DONE

Ce qui est fait n'est plus à faire

From the wisdom of an elderly and adorable French housekeeper named Félicité on the repetitiveness of household chores, "Ce qui est fait n'est plus à faire." What has been done is no longer to be done. Famous French Birman, Pompon, supervising the hand-wash, concurs. The proverb expresses the satisfaction of having finished a necessary and burdensome chore.

Vocabulary
laver à la main:  to hand wash
un lavabo:  a washbasin, hand basin, sink (but not kitchen sink which is un évier)
le lavage en machine:  the machine wash
une tâche:  a task, a chore
le ménage:  housework

©2014 P.B. Lecron

AQUATIC

Water lilies basking on floating light in Claude Monet's gardens at Giverny.  

Vocabulary

un nénuphar:  a water lily



©2014 P.B. Lecron

HAPPY

You can't get much happier than this wooly or Mangalica pet pig living in the Queen's Hamlet on the grounds of the Château de Versailles and having fresh baguette and vegetables for lunch. The Queen's Hamlet, or l'Hameau de la Reine is the rustic farm village that Marie-Antoinette ordered to be constructed as a refuge from the rigid ceremonial constraints of royal court life. A caricature of a functioning farm, the idyllic decor was a rural paradise for the young queen.

Vocabulary

un cochon:  a male pig 

une truie: a female pig

©2014 P.B. Lecron

LUNCHING ON THE HALF SHELL

From the oyster capital of Brittany

Les creuses de Cancale

For centuries oyster lovers, including French royalty and intellectuals--François I, Louis XIV, Marie-Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte, Voltaire, Rousseau, to name a few-- have had a preference for oysters from Cancale, a small but bustling fishing port on the western end of the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel. 

"Life is good" is what the septuagenarian from Massachusetts sitting at the next table said as we sat outdoors bay-side in the delectable Indian summer sun savoring these creuses de Cancale. And, less is indeed more; a dozen fresh oysters on the half shell, bread, butter, and a free glass of white wine make a memorable one-course meal.

Expression

moins est plus:  less is more

Vocabulary

une huitre: an oyster

l'ostréiculture:  oyster farming

une demi-coquille:  a half shell

Photo courtesy of Thomas W. Byrd

©2014 P.B. Lecron

SEIZE THE DAY

Carpe diem

Oh, what a beautiful morning... mild temperatures, no wind, and not a cloud in the sky.

Let us seize the day: saissons le jour.

Vocabulary

un été indien:  an Indian summer

©2014 P.B. Lecron

FORTY WINKS

Pompon, our favorite Sacré de Birmanie, takes forty winks, or un petit somme.

Vocabulary
un petit somme: a short nap
faire un petit somme:  have a short nap


©2014 P.B. Lecron

DON'T BOTHER ME

Pompon a la flemme

The Birman is back. Famous French cat Pompon needs no prompting to show what "avoir la flemme" means.

Vocabulary

la flemme:  laziness

avoir la flemme:  to be lazy

©2014 P.B. Lecron