Mafalda and the new year

It will soon be the new year and I know what we are all tempted to think and hope: that 2021 will be better than 2020. Well, not me. As I read once in a Mafalda comic strip, maybe the new year is hoping that people will be better. I haven't found the original one, but here is my favourite girl saying this very wise advise, that has stuck to me since I first read it as a child. Yes, some things, such as the current pandemic, are inevitable. But if people had been more careful, less selfish, some governments more responsible and less cowardly, things would have been better in 2020. So let's all try to be better for 2021.

Célébrer au vin chaud

Noël achève, dans un certain sens le Temps des Fêtes est déjà terminé, alors je ne m'épivarderai pas là dessus. Je voudrai cependant parler d'une redécouverte cette année: le vin chaud. Nous avions quelques bouteilles données par des amis, alors nous avons décidé d'en boire cette année. On n'a qu'à le réchauffer, lui ajouter une tranche d'orange ou deux et le boire. Ma femme préfère ça à pas mal tous les autres alcools. Même si c'est beaucoup associé à Noël et aux fêtes, je crois que ça pourrait se boire de novembre à mars, au moins. Ça pourrait être notre breuvage de l'hiver. Dans tous les cas, je crois qu'au nouvel an qui s'en vient, ce sera l'alcool que ma femme va prendre pour célébrer l'arrivée de 2021.

D&Dr for Yuletide

This year, for obvious and many reasons, my brothers and I have not been able to gather at Christmas and therefore we could not plau our traditional Dungeons & Dragons gaming session
during the holidays. It's a bit of a shame, as my mind was full of ideas for a game set during winter, what with my latest and very topical reads. It's also sad because not only as this is the only time of year when we can play, but Christmas and winter makes the game all the most atmospheric. That said, I kept notes of the ideas I have been having and we should use them for next year. I have also started getting Wolfie interested about medieval fantasy, but more on that on another post. And I would not finish my post without mentioning the picture accompanying it. It is from Dragon Magazine 218, artwork by Wayne Mondok, who never did anything else for the publication, as far as I know. A shame, as this is one of my favourite picture. This image pictures perfectly the kind of atmosphere we want to convey for our D&Dr played and set in Yuletide. A lone knight on a quest, in a remote place, in snowy midwinter, where anything could happen.

Domino à Noël

 Noël achève et je n'ai pas très envie de m'attarder sur le sujet. Pour moi, Noël est déjà terminé et si je n'étais pas en vacances je serais en mode mélancolique. Assez étrangement, je ne le suis pas, peut-être parce que ce ne sont pas des Fêtes ordinaires cette année. Mais bon, je ne voulais pas terminer l'année sans partager une anecdote féline sur Noël. J'ai réussi à libérer la table de la salle à manger de tout le fatras qu'il y avait dessus et d'y mettre la nappe de Noël que ma mère nous a donné il y a quatre ans, lors de notre premier Noël ici. Domino, qui ne met jamais les pieds sur la table, a alors décidé de s'y installer, même pas deux minutes après que j'aie placé la nappe. Et c'est tout. J'ai immortalisé la scène avant de le chasser de là gentiment.

The Ultimate Holiday Snack

I know we are only the 27th, but you might be, just like I am, in a state of post-Christmas blues already. Well, I might have the ultimate comfort food for you. It is a snack we used to have, not only during Christmastime, but it was part of almost every buffet of the Christmas holidays when I was growing up, at least in my memory. You take Ritz crackers, you spread some Philadelphia cheese on it, then top with an olive. Delicious, just filling enough when you feel peckish, and it puts you in a good mood.

Le sapin de l'an passé

Les vacances de Noël continuent, mais à partir du 27 décembre, on dirait que les Fêtes sont déjà finies. C'est du moins mon sentiment. Cela dit, il y a quand quand même moyen de passer qelques moments plaisants. Comme par exemple, si vous avez un foyer, faire un feu de. Mon père m'a envoyé une photo de ce qu'il a fait du sapin de l'an dernier. C'est un peu comme lui donner une deuxième vie.

