entretien
vadrouiller

sieste

  Marais Cafe (c) Kristin Espinasse at www.french-word-a-day.com
 At L'éléphant du Nil (Marais, Metro St. Paul) I want to write wildly, tattooing words beneath the skin of sensibility until they tickle and touch.

Reading / Book-signing
I have told you about my amazing writing teacher, Sheila Kohler... and now some good news for those of you in Kansas... Sheila will be in Wichita, for a reading on July 7th at Watermark Books (7 p.m.). Do not miss her for the world. I am sure glad I didn't!

sieste (see est) noun, feminine

    : an afternoon nap, siesta

synonyms: un roupillon, un somme = nap,  une méridienne


Exercises in French PhonicsExercises in French Phonics is... 
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 A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse

"Salut marmotte," Jean-Marc says, bounding through bedroom. Judging from the brightness of the light which filters in through the slats in the metal shutters, I can tell the time in French: début de l'après-midi

"Tu dors toujours?" my husband questions, breezing by me.  

As with hunger and eating, I feel the need to explain my sleeping. But if I am "une marmotte" when I sleep, does this make me une cochonne when I eat? He might say it but he doesn't, because this is not how he thinks. It is how I think. We think differently. (I always think I am the guilty party.)

It is half past three in the après-midi and I am curled up in bed, covered, despite the heat, with a robe and a sheet. I like the gown's reassuring softness and am willing to sweat for it. Surrounding me like a halo are books written by the writers at the conference I've just attended:  "The Children of Pithiviers,"  "Kitchen Chinese," "Moonlight in Odessa," "Sorbonne Confidential," "Slave Hunter: One Man's Global Quest to Free Victims of Human Trafficking" and "Design Flaws of the Human Condition."

The human condition...

"Je suis très fatiguée," I explain, blaming the intensive workshop.

Jean-Marc walks back across the room, causing each plank of wood to cry out the moment he lifts his foot. With each creak, the delicious depths of sleep retreat until I reach the sober surface of sommeil. I am now wide wake.

Barefooted and clad only in swim trunks (it is too hot for clothing), my busy-bodied better half is mumbling something about cards... cartes de visite. He had collected a stack of them from the grenache symposium last week. Have I seen them anywhere? 

A grape symposium? The idea tickles me and I wonder whether some take grapes too seriously? Then why not give serious attention to siesting? Why not a catnap conference? Why not now?

And now, with lightness, in good conscience, and in peace, I can return to the guilty pleasure of sleep, when out the door my husbands walks, creak, creak, creak.

  

:: Le Coin Commentaires ::

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French Vocabulary

Salut, marmotte = Hello, marmot (a marmot is a furry rodent that hibernates)
le début de l'après-midi = beginning of the afternoon
Tu dors toujours? = Are you still sleeping?
un cochon, une cochonne = pig
Je suis très fatiguée = I am very tired 
le sommeil = sleep
la carte de visite = business card

  DSC_0094
Along Rue Saint Dominique, in the 7th (a.k.a. "Little America")



51Qckm1DSfL._SL500_AA280_I Heart ParisShopper: made of recycled material


Words in a French LifeBlogger Espinasse has taken a step backward in the evolution of media by converting selected contents of her Web log into a book. Beginning students of conversational French will profit from many of these brief entries, and supplemental tables of expressions go far to demystify French idioms for anyone wishing to speak and write more fluent French. —Booklist

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Comments

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meredith

How I wish I was "cap' de faire la grasse mat'" or better yet, a siesta. Sleep eludes me lately.

Pat Cargill

I am a firm believer in and avid practitioner of NAPS. Une sieste, un roupillion a day keeps many an ill away. Have enjoyed cool nights for dreamy sleeping in Marlinton, WV, at The Carriage House Inn where Randy and I are enjoying a 26th anniversary getaway. "Happy Trails" to all as we bike down the Greenbrier River Trail.

Tracy

I have never commented before but I wanted to say I look forward to your email(that's how I get it I never have time online) Any way I am majoring in French & Education in the US! I can't get enough so thank you for sharing.

Ophelia in Nashville

What a delightful poste. I love the details, your poetic prose, the "creak, creak, creak." Reminds me of sneaking out of my boys' rooms at night after I had sung or read them to sleep. I tried to step on just the right spots and avoid the "creaks" in this old house.

