Sur la route

Il y avait une légère brume sur la route // There was a light fog over the road

Well, Christmas is coming and three wise cats are on their way, weather conditions notwithstanding.

The creature in the tree hollow is quite probably another cat, and  most likely a wise one, but he is shy and we will never know.

Très chic

Leur intérieur est très chic ; j'aimerais bien savoir qui les a aidés à le réaliser // Their interior is very classy; I'd really like to know who helped them to do it

I think I might have an inkling as to who was it.

Bien trop rapide

Regardes ces deux danseurs ; leur cadence est bien trop rapide pour la majorité des gens // Look at these two dancers; their rhythm is much too fast for the majority of people

He's very agile too. There is actually just one cat (THE cat) on the pic, but he is way too fast for the speaker to notice it.

Cat drawings on shutterstock

Une vertu

La patience est une vertu // Patience is a virtue

He is an avid fishercat.

Cats on shutterstock

Сontemplation tranquille

Je suis allé au Louvre la semaine dernière où j'ai contemplé la Joconde pendant des heures: elle est magnifique ! //

I went to the Louvre last week where I contemplated the Mona Lisa for hours; she is magnificent!

Today's phrase from Transparent Language made me smile. I just imagined the guy standing there for hours while the museum is teeming with people. I am reasonably sure he'd be ushered out soon enough.

il portait un château

Il portait un château // He was wearing a castle

Many a time when learning a language I misspoke - used a wrong word or pronounced the correct one badly - and caused some amusement. *

Of course I am not alone in it. Yesterday in class one of my classmates confused two similar(ish) words - chapeau (hat) and château (castle). Easy mistake to make, especially since we had just spoken about castles.

It called to mind a rather Monty Python-esque image, so the cat is wearing a castle. He is a bit scatter-brained anyway.

Timur also reminded me that in Time Bandits there is an episode with a giant wearing a boat on his head. Of course it is still very Monty Python, what with Terry Gilliam having written it and all.

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* Well, actually, I can almost as easily do it in Russian too, especially when distracted.

Pensé à un cambriolage

Le salon était tellement en pagaille que j'ai tout d'abord pensé à un cambriolage ! // The living room was in such disarray that I first thought there had been a robbery!

 

At first I drew this pic thinking it's his mum giving him a piece of her mind again. Then I realized that the phrase was all in the past.

So. I think it is one of those visitors who start talking as they walk through the door, and she is talking about someone else's living room room while taking her coat off.

Wait till she walks in this one.

The cat looks sort of guilty. I don't think he needs to feel guilty, he is just artistic and likes pizza and coffee.

(ok, now everything is explained away) .

All sticky

Si tu laisses de la confiture sur la table, ce sera tout poisseux ! // If you leave jam on the table it will be all sticky.

Now, when the Inktober marathon is over, I will start taking things nice and slow.

A phrase comes from Transparent Language again. I like to think of it being said with the voice of Howard's (invisible) mum.

pour finir!

Et, pour finir, une bonne tranche de gâteau! // And, to finish, a good slice of cake!

The final Inktober prompt is "slice". Well, it was fun.

The cat looks pleased. He got himself a good-sized slice of chocolate cake to celebrate.

Chocolate cakes on shutterstock

Ne pas en ficher une secousse

Ne pas en ficher une secousse // Be very lazy, don't do anything, don't stir

I thought today's Inktober prompt "jolt" will give me trouble.

Fortunately, Larousse dictionary gives an idiomatic expression with its French equivalent "secousse" - "Ne pas en ficher une secousse" which means "do nothing, be very lazy".

The cat, of course, is very good at doing nothing.

double vision

double vision au carré // double vision squared

Make it double. And then double it again.

Un cadeau non ouvert

Un cadeau non ouvert est un plaisir retardé // An unopened gift is a delayed pleasure

Now, a delay might be positive and negative thing. Judging by his expression, the cat considers it something positive.

Le tonnerre

La nuit dernière, j'ai été réveillé par le tonnerre. // Last night i was woken up by thunder.

Inktober prompt "thunder" is sort of tricky.

Have nothing else to add.

Stretch!

Ces exercices servent à améliorer ou à maintenir votre souplesse // These exercises are used to improve or maintain your flexibility

Today's Inktober prompt is "stretch", and here is the cat doing a side stretch exercise.

I am not sure he needs it though. He is pretty supple already. And he seems to be in imminent danger of falling.