We Wish you a Merry Christmas ǀ English National Opera

Merry Christmas to all my readers and their family, friends and loved ones! I thought I'd share this video, which I found quite uplifting. Maybe it is the Christmas jumpers, maybe it's the assumed tongue in cheek approach, I don't know.

Joyeux Noël!

L'arbre de Noël chez mes parents cette année, où bien entendu nous ne sommes pas. Qu'à cela ne tienne, je le partae parce que pour moi c'est le sapin idéal. Je souhaite à tous mes lecteurs un joyeux Noël malgré la pandémie.

Christmas Book Flood

Happy Christmas Eve everyone and to make you wait for the 25, I thought I would share something new I learned today: the Icelandic term Jolabokaflod. I don't have the accents, otherwise I hope I am spelling it right. It means "Christmas Book Flood" and it is a tradition of giving book to each other and spending the rest of the night reading them. As per the image above. I love it and I am tempted to turn it into a new Christmas tradition. I already follow half of it: I binge read during Christmas time. In any case, this is our word of the day.

Mafalda de Noël

 Petite bédé de Mafalda en attendant Noël. Je ne l'ai pas trop comprise avant de devenir papa, bien que Wolfie sache que c'est nous qui lui donnons ses cadeaux, pas le Père Noël. Je la publie aussi parce qu'enfant, il y avait des dessins animés de Mafamda à Ciné-cadeau et c'est comme ça que mes frères et moi l'avons découverte.

A castle for Christmas

Well, I don't mean living or buying a castle, or receiving one as a present, but I thought it would be cool one day to celebrate Christmas in a medieval castle. I found this picture at the Facebook page of English Heritage. It is Kenilworth Castle. I find the image very seasonal, as far as English winter and English Christmas go. The only thing missing is the snow. But nothing can be perfect. Otherwise, the red fruits give this image a very Christmassee look.

23 décembre en 2020

Je songeais à montrer une autre version, mais il je viens d'apprendre de par mon père l'existence de cette version parodiée etil fallait que je la partage.

Greek Nativity Scene

After becoming the cradle of cilivilisation and of maybe the coolest mythology ever, Greece became the cradle of Christianity and maybe its true developer. Which is true also of its imagery. I found this picture on the Facebook page of the British Museum. It is of course a Nativity Scene. I found it quite interesting: the Virgin Mary (in traditional blue clothes) is at center stage and looks like she is resting after giving birth. I think it is a very naturalistic depiction of her and of a family when a newborn has just showed up.

Sentier de neige...

Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo hier. Un autre sentier de neige pris dans le lot de mes oncles. Je ne m'en lasse jamais, surtout dans le temps de Noël, surtout quand je ne peux profiter de l'hiver et de la neige (donc du vrai hiver) qu'en photo. Je suis expatrié dans un pays où l'hiver est pluvieux plus souvent qu'autrement et où une image comme celle-ci est exotique. J'ai comme hâte de pouvoir revoir le vrai de vrai hiver.

Balder and the Mistletoe

'Tis the season to be reading and troll the ancient Yuletide carols, and so on. It is not Christmas without a healthy dose of Norse mythology, so every year I try to read at least one story from Gods & Heroes from Viking Mythology, usually more. I did not have the chance to read one so far since the beginning of December, but I intend to do it soon. There is one in particular, the story of the death of the god Balder (or Baldr, or Baldur, but the book uses the spelling Balder), which is particularly appropriate for Christmas as the mistletoe is instrumental in Balder's murder. Not exactly cheerful, but the Season does have a dark side.

L'arbre de Noël décoré

  

Mes parents ont monté le sapin et l'ont décoré... Avec le train électrique et le village.

Tea's the season to be drinking

I know David's Tea has been struggling these last few years and even more so these last few months. I was not sure if I wanted to blog about it, but it made me sad, as I really love their accessories and the fact that they made tea cool and trending again. Or at least they had until they started getting into financial trouble. They did not seem to be doing much except surviving, then I saw on their Facebook page that they had new mugs for Christmas. They look absolutely lovely. Of course I cannot buy any now, but I hope they get back on their feet and I can purchase a Yuletide Christmas mug from them one day, because they sure look gorgeous.

