Officious Autumn Fayre

 Today, if everything goes well, we will go to the local carnival. It's officially called a carnival, but it truly is a fayre and, as it is set in the middle of September, generally in or around the equinox, I consider it an autumn fayre (well of course). It is in a park and, when the weather is right, like it should be today, it feels so perfectly autumnal. We have been going there every September since we started living here. I think the only exceptions were when we were invited at the birthday of one of Wolfie's friends. Thankflly, not this year. Today, we will go with some friends, as we often do. I love going there, it is one of my favourite activities in September, a special event that marks the arrival of my favourite season.

Frites

 Mon père a fait des frites il y a quelques jours et, bien entendu, il m'a envoyé des photos. Avec les patates du jardin de son frère, qui paraît-il sont excellentes. Enfin, je dis paraît-il, je le sais, j'en ai déjà mangé, même si ça date de quelques années, sinon quelques décennies maintenant. Enfin bref, je sais que je fais souvent des billets de bouffe ces temps-ci, mais qu'à cela ne tienne, je partage quand même.

Happy Friday the 13th!

I know I already blogged about Friday the 13th today, but since then I found this meme online and it really made me laugh. I have nothing else to say about it, only that I thought I should share it.

Poulet chasseur

Le Chef Michel Dumas a récemment fait une vidéo sur le poulet chasseur. Je ne suis pas un grand fan du mélange poulet et champignons, mais j'ai toujours aimé le poulet chasseur (même si je n'en ai mangé que très souvent) Je ne sais pas pourquoi, je trouve ça automnal. Peut-être parce que la chasse est surtout une activité de l'automne, peut-être parce que c'est un repas consistant qui se prend bien à l'automne. Mais dans tous les cas, voici la vidéo.

Friday the 13th

 Today, we are Friday the 13th of September 2024. The first of the year. And so...? So nothing. I'm not superstitious. But I do have some interest in superstitions and I like to mention it on the blog. 13th or not, I always liked Fridays, so I should enjoy this one. When I was a child, I had a feeling of dread every Friday the 13th, but a pleasant one, it gave me a certain frisson of undefined fear. I daydreamed about being scared of something. One of my acquaintances, a friend of a friend, used to imagine imminent zombie Apocalypses or kaiju attacks every Friday the 13th. I'm not sure why, but we just chit chatted inventing all sorts of horrors on that day and we really enjoyed it. Sadly, nothing ever happened. Nothing exciting like what we imagined anyway. So yeah, that was back then anyway. Any memories of Friday the 13th?

Gâteau en 8

Pour sa fête, petit loup voulait un gâteau en forme de huit, car il a eu huit ans. Avec des Biscoffs partout, je ne sais pas trop pourquoi. J'ai fait ce que j'ai pu, pour la représentation ça a plus au moins réussi, mais c'était quand même savoureux, même si je préfère le Man Cake de l'an dernier.

Wolfie's New Grey Hoodie

My mum bought a grey hoodie for Wolfie's birthday. She gave it to him in advance, when she last saw him. Well, I say my mum, it was both my parents, but buying clothes as presents is kind of my mum's thing. Anyway, Wolfie loved it right away. I was kind of surprised, as it isn't colourful. But it's apparently very comfy. Wolfie has been wearing it almost ever since and it has already been yogurted. It reminds me of a wooly grey jacket I received as a present from my godmother when I was five or six, maybe even younger. I disliked it at first, it was just a boring grey thing that felt scratchy on the skin. Then as soon as the first cold autumn days were coming, I was wearing it and it became one of my favourite piece of clothes. It was just comfortable and comforting. Maybe that's why Wolfie loves it so much. I feel a pang of sadness when I see him wearing it: I outgrew my wooly jacket, I know he will outgrew this one and way too quickly.

Les "Catacombes"

Une amie du temps de mon adolescence m'a envoyée une photo des "Catacombes" du Cégep de Chicoutimi. J'ai blogué sur elles plus tôt cette année et en 2012. Il n'y a plus de restaurant, ce qui est un peu triste. Mais on les appelle encore catacombes et elles ont gardé ce côté mystérieux. Pourquoi ce nom, d'abord? Je soupçonne que ça date de l'ancien séminaire. Enfin bref, pour ceux qui y ont été, ou qui les fréquentez encore, vos souvenirs dans les commentaires. Moi, j'en ai qui datent de l'enfance.

Fragments of 9/11

 Today is the anniversary of 9/11. I always commemorate it on the blog.I once used to blog about deeper stuff, when I started blogging in fact, and I gave this date a lot of thoughts back in the days, As you can read in this post from 2008 and that post from 2009. In the latter, I said that I remembered the most trivial thing about it. What I ate that evening for instance: shepherd's pie, or pâté chinois as we call it, with beetroots on the side, and a chocolate cake for dessert, which my mum made as a goodbye treat because I was going back to England a week or two later. I remember reading the morning newspapers and just stopping, because it felt absurd to read old news. I went to the bar that night, but did not get drunk. I discussed this with my wife a few days ago: she was then living at her parents' house, she had walked the family dog and in the park where she walked, she saw people doing tai chi, which she thought was a strange activity to do in a park. Then she walked home and she learned the news. That night, she thought that if the terrorist attack had not happened, she would have thought the 11th of September 2001 to be a day like just any other. Now she remembers these people doing tai chi. And I find it strange and a little bit eerie that for so many people this date in history has been crystallised like this, with every single trivial detail of their day forever in their memory.

