French Word-A-Day

il parait + video interview on French TV

Out of the rubble a wine is born!  Jean-Marc gave more than heart and soul when he made his first wine: he gave his blood, his tears, and an alarming number of kilos. I talk about this, and more, in an interview about the organic winemaker on a French TV. Today, Jean-Marc's birthday, seems a perfect occasion to share the footage, recorded in 2010. Scroll down to enjoy today's tribute. Can't see the video? Click over to the blog to view it.

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A few notes about the 3-minute interview:

• The interviewer asks: Alors son vin? So, how's his wine (how does it taste?). You will note a moment of panic as I try to resolve this dilemma: I can't admit I have never (ever) tasted my husband wine. Finally, I figure out a way to respond... which brings us to today's French phrase (see it below, along with the video) 
• You will feel much better about your own French pronunciation... when you hear mine!
  Also seen in the video are Alexis, our stagiaire. The reporter is Jeff Carias.

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il paraît (eel-pah-ray)

    : it seems, it appears

synonyms: on dit (they say) or  le bruit court (rumor has it)

Example from today's video:

"Alors, son vin?" So how's the wine?
"Il paraît que c'est bon!" I hear it's good! (or Rumor has it it's pretty good!)

Click on the screen, below (or click over to the blog), to enjoy the following video. To comment, click here.

 

Portrait de Jean-Marc Espinasse pour l'émission... par BrokenArmsCompany
I am sorry not to have a transcript, in English, of this interview. I hope many of you can understand what is being said. I know I had a hard time... which led the interviewer to rephrase a question or two... To leave a comment or to read the comments, click here.

Related articles

How to say "eye-candy"... in French

How to say "to take for granted" in French

How to say dinner guest in French

How to say coastline in French?

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The man who can passionately follow his vision--yet keep his eyes soft enough to see what lives and loves around him--his family, his friends--that is beauty.

Jean-Marc taking time out of whirlwind winemaking - to dance the tango with his mother-in-law, Jules.

Mom was so moved by his gesture that she captured the image forever. "Tango 62" Can you guess what 62 means?

You have captured all our hearts, may yours be bursting today, Jean-Marc, as you celebrate your 46th year. Joyeux Anniversaire!

To comment on any item in this edition... or to leave Jean-Marc a birthday message... click here.


Have fun--but not too much fun!... Untangle yourself from those Arlesiennes and hurry home!

Jean-Marc is in Seattle today, the 29th! Meet him at Pike and Western Wine Shop. Info here. 

sacoche

In St. Tropez... Look closely at the sagging object my husband is carrying. Meet Mr Sacks, Jean-Marc's lovable sidekick, in today's story column. Note: the pictures of Jean-Marc in this post span over a decade. 

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la sacoche (sah-kohsh)

    : handbag, saddlebag, purse, bag

from the Italian saccoccia, or "little pocket"

la sacoche en cuir = leather bag
la sacoche d'écolier = school bag
la sacoche à outils = tool bag

Expression:
une soirée de sacoches (Canadian expression) = girls' night out, evening with girlfriends

French Definition:
Sorte de grosse bourse de cuir ordinairement retenue par une courroie et qui se porte au côté ou dans le dos. A kind of big leather purse usually held by a strap and worn on the side or on the back. --Wiktionnaire 

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

Ode to Mr. Sacks

I couldn't believe my ears when Jean-Marc, packing for his business trip, mentioned: "I'm not taking my sacoche with me." 

Vraiment? My husband might as well have decided to leave an appendage behind--son bras droit, for example, the one he uses to lift his wine glass. That is how vital his trusty, takes-with-him everywhere sacoche is to him.

What with increasing restrictions for carry-on and check-in, Jean-Marc's dear sidekick, Mr Sacks, is the latest victime of airline cutbacks!

Poor Mr Sacks! I've never felt sorry for the old bag before. Mostly, I've felt envious. Mr. Sacks is the one who goes on all the business trips with my husband. Mr. Sacks goes to all the local wine tastings while I sit at home guzzling tap water.  

 

Mr Sacks in Paris... the one on the left. (Make no mistake, the other bags mean nothing to Jean-Marc!)

Mr Sacks inVentimille, Italy, watching locals play boules, or pétanque.

I do pity Mr. Sacks now that his saggy little body is pouting in the corner of my husband's office. This is the first time in his 12-year-old life that he's collected dust. Normally he's on the go....

Mr. Sacks in Sicily... can't you see him sniffing the pretty flowers?


Mr. Sacks cruising the island of Cres. Just kidding, Jean-Marc would never put Mr. Sacks in this predicament (water, not vacationing in Croatia). This brings me to the next point...

Regularly I am asked to hold on to Mr. Sacks while my husband sprints off to use a public restroom or when (as pictured above) he is practicing a sport. "Tu peux prendre ma sacoche?" He asks. And I always grumble, not wanting to hold the heavy "third wheel". Apart from tractor wrenches, he even keeps wine bottles (for his tastings) in there...


