Resolutions: Zero. Hopes: Zero.

Well, I hope I don't come off as a fatalist sharing this, but I thought there are worse ways to end a year and start a new one than share something from Samuel Beckett. At least, he was realistic as well as funny. And I must say, if you keep this somewhat glum state of mind, you should not get disappointed for 2022.

Mafalda et le Nouvel An

Bon, l'année achève, autant la terminer et la commencer avec un gag de Mafalda que je trouve absolument tordant.

Buck's Fizz with a twist

This may be my last Christmas post until next year (and I may add: at the end of 2022). So anyway, you may know about Buck's Fizz, the Briths cocktail made of orange juice and champagne, or fizzy wine. Two parts champagne, one part orange juice. My wife is quite fond of it, especially during the Christmas holidays. Well, M&S made one for the Season, with clementine and cranberry instead of orange juice. It is much, much sweeter, so much so that you don't really taste the alcohol. I find it quite treacherous and not that great, but it does have a festive colour. It has been my wife's poison during the whole Christmas holidays. But, as she is not a big drinker (a few sips and she is done), I had to finish her cups. I can't say I was very enthusiastic. It is truly too sweet.

Les jeux de société et les enfants

J'ai lu avec intérêt cet article de La Presse sur les bienfaits des jeux de société sur le développement des jeunes enfants et sur comment les initier aux jeux. Pas des jeux de hasard, bien entendu. Mais enfin bref, j'ai acheté à petit loupquelques jeux de société de son âge, mais on y a assez peu joué jusqu'ici. Et on termine en général la partie assez vite: genre en trois coups de dés et il se tanne. Ce qui semblerait la bonne manière de procéder. Dans les prochains jours, je vais peut-être essayer de développer son intérêt à nouveau. Dans tous les cas, je recommande la lecture de l'article, surtout si vous avez de jeunes enfants.

Post-Christmas Blues

Well, here it is, I can feel it: the post-Christmas blues. People say it starts with January, after the holidays, but from my own experience (you tell me if yours is similar), it truly starts a few days after Christmas Day. It is not as bad as it used to be: I have plenty of holidays still and I have a lot to keep myself entertained, but fairly little to do otherwise, so I can enjoy being lazy for a few days. But I don't feel like listening to Christmas carols or watching Christmas movies. New Year is coming, but I never liked New Year all that much. So yes, I am feeling a tad melancholic.

La tourtière des Fêtes

Il en faut une à toutes les Fêtes, lorsque mes frères et moi sommes chez les parents. Pas à Noël même (ça c'est le jour de la dinde), mais à un moment donné durant le Temps des Fêtes, juste avant Noël ou quelques jours après, parfois à la veille du Jour de l'An. Enfin bref, voici la tourtière qu'ils ont mangée. Je m'en ennuie beaucoup et ça m'attriste de l'avoir manquée cette année.

First ever Christmas present from Wolfie

A few weeks ago, at his school's Christmas fair, Wolfie bought me his very first Christmas present. There was a section with gifts for daddies and mummies, where a teacher would help children choose something they would then wrap. So Wolfie got me this book: True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey. I know nothing of the Kelly Gang, but just by the cover I can tell it is going to be a great read, the kind of stuff I would have bought for myself had I seen it in a bookshop or a thrift sales. I am amazed at how well my son knows me: just a look at the cover and he knew that was a good gift for daddy. Of course this is the best Christmas present this year, bare none.

RIP Jean-Marc Vallée

"D'aussi loin que je me rappelle, j'ai toujours détesté Noël!" C'est bien entendu la première phrase, l'incipit comme on le dit en language littéraire, du film C.R.A.Z.Y. de Jean-Marc Vallée, qui vient de mourir. Quand je l'ai appris hier, ça m'a coupé les jambes. C'a m'a d'autant plus attristé qu'il est l'un de mes réalisateurs québécois préférés. J'ai vu C.R.A.Z.Y. pour la première fois avec ma femme et je lui ai vendu les Fêtes à la québécoise grâce au film, qu'elle a vraiment beaucoup aimé. Et je crois que le film pourrait être vu comme un classique de Noël bien de chez nous. Enfin bref, j'ai l'impression que je lui en dois une, rien que pour ça. Le Québec est en deuil d'un grand artiste, et cette famille en partie québécoise l'est aussi un peu, de ce côté de l'Atlantique.