Toutes les parties sont épineux

Toutes les parties de la plante sont épineux // All parts of the plant are prickly

With today's Inktober prompt we find ourselves on Gran Canaria. Not that there are no prickly plants in Finland, of course. But, after a few years living in Canaries, for me the word "prickly" is firmly linked to "pear". What we get when we put them together is the dreaded opuntia, the enemy of hikers.

Poor poor cat. He just touched it accidentally, and now  look at his paw.

I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK

J'aime couper du bois. C'est ma manière préférée de méditation physique // I like chopping wood. It is my preferred way of physical meditation

Today's Inktober prompt is "chop". We are still on Finnish streak, I think. 

Unfortunately, the provided french equivalent of the prompt - verb "hacher" - doesn't seem to be applicable to wood.

Almost unrelated note: Timur just pointed out that "can you help me to cut down that tree?" is a very Finnish neighborly request for a favor. Ok, maybe it is pan-Scandinavian, maybe Canada will fit too, and a few other places, but we didn't live there, so we can't vouch.

Really muddy

C'est très boueux aujourd'hui // It is very muddy today

Today's Inktober prompt is "muddy". So, here is the cat, looking surprisingly happy standing in the mud in his coveralls.

While some of the prompts in the beginning of the month, like "roasted" or "drooling" were probably written by someone hungry, last batch - "drain", "expensive", "muddy" - rather puts me in mind of Finland, perhaps unfairly.

So, what the cat is wearing is properly called "haalaripuku," (thanks, Heikki) and standing under a brolly like that he looks even more Totoro-esque than usual. It also looks like Snorlax (thanks, Timur).

And it doesn't work

Sa voiture d'or est très cher, très chiс et ne fonctionne pas // His golden car is very expensive, very chiс and doesn't work.

Inktober prompt: "expensive".

I know it is not good grammar to miss "it", but let's say the whole "doesn't work" bit functions as an adjective.

non-draining drains

Quand les drains ne drainent pas // when drains don't drain

We had a lot of rain two days ago. As usual, the drainage system didn't quite manage to take it all away fast enough. So we had shallow rivers running along the streets.

Unfortunately, the water in these rivers was nowhere as blue as in the pic.

Handle with care

Manipuler avec soin.// Handle with care.

Day 20 Inktober prompt was "breakable".

I am not sure what is in the box. Maybe the cat just got his new doomsday device in the mail. The old one stopped doomsdaying properly.

smells scorched

ça sent le roussi // I am in trouble

Literally "Ça sent le roussi" means "it smells scorched", but it is an idiom, meaning there is a trouble brewing.

I am not sure why he is ironing shirts at all, he doesn't wear them. Maybe it is his meditation method. 

Bouteille à la mer

Une bouteille à la mer est un moyen de communication // A message in a bottle is a form of communication

Here, the cat is doing snorkeling.

Well, strictly speaking,  he is doing freediving, plongée libre. Because you see, he does have a snorkel, but he doesn't have a mouth.

Ma patte est gonflée

Ma patte est gonflée. Je ne suis pas sûr que vous puissiez le voir // My paw is swollen. I am not sure you can see it.

Just that.

Atteindre la perfection

évolution de la forme du corps: de angulaire à parfaite // body shape evolution : from angular to perfect

Once again, I found today's prompt (angular) difficult to implement in a picture, but well. Here you are. The term "catwalk" takes on a whole new meaning.

Croquis drawn according to a Skillshare class by Danielle Meder (more or less). The Cat is drawn as he wanted to be drawn.

Une petite chose fragile

 Je ne suis pas une petite chose fragile. Et je ne souhaite pas en être une // I am not a weak little thing. And I do not wish to be one.

Today's Inktober prompt is "weak", or, according to the French variant, "fragile". However hard I thought, I just couldn't think of a way to apply either of these words to the cat.

So I went for a negation.

On dirait des souris qui grignotent le temps

Le tic-tac des horloges, on dirait des souris qui grignotent le temps // The ticking of the clocks, it's like mice nibbling time (Alphonse Allais)

Today's Inktober prompt is "clock" or "l'horloge".

Judging by the look he is giving the mouse, the cat is one of those very well fed cats who have no idea that mice can be food.

well guarded palace

C'est un palais bien protégé // It is a well guarded palace

Don't know why, but I always thought that those guys were called "Beefeaters". Even the pic on Beefeater gin label, which I saw many times, didn't help.

Today I finally realized they were grenadiers.