Mr Sacks (on the floor, next to the bucket spittoon)

Some refer to Mr Sacks as a "man purse".  That always makes me snicker. Hahahahahaha! Man Bag!!! Sac Homme! I point at Mr. Sacks. But Mr. Sacks isn't laughing... 


What do you think: man purse? Jean-Marc purchased it in une maroquinerie  in Draguignan, years and years ago. It was love at first sight.


Jean-Marc's got that guilty look on his face. He's always holding hands with Mr. Sacks instead of with me--and he knows it!  While others worry about the other woman, I have to worry about the old bag!


Mr. Sacks is with him on bad hair days...


And on good hair days...


And especially on family days!
 

Visiting the healing waters at Lourdes. Can you spot Mr. Sacks?


Mr Sacks in Burgundy... with the winemakers...

But old Mr. Sacks, as you can see, is beginning to sag. I worry that items inside him will begin to fly out of his slouching pockets. I especially worry that money will fall out. For this reason, I sometimes follow close in Jean-Marc's wake as he goes about his errands. I am stumbling along behind him swatting my arms back and forth prepared to catch those banknotes that might come flying out of that sagging bag. 

Mr Sacks is coming apart at the seams, which just goes to show even sacks have middle-age crisis.

Over the years I've tried to get Jean-Marc to consider buying a new bag. Nothin' doin'! "But it's a hazard," I argue (a financial hazard at that! Just think if money really were flying out of that bag). 

"I'm keeping my bag!" he always argues back.



A couple of weeks ago Jean-Marc announced with an ear-to-ear grin: Je l'ai fait réparer, mon sac. He had brought Mr. Sacks to the leather mender's, in town. The guy did a wonderful job, Jean-Marc told me, adding that the man was nearly 90 years old. 

Any ill will or harsh feelings I may have felt regarding Mr. Sacks flew out of the picture (as those bank notes might have...). My heart smiled thinking of the wrinkled man sewing the wrinkled bag, one soul giving life back to the other, each content to be of service for as long as they were needed or wanted.

*** 

To leave a comment, click here. 

In the story archives: I once rummaged through my husband's sacoche and found something that stopped me in my tracks. Read the story here.

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French Vocabulary

vraiment = really

le bras = arm

droit = right

tu peux prendre ma sacoche = can you take my bag?

la maroquinerie = purse, bag, and luggage shop

le sac homme = man purse 

je l'ai fait réparer = I had it fixed

mon sac = my purse 

Rember what the French word is for these? Click on the images to find out:

canker sore

soap opera

crutch

to buzz

Father, son, and Mr Sacks!


Oh dear. Here is Mr Sacks and the formidable mop-spear. I hope you read about this confection--Jean-Marc was very proud of it--in the chapter "Lance". It might be worth the purchase of the book!

***

Did you enjoy meeting Mr. Sacks? To comment on this edition, click here.

Thanks for forwarding this edition to someone who might get a kick out of a man purse, or to someone who has a special weakness for purses or bags.

une tribune

Another cat picture... because we all need a bit of color and a little fur in wintertime (for those of you experiencing summer, here is a refreshing photo for you, too!) Photo taken in the town of Villedieu.

une tribune (tree bewn)

    1. platform (for speaker)

monter à la tribune = to stand up to speak

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Audio File: listen to the following letter, read by Jean-Marc: Download MP3 or Wav file

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Cher Lecteur de French Word-A-Day,

Je suis "Chief Grape" et l'heureux mari de Kristi. Elle m'a gentiment donné une tribune aujourd'hui pour vous annoncer que je serai aux Etats-Unis le mois prochain pour faire la promotion de nos vins du Domaine Rouge-Bleu. J'espère sincèrement que vous pourrez assister à l'un des nombreux évènements organisés dans les 12 villes où je vais venir. Malheureusement, Kristi ne pourra venir avec moi mais je l'emporterai dans mon coeur.

A bientôt.

    (Listen to this letter in French! Download MP3 or Wav file)

Dear French Word-A-Day Reader,

I am "Chief Grape" and the happy husband of Kristi. She has kindly given me a platform to announce to you that I will be in the US next month for the promotion of our Domaine Rouge-Bleu wines. I sincerely hope you will be able to attend one of the numerous events organised in the 12 cities I will visit. Unfortunately, Kristi won't be able to come with me but I will bring her with me in my heart.

See you soon.

Jean-Marc Espinasse
. 

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

After a season spent indoors, hiding from the sun, I ventured back outside yesterday to toss handfuls of wildflower seeds about (thanks, Dirt Diva Doreen, for all the packets of graines!). It is a new goal of mine to spend 15 minutes each day in the garden.

Wearing a big chapeau de soleil and sunblock even on cloudy journées, I am reuniting with the plants that were abandoned when that skin cancer scare sent me scampering... out of the flower bed and into a darkened mas.

I was sad to discover that this artichoke plant, which was doing so well up until a month ago (purple flowers from last summer) had been fatally bitten by le gel. Luckily, I had saved many of its seeds. I will be tossing some of those out along with the fleurs sauvages... and crossing fingers that all of the lovely flowers will return, with these handfuls of hope and scatterings of trust.

