Sept 4th. Francine and Michel

1) Let's go for a walk in Hyde Park

Hyde Park

By the lake

Look at ...

The boat, a dog beige or tan with a short tail, and another black tied to the bench (tenu en laisse)

A horse brown  and a second hidden (caché) . Horse back rider, (cavalier)

A girl with a green skirt (jupe)

Some deckchairs (chaise longue), a trash bin (poubelle), bags, not backpack (sac à dos)

A policeman (or bobby) with a helmet (casque)

A few persons in sunbathing (bain de soleil), a man speaking close to a tree

A girl riding a bicycle, red-haired (rousse)

Generally rather young persons but two women on a bench wearing old fashioned hats

(dans l'ensemble gens plutôt jeunes mais 2 dames sur un banc portant des chapeaux démodés)

2) Idioms

Danielle is full of beans, but she isn’t nuts.(pleine d'énergie, pas folle)

Maurice is always pulling someone’s leg.(blagueur)

Marcelle says she is all thumbs when she covers books (maladroite pour recouvrir livres)

But Francine can do it with her arms tied behind her back. (fort adroite, les doigts ds le nez! )

Michel says, “My foot!” He has other fish to fry now that he is the mayor. (d'autres chats à fouetter)

I won’t beat around the bush. (tourner autour du pot) I can smell a rat (il y a du louche)

X is as nutty as a fruitcake (fou, givré comme pas deux)

He/she has bats in the belfry (il/elle est folle.... des araignées au plafond)

their new house costs an arm and a leg ( leur nouvelle maison coute très cher) ; they’re paying through the nose (endetté jusqu'au cou)

to take French leave (filer à l'anglaise)

to have a frog in one’s throat (avoir un chat ds la gorge)

to kick the bucket (mort)

to push up daisies (id)

3) des mots issus ... ou le paraissant !

- de l'anglais : 

camping   camp ground

jogging     track suit

parking     car park, parking lot

- du français :

souvent culinaire ....when cooked

prune     prune (plum) 

veal       veau  (calf)
mutton   mouton (sheep)

TEA TIME

Thank you Francine for that delicious far breton served with a local cider

You enjoyed your Brittany hiking on the GR 34! 

 

See you later ...

Roseline's Garden

We visit the garden of Roseline .

News  
- Our teacher think four weeks is too long for the understanding, although many of us improved !
- During the strike (la grève) Marcelle et Roseline and their husbands were in Lourdes. It has been a nice journey
- Michel et Francine visited Epinal. After the bankrupt of the factory there is now a picture museum.
To see printed shirts, special technics ...

In the Garden
After the slide and the swing (toboggan et balançoire) we enter in a large vegetable garden.

By that nice day, look at flowers, fruits and vegetables

Fig tree

Beautiful flowerbed

Cherry tree

Zucchinis

Currants

Groseille rouges, blanches, à maquereaux    Confiture de groseille
Redcurrant, white currant, gooseberry         Redcurrant jam

Onions

Mind your own business !.... Occupez vous de vos oignons !

Wallnut leaves and immature nuts

Thistle and his blue flower

At the end we can watch the rooster on the belfry (le coq du clocher).

Thanks Roseline for this last evening.

Danielle's May 30th 2014

Chez Danielle 

1) Look at souvenirs in Paul's room. Many things he has brought back from travels.

Max : see Italy , Pise Tower which is tilted (or slanted)
Maurice : a kangaroo boxing on the bed
Francine : see Canada on the pillow(or a cushion) on the bed
Marcelle : in Italy, Colisseum in Roma and the female wolves
Danielle : in India has seen the statue of Boudha
Michel : a mexican hat on the wall
everybody saw the Eiffel Tower

2) At the supermarker, phone another customer for something  

What are you going to buy  Qu'allez vous acheter
look for  sausage, pork, beef, lamb chercher après saucisses de porc, boeuf, mouton
lost  perdu
in a hurry   pressé
taste   gouter
on or off duty   en ou fin de service
turn left   tourner à gauche
hens for the eggs  oeufs pour le poules
cashier  caissier

3) Phonétique :  Accent des mots, l'accent principal et l'accent secondaire

module audio en préparation , please wait ....

Chez Marcelle et Maurice

May 1st in Ecoust 

In this day everybody receives a gift :

Sprig of lily of the valley

Past events : april 25th . Each one describes a picture

Bullecourt celebrated the war 1914. There is many people before the town hall at the beginning of the ceremony. Then we move toward the Australian monument digger.

digger       soldat des tranchées   true blue digger trail authentique chemin des soldats

arm band  brassard     school band musiciens d'école

veterans holding flags   les anciens combattants porte-drapeaux

the new mayor making speech with mike le nouveau maire faisant un discours au micro

sky bluish   ciel bleuâtre

bag pipe player  joueur de cornemuse    How this instrument works

very proud of his kilt, red, pink, salmon ... Fier de son kilt (couleurs selon le clan)

the woman giving a speech was Minister foreign affairs

she wear a black coat, she seemed very dignified    très digne, "classe"

the interpretor was a blurry red-headed   chevelure rousse flou

soldiers wore nice patent leather shoes  chaussures vernies

a long weekend   un pont

Vocab. and Phonetic

May Day   Labor day in US(first monday)   Premier Mai
maypole     mat enrubanné

Easter    Pâques   NB attention les R en finale se font oublier sauf si liaison avec une voyelle  
Easter egg hunt   chasse aux oeufs    lots (of) eggs (to) hide ...  NB ( ) ne s'entendent pas
Dover  Douvres  ... pour le R muet

Tea Time

an ice box cake made by Marcelle

Everybody liked it...