Bah Humbug

'Tis (still) the season to be drinking, so I thought I would suggest a beer for you during Christmastime, one I had on the 27th of December back in 2018. Bah Humbug by Wychwood Brewery. Because there's a Scrooge in each and everyone of us, which might be coming in strongly on the 27th, when Christmas is already over, and you might as well embrace it in style. With the then brand new glass my wife bought me for Christmas that year. Warning for those who don't like cinnamon: the flavour comes in quite strongly. This beer is also available in Quebec (it says so on the back label). Wychwood Brewery, how I love you. Another warning: the labels on the bottles of Wychwood products are now really lame. This one looked good and was worth the purchase in itself.

Se faire son Ciné-cadeau

 Bon, le temps des Fêtes commence lentement mais sûrement à se terminer. Si j'étais au Québec, je paresserais en regardant Ciné-cadeau. Je ne peux pas suivre la programmation officielle, mais j'ai décidé de me faire une programmation officieuse. Comme il y a beaucoup des films des "vieux" Ciné-cadeaux que l'on retrouve sur YouTube, surtout des oeuvres plus obscures, je vais les regarder là. Ils ne sont pas tous bons, mais ça me fait un petit retour nostalgique amusant. Et puis il y en a qui méritent vraiment d'être redécouverts, même les plus médiocres.

Good King Wenceslas

Well, it is Saint Stephen's Day and that means... I listen to Good King Wenceslas and share it with my readers on the blog.

Le casse-tête de Noël

À Noël 2019, j'ai acheté à mon frère PJ ce casse-tête en cadeau. 1000 pièces, un détail. Je l'ai choisi parce qu'il faisait vraiment Noël. PJ aimait bien faire des puzzles lorsqu'il était jeune, alors j'ai pensé que ça serait une belle tradition à renouveler et réinventer. Mes parents et lui, ainsi que mon autre frère Andrew et sa blonde s'y sont mis et ont réussi à le faire en deux ou trois jours. Je crois que même le neveu d'un an s'est mis de la partie. Wolfie également: lors de nos séances Facetime il donnait des conseils à ses grand-parents et ses oncles lorsqu'il identifiait un morceau. Je crois qu'on le refera l'année prochaine et celles d'après, avec ce casse-tête ou un autre. Une nouvelle tradition familiale, en somme.

Christmas Spy Thriller

Merry Christmas everyone! As 'Tis still the season to be reading, I thought I would give everyone one last Christmas readint suggestion. I suggested it before and more than once, but every Christmastime I revisit it. I suggest it today for another reason: it is a spy thriller with an uncannily topical plot. I am talking of course of On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming. Maybe my favourite James Bond and favourite Christmas novel. On the track of archenemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld James Bond falls upon a conspiracy that involves biological warfare (when I said it was topical), the destruction of livestock (including Christmas turkeys) and heraldry. There's Blofeld as a murderous Krampus with a dash of King Herod reigning over his hideout of Piz Gloria in Switzerland, beautiful angels of death, hypnotherapy, Eros, Thanatos (in other words: sex and violence), blood on snow, a sort of Census and Bond finds love and loss with the Contessa Teresa di Vincenzo. So today, if you have time, instead of watching a movie, I suggest you snuggled up in a warm blanket, have a drink of something alcoholic (not necessarily a martini)and read this.

Guirlande de Noël

 Tout d'abord: Joyeux Noël 2021! J'espère que vous avez eu du plaisir et de beaux cadeaux. Je voulais aussi montrer une autre source de fierté familiale. Chez mes parents nous avons un arbre, une crèche, les deux font l'envie de ceux qui les voient, mais nous avons aussi une guirlande au dessus de la bibliothèque. Celle-ci. Avec des pommes et fruits rouges et des lumières.

