The View From Here

We're at that point in the move where the worst is both behind and in front of us and the present isn't really all that bad.  Because yesterday, the trying part of the whole ordeal was having to hang around the house all day with nothing really to do but be available to answer the packers' questions should they arise.  But these guys being professionals, and me being the organized sort, there really weren't many gray areas. So they assembled boxes and packed while I fiddled.

Three of the crew members are French; they don't speak English but since the firm specializes in international moves, they make it a practice to label the boxes so they will be understandable on the other end.  (And I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that the movers in DC may speak Spanish but they sure won't speak French. ) Amid the boxes and rolls of tape, I noticed the cheat sheet they were using with translation of common moving terms from French to English.  And how could I not share some of these with you?

Some worth sharing (French ------> English):

salle a manger:  diwing room
salon: liwing room
jardin: gardin
buffet bas:  bas buffet
aspirateur: Hoover

And my personal favorites?

grenier: grenier
lustre: sheen

Okay, so technically, lustre does mean sheen. But I think they were looking for the alternate translation which is chandelier.  Fortunately, we do not have a grenier so no possibility for error there.