Herm in Phoenix, AZ

Salut Kristin,

This excuse always works for me. . . .Le sommeil est quand votre corps se répare (Sleep is when your body repairs itself). At 80 years old I, for one, need all he sleep I can get! HA!

Temperature in Phoenix hit 113 degrees last week, but like they say. . . “it’s a dry heat”

Mindy

Happy Day-After-The-Fourth-Of-July, Kristin!

Enjoyable post! You have a gift for capturing the nuances....such as the willingness to sweat for the soft comfort of your robe. That one made me laugh because I'm the same way about certain things.

Counting down the days until I leave for my adventures in Europe!

Writer Abroad

Great to meet you in Paris and I can't wait to read your book! Let me know if you'd be interested in doing a post about it on Writer Abroad.

Cynthia

What a wonderful post! Thank you. So many interesting things to think about, a bit to learn and more to explore. Enjoyed it very much.

judith dunn

.....fiare le dodo.... is a good thing.. rue St. Dominique
makes me homesick for the 7th... Judi Dunn

Jules Greer

You are so funny - I just tried to write a nice long response but every word was underlined in red in this BOX for comments...must mean they were all misspelled. Since my spellcheck has
disappeared from the top of my computer I dare not continue my unspellchecked ranting. Opps, now I have three red-lined words, makes me feel like I am in writing class.

I loved your post - as your MOM I know that this writing class has already improved your sense of description regarding Mr. Grape and the veil of vineyards he has dropped over your mind...for the past four years. Nothing like hanging out in Paris with a bunch of writers to open your mind to the liberation of life...and siesta's.

Time for my morning siesta here in the land of cool breezes coming in off the ocean, drifting through the jungle of palm trees right into my bedroom. It's 75 degrees and perhaps a nice cool summer rain here in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

P.S. I love 'our secret'. As secrets do, it gave me so much energy I could not sleep all night.

XOXO

MOM

Ken Boyd

catnap conference
Another great line Kristin, I know because when I say it , it tickles me . For the full experience of the nap one must have a Cat in attendance .
Also, it may be the master intention of yours to very slowly teach us
to read french by mixing more and more French in your blog, and
before we know it............ we are reading French ! HA !

Ken
Napa Valley


Candy in SW KS

I had lunch at the "Elephant du Nil" the last time I was in Paris! How wonderful to see a photo of it here! Merci! How I wish I could "sieste". Impossible to sleep in the daylight for me - must have darkness. Perhaps I was a bat in a former life. ha! And JULES, how naughty of you sneaking in your hint of a "secret" and keeping us all in supsense . . . :) Wishing you all sweet dreams - daytime or nighttime!

Ahulani  (•̃͡-̮•̃͡)

I love your generosity and thoughtfulness in including all those yummy sounding books with instant links to Amazon. Just those little extra details make all the difference!
With love and admiration

Ahulani  (•̃͡-̮•̃͡)

AND....
You have taken many risks here as you intended and they are shining! You can tell by the lively, engaged comments and the fun of your intimate images. You are on track!!!! I think we all agree and are having such fun with your turning a life into a shared joy.

PS On a trail in the Grand Tetons (another mot francais) there is a sign that says "Don't feed Oreos to the Marmots."

Kristin Espinasse

Ahulani et amis, too funny: this marmot just returned from the market with Oreos! I could not believe the local  store had them! (They are for my daughter, of course!)


Thank you for the super sympas comments! And, Mom, enjoy the secret. I wont tell a soul.

Cindylee

Process, process, process.. One must take all that 'input' and close the eyes to sort and file. Soothing those sy'naps'is - I say! They were hard at work and now... let them play!

Stacy, Applegate, Oregon


I was absolutely tickled (and goose-bumped) by your wish for your writing...at least here let us have that wild abandon we wish for in other areas of our life. A poetic kick-start and you are on your way!

Ah, Jules has a secret stirring...how alluring! I have been wildly planting flowers all weekend, off for a nap in the hammock. Thanks for the inspiration!

A BLESSED and Happy Anniversary to Pat and Randy! Enjoy!

DQO

I think the term 'cochonne' is particulary harsh and I would never use it. It's like saloppe.
On the other hand, I can be a cochon!

gail bingenheimer

Nous revons de voyager plus que nous ne voyageions.
We dream of traveling more than we travel.

Jennifer in OR

Neat photos, I love the yellows.

"I always think I am the guilty party." ME TOO. I hate that about myself. However, this is the negative trait of a personality that has as its positive one who puts others before herself. So, it's a balance.

