FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

The moss on these rocks is "Christmas tree green" and the sea, dazzling at sunrise.

TODAY'S WORD: LA CANNE à PÊCHE

    : fishing pole

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

The first gift on Christmas morning came in the form of sunrays. Clear blue skies and warm temperatures meant our extended family would be able to enjoy a festive meal on the terrace instead of crammed inside, some of us at the table, others seated sur les canapés. Last-minute switcharoos make me nervous, but moving the party outside would be worth the temporary dérangement.

When our daughter woke up she helped her father transport our heavy dining table out to the front porch and I quickly decorated it with the help of a green linen nappe (one my mom picked out years ago), pine cones, dried bougainvillea petals and the colorful crimson leaves from a wintering jasmine. 

With la dinde reheating in the oven (Jean-Marc cooked and carved the turkey la veille...) Jackie put together the amuse-bouches, ignoring my questions and concerns over quantity and timing. "Mom, I am calm. Do not stress me out." My daughter’s firm words prompted me to pause and experience some of her peace as she slowly rolled smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese into long ribbons of cucumber, arranging the bouchées artfully onto a platter before baking a tomato tart. Jackie was finishing up some guacamole when my in-laws began arriving, arms laden with food and wrapped gifts. Over the years I have learned to anticipate these helpful contributions, the challenge is finding available fridge and counter space to receive the generous offerings! Now that we have a dog, I am careful not to set down food haphazardly. So when my belle-soeur Mariem placed a large tray of Moroccan cookies on a bench I immediately re-routed dessert to the crowded stove top. "Ricci might like those," I explained. (Later on, we would learn our toutou liked the turkey resting on the end table... but Grandma Jules was quick to intervene: “Ricci! Down!”)

I wish I could report that I am getting better with entertaining but, for a so-called control freak, the chaos involved in hosting Christmas is, to put it mildly, déroutant. And now with a toutou tossed into the mix, it feels like a three-ring circus. As I try to ensure everything from a well-behaved dog to a fork with every plate (one of my family members regularly disrupts my careful table settings, using a fork or two to serve the meat!) the Powers That Be further shake things up by inserting into this madness a lot of "choses non-anticipés". 

Ma belle famille. My in-laws and family

One thing we did anticipate this year was gift overload. I settled on a one-gift-per-guest rule (each person brought one cadeau to be exchanged). It was my sister-in-law who came up with the idea to fish for the gifts. Jury-rigging a headless mop, a string, and an S hook, Cécile produced a formidable canne à pêche for our little treasure hunt.

Jules was the first to go fishing...immediately catching a coffee cup depicting the London Tower (a gift from Meissa who recently visited England). Next Mom passed the fishing pole to Jean-Marc et ainsi de suite… 

Jean-Marc caught an aperitif set….Cécile a pêché une livre sur Marseilles…Mariem hooked a bamboo electric toothbrush….Max reeled in some decadent truffles (wrapped in a lottery ticket!)… Jackie caught a soft blanket, Meissa hooked a giant candle, Farès fished a kitchen composter, Zachariah hooked a handpan drum…Jacques reeled in a fondu maker…and I made off with a spa massage for 2!

By now the joy and laughter was so contagious I forgot all about the dog, the forks, the timing or whatever else I was struggling to keep on top of…in time to experience one final gift of the day: le relâchement total. And, ahhh, did this feel good!

Bye for now, dear reader. Bon bout d’an as they say here. Thank you for another year of reading my journal. See you next year for a brand new chapter in this French life. 