"Our" Christmas Tree

My brother PJ shared this picture of my parents' Christmas tree. It's unmistakable, with the icicles, the many, many decorations we gathered from everywhere, and, more importantly with its LGB train at its foot, and the Christmas village, which my dad built and developed over the years. Wolfie loves it. Two days ago, we did facetime with them and Wolfie could see it running around and it felt like we were there. He also interacted with his little cousin properly for the first time. I cannot wait to be there again, one family, so Wolfie and his cousin can be partners in crime and enjoy playing together around the Christmas tree. I still call it "our" Christmas tree, even if we are not here this year.

Les lumières de Noël

Il a beaucoup neigé au Québec. Ici pas du tout, même si le mercure est descendu juste assez bas pour qu'il neige. Pas de chance. Et nous sommes la veille de Noël. Qu'à cela ne tienne, nous devrions aller voir les lumières de Noël dans le voisinage. Mais sans la neige, c'est moins excitant. Au moins, ça nous permettra de patienter. La veille de Noël, l'attente devient souvent interminable, alors il faut se tenir occupé. La promenade dans la neige (ou sans la neige, au pire) pour voir les décorations, c'est une manière assez plaisante de faire passer le temps et ça nous garde actifs.

Troll the Ancient Yuletide Carol

I found this picture on the Facebook page of the Arensbak Trolls. I had to share it here, just because. I recently mentioned that Christmas owes a lot to Nordic myths and folklore. And we can't have an old fashioned Christmas without a few trolls here and there. So here's one for you.

23 décembre, Joyeux Noël, etc.

Nous sommes le 23 décembre, je me devais donc de souligner la date et la signification qu'elle a dans la conscience collective québécoise. Parce qui n'aime pas 23 Décembre de Beau Dommage? Surtout, qui ne trouve pas dans la chanson des échos de son enfance, même si nous ne sommes pas/plus catholiques, même si ça date d'une époque révolue où on n'achetait pas ses cadeaux en ligne. Il n'y a pas chanson de Nol plus typiquement et plus éternellement québécoise.

Yule

 Today is/was the shortest day of the year, which is the beginning of Yule. Which was the old namefor Christmas. Christmas owes a lot to Yuletide, in its imagery particularly. Santa Claus is in many ways a softer Odin Allfather. Anyway, I try celebrate Christmas as I would Yuletide centuries ago. So happy Yule everyone.

15 à 30 centimètres...

 Juste pour dire qu'il est tombé de 15 à 30 centimètres chez mes parents. Ils auront un Noël blanc...

A bit of mulled wine

Today, I went downtown to make the very last purchases in preparation of Christastime: food, presents and, well, drinks. I did this very carefully of course, always wearing a mask and going only in businesses that were not crowded. I stopped in a local wine shop held by a Frenchman to buy two bottles, one of red, one of white. He also offered me a free cup of mulled wine. The very first I've had since last Christmas. I was not planning on drinking, but I cannot refuse a freebie, especially not mulled wine. It warmed me up good and made the long walk home more pleasant. Maybe it was the fact that I was tired, but I thought it was one of the best mulled wines I had. The shopkeeper gave the recipe quickly, it was the usual stuff, cinnamon, cloves, a bit of orange and this and that. Nothing out of the ordinary, except maybe the rose petals.

Une carte de Noël pour petit loup

 Grosse nouvelle qui a fait la journée de Wolfie aujourd'hui: ses grand-parents paternels (qu'il appelle toujours "grand-maman" et "grand-papa", ce qui les distingue de ses autres grand-parents, "grandma" et "daddad") lui a envoyé une carte de Noël qu'il a adorée tout de suite. Je ne sais pas si c'est pour le dessin, avec le petit Père Noël qui donne des cadeaux à des oiseaux, ou si c'est parce qu'elle était adressée exclusivement à Wolfie et non pas à toute la famille, mais il a vraiment aimé la recevoir. Il m'a aussi reproché de n'avoir pas envoyé de carte à grand-maman et grand-papa. Oups!