See you soon
Best wishes
t wishes

Chez Francine et Michel

April 10th 2014- In the mayor's home

Phonétique  

idem : day  say  play  way

feuille de transcription phonétique du français

How to do something ...

* Danielle : shine shoes...  with a cloth: chiffon (clothes = vêtement), garment = habit)

   apply then rub shoe-polish ...

* Laurence : change a light bulb ...  with a stepladder (escabeau) or climbing on the table, unscrew the bulb of the socket (douille) and bayonet, screw base), replace a new bulb light, at the end switch on the light

* Max : light a fire in a fire place ... place some logs (buches) with tongs(pinces), breath or use bellows (soufflet), move with the poker (tisonnier) 

*Maurice : nous raconte des salades sur son blog... oh sorry no, he prepares salad : in the morning goes at the bottom of the garden, choices a lettuce, washes it, tears in pieces. In a green bowl put a spoon of oil, a few vinegar, mustard, one shallot cut in small slices At the end toss (faire sauter) it with big spoon and fork.

Good appetite  !

*Michel : make a bed ... goes upstairs in his bedroom, mattress (matelas), pillow (oreiller), blanket (couverture), sheet on bed (drap de lit),

*Roseline : frame picture ... measure painting or picture, cut with scissors, apply glue or adhesive tape

*Marcelle : cover a library book needs adhesive tape, scissors, rule, cloth ; difficulties are to avoid the bulbs, so edges (bords)

Tea Time 

Champagne rosé !

It is a great celebration because Michel becomes the mayor or our village. Congratulations Michel !

    

Chez Ruth et Max

In English please

Petit comité pour cette reprise ...

Laurence et Danielle excusées, Max in late ??

First we review the pronunciation of english vowels

Important! sinon vous risquez de mourir de faim

Tableau imagé de quelques mots à prononcer

Phonétique illustrée

Spelling and Sounds

Each letter has 2 or 3 pronunciation :
colonne 1 : one sound short
colonne 2 :                   long
colonne 3 :  le 'r' simple
colonne 4 : centring di or tri-phthong

Rappel de vocabulaire pour Vrai ou Faux
- a statement (at a question) is true or false
- choice of a road is right or wrong

HOW T ...  ou le jeu des enveloppes

Everyone opens an envelope. Inside a paper with a few words or verbs, he tells us how to ...

Marcelle - How to ... feed your animals

Michel - How to put wallpaper

Roselyne- How to make pancakes

Maurice- How to wash his car

Francine- How to plant a rose bush

Max- How to make concrete (béton) as a punishment because he was late !

Tous exercices exécutés avec brio et dans la bonne humeur...

Tea Time

Ruth had made some succulent brownies

Cable Car Chocolate Brownies       

2 eggs                                                             2/3 cup sifted flour

¾ cup sugar                                                   ¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract                         ¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup melted butter                                  ½ cup chopped walnuts

                                                     ¾ cup ground chocolate

Stir eggs with sugar and vanilla; add butter. Sift ground chocolate with flour, baking powder, salt. Stir into egg mixture; add nuts. Spread into greased square pan. Bake at 175° C for 20 minutes. Let cool in pan. Cut into squares.

Cable car in San Francisco

Bye, Bye, see you soon ...

Chez Roselyne

Not even scared !  Thursday 20th, Roseline and Jules

NEWS

depressing weather for everyone !

THEME

A guest ask you give advice for interesting something, places to visit, etc...

Answer With the sentences :

- you should/must see 

- it is a beautiful place/play

- they have interesting exhibitions

- they sell/show

I think/advice/suggest

  recommend

Danielle starts on Arras : There are squares, a cathedral, the belfry (classified as a national monument)                                            old  houses with gables (pignon), Main Square Festival during three days

(French= place carrées, beffroi)

Marcelle continues on Amiens : the illuminated cathedral (by night is lit up). Into it look at the
              labyrinthe ground
              the carriages with two horses and the Perret Tower.
              you w'd eat at the restaurants along the canal, see barges and ducks.
                                         Antique shops sell many beautiful things.
              (French = sol, voiture, péniches et canards, boutiques d'antiquités)
Roselyne flies to Canberra : have beers and french fries

Max is lost in St Quentin in the hiking trails, on paths and perhaps onto roads Compostelle....

Laurence returns in Arras Paul Doumer street for Arts Deco exposition and discuss with Max ...

Vocabulary

 - la construction résultative, "économique":

sing the baby to sleep            Endormir le bébé en chantant
kick the door shut                  Fermer la porte d'un coup de pied (more friendly that in the shin (tibia)

- foam (mousse), un peu = a lot of foam .... se rapporter à la feuille "les quantifieurs"
  quite a bit, a few, a lot ... en quantité négligeable
- pride (fier)  proud (fierté)
- even more slowly (encore plus lentement)
- not even scared! ( même pas peur!)

Cider Time And starved to death we devour the gingerbread and the minicakes preparated by       Roselyne.

See you soon ...