BY THE BY

A restored vintage landau, circa 1910-20,  parked in front of an antique dealer in Nancy. The wooden baby carriage's peony motif, in a trompe l'oeil imitating marqueterie, is in the style of the Art Nouveau ébéniste and furniture designer Louis Majorelle (1859-1926), Ecole de Nancy. 

By the by: the latest demographic survey shows that the French birthrate is currently at 2.1 children per woman, the highest of European nations. Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE)

Vignette
Walking astride an expectant mother with a toddler in hand I overheard: "Mais non, le bébé ne porte pas de chaussures--il ne peut pas me faire mal quand il donne des coups de pied!"  No, the baby isn't wearing shoes--he can't hurt me when he kicks!

Vocabulary
un ébéniste:  a highly skilled furniture maker and artisan, who working with thin sheets of precious woods, is talented in the decorative art of veneering
un placage:  a veneer
une marqueterie:  a marquetry, i.e., an inlaid work made from small pieces of colored wood or other materials, used primarily for the decoration of furniture
un landau:  a pram, baby carriage
un coup de pied:  a kick
au fait:  by the by

©2012 P.B. Lecron