 Le Coin Commentaires: to leave a message, please click here.

French Vocabulary

une graine = seed

le chapeau de soleil = sun hat

une journée = day

le mas = house or farm in Provence

le gel = the freeze

la fleur sauvage = wild flower

 

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Things to love about French life: "modesty curtains", or "les brise-bises". How could you not love a term that has "kisses" or "bises" in its name? Share another thing to love about French life, here in the comments box.

 

rein

The life of a grape farmer, where torn trousers, sopping-wet work shirts, and "too much on the mind" are part of making good wine!  Who has time for health? Read on....

le rein (rehn)

    : kidney

néphrologue (m/f) = kidney specialist
les reins = the small of the back
avoir mal aux reins = to have a backache (in lower back) 

Audio File & Example sentence by Chief Grape himself : 
Download MP3 or Wave file

Au Centre Hospitalier d'Avignon on m'a fait une biopsy du rein.
At Avignon Hospital Center, they biopsied my kidney. 

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

"How to Write a Blog Story"

1. Begin with a drama: "Jean-Marc returned home Friday morning in an ambulance...." 

2. Change things up (don't keep talking about your new favorite pasttime (organic composting), try kidneys for a change): Jean-Marc returned home Friday in an ambulance. After having his kidney biopsy, he was required to stay the night at the hospital in Avignon.

3. Add a little humor to keep things light: Jean-Marc returned home Friday in an ambulance. After having his kidney biopsy, he was required to stay the night at the hospital in Avignon. Three lunatics greeted him, after the family fold fell apart in his absence. 

4. Forget not French folklore: Jean-Marc returned home Friday in an ambulance. After his kidney biopsy, he was required to stay the night at the hospital in Avignon.Three lunatics greeted him, after the family fold fell apart in his absence. "C'est la faute à la pleine lune," Jean-Marc explained, of our batty behavior.

5. Include one line in French: Jean-Marc returned home Friday in an ambulance. After his kidney biopsy, he was required to stay the night at the hospital in Avignon.Three lunatics greeted him, after the family fold fell apart in his absence. "C'est la faute à la pleine lune," Jean-Marc explained, of our batty behaviour. "Ouf, je croyais que c'était moi! Phew, I thought it was me!"

6. No use adding a bunch of extraneous details (see below), no matter how important they seemed to you at the time:  

Jean-Marc returned home Friday in an ambulance. After his kidney biopsy, he was required to stay the night at the hospital in Avignon.Three lunatics greeted him, after the family fold fell apart in his absence. 
"C'est la faute à la pleine lune," It is the full moon, Jean-Marc explained, of our batty behaviour.
"Ouf, je croyais que c'était moi! Phew! I thought it was me!"

It so happened to be the day that the dogs ran off, our son had a tumultuous teenage moment, and the farm turned into Grand Central Terminal with the non-stop comings-and-goings.

7. Sum things up and remember: it's never about you, it's about that up-n-down thing called Life, in which every one of us can relate to what is most important: love and health:

Jean-Marc returned home Friday in an ambulance. After his kidney biopsy, he was required to stay the night at the hospital in Avignon.Three lunatics greeted him, when the family fold fell apart in his absence. 
"C'est la faute à la pleine lune.  It is the full moon," Jean-Marc explained, of our batty behavior.
"Ouf, je croyais que c'était moi! Phew! I thought it was me!" So happy you are home, mon amour. We missed you and we love you.
 

***

P.S.:  I asked The Big Man Above to help me write today's post... and I had to shake my head in appreciation when He came up with this breezy "How To" style in which to relate a delicate subject (Jean-Marc's blood test gone awry).

Update: Chief Grape feels fine. He did not have any symptoms that led up to the testing; only, during a routine check-up, some of the results came back "hors norme" or "out of normal range". Les resultats will be ready in one week. 

Regarding the ambulance ride home: it was covered by our mutuelle (French insurance plan); as Jean-Marc points out: we pay a lot for it, but there are some interesting and unusual benefits!
. 

Le Coin Commentaires
To leave a comment, click here. Do you have a kidney story to share? Any healthly tips? Thank you in advance!
.

 

Archive photo (from the Frimousse or "Sweet Little Face" bilingual edition. Read it here!)

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Meantime in the Garden...

Sunflower seedlings! I wonder whether sunflower seeds are good for kidney health?... 

This 3-day-old seedling is modeling a sunflower "hat" made of biodegradable materials for that futuristique fashion statement.

A venerable sunflower who lived here two years ago... She says to the stylish seedling, "Let your hair down, little one, as I have. Notice the golden curlicue on my forehead?  Witness how a sunflower "of a certain age" has grace." What's new in your garden? Share a few of your garden "characters" with us in the comments box, here.

 

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Joyeux Anniversaire, Chief Grape!

"Vintage 1967"

Joyeux Anniversaire, Chief Grape! To leave a birthday wish for Jean-Marc, click here.