I discover all sort of things in the course of Inktober.

Les chats n'aiment pas l'eau.

Les chats n'aiment pas l'eau // Cats don't like water

No sir they don't. So, what possessed the cat? Why did he got on an inflatable whale? (baleine gonflable).

I can't be sure, but in might have something to do with today's inktober prompt.

cruel and unusual

C'est cruel de manger une glace devant lui alors qu'il n'a pas le droit d'en manger // It's cruel to eat ice cream in front of him when he can't have any.

What a cruel world, eh?

Inktober prompts are not food or hunger related any more, it's me who can't get off the theme.

The flow of the river is ceaseless and its water is never the same

Le cours de la rivière qui va jamais ne s'interrompt, et pourtant ce n'est déjà plus la même eau (Kamo no Chomei)

Today's Inktober prompt is "flowing", i.e. "écoulement". 

My preciousssss

Mon précieux // My precious

Today's prompt is "precious", and here is a rather obvious interpretation of it.

Although it is not clear to me what the cat is going to do with the ring of power, him having no fingers and all.

il est très modeste

Il est très modeste, bien qu'il soit une vraie star // He is very modest, although he is a real star

Well, I know for sure he is not that modest, but he is an actor, after all.

Another note - cat version of Oscar figurine looks like a golden Batman.

Fourbu

C'est dimanche, pourquoi suis-je si épuisé? // It's Sunday, why am I so exhausted?

I know I already drew something very similar before, but he is a cat, he often feels exhausted. Or pretends to. And today's inktober prompt suits him very well.

Drooling

Le bouledogue est une bonne race. Il y a juste un problème // The bulldog is a good breed. There is just one problem

Today's Inktober prompt is "drooling" which kinda confirms my hungry prompter theory.

Drooling is "baver" in French, if you are interested.

When pigs fly

Quand les poules auront des dents // Never

Day 5 of Inktober gives us "chicken" as a prompt. That comes two days after "roasted", I guess someone was hungry.

Anyhow, here is a lovely french idiom "Quand les poules auront des dents" - "When chickens have teeth", meaning never. Or, as it were, when pigs fly.

And here is a chicken, all ready for a Halloween party, looking rather splendid in his Dracula costume.

École de magie appliquée

Excusez moi, quelle est l'orthographe de "Abracadabra"? // Excuse me, what is the spelling of "Abracadabra"?

Unlike yesterday, today's Inktober prompt "spell" does speak to me :)

Two notes - first, I missed a couple of letters in "orthographe" on the pic. I guess I have to refresh my spelling skills. And second - you mustn't ever distract your companion when he is at the point of blowing up the school, especially when it is a school of applied magic.

C'est une mauvaise chose à dire, mais ...

C'est un vrai cancre ; le professeur le met toujours au fond de la classe //

He's a real dunce; the teacher always puts him in the back of the classroom

Since today's Inktoner prompt ("roasted") doesn't really speak to me, I decided to take one from Transparent Language French Word of the Day again.

What a mean thing to say though. He is not slow or stupid, he is just dreamy. Look at him there, everybody is already gone and he is just sitting there looking at the last leaves of autumn.

Which reminds me of a lovely Spanish idiom "estar pensando en las musarañas" - to be distracted, dreamy, absent, but literally "to be thinking about the shrews". Why the shrews? Well, they are cute.

Tranquillité

Tranquillité: esprit vide, haute conscience //  Tranquility: empty mind, high awareness

Today's Inktober prompt is "tranquil". By a happy coincidence, today my chi kung classes start, and wikipedia tells me that tranquility is one of the advanced goals of chi kung.

By another happy coincidence, the cat is already tranquil as anything (he found inner peace, remember?).

However, what he cannot do is all that "paw above your head, palm up" nonsense. Not that he needs it, of course.

Comprendre les choses littéralement

Les chats ont tendance à comprendre les choses littéralement // Cats tend to understand things literally

Well, today is the first day of Inktober and the prompt for the day is "poisonous", so here is a bottle of Poison.

I am not sure I can do all 31 days but I will have a go.

As-tu fermé le robinet?

As-tu fermé le robinet de l'évier ? Il me semble entendre l'eau couler ! // Have you turned off the sink faucet? It seems to me that I hear water running!

I suspect water is indeed running, but the cat is oblivious, obviously.

When I half-finished the drawing I noticed that the earphones are not where they should be (for a cat). Never mind, though.