L'arbre de Noël familial

Mon père m'a envoyé des photos de l'arbre de Noël familial. Je dis "familial", mais comme mes frères et moi ne serons pas là à Noël cette année, pour des raisons évidentes, c'est plutôt l'arbre de Noël de mes parents. Et c'estun arbre naturel, pas un sapin en plastique. Ils l'ont décoré depuis, et il paraît que c'est de l'ouvrage à deux sans les enfants (et sans Wolfie, qui aide quand même pas mal). C'est dommage que l'on ne puisse pase réunir en famille cette année, mais au moins on a les photos.

Sadie When She Died

'Tis the season to be reading and, while I blogged about it a few days ago,  have decided to properly give as a reading suggestion for the Season Sadie When She Died by Ed McBain. Which as you may have guessed features the cops of the 87th Precinct. Mainly Steve Carella and Bert Kling. Sarah Fletcher is murdered in what appears to be a burglary turned horribly wrong. A junky suspect is quickly apprehended and accused and it appears to be an open and shut case, but quickly you see that nothing is quite as it seems. Her husband is openly glad she is dead and it turns out that Sarah had lead a double life as serial adulteresss and borderline nymphomaniac Sadie Collins. While Carella is playing a strange cat and mouse game with the not grieving widower, Bert Kling, still heartbroken from a recent breakup, is trying to flirt with a new girl...whose mysterious and unseen boyfriend seems to be te jealous type. And with connections to the underworld to boot. This is dark, bloody, Hitchcockian by moments (something to expect with McBain) and it's the perfect Christmas crime read.

Qu'est devenue la 'tite hache des bûches?

J'en ferai peut-être une question existentielle bientôt, mais une chose m'a frappée il y a quelques jours en pensant aux bûches de Noël, en particulier la Vachon: qu'est-il arrivé des petites haches en plastique qui allaient sur les bûches? J'ai cherché tant et tant en ligne et n'ai rien trouvé, la hache en plastique semble avoir disparu des accessoires. Mauvaise pour l'environnement, peut-être? Enfant, je l'aimais quasiment autant que la bûche elle-même: j'en faisais une arme ou un outil pour mes petits bonhommes, ça devenait un jouet de Noël. Je sais qu'on peut les acheter à part dans certains commerces en ligne, pour utiliser avec les bûches faites maison, mais je me demande quand la décision a été prise de les enlever et s'il y en a encore avec les bûches du commerce.

The family train on social media

'Tis the season to be... playing with model trains. And to be proud of a family tradition. I posted this picture of our family train at the base of our Christmas tree on this blog before. I also posted it a number of times on various social media, including on the Facebook page of LGB. Well, last year, the Facebook page actually used it in one of its posts! It was an honour. I think they did this because this picture and our train as well as our tree (or rather my parent's tree) perfectly embodies the spirit of the Season and of model train lovers during the Christmastime. In any case, I am sharing it again today.

Les lumières de Noël

Je partage aujourd'hui des photos de Noël chez mes parents. Ils décorent toujours le devant. C'est simple, mais je crois que c'est plus beau que des décorations élaborées. Ici, il y en a beaucoup aussi, mais sans la neige, ben ça n'a pas la même atmosphère.

One day until the holidays

Tomorrow is the last day at work before I am on holidays. It will be a staycation, but I don't mind one bit: I haven't had time off since I started my new job and it's Christmastime, so I don't mind just staying in more. I have been really lucky with my job, this afternoon I had time off just because of the hard work we did. They are far more flexible far more welcoming an friendlier than in my previous job. So I will take my holidays in a much happier mood and will not have the same feeling of dread going back to work (still in my home office) come January. I know it is hard for many people out there, but this year has not been that bad for me and I'm really looking forward to Christmas.