Pizzédélic

Lors de notre dernier séjour à Montréal, nous avons fait un petit détour nostalgique chez Pizzédélic sur l'Avenue Mont-Royal. Je suis étonné que ça existe encore, tellement les choses ont changé sur le Plateau, surtout côté bouffe. Une pizzéria sans prétention, ça m'étonne qu'elle ait survécu (touchons du bois). Les pizzas carrées ont fasciné petit loup, justement parce qu'elles sont carrées. C'est un design d'une époque révolue. D'ailleurs, je me trompe ou il n'y a plus guère Pizzédélic qui fasse encore des pizzas carrées? Enfin, j'avais l'impression d'être le temps d'un repas dans les années 90, lorsque je commençais à apprivoiser Montréal.

Wolfie in Autumn

Well, I am not the only one in the family to consider the beginning of September with the beginning of autumn. We went downtown last Saturday, my wife, our son and me. And Wolfie said: "It's a beautiful autumn walk." Which could be considered a new Wolfism. Anyway, he kept stressing how autumnal the day was, even though it was fairly mild: he picked up leaves on the ground, for us to keep as a souvenir. My wife said that my son is turning more and more like me: same tastes, same likes and dislikes. It surprises her a little more every day. But anyway, I'm glad he embraced the season so much: too many children just see autumn, or at least its beginning, as the end of the holidays. Wolfie can see that it is also a beautiful time.

Huître

C'est le mois de septembre, ce qui veut dire le mois des huîtres. Enfin, l'un des quatre mois des huîtres. Donc, mes parents ont acheté des huîtres gigantesques. La photo ne lui rend pas justice. Cela dit, j'aimerais en trouver des comme ça ici. En trouver, point.

The Guillotine in the Classroom

I foudn this meme online recently, it came on my Facebook feed. I guess it is back to school even for social media. In any case, it really made me laugh. Anybody remember these? We did have one in every classroom in the primary school where I went. And they were not mino guillotines. They were pretty much proper, if simplistic, guillotines. I'm not sure if they could have chopped a head off, but small fingers certainly. They thus scared me a bit and I never liked having to go use them. Since I was a sensible child, the teacher used to give me the responsibility to cut papers or cardboard with them more often than I cared for.

Le Stade olympique

Tiens, il m'est venu à l'esprit que depuis que le blogue existe, je n'ai jamais publié une photo du Stade olympique de Montréal. Peut-être à cause de son héritage controversé et, disons-le, amer. Petit loup était impressionné d'être sur un site olympique et m'a posé pleins de questions sur les Jeux de 1976. Il a même dit qu'il espère que l'on aura d'autres Jeux à Montréal. Il est peut-être bien le seul Québécois à l'espérer... Dans tous les cas, voici une photo du Stade, avant qu'il ne s'écroule. Et je n'ai aucune idée du gars sur la photo. Ce n'est vraiment pas facile de prendre des clichés de lieux publics.

Little Scarecrows

 Well, it seems that I'm not the only one thinking of Halloween already. We were walking by the local allotment yesterday and we saw these: two tiny, child size scarecrows, one boy, one girl, one holding a little plastic Jack O'Lantern thingie. (Can you see the Jack, by the way? It's hanging on the left hand side of the boy scarecrow). They looked cute, yet deliciously creepy. Must be their size. Anyway, whoever made them, I love the way they are thinking. And I think there is at least one scary story to write about these little scarecrows. What do you think?

Guédille au homard

 Lors de ma dernière visite au marché Jean-Talon, j'ai mangé pour la première fois depuis longtemps une guédille au homard. En fait, je crois que c'était ma première fois. J'ai mangé par le passé des sandwiches au crabe, aux crevettes, au homard, mais des guédilles en bonne et dûe forme, je crois que c'était une première. À quasiment 20$ la guédille, ce n'était pas donné, mais avec l'inflation... Dans tous les cas, c'est bon, mais j'ai trouvé ça un brin frugal.

Bookshop Day (Upcoming)

Thanks to Books Are My Bag that the enxt Bookshop Day is Saturday the 12th of October. In a month's time, and on such perfect timing. I guess I don't have to tell you why. One of the many events to attend in the new few weeks. The promotional picture is really nice too.

Question existentielle (391)

 Nous sommes le premier samedi de septembre, autant dire le premier vrai samedi de l'année, enfin pour un enfant, puisque l'on compte le temps à partir de l'année scolaire. J'ai souvent blogué sur le premier samedi de septembre. Je bloguerai sans encore sur le sujet, mais je veux d'abord poser une question existentielle:

-Quels sont vos souvenirs d'enfance des premiers samedis de septembre?

Things to do this September

Well, September is already a week in, but it is still early enough to mention do some planning and find inspiration for activities, in family or with friends. Just like every year (and, indeed, every month), the English Heritage published a post titled Top 5 Things To Do in September. I just wanted to mention a few things about it. Firstly, going on historical sites during autumn is always a great idea. Also, the post mentions uncovering sites with literary links including... Dracula. Because yes, it is not too early to get into a spooky mood. I am not the only one who thinks that September is Halloween Eve. And I really love it, especially since the trees are already getting colours. So anyway, what are you going to do this September?

Gelée de pommettes

L'arrivée de l'automne, dans ma famille, ça veut dire aussi faire de la gelée de pommettes, que lon mange sur les toasts pour le déjeuner. J'ai eu la chance d'en manger lors de mon dernier reotur au pays et vraiment, ça a un goût automnal, même si les pommettes sont cueillies à la fin de l'été et la gelée peut être mangée durant toute l'année. Dans le sucré, c'est pas mal ce que je préfère mettre sur mes toasts le matin. Surtout que c'est une gelée faite maison et la cueillette des pommettes est une tradition familiale.