Bien amicalement,
Kristi
P.S. Click the arrow in the center of the image below to watch the 5-second video "Fishing for Gifts"

FRENCH VOCABULARY 

Click here to listen to the sound file
la canne à pêche = fishing pole 
le canapé = couch, sofa
le dérangement = disruption
la nappe = tablecloth
la dinde = turkey
la veille  = the night before
l’amuse-bouche = appetizer 
la bouchée = bite, mouthful
le toutou = doggy
la belle-sœur = sister-in-law
déroutant = disconcerting
la chose = thing
non anticipé = unforseen
le cadeau = present 
et ainsi de suite = and so on
le relâchement = loosening up, letting go
bon bout d’an = happy end of the year
bien amicalement = yours

REMERCIEMENTS - ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Mille mercis to readers sending in a donation for the first time, and to those of you who regularly contribute to my journal. And thank you for your thoughtful notes. It is all so encouraging!

Al K.
Mel L
Jim S.
Lynn R.
Brad D.
Marcy W.
Thom B.
Rajeev B.
Linda H.
Diane O.
Marsha B.
Renee H.
Cerelle B.
Marlies W.
Danielle W.
Caroline M.
Maureen M.
Mary & Bill E.
Natalia, Rod et Les Mignons

Wishing you a Blessed Christmas. Diane O.

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année à vous et votre famille, Kristi ! Maureen M.

God Bless you and your family and wishing you continued success and MUCH LOVE. Cerelle

Merry Christmas to all! and to all a good night!! thank you for your open heart and kindness. Marlies W.

Hi Kristi, I've been fascinated by your stories ever since you began your blog. I hope this helps along the way! Joyeux Noel! Caroline

Thank you for helping me remember and sometimes learn new French words and phrases. I can read technical French but day-to-day French is very different! Brad D.

Chere Kristi, Thank you so very much for your generosity in sharing your life and photos ~ you are a good reminder of what's important in life. Love your reader's quote on 12/21, too. Merry Christmas, Kristi to you and your family. Love, Danielle W.

Thank you for all the joy you've brought me over the years! You help nourish the francophile in me which means you lift me up! Your writing and sharing bless me. May many blessings come right back to you in 2024! Renee

COMMENTS
To comment on today's post, click here. Thanks in advance for your notes. They are individually-wrapped gifts that I love to read.  Corrections are welcome and appreciated.

ARCHIVE PICK
Read a story from 2008 about an awkward gift exchange involving a lavender wand and holy water from Lourdes.

The sign says “Open.” Coucou from La Ciotat. If you are visiting our city, why not stop into Jean-Marc's wineshop? Call ahead and he will be happy to see you at Le Vin Sobre  Bar à Vin.

TODAY'S PHRASE: "Le tour est joué"

    : that's all there is to it, and Bob's your uncle

FRENCH SOUND FILE: Click below to hear Jean-Marc pronounce the French terms in this post. Then scroll down to the vocabulary section to check your French comprehension.

Click here to listen

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

On Wednesday we entertained guests from Oregon and Wyoming. Audrey, from Portland, and her beau, Grant, joined us here at home for le déjeuner sur la terrasse. Planning for a meal still doesn't come naturally for me, so after a flurry of possible eats whirled through my mind like the autumn leaves outside our window, I put a stop to le délire and phoned my sister.

As soon as Heidi picked up, I rattled off my progress. "So I've made salmon, and then today I made pois chiches...and tomorrow I'll make la tarte aux tomates..." 

"Wait--did you say you made salmon yesterday?"
"Yep."
"But when are your guests coming?"
"Tomorrow." 

The long silence that followed made me defensive. "It's totally okay to make salmon a day-and-a-half before serving. It's just m-a-r-i-n-a-t-i-n-g!" I said, to sound fancy. While there is nothing sophistiqué about how I organize for guests nowadays, it's steps above what it was years ago, as a newlywed and clueless hostess. Back then, I would struggle through everything on the same day: drag our toddlers to the supermarket for dinner ingredients, hurry home to unpack groceries and clean the house. After chasing kids all day, I would prepare a multi-course meal for our invités, including the les amuse-bouches, l'entrée, le plat, la salade, le fromage, le dessert. It was exhausting. I was bad at it. My nerves were shot. No wonder I drank!