Régime assez strict

Elle est un peu grassouillette ; c'est pourquoi elle a décidé de suivre un régime assez strict // She's a bit plump; this is why she decided to go on a rather strict diet

It is a sad truth that, on average, a woman would readily go on a crazy diet when she feels she has some extra weight, whereas a man under the same circumstances would not even think about it. Look at him, he looks as pleased with himself as ever.

Well, good for him, bad for her. Strict diets don't work, long-term, sigh...

Elle était cramoisie

Ma nièce avait si chaud qu'elle était cramoisie // My niece was so hot that she was crimson

Today's phrase from Transparent Language makes me think of somebody annoying people with their family pictures (rather like in "uncle Ted and the Spanish Inquisition" sketch).

Just patching up

Mes cousins sont en train de rafistoler mon vieux vélo pour que je puisse participer à la ballade avec eux // My cousins are patching up my old bike so that I can go join them for a ride

Weeeell. It looks to me that only one cousin is engaged with the bike in any way. The other is busy facepawing.

Toute l'après-midi

Il faut maintenant trouver un accord, nous n'allons pas tergiverser toute l'après-midi // We have to find an agreement; we are not going to procrastinate all afternoon

Whoever designed that helmet chose to completely ignore the sticking-out-ears problem.  So it provides even less protection than a normal hockey helmet; that probably explains why the hockey player looks so blissful  - he probably can't even hear that his friend is suggesting they played badminton instead.

It looks to me that the badminton player doesn't stand a chance. They will be playing ice hockey.

Je n'aime pas être seul

Je n'aime pas être seul // I don't like being alone

Today, after more'n half a year break, I went to a French class.

Even after all these years living outside of Russia, it still surprises me that the classes start NOT on the 1st of September, and that everybody starts on a different day. I guess the 1st of September will forever stay "back to school" (la rentrée scolaire) day for me.

First few minutes I was the only student in the class. After a considerable while, three more people materialized, looking lost and unsure. I guess it was something to do with the fact that the days of our class were changed last week, and an email went out, and yet the subscription carried on with the old schedule. I assume tomorrow the rest of the class will turn up and will roam the school in search of the teacher.

Well, never mind. Everything will sort itself out eventually.

A case of the Mondays

Il semble que quelqu'un a la morosité du lundi! //

Looks like someone has a case of the Mondays!

This.

He seems to view Mondays with a very jaundiced eye.

"Morosité" is translated into something like "gloom", so the whole expression is more self-explanatory than "a case of the Mondays".

Dans le couloir

Une porte se ferma bruyamment et je frissonnai en entendant des pas approcher dans le couloir //

A door slammed loudly, and I shivered upon hearing steps approaching in the hallway

An element of horror today.

It is the first time I see "couloir" used, and am pleasantly surprised to discover the etymology of another Russian word explained in serendipitous way. 

The cats happened to draw themselves in their "amoeba" variant today, which makes the sound of approaching steps inexplicable. But it makes it even scarier, n'est-ce pas?

Je suis passé à la banque

Je suis passé à la banque pour retirer de l'argent. //

I went to the bank to withdraw some money

Partially the pic is explained by my frustration with pretty much everybody (banks including) wanting you to install their app on your phone.

As if your phone didn't know enough about you already. Feels like not only putting all eggs in one basket, but also collapsing said basket to convenient, easy-lo-lose size.

Consider this pic is a possible, albeit partial, solution to the lost phone problem.

Fiddle fiddle

La maîtresse laisse les enfants tripatouiller la pâte à modeler de manière à ce qu'ils découvrent les formes et les couleurs. // The teacher lets the kids knead the modeling clay so that they discover shapes and colors.

Funny word - tripatouiller.

Do you remember your surprise at the physics lessons when they told you that all colors combined give white - and even demonstrated it with a rotating wheel of all colors? *

Our teacher didn't go into all that additive/subtractive business, so the lesson left me somewhat puzzled. 


For I knew perfectly well that when you mix all the paints together you get mud.

And if  we are talking modelling clay (or plasticine), the shapes you will probably get will be  sort of partial exoskeletons for everybody involved.

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* - I know it is not necessarily universal, but I discovered to my delight that Timur got exactly the same demonstration as me - in a different country and one generation later.

C'est une offre plutôt alléchante, j'hésite vraiment à refuser // It's a quite tempting offer; I'm really hesitant to refuse

I am not sure why he wants to refuse it, but well. Maybe he suddenly decided he wants to go on a diet or something