Les bûches glacées de Coaticook

Petit moment food porn de fierté québécoise. Mes parents ont acheté il n'y a pas longtemps la bûche à la crème glacée et tire d'érable Coaticook. Celle-là sur la photo. Je ne sais pas si elle est auss bonne que celle maison que ma mère fait, mais elle a l'air excellente.

Il y en a une autre, la traditionnelle, que vous voyez sur cette photo. Je ne sais pas si mes parents l'ont essayée (ils sont plusportés sur les desserts à l'érabl en général) et je ne sais pas en quoi elle est 'traditionnelle" par rapport à l'autre, elle a plus l'air d'une version gâteau Forêt-Noire de la bûche de Noël. Dans tous les cas, j'espère pouvoir les essayer l'année prochaine.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

'Tis the season to be reading and I might start this post with a confession: although I am a medievalist, specialized in Arthurian literature on top of that, I have never read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, although I know the story. Mostly because I specialized in XIIth century French literature, but I digress. I bought this version of it some 20 years ago, in the previous millenium, when I did my MA. I found it on my bookshelves at my parents' place and brought it back here with me. The cover is horrid, but this is a proper academic edition, with original Middle English and the modern translation side by side. This is next on my reading list. And it is very fitting that I start it now: not only do I consider old myths and folklore an essential element of any respectable Christmas, but this particular story starts during Christmastime.

Parlons Ciné-cadeau

Comme vous le savez sans doute si vous êtes au Québec, Ciné-cadeau 2020-2021 (ou la cuvée 2020 comme je l'appelle) sera à l'horaire à partir du 18 décembre. Incidemment, c'est mon dernier jour de travail avant les vacances des Fêtes. Je n'ai pas accès à Télé-Québec, mais j'ai décidé de me faire un Ciné-cadeau de l'expatrié, en regardant certains classiques disponibles sur YouTube ou ailleurs. Certains qui repassent à chaque année, d'autres que l'on ne voit plus depuis longtemps. Je n'ai malheureusement pas Un Noël cathodique que j'aurais voulu comme guide: je l'ai laissé chez mes parents. Mais j'ai quand même assez de matériel et de temps libre pour me lancer dans les Fêtes nostalgiques.

Radio Times for Christmastime

Well, since we are going to be stuck here in England and sine 'tis the season to be watching, we bought the special holiday edition of Radio Times. THE edition of Radio Times, really, the only one we feel we must buy in the year. And we are not the only ones: when my in-laws were expats in France, before they decided to move back to be closer to their grandchildren, this is what they asked us to bring when we were to visit them for Christmas. It is a British cultural treasure. Even though I barely watch any tellie anymore, I still want to buy it, if only to enjoy the articles.

Le sentier enneigé

 Nouvelle photo de l'hiver envoyée par mes parents. Une allée piétonnière près de chez nous, je la reconnais à peine à cause de la neige qui tombe.

Swedish Lucia for Dummies

You may not know, or maybe you do, but today is the Feast of Saint Lucy, and it is an important day in Sweden. Almost 30 years ago, we had a Swedish foreign exchange student who came for a year in our family and she kind of celebrated it a bit with us: she made the safron buns and had some candles on or something. We ate the buns during our game of D&Dr and this was so perfect. Anyway, Christmas is on its way and I thought that Saint Lucy's Day deserved a post. So here is a crash course on how Sweden celebrates it:

Vent d'hiver

Mon père m'a envoyé des photos. Toujours est-il qu'il neige chez eux. Et il vente aussi, puisqu'il a titré ses emails "Vent d'hiver", comme dans la chanson.

No turkey for Christmas this year?

This picture was taken last Christmas at my parent's place, shortly after midnight. We had just unwrapped the presents and we were about to eat the the meal for the réveillon. It is a meal we take shortly after midnight, way too rich for the time of night, but we still eat it and we still enjoy it. This is the main thing, Christmas and stuffing. There is far more in a plate, see this post for the whole meal. Sadly this year it will not happen: I am on the other side of the Atlantic and my wife is a vegetarian. Also, there is no way my cooking skills are good enough to do such a meal. I might try to find some smaller piece of turkey for Wolfie and I, but I am not sure where to find it.

