to any new readers who may just be tuning in. My name is Kristin and I am the ex desert rat who selects these thrice-weekly French words, words that have been described as everything from "obscure" to "absurd", but then—so is lifelife which forms the bucolic backdrop of these in theme with the "absurd" word stories. 

Because this site's "about" page is somewhat outdated (the first draft was written in 2002, three years after these letters began—via the Pony Express—which is as cool a synonym as I can find for "snail mail"), as I was saying, given that the blog's bio page is a little behind-the-times, it was hinted to me that it would be une bonne chose to update it from time to time.  Here, today, is one of those times....

That Magnetic Pull
In a nutshell or, as the French would say, bref, from Phoenix—and all the way to France—I followed that inner magnetic pull (you do know it, don't you?), that invisible claw that hooks the hearts of smart cookies and language tarts (me voilà, that's me, the latter).

Do not be misled, the fact that I love words does not make me the darling of higher ed. I'm hardly street smart. But I've an inner compass and can follow 'une carte' of the heart. So far it got me to France, and don't that make me a smart tarte?

Some are curious as to just what I do for a living (dare I say dream?) and yet... I never dreamed, as a kid perched among the leaves of a mesquite tree, the desert floor stretch out beneath me, no, I never imagined I'd be a writer, one who turns dreams into written things.

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Additional info: I love bikes... or the idea of bikes. That's Jean-Marc and me, above...

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... and I love to take pictures of bikes -- chairs too....

Voilà, or at Pat said recently, in the comments section, wa la! Which reminds me, I love to read your words and stories, so please don't hesitate to leave a message, here in the Coin Commentaires.
 

French Vocabulary

bonjour = hello

une bonne chose = a good thing

bref = briefly

me voilà = that's me

la tarte = pie

voilà = so there you have it

 

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In film:  Paris Je T'aime Paris I love You.

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Smokey The Bandit... more photos coming soon.

Still reading? And I thought I was the only one who made it this far down in the newsletter... Good! So, do you want to see the previous about page update? Here's even more about this "thrice-weekly" letter and its characters... in this post from last summer.

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:
1.Zelle®, The best way to donate and there are no transaction fees. Zelle to [email protected]

2.Paypal or credit card
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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gail bingenheimer

la vie en rose
The good life

Je vous ai aperçus, toi et ton chien.
I noticed you and your dog.

mary

Hi Kristin, I love your "chair convention"....I, too, love chairs (maybe it has become a fetish or an addiction)--each one has its own personality and place. I do believe that Smokey and Jones have a lot in common--a passion for food and the ability to open the refrigerator. As always, I love your posts.

Bill in St. Paul

My wife and I also love to ride our bikes but in Minnesota the bike-riding season is 6 months max, unless you're like our son and son-in-law who ride year round. Good bike paths that often have the snow removed before the streets do allow them to ride in all weather.

Smokey's lookin' good!

Marie

Oh Kristin, you brighten my day! I love your pictures and seeing if I already knew the word or could figure out the meaning before I look at it, very cool. I too love France and try to get there once a year but since my husband is an invalid, it becomes more and more difficult. So, keep sharing your stories and pictures for my little taste of la belle.......
Marie in South Carolina

Suzanne, Monroe Township, NJ

Hmmm, I know my sister Margaret is ooo la laing over those chairs. If your Smokey and our Bijou every got together they could probably empty the refrigerator in no time at all! I have enjoyed your photos of bicycles over the years ... each one captured in and artistic way.

Ophelia in Nashville

What wonderful photos. Smokey's made me laugh, and I put myself right in one of those lawn chairs, with a blanket, I think -- to enjoy the view. Am not a biker, but a walker/hiker. I do believe in bike travel though, and Nashville is slowly changing with bike paths and greenways. We have to clear the snow only a couple of times a year, too, here in the mid-south.

Thanks as always, Kristin, for this moment in Provence.

Lesley-Ann Hoare

Aaaaaaagh! I am going around in circles!!!!!
Iam trying to "leave a messaage .... here..." as it suggests in the blog hyperlink. Ou meme fait tomber un comment dans le 'coin commentaire' but each time I hit the link, I recreate another page of the same link.... if you know what I mean. It's a bit like looking in a mirror looking in a mirror.
But my fanciful comment was .... how I miss being in France! Especially now that it is almost Christmas... the gouter... les petites verres..s.. les soirees partager.. Oh, how I wish I were there. Either in Provence or else in Bretagne.... I love it and I miss it. But we are too far to even partially reconstruct the time. Here we are in 30 + degrees, with no rain - drought even - and I want to be in France..... I guess I ought to do something about it. Go there or shut up. But your pages ..... bisous, Lesley-Ann in Perth W.Australia

Frank Levin

Your chairs and ours share the burden of the long wait until the warmth of spring will suggest the placements of some bottoms on their seats. I look out the window in the grayness of the predawn to an Oregon terrace that will be gray like this for months. I sigh. The chairs are so patient. They know we will be back.

louis bogue

Hello and thank you for the chairs, it brings back my fond memories of sitting in that group, talking with you and the crew, my body is back in Fla. but my mind is right there with the chairs and am already planning to return next year, have a wonderful Xmas holiday and the Best to you and your fanily, Love Lou

Jan R.

Absolutely love the photo of the chairs. They fascinate me, too - especially empty chairs, just waiting for the right person to come along to sit down and relax. The very definition of patience.

Jeanne of Maumee, OH

Okay, I can ask you, you live there! Some Americans think Voila is pronounced with a W sound. I heard Parisians say it with the V, though the V is very soft.
What gives?

Marcia J. Yanshak

I love to hear the pronunciation part of your letter. But a single word is not enough. We need an entire sentence (or two!)
to improve our inflection and intonation.

Marcia

Kristin

Rebonjour and thank you for your words about the chairs, "the Smokey", the time of year and more. So happy to read every word.

Lesley-Ann: so many of us can sympathize with such comments box "casualties". So sorry! Though I have not had the particular "mirror syndrome", I have often had the intense regret of losing a carefully written response! Nowadays I hit "Ctrl A" then "Ctrl C" to copy whatever words I've typed so far, in the box. Then, after hitting send, if there's a problem, I can always use "Ctrl + V" to paste the text back in. (and, HA!, fool the comments box devil).

Frank: loved your story about the patient chairs! Merci!

Jeanne: I've always pronounced the "v", but Pat's reference to the "wa la" expression makes me smile.

Marcia: I hear ya! I'm having tech problems with the recording part. I need to fix this.... (today's word was recorded a few years ago... but I didn't record an example sentence back when the file was made...)

Jeanne of Maumee, OH

Thanks for your quick reply, Kristin!

Gwyn Ganjeau

Kristing, i love the chairs photo! I have a bit of an obsession with chairs. There is something so powerful to me about an object whose primary function is to bear our weight. To support us. It's like having this silent ally. How great is that.

Also, I love that we get a tiny peek of you in the mirror taking the picture of the bike! It's like being behind the scenes!

Best to all, Gwyn

Steve

Hi Kristin, Although there never seems to be enough time to fit everything in, in addition to commenting in your posts - a crazy life combined with the impending silly season,(an effective recipe for 'mad making'I think), be assured your posts are a delight to receive. Your photo's are a wonderful reminder of happy memories of travelling in La Belle France and serve to remind me to make time for another trip sooner rather than later. J'espere vous avez une bonne Noel, and all good wishes to you and your family from hot and humid Melbourne, Australia. Steve and Cheryl

dorothy dufour

You make me think of my favourite quotation - the first words in "Scaramouche" - "He was born with a gift for laughter, and a sense
that the world was mad".

Joyeux noel a toute la famille!

Dorothy in abbotsford bc, where it is often grey these days.

Claudia

Kristin, We have "lost our heads" as we've set "notre boussole" for Paris for Christmas. Rented an apartment and can't wait to return.

yvonne

Thanks so much for your post.
I love to visit.
Merry Christmas
yvonne

Laura

Bonjour Kristin! C'est toujours un plaisir de lire tes histoires et de voir les belles photos qui viennent avec chaque courriel. En ce moment j'essaye d'étudier pour mon premier examen de français à l'Université de Victoria en Colombie Britannique, mais c'est quand même difficile avec touts tes nouvelles mots a apprendre! J'espère qu'ils m'aideront. Joyeux Noël et merci pour me toujours fais sourire! xoxo Laura

Mike

Hi Kristin , I've met my love who is Parisienne and I'll be relocating to Paris in 2 months . I was visiting her last month and saw a woman at the caisse who looked a lot like you at the H&M les halles. Was that you? This was the weekend before that book reading at Shakespeare and Co. Anyway. Merci pour le fenetre into your French life.
Mike

Kristin Espinasse

Hi Mike: Me, at the HM? Hmmm, if the person you saw had all her holiday shopping with her, at the check out register (and all ready to check out), then I do hope that was me! Hélas, no.... twasnt. Bon courage with the move - so happy for you!

Newforest

Kristin, I love the word "boussole", and the useful object it represents, with its most precious magnetic needle!

Unfortunately, when
-- "vous perdez la boussole"
-> 'you lose your head',

you feel
-- "complètement déboussolé"
-> 'entirely disorientated'.

Whatever you do,
and whatever is around you,
it's essential to:
-- "ne pas perdre le Nord"!
-> 'to keep focused', 'to keep one's head screwed on (the right way!... in the right direction)

Thank you for your "méli-mélo" ('hodgepodge') of little stories - a real treasure of charm, wit, compassion, poetry, linguistic artistry ... each story supporting a French word and keeping the door open to let the French language enter the room in various ways.
Next time you renew your 'about Page', we might read something like: 'I had to reduce my 'thrice'-weekly newsletter to 'twice' for a while, but I am delighted to say the writing of my book is near completion'.

Your own talent, your years of experience in writing 3 times a week, and that inspiring course in Paris last June seem to lead you to writing a book of short stories, or a book for 'children and grown-ups' ... Whatever type of book, it will be a book where the reader will recognize that little ringer / that magnetic pull...

"La boussole" was a great choice of word today - so symbolical too!
The photo of the chairs gives me the feeling they are all waiting so patiently, in a welcoming sort of way, each one with its own origin, its own story, its own beauty...

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