FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

We also have 'ristourne' in Danish spelled 'ristorno' meaning drawback (if you have paid for something - an insurance for instance - for a whole year and have to cancel before time; then you'll get a 'ristorno').

My view of Le Canigou (sacred mountain of the Catalans) every time I go out . Ever changing moods & colours & always guarding our valley .

There is nothing quite as enjoyable, therapeutic, cleansing . . . and FREE . . . as a good hike in the mountains in the Fall. To me, that is.

Bonjour, Kristie,
Because I live on the west coast of Florida the most wonderful thing I get for free is a beautiful sunset 🌅 almost every evening. We watch for the green flash as le soleil dips into the gulf, but I have yet to see it. Kristi, thank you for your dedication to this blog, especially through all your trials and tribulations over the past few years. You are truly an inspiration!

I've stayed at this home in Sablet and can recommend it fully!

Love in in you, free, and all you need is to let it out--free it! The moon, the sun, the earth you often walk upon without being charged a fee! Hmmm...let's see, listening to a musician under a window is free. Air is free. Good smells of pasta sauce bubbling or anything else for that matter, all are free. A look of your child that warms your heart, that is free. I think I'd better stop and not take up so much space.....

Walking somehwre beautiful and taking it all in..and clicking away:)
I love those free bookstands we have some cute ones too..Tu es si jolie!

One of my favorite things about San Miguel de Allende is striking up a conversation with someone in a cafe or a rooftop bar on on a bench in th Jardin. It’s free and while often the conversations only lastminutes, sometimes they lead to wonderful, long term friendships. 🇫🇷❤️🇲🇽

Love this post, Kristi, and everything you share with all of us so freely! But my free addiction is photography ... the freedom to capture moments, share them and return to enjoy them forever. *click*

The View of the Vancouver Mountains with a dusting of fresh snow. I never stop appreciating the beauty of the city I live in and the fresh air I get to breathe . Two very large eagles sitting on top of the Totem Pole at the beach yesterday - also admiring the view - now that is a gift of beauty !! How lucky am I.

Imagination, long walks and laughter. Thank you for starting my day so beautifully.

Favorite free thing in Paris!!! When I visit Paris, I can get plenty of free walking exercise by spending either Saturday, Sunday or Monday at the marché aux puces at St.-Ouen in the north of Paris. Starting at the Vernaison market at the entrance at rue des Rosiers where you can see lots of small collectibles and treasures, you then proceed up the street where there are other markets on both sides of the street and then at the end you find the Serpette and Paul Bert markets where you can find paintings, furniture and some museum quality items. And yes, I have visited there without spending one franc or euro and then at other times I have bought thousands of dollars worth of vintage luggage to add to my travel collectibles archives.

Bird feeders. I love ❤️ sitting in my screened porch and watching the visitors to my bird feeder just on the other side of the screen. Blue Jays, Cardinals, a variety of tinies(sparrow types), even a Woodpecker and of course....squirrels. A few seeds spilled out, and now I have what I think is corn or millet growing at the foot of the feeder. Endless enjoyment. And free....but for the seeds.

I like to play the lottery a couple of times a year. If I won,I tell myself, I would live a life of luxury—walking and observing the world around me, sitting for hours with a good book, gardening, looking at art, seeing more of my friends. That would be grand, but my fantasy acrually costs nothing.

Amen!

The best gift from someone who snores is the LectroFan micro sound machine. So tiny and lets you get a good nights sleep.

Lately, I appreciate the cloud patterns in the sky! I never tire gazing up at the sky and searching, whether it's at sunset, sunrise or as a storm is forming. The colors and shapes are infinite and mesmerizing!

Just yesterday I spent the day rambling around part of Sydney’s foreshores. Some happy hours with memorable views. The colour sky and the water can do not return feeling of utter bliss.

A friend of mine in Oregon said they saw the green flash during the recent eclipse - it went all around the horizon at the same time!

Love this! How very right you are. I am grateful everyday for the books, audiobooks from my public library. What a gift the library is.

Oh what fabulous responses and tips! Love, laughter, nature. :)

This afternoon, the view of an adult make bobcat in the meadow in front of my house was free. He was beautiful,with tufted ears and a spotted face. He casually walked around and then headed up the road, for which my aging house cat was thankful! - Janet

Do you remember the song: "The World Belongs To Everyone, The Best Things In Life Are Free"? The many beautiful suggestions by readers of FWAD made me think of this long forgotten (by me) song. Thank you, Kristi and Jean-Marc.

Like Mike, above, I live in South Africa and in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town, where there are countless experiences and things, all for free - but I treasure the shooting star I saw just last night, truly memorable, it was large and low and it shot across the Twelve Apostles Mountains for a deceptively endless amount of time - it had a big sparkling head and a long tail like something out of the movies - I was open-mouthed, and completely charmed - it was magical and free! I’m counting my lucky stars.

Great score Kristi: Mon herbier de santé. Probably a collector's piece.
I was lucky to get his books when I was in Provence last (1987!).
Maurice Mességué only just passed away in June.

Just picked up a book from the free book box in Faverges here in the Alps. Today it was 'Trois Contes' by Flaubert, so that will be quite challenging! As you say Kristi, there are always gems to find.
Other free pleasures? Autumnal trees are among my favourites and fresh air out in the beautiful campagne.

Kristi, I loved looking at the snapshots from your walk with Smokey. I especially enjoyed reading about the telephone booth that has become a street library. In Canada and the U.S., Little Free Libraries have popped up in many charming locations in the recent years (https://littlefreelibrary.org/) and this reminds me of that concept. I have contributed books to the library in the past, and have picked up a couple of gems from what had been left there previously. These days, my favourite gifts are from my garden, which we are trying out in NZ for the first time. The kale and spinach are abundant, and we get to enjoy the odd strawberry, as we only planted four strawberry plants. Our first little courgette is growing nicely, as is one tomato plant that appears to be thriving. A few others are not as lucky, and I'm trying to work out the reason for that. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying the process of watching it grow. Oh! Oh! Also, in the past couple of days, our family has been enjoying watching thousands of tiny praying mantis insects hatch from the eggs that had been left around our property before we had moved in, generously deposited by a hopeful mother. My husband is fascinated by insects, and although I don't share in that same enthusiasm, it's incredibly interesting to watch them hatch.

In reply to Don .Yes I have walked there when I visited my son who lives in Oakland !

We have Little Lending Libraries in our neighborhood. Most recent book I found is Talk to the Snail, 10 Commandments for Understanding the French. First chapter discusses French post office “customer service”. Very amusing.

Yes, the Internet! Advice and tales from your elders. Birds singing, sunshine, plants, trees, flowers, growing wild, PBS and BBC tv shows, espec, Doc Martin, books all over the place, (just got and left my first books in a tiny, road-side Lending Library, honey fresh from a hive, dogs' love, which is "free, boundless, and they ask for othing in return. They just love you unconditionally and forever, the truest form of love. And our water from our wells. Free water, cold and delicious, on the farm. And in a way, doesn't God shower blessings for free? As a Sr. Adult, I surely see this now.