My Auutmnal Tea

I have some good news I had forgotten to mention: I stocked myself in autumn tea. By this I mean that I found a brand that makes a brew that is my go-to tea for autumn and Halloween: the Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tea from Bird & Blend. It's like a pumpkin spice latte, only it's tea so it tastes so much better. Especially on a cold autumn day, like we've been having recently. I blogged about this brew last year, although I found Bird & Blend in 2021. This year, I bought enough to get myself stocked until Halloween and after, but I am still careful and pace my consumption of the Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tea to make sure I will have enough for the big day. So yes, this was today's autumn chronicle post.

Le vingt-deux septembre (aujourd'hui)

L'équinoxe cette année, c'est demain. Et pour moi l'automne, c'est au début de septembre que ça commence, pas lors de l'équinoxe. Cela dit, c'est une tradition que de partager Le vingt-deux septembre de Georges Brassens sur Vraie Fiction, tant comme célébration de l'automne que de sa mélancolie. Alors donc...

Bedroom Wolfism

I haven't shared a Wolfism for a long while, not since August, so I thought a new one was long overdue. I think all parents can relate to that one. But anyway, here it is. So Wolfie sometimes plays in his room, which of course gets in a sorry state, like a pandemonium of toys and other things. So he tried to reassure me once, telling me before playing: "Daddy, daddy, I will not make my room very messy, just a tiny little bit messy." Can't say I saw much of a difference, but it could have been worse I guess.

RIP Le Fromentier

 Très triste nouvelle que mon frère PJ m'a apprise: la boulangerie Le Fromentier ferme ses portes. Après 30 ans de service, autrement dit une institution. Pour diverses raisons: hausse des loyers, des taxes, concurrence, etc. C'est une énorme perte, je le dis sans ironie. C'est une partie du Plateau que j'ai toujours connu qui disparaît.

"Hey man, love your jumper!"

This is what my manager told me this morning at the end of our one to one meeting: "Hey man, love your jumper!" I thanked him, told him that I had beenw aiting forever to wear warmer jumpers. Not that it is that cold now, but it is cooler and often rainy, so you need warmer clothes. This is an old turtleneck jumper my mum bought me a couple of years ago, kind of thin but it does the job when it is slightly beneath 20. Anyway, I am grateful for that reminder: autumn is most definitely here and I can now wear comfy clothes.

La bannière du Salon du Livre 2023

Tout d'abord, un rappel: le Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean commence le 28 septembre. Vous avez l'horaire sur l'image avec la bannière. Mais je voulais justement bloguer à propos de la bannière. Qu'est-ce qu'elle évoque en vous? Moi, ce sont les mangas japonaises, les animés que je regardais quand j'étais jeune, mais aussi les bédés européennes, dans un décor vaguement science-fiction et résolument exotique. Et vous?

The Gruffalo

During our last time downtown as a family, we had the chance to see the the window display of the local Jojo Maman Bébé. It showed of the Gruffalo and various characters from his universe. It was quite cute. Wolfie used to love the Gruffalo when he was a few years younger, although he also used to find him scary. I blogged about it back in 2019. Then a few years later he kind of forgot about him, but the display reminded him of the critter. There was also a Gruffalo plush toy on display. Jojo Maman Bébé sells products that are a tad too young for Wolfie, but now he wants his Gruffalo teddy.So I just might get it for Christmas, if Wolfie is still interested about him by then.

L'automne et la lumière

 Photo prise par mon père l'an dernier à environ la même date, je la partage car elle sert mon propos. J'ai souvent mentionné l'un des autres attraits de l'automne: la lumière qui se tamise dès l'après-midi, même bien avant que le soir tombe. Une lumière discrète et qui n'a rien d'agressant. Et je crois que cette photo l'illustre justement très bien.

Mushrooms (an autumnal chronicle)

We were walking back home from school yesterday with Wolfie and his classmate we give a lift to sometimes when the children spotted these mushrooms. They were very impressed by their size. So was I. This is a typical sign of autumn, which I wanted to share here. Talking of autumn, I can safely say that it is finally settling, touch wood. It is cool in the morning and evening, there is a breeze during daytime, it is often rainy and the temperatures do not rise above 20. So yes, I am happy. Even the air has an unmistakable autumnal smell to it. You know the one.

Les pédalos

J'ai pris cette photo à Weymouth dans le Dorset, pas loin des quais. Une armada de pédalos pour les touristes, enfin je crois. Yous avec des noms un brin pompeux. C'était la fin de notre dernière journée, je n'ai pas eu l'idée ni l'envie de faire un tour, mais ça m'a rappelé qu'enfant j'en avais fait quelquefois, même si je ne rappelle guère des détails, à part en avoir fait. Chaque fois, j'ai beaucoup aimé, allez savoir pourquoi.