Un flambeau,Jeannette, Isabelle

Je partage aujourd'hui un des cantiques de Noël que j'aime le plus, mais seulement quand c'est bien chanté, ce qui n'arrive pas si souvent que ça. Quand ce sont des anglophones qui le font (et vous en trouverez pleins sur YouTube), Jésus devient rapidement "Jesusse", ce qui sonne exactement comme "je suce". Et ça change comme le sens de la chanson.

Why Earthly Powers is a Christmas read

'Tis the season to be reading and again on this blog, we talk about Christmas in literature. You may remember that I once suggested to have is Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess among the books to read for Christmastime. For various reasons, which you can read about in the link above. Well, today, The Anthony Burgess Foundation published a blog post about the Genesis of the novel and more specifically about how the legend of St Nicholas, the story of the miracle of resurrecting three children murdered by a cannibalistic butcher (one of my favourite saint's legend by the way, which I often blogged about in French) became the key to understand the novel's main themes. It is not the only reason I consider Earthly Powers a seasonal read, but it's one of the main reasons. In any case, I strongly suggest that you read the post, it shows a much darker side tothe prototype to Santa Claus and givessome really fascinating information about Burgess' creative process.

Les bonhommes de neige

Je partage à nouveau une photo du bonhomme de neige fait par le petit garçon de l'âge de Wolfie qui reste près de chez mes parents. J'ai revu des photos que j'avais publiées sur Facebook il y a trois ans: il avait neigé beaucoup, enfin beaucoup pour l'Angleterre, assez pour faire un bonhomme de neige, si petit loup avait été assez grand. Il ne neige pas ces temps-ci, en fait c'est assez doux. Je m'en désole un peu.

Christmas City

Since last year, Wolfie has developed a lot of memories about Christmas, and a lot of fond ones too. He remembers the Christmas tree at grand-papa's and grand-maman's house and the train underneath (with the train station, the animals, the action figures, etc.) So, even though we do not have a fancy real Christmas tree Wolfie has decided to do the family tradition and making a whole village around our Christmas tree. Except it is not a village, it is a "Christmas City". At first, there was only the cheap Santa train we bought at a local garden centre. Cheap, but overpriced for what it is, some plastic wagons, locomotive on a plastic railway. It derails all the time. Then Wolfie added more tracks, then some animals, then other vehicles, mostly green and red, as his mummy suggested (the colours of Christmas see). He even made a hill with two teddies and a blanket. We're lucky we tidied up before putting the tree up, because the Christmas City is now taking over the living room. That said, I am very proud that he is keeping the family tradition alive this side of the Atlantic.

Le p'tit renne vert au nez rouge

Avoir un jeune enfant, ça veut dire que tout Noël est organisé autour d'eux, même quand il s'agit de décorer le sapin, même pour les amis de la famille. Lors de notre visite au Québec, mon amie de cégep et mère de mon filleul a donc donné à Wolfie cette décoration de Noël. Je ne sais pas où elle l'a prise, mais c'est Rudolph,le p'tit renne au nez rouge... et au pelage vert. Peut-être que ce n'est pas Rudolph, peut-être que c'est son petit cousin, Randolph le renne vert. Enfin bref, c'est l'une des nouvelles décorations du sapin et nouvelle tradition familiale, Wolfie le place sur le sapin lui même.

Sadie When She Died (Christmascrimes)

'Tis the season to be reading and, in my case, to be reading crime fiction set during the Holiday Season. So at the moment, I am reading Sadie When She Died by Ed McBain and featuring (well of course) the 87th Precinct. So far so totally engrossing and I am enjoying it very much, although the season is at the moment a background compared to this other Christmas classic by McBain. I should finish it very soon as I always binge read McBain. Then I might lend it to my parents-in-laws, who are quite fond of the series too. If I could have my wife to read it, I could almost start a family's literary tradition. In any case, I think this will almost definitely be the crime novel for Christmas this year.

