WITH AND WITHOUT

It's amazing that this unauthorized street-art mosaic of a decapitated Louis XVI is still up on this building in the Notre Dame quarter of Versailles. From all accounts, the pixel-like work is that of the urban artist known world-wide as Invader. In the summer of 2017 he stealthily and surreptitiously installed a series of mosaics high up on buildings in Versailles. His pseudonym makes reference to the popular video game, Space Invaders. Some of the mosaics in the royal city have been removed, some have remained; for the decision of the mosaics' fate on private buildings has been left to property owners. For more examples of what was once up in Versailles, click here.

©2018 P. B. Lecron



Une nouveauté !
For the family that reads together:  a new children's story written by my daughter and illustrated by myself, Le lapin et la lune, is now available on Amazon. Its translation from the French, The Rabbit and the Moon, is likewise on sale.

TYPICALLY FRENCH COUNTRY

Decorative hexagonal brass mesh, commonly known as chicken wire, finds its place in French country cabinetry, bookcases, and dressers.

Vocabulary

grillage à poules:  chicken wire

©2018 P. B. Lecron



Quoi de neuf?

What's new? A bedtime story for your children and grandchildren available in French,  Le lapin et la lune,  or in English, The Rabbit and the Moon.  Both books are offered for sale by Amazon.

KNOCK-KNOCK

Nothing adds character to a door quite like an interesting door knocker does! This one we spotted in one of my favorite villages, Gerberoy, in Picardie.

Vocabulary
un heurtoir:  a door knocker
frapper à la porte:  to knock at the door


©2018 P. B. Lecron

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

  Ça vaut ce que ça vaut

The old French proverb  "À la chandelle, la chèvre semble demoiselle," meaning literally that by candlelight a goat seems to be a young lady,  is replete with innuendos we choose not to get into; suffice it to say that  the adage is worth what it is worth. It is generally taken to mean that in the dark it's not always easy to make things out. The photo of the charming portrait, above, was taken in the Musée de Vernon, a small and interesting museum in Normandie which is one of only a few in France that specializes in animal art. The mixed media work of charcoal, ink wax, and brass leaf on canvas is by Jean-Jacques Ostier (1945-2014).

Expression

Ça vaut ce que ça vaut:  for what it's worth

©2018 P. B. Lecron