But back to the present: Wednesday's lunch went so smoothly it's a wonder I continue to shy away from inviting. When I stop to remember that serving others is an opportunity for growth, this new perspective is energizing. As my sister often reminds me: people are just happy to be there. Serve some good wine!

Jean-Marc popped the cork on a bottle of Pinot Noir from Domaine de La Mongestine, where our son is sales manager. "This is the best wine!" our guests said, raving about it. Oh really, but how was the salmon? you may be wondering....

Eh bien, we hadn't gotten to it yet. Our little festin began with some delicious pâté forrestière compliments of Audrey. Now, in all fairness (here begins a little side note to my sister...) how come Audrey can walk one hour to our house, under the midday sun--with pâte tucked inside her purse--but I can't serve Monday’s salmon on mercredi?). I'll leave you to chew on that.

Audrey's pâté from Carrefour was delicious. Next we had petits toasts de tapenade à la truffe, alongside some Italian green olives from La Maddalena. Miam, miam! And finally, slices of la tarte aux tomates, some chick peas, and du saumon au poireau now filled our plates. As we ate, we were eager to learn more about peaceful and beautiful Wyoming, from Grant, and Audrey gave us tips on how to get along in Portland in winter: "a jacuzzi and a fireplace are your best friends," I believe she said (or was Audrey talking about Wyoming and the minus 20 degree winters?). I was little distracted as a hostess, trying, as we ate, to control our erratic environment: les guêpes were busy hovering around la bouffe! As we swatted the winged interlopers I noticed the sun was now burning down on Audrey, but I didn't want to interrupt the conversation yet again. Thankfully Grant quickly solved the problem by offering his hat. 

Chapeau, Grant! I thought, to which Audrey added "Et Bob est ton oncle!"

Et Bob est ton oncle?...

Heu, that sounded familiar. Was that some sort of code? Such as, Beware of Kristi's salmon? With that, Audrey laughed (was she reading my thoughts?). "Bob's your uncle is even funnier in French," Audrey explained, "so I've been saying it that way lately." 

Ouf! So it wasn't the salmon. No, it could not have been. Because I ate that Monday Night Salmon all the way to Friday and, Bob's my uncle, it went down fine. And it looks like Grant and Audrey fared well, too, given they made it over to Jean-Marc's wineshop, the next day, to say goodbye before heading up the coast to Menton. 

And there you have it or, as Audrey says et Bob est ton oncle. Thank you for reading today’s gastronomic entry, and look for the link to the tomato tart (following the vocabulary section, below).

***

IN BOOK NEWS: Very happy to see Ann Mah's new novel about Jackie Kennedy is out. Click on the cover below to see the rave reviews, and to order a hard copy of Jaqueline in Paris...or read it immediately on Kindle.

FRENCH VOCABULARY
A few words below are highlighted; click on them for an interesting read
coucou = hi there
le tour est joué = that’s all there is to it, and Bob’s your uncle
le déjeuner = lunch
la terrasse = porch
le délire = frenzy madness
l’invité(e) = guest
le pois chiche = chick pea, garbanzo bean
la tarte aux tomates = tomato tart
les amuse-bouches = nibbles
l'entrée = first course
le plat principal = main course
la salade = green salad
le fromage = cheese
le dessert = dessert
le festin = feast
le pâté forrestière = mushroom pâté
Carrefour = a popular French supermarket
le mercredi = Wednesday
miam! = yum!
la guêpe = wasp
la bouffe = slang for “food, grub, nosh”
Chapeau! = well done! Bravo!
heu! = hmm!
Et Bob est ton oncle = that’s all there is to it
ouf = phew

Read the Story Archives for photos, soundfiles, and more:
1. Recipe for the easy, delicious, 4-ingredient French tomato tart
2. Sobriety does not equal Foolproof Entertaining

Jean-Marc, Kristi, Audrey, and Grant