"Décembre"

Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo récemment, prise sur le lot de mes oncles je crois. Le titre du courriel était simplement "Décembre". Et puis? Et puis rien, mais je dirais que c'est ainsi que le mois de décembre, l'hiver et Noël devraient ressembler.

Christmas Stories (to read, or not to read)

'Tis the season to be reading and I am full on reading Christmas stories these days. Old ones that have never read before, new ones, all sorts, all genres. There is one book, however, which I have been really struggling to work on and which I have left on the back burner for now. It is Christmas Stories by Everyman's Library Pocket Classics. I bought it six years ago I think, mainly for the cover, and I know I was a fool to do so. But I really loved the robin (not sure what the ladybird is doing there though). And it is an anthology of Christmas classics, so I thought I would enjoy some "true", "heavier" literature. But once I started it, I just found it a tad too dense, I don't know. So bacj in 2017 or 2018, I abandoned at the second story, written by Gogol. Maybe I should just go for the stories that seem interesting and abandon the idea of reading it back to back for now.

La Corde de bois de Noël

Mon père m,a envoyé ce lien du Toledo, que l'on n'a jusqu'ici jamais visité. Comme moi, j'imagine qu'il s'ennuie du Plateau et de ses boulangeries et pâtisseries. Mettons que comme bûche de Noël version québécoise, c'est pas mal parfait dans la décadence et c'est aussi très inventif: un dessert composé de plusieurs petites bûches de Noël. Ça demeure traditionnel, mais avec sa touche locale. Ce sera je l'espère pour notre prochain séjour à Montréal.

Mozart's Alleluia

Because yesterday was the anniversary of the death of Mozart, which I had not forgotten, but did not have time to blog about, I am sharing today a piece of his music. I wanted something a bit Christmasee, so chose this one, sung by the amazing Diana Damrau. Hallelujah is an religious interjection that did not only inspire Handel or Cohen. Musically, this might actually be the best version.

 

La légende de Saint Nicolas

"Ils étaient trois petits enfants...", etc, etc. Vous connaissez le reste. Aujourd'hui c'est la Saint-Nicolas et j'essaie de le souligner à chaque année, la plupart du temps en partageant une version de la légende, enfin l'une des légendes, la sinistre avec des enfants assassinés par un boucher peut-être tueur en série avant la lettre, peut-être cannibale, peut-être un peu des deux. Quand le Père Noël était un évêque catholique justicier, pas seulement un bon vieillard vivant au Pôle Nord. Enfin bref, je partage encore une fois cette chanson aussi sinistre que fascinante. J'ai déjà partagé cette version en aprticulier, mais c'est l'une de mes préférées.

Ice Pirate

'Tis the season to be giving and I am buying presents for Wolfie, trying not to spoil him. Shopping for gifts, I came up with quite a dilemma: this Playmobil Ice Pirate with Snowmobile. I mean an ice pirate, how utterly cool is that? Not sure how you do piracy in Antartica, or the Arctic circle, or any wintery place, and do it with this fancy snowmobile on top of that, but it certainly looks nice. The problem is, while Wolfie likes Playmobil, he does not play with his sets nearly as much ashe used to. Now he's all about many his train sets. Maybe it is just a selfish idea, as this is the kind of present I wish I could still receive. I don't know. Still, it's an ice pirate. Just typing it gives me goosebumps.

Le feu et la neige

Je partage aujourd'hui une petite photo hivernale, pour nous rappeler que c'est l'hiver, au moins dans un coin du monde. Bref, mon père est allé dans le bois et a envoyé ça. Je n'ai pas grand-chose à dire, à part que j'aime vraiment cette photo.

Wolfie and the Christmas tree

What you see on this pictureis not the Christmas tree we put up this year, but the Christmas tree at my parents' place last year, when it was only partially decorated. A proper, real, natural Christmas tree. It impressed Wolfie very much and he enjoyed putting decorations on it a lot. So much so that this year he asked us to have a "real Christmas tree" here, "just like at grand-papa's and grand-maman's house". We hesitated a bit, but we decided in the end to just stick to the artificial one we have, so we can have it on display a bit longer. And because getting a real one, although I have done so in the past, could be a bit challenging this year. But I was very moved that he remembered that it was a real tree last year and that last Christmas as a special place in his heart already.