God bless your journey!

DAVID LAROUSSE

Dear Lynn,
I am a Chef-instructor at the Art Institute of Charlotte, and read with interest your piece in Kristin's newsletter about Tarte Tatin. I have made enough Tartes Tatin to line the southern coast of France from Nice to Toulouse - many of them while working as a chef on yachts sailing about the Mediterranean. I also prepared one at my old friend's house in La Roche-sur-yon (northwest), and the handle to the pan in which it was prepared broke in the midst of the flip, leaving the tarte in the kitchen sink. My friend retrieved it, much to the family's relief, and the next morning his 3 daughters posted a snapshot of me on a kitchen wall, with the caption: Davide Larousse, createur du tarte volant. That experience became the title story to "The Flying Apple Pie and Other Tales of Life and Gastronomy," a story collection from my work as a yacht chef from 1999-2003, which can be found on amazon.com and at www.larousseart.com
I see that Nicole browns her apples for an hour (?!) before baking, which would explain why you deem hers the best. Being in a hurry, Stephanie Tatin would not have had time for that step, so I guess that is Nicole's unique style. I used to use Granny Smith apples, but have found that Pink Lady's work a bit better - they are a little less dense. I also use phyllo dough on occasion, which works well, as does feuilltage (puff pastry) - though I am aware purists may scoff.
I am familiar with the tale of les soeurs Tatin, though I have not heard about the theft by Maxim's. Very quaint, very French.
No queston you are living the charmed life in Burgundy. I wish you continued learning and success, and look forward to hearing from you as you wish.
Mes amites,
David Paul Larousse

Kathleen

Kristin,

I don't think that you would wrap yourself in your robe here in Connecticut. It is a hot 100F and humid. We have had record breaking temperatures and we need rain desperately.

I can not take cat naps. If I do, I get up feeling very groggy.

Good luck with your writing. Any by the way, how are the dogs doing?

Christine

Such beautiful lighting effects in your photo of the 7ieme!

You're tired because you've been intellectually stimulated and used up a lot of mental energy. And it's best not to fight it when you really need rest...

Newforest

Kristin,

“Tu dors, parce que tu en as besoin” (you sleep, because you need it).
It's as simple as that.

No need to feel guilty or apologetic about it. If you are tired, then you need a rest, and some extra sleep. So take the time to stop and enjoy a siesta... why not? According to your 'system' (internal clock and state of body and soul), according to your surrounding, priorities, activities, a siesta might suit you best. If you have no children to look after or take to school, you might enjoy some extra hours of sleep in the morning and get exactly what you need to 'catch up, escape and feel refreshed'!

I love the cosy word “marmotte”. The expression “dormir comme une marmotte” gives a wonderful feeling as it implies a long and deep sleep! To be called “la marmotte” puts a smile on my face.
Oh! nothing to compare with being called “une cochonne”. To be “un cochon/une cochonne” implies vulgarity and disgusting (table …) manners, and it's so pejorative. Nobody wants to be called “une cochonne”! Ok, it's used with toddlers who cannot eat properly yet. In that case, you add the term of affection “petit/petite” in front of “cochon / cochonne”... and you get the right nuance, for a child - but for an adult one would add the adj "sale" (= dirty) - and the expression takes a different approach and meaning!

Newforest

Actually, there is another expression connected with the verb to sleep: “dormir comme un loir”
“Le loir” is a dormouse, such a cute little animal! I don't like mice and rats, but... a dormouse is quite adorable!
You sleep “comme un loir” / “comme une marmotte” when you sleep deeply and for a long time.
If you are lazy, you could be compared to “un loir”
“être paresseux /paresseuse comme un loir” (= to be bone idle)

Alright Kristin, if you are “fatiguée”, have a rest, close your eyes, cover your head if you like, or draw the curtains, the blinds..... and....
→ "dors comme une marmotte",
→ "dors comme un loir"...

→ or even “dors les poings fermés” (closing your wrists as babies do in their sleep) = to sleep tight / like a log!
-> or "dors comme une souche"! (which also means to sleep like a log)

Enjoy this extra rest and you'll feel so much better when re-opening your eyes. Then you can say to Jean-Marc with a big smile on your face:
“Cette petite sieste m'a fait le plus grand bien du monde!... J'en avais grandement besoin!"

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I am always so impressed with the classic design and details in your cards! I have to laugh when you say they are "simple!" Thanks for your attention to detail and sharing it with us! Happy summer!

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