Blueberry Gin

 In my adult life, I rarely ever drank gin. When I did, it was occasionally, when I was living in Liverpool, as one of my housemates and friend was quite keen on gin and tonic. When I drank some with her, it was more out of friendship than anything, like a nice little ritual. That said, I recently got curious about a specific gin from the Distillerie du Fjord (the fjord being the Saguenay fjord where I come from) called 48 Chemin Price. This gin is different as it is made with blueberries, the fruit of my region. From my exprrience, in has a strong flavour of tasting nothing but hard liquor, so I am curious about how this one can taste blueberries.

Steak frites

Mon père a fait il y a quelques semaines des frites patio et il les a mangées avec un steak. Donc, mes parents ont mangé un steak frites. Ca doit faire des siècles que je n'en ai pas mangé, la dernière fois c'était vraiment un expérience décevante (lire ce billet), depuis j'ai peur de m'essayer à nouveau. Mais mon père ne m'a jamais déçu quand il a cuisiné un steak frites, alros j'imagine qu'il me faudra attendre ma prochaine visite. Comme d'habitude. D'ici là, je partage cette photo.

A portrait of Mary Shelley

At one of our latest family evenings out, we saw this portrait of Mary Shelley. The author of Frankenstein. I love these portraits made of words associated with the author. Not sure why. I hesitated before sharing it, as this would have been a fine post for this year's countdown to Halloween. But then decided that I could not wait, that I am already counting the days to Halloween anyway, so here it is.

Le Salon du Livre (rappel)

Je fais un rappel d'intérêt public pour les gens de ma région ou ceux qui y seront bientôt: Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean commence dans un peu plus de dix jours. Il aura lieu du 28 septembre au 1er octobre. J'ai revu ma passe de lecteur de l'année catégorie cégep et ça m'a donné envie d'y retourner. Et en plus, regardez comme l'affiche promo est belle cette année, avec son esthétique vaguement manga. Bon, d'accord, c'est exotique pour un évènement saguenéen, mais le Saguenay, c'est un peu le bout du monde.

Autumn Leaves

A couple of days ago, at the very beginning of September, we were walking back from a trip downtown and we stopped by a large maple tree. Wolfie picked up these two leaves. There were other leaves like them, but Wolfie seemed to like these two particularly. The day was far too hot for a day in September, it has now cooled down a bit. But in any case, these leaves are autumn leaves, I don't care what some people say, the season starts with the month, not with the equinox.

St-Viateur sur Mont-Royal

Ma mère m'a envoyé cette photo hier. Pas une très bonne photo, mais vous voyez la longue file d'attente pour entrer au St-Viateur sur Mont-Royal. C'est l'endroit où j'ai fait ma découverte des bagels montréalais, je m'en rappelle comme si c'était hier. Un coup de foudre gastronomique. Je m'en ennuie beaucoup.

Whatever happened to the Veneziana?

Tonight, we went to Pizza Express for dinner, to meet my wife's friend who wanted to introduce her new fiancé to us. I always loved Pizza Express: the food may not be fancy, but the quality is always reliable. But recently, there is something that has been bothering me: the Veneziana, my go-to pizza when i go there, is no longer on the menu. The Veneziana has everything I love in a pizza: capers, olives, and well, that's it. They also give a discretionary 25p to the Venice in Peril fund for every Veneziana sold. Well, they still do, except for every mushroom pizza sold, because they don't sell Veneziana anymore.  My question is why? Why is it no longer on the menu? Because I don't care about mushroom pizza. I mean I really don't. And I am all for saving Venice, mind you, but I will donate to the charity directly rather than eat a mushroom pizza. In the end, the Veneziana allowed me to make a good deed while enjoying a dinner out. Since it is gone, I don't find the menu of Pizza Express so appealing anymore.

Des vestiges de chemin de fer...

 Petite nouvelle pour les amateurs de train, donc pour les gens comme moi: on a trouvé des vestiges de chemin de fer à Montréal. dans le quartier Saint-Henri, au nord de la rue Notre-Dame. Pas grand-chose à dire, sauf que c'est une nouvelle cool.

The Last Hunt in September

Fair warming: today's post is another piece of autumnal chronicle. This is the case for pretty much all of Vraie Fiction when September arrives, but hey. I make the most of my favourite season. This post will also be about The Last Hunt, crime fiction novel by South African crime writer Deon Meyer, often mentionned here. There is a line that struck me when I first read it four years ago and that has remained in my mind since then. This line, in chapter 71, which starts Friday 1 September: "It was cool and overcast, as if autumn was recognising this offical date for change." You will have guessed that this part of the plot is not set in South Africa, as this would be the southern emisphere and the beginning of spring. But it just made me happy as the character whose point of view we are following this considers autumn to start with the first of September. Daniel Darret, you are a an after my own heart.

"PS: ne mange pas trop de gâteau!"

 Je reivens sur la fête de petit loup, car ses grand-parents paternels lui ont envoyé une carte. Ma mère a décidé de lui rajouter ce PS. Je trouve ça ironique, sachant de qui Wolfie tient sa dent sucrée, d'une part, et sachant comment grand-maman le nourrit quand elle le voit. Preuve à l'appui: ce billet. Et pour la petite histoire, non, il n'en a pas trop mangé, il a été raisonnable.