Le chat et les rennes

Toute la famille cette année semet dans l'ambiance des Fêtes, même Domino. Pas qu'il soit très porté sur Noël en soi, mais disons que ce qui arrive avec Noël dans la maison a toujours un certain effet sur lui: les décorations de l'arbre, surtout celles qui ressemblent à des souris et, comme nous l'avons découvert le 1er décembre, les rennes du traîneau du Père Noël Playmobil que Wolfie a reçu de son oncle maternel (en seconde main, il va sans dire). Tout gris et à la taille qu'ils ont, je crois vraiment que notre chat les a pris pour de petits rongeurs. Dans tous les cas, il les chassait et a essayé de les égorger, jusqu'à ce qu'il se rende compte qu'ils n'étaient pas comestibles. On respire.

'Tis the season to be reading

When Christmas is coming, it is time for me to read books for the season and to share them here. I read new ones every year, but I also try to revisit old ones. I blogged before about Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson. In recent years, it has been my non crime fiction Yuletide discovery and I really enjoyed it. It has a lot to enjoy in it: compelling stories and for each story and day of Christmas, a recipe, none of which I have tried. I was thinking about reading some of it this year, maybe try one recipe, but remembered that last Christmas I left it at my parents' place for my brother Andrews's girlfriend to read. What a freaking genius. I guess I could buy a new copy, like the paperback edition, which has a gorgeous cover, far better than the one I have/had (see pic here, sent by a friend of mine). But I don't think my wife would like it: she thought that I managed to finally get rid of a book that was cramming the place. Well, at least I still have a lot to read, to discover and rediscover 'Tis the season to be reading, after all.

Les beignes de Noël

Qui dit Noël dit desserts dit beignes, en tout cas lorsqu'on est au Québec, surtout dans ma famille. Le beigne est le dessert de Noël, pas mon préféré (moi ce serait plutôt la bûche, sous à peu près n'importe quelle forme), mais le préféré de mes frères mes parents. Même ma femme préfère les beignes et c'est le dessert qu'elle a adopté lors de ses Noëls au Québec. À l'exception peut-être du chocolat des bas. Mais enfin bref, cette année, on n'en fera pas, hélas. Mon frère Andrew a fait ceux-ci au mois de septembre, parce qu'il avait un bébé en chemin et qu'il craignait ne pas avoir le temps après. C'était un sage décision, car Wolfie a maintenant un petit cousin et don en effet Andrew n'aurait pas trouvé d'autre temps pour les faire. En même temps, mon frère a obéi à une longue tradition des Fêtes, celle de cuisiner ses repas et surtout ses desserts des mois à l'avance.

Christingle

A long, long time ago, before the pandemic, and by that I mean two years ago, we went to a special Christmas activity day organised by a local church. (Booh! Hiss! And on a side note yes, the Godless heathen that I am has always been wary of them, this had not been my idea.) For one of the activities, they made a Christingle. I took a picture of it and found it again yesterday, so I decided to share it. My mum made Christingles in the past, but it is not exactly a family tradition, us being Godless heathens and all. All the same, it looks quite cute, so I decided to share it today.

Un sentier de neige

J'aurais pu appeler le billet "Le sentier de neige", mais c'est le nom d'une chanson de Noël et je ne voulais pas créer de confusion. (Car c'st une chanson que je ne connais pas, enfin pas assez pour la fredonner, mais je crois que je la reconnaîtrais si je l'entendais). Mais enfin bref, ma cousine Amy la photographe a pris des photos de l'hiver et elle a eu la générosité de m'en envoyer quelques unes. Elles sont vraiment superbes. Ce n'est jamais complètement l'hiver et jamais parfaitement Noël sans neige, alors à défaut d'en avoir cette année, je pourrai regarder ces photos. Je vais bien entendu en pertager avec mon lectorat.