Radio Times, the Christmastime Edition

Yesterday, I bought the special holiday edition of Radio Times. The "legendary double edition". We cannot have a British Christmas without it. After all, it's legendary. Anyway, my wife always thinks that I am wasting money on that: we barely watch any TV. Maybe I am turning into an Englishman (kind of ironic, knowing if you think about it), but I really like having it here. And it doesn't matter how little I watch television: like for another sort of publication, you really buy Radio Times for the articles.

La crèche

Je partage une photo de la crèche familiale que mon père m'a envoyée hier. Pas aussi saisissant que la nuit, avec les chandelles qui nous donnent l'impression d'être à Bethlehem, mais quand même, on a vraiment une belle crèche.

Krampus: Origins of the Yuletide Monster

Quick post today, 'tis the season to be a tad creepy. Monstrum made a video about Krampus recently and it was too good not to share it. Who doesn't like Krampus? I debunks a lot of misconceptions about the critter, particularly his association with Santa. Anyway, here it is:

Des nouvelles de la neige

Mon frère PJ est chez mes parents pour les Fêtes, Ma mère a dit que la température a radouci et qu'il a même plu, transformant le coin en patinoire. Croisons-nous les doigts pour qu'ils aient un Noël blanc... Et que ce soit le cas ici aussi (on peut rêver).

Jólabókaflóð

I blogged about it last year. I made it a word of the day then, I will do the same now. So Jólabókaflóð is an Icelandic term meaning "Christmas Book Flood" and it is the word given to their tradition of giving book on Christmas Eve and spending the rest of the night reading it. I think it is a great tradition which I haven't quite done as of yet, except for the reading book part. This is how I spend myfree time waiting for Christmas to arrive. 'Tis the season to be reading, after all.

Beignes, demi recette

Mes parents ont fait une demi recette de beignes. Et ils m'ont envoyé cette photo. Je ne sais pas s'ils en feront d'autres, ils reçoivent moins de monde cette année et Wolfie n'étant pas là, il y a un ogre à dent sucrée friand de beignes de moins à nourrir. Mais quand même, fêter Noël en expatrié, c'est par moments plus difficile.

The Wait for Christmas

Christmas is only ten days away and Wolfie will be on holiday bu the end of this week, yet he is getting very impatient. He still has a vague idea of time, so he hopes that Christmas will come tomorrow, even though is Advent calendar shows otherwise. I must confess, I am starting to feel like time is running very slowly too. I will be on holiday as well and the days at work feel more and more... endless. I also want time to prepare properly, which I feel I haven't had the chance yet: I need to wrap presents, buy food and drinks, maybe do a bit of cooking myself, etc. Once I am on annual leave, then I don't feel so much bored, I can enjoy the wait and the preparations. Otherwise, I cannot say I have matured all that much since I was Wolfie's age: whether one is at school or at work, waiting for the Christmas holidays is really a pain.

"Sentier de neige"

 Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo. J'aimerais avoir de la neige ici et je m'ennuie des hivers québécois. Il n'y a pas à dire, c'est moins Noël sans neige...

Money, Money, Money (#Christmascrimes)

'Tis the season to be reading, falala lala, and so on. For today's (and this year's) first Christmas reading suggestion (and sorry if I have been late this year to kickstart the tradition): Money, Money, Money by Ed McBain. Because I always read some crime fiction during Christmastime, there's just something about blood on snow. This is one of his later novels, featuring the team at the 87th Precinct, especially Steve Carella, and Fat Ollie Weeks. It has cocain, phoney dollar bills, Mexican druglords, a woman eaten by lions, a duo of sexy blonde hitwomen, the Secret Services and Islamic terrorism. Did I say that this was published days before 9/11? Both chilling and very entertaining, albeit at times a bit far fetched. All set between Christmas and New Year.

200 bûches de Noël volées

J'ai appris avec quelques jours de retard une nouvelle qui m'a jeté par terre, tant par son absurdité que par sa vilenie: on a volé 200 bûches de Noël à Shawinigan. Des bûches destinées pour des oeuvres de charité, par-dessus le marché. Le dessert, pas des bûches de bois. Je ne sais pas laquelle peut être pire. Il semblerait que le vol ait été commis par erreur et que ce soit lié, accidentