The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Story
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Christmas lights in our village of St Cyr-sur-Mer
MAS DE PERDRIX. A home in France that artists and writers love to rent. Work on your creative project in this inspiring environment.
TODAY'S WORD: le menuisier
: carpenter
ECOUTEZ/LISTEN: hear Jean-Marc pronounce the following sentence:
Download MP3 or Download Wav
Le menuisier. Le menuisier a donner à Kristi un cadeau de grand signification.
Carpenter. The carpenter gave Kristi a meaningful gift.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE...
by Kristin Espinasse
Today, in the seaside town of La Ciotat, I received a gift from a complete stranger after I wandered into his workshop... which turned out to be an antiques store.
"What are you looking for?" he asked with a warm welcome. But there was nothing I could think of. On my way through the shop, packed with intricately-carved armoirs and gilded mirrors, I saw a cross so forgotten that it was camouflaged right into the cold stone wall--a threshold between the showroom and the carpenter shop.
"What about this?" I said. The antiques dealer plucked up the dusty crucifix which was mounted on a threadbare wooden cross.
"I don't know," he said. "It's been here forever. Have it, it's yours.”
Tonight, I finally see the meaning in those last two lines, and I am so grateful for this gift and for the mystery behind it.
For more photos of this cross, click here and scroll through the pictures.
COMMENTS
To leave a comment, click here.
SABLET HOME - for high quality vacation rentals in the heart of Provence. Info here.
FLUENT FRENCH - Do you know French but have a hard time getting the words out during conversation? Click here.
Thank you for considering a contribution today!
Ongoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and improving this free language journal, for the past 18 years. If you enjoy this website and would like to keep it going, please know your donation towards this effort makes all the difference! No matter the weather, on good days or bad, I am committed to sharing a sunny, vocabulary-packed update with you, one you can look forward to. I hope it fuels your dreams of coming to France while expanding your French vocabulary. A contribution by check or via PayPal (or credit card, links below) is greatly appreciated. Merci!