Brio Advent Calendar

So today is the first day of Advent (and yes, I know, it was on Sunday officially, but any practical means it starts December. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in this household and we are all looking forward to it. Wolfie is getting very excited. His mother has decided to get him a special kind of Advent calendar: not the one with chocolates, but the Brio Advent Calendar, with toys and games from the Brio railway system. Brio is at the moment Wolfie's favourite brand ever and he plays with his Brio trains and tracks all the time, so this should be a winner. I just hope he will not want to share my chocolate Advent calendar. One can dream.

La marche des rois (de bon matin...)

 Comme à chaque année, comme nous sommes le tout premier jour de l'Avent,, je partage aujourd'hui La marche des rois. C'est peut-être mon chant de Noël préféré. Avec en accompagnement la crèche familiale, enfin celle de mes parents, qui est la plus belle et je dis ça sans me vanter et en toute objectivité.

Cheap Thriller

Well, it seems that #Noirvember this might end in a whimper. This is what I am reading these days: The Sain't Getaway, by Leslie Charteris, featuring Simon Templar, AKA The Saint. He is better known for the TV series, but he first existed in novels. This is actually the third Saint adventure I read, the first one was a full novel, the second a short story. I bought this book second hand for a quid. A bargain and, to be honest, I'm glad I didn't have to pay more, as it is rather dated: it is rather verbose for crime fiction, The Saint is a bit too much of a fop for my taste and there are huge leaps of logic that makes it difficult to find the whole thing plausible. Although there is a fair deal of violence, I can't say that it has the merciless kind proper for Noirvember. Worse: the cover picture so far does not seem to have anything to do with the plot. Be that as it may, it cost me a pound so I cannot complain. Wolfie actually chose that one for me: I showed him a couple of books and asked which one I should read, he said: "This one because it looks Christmasee". Must be the snow. It is true that I was thinking it could be a Christmas read, only because of the cover. Well, at least it was cheap, and it is entertaining enough.

Un bonhomme de neige

Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo, d'un bonhomme de neige fait par le petit voisin, qui a à peu près le même âge que mon fils. Ce n'est pas vraiment l'hiver sans bonhomme de neige et j'aimerais bien que l'on en ait ici, pour que Wolfie puisse en construire un. Il se rappelle encore de son tout premier, fait l'an dernier.

Anatomy of a Train

I took this picture about five years ago at the the National Railway Museum of York. I learned on their Facebook page that it will (should?) reopen on the 3rd of December. I'm not sure if I would take the risk so early, but I do hope this will be the next museum we will visit as a family. I think it would fascinate Wolfie. rewatching as I often do the old pictures of our trip, It struck me that he would enjoy the NRM for sometimes different reasons than me. I love what trains and train travels represent at an almost symbolic level. I often blogged about it. I think he will also and especially love the technical aspect of trains. He should really enjoy for instance this steam engine opened up to show its mechanism and how it works. I find it interesting, impressive even, but I am not technical enough to truly appreciate the amount of work and technology that is needed to make such engine possible. Wolfie is very young of course, but he quickly gets that. He's a natural engineer.

Le Dernier Lapon (nouvelle quête)

Je parlais avec mon frère PJ hier de diverses choses, dont de Noël qui approche à grands pas et de ce que je vais lire durant les Fêtes, quand il me conseilla de lire Le Dernier Lapon d'Olivier Truc, un polar scandinave écrit par un Français. Mes parents m'en ont déjà dit beaucoup de bien. Je croyais l'avoir reçu à Noël dernier, ou alors l'avoir "emprunté" à mon frère, mais j'ai cherché dans ma pile de livres à lire et ne l'ai pas trouvé. Et je ne crois pas qu'il soit ailleurs. Phoque. Bon, j'ai quand même beaucoup à lire, mais ça aurait bien de lire un polar en français. Comme je lis saisonnier et qu'un roman se passant en Laponie est une lecture d'hiver et de Noël parfaite, c'est maintenant mon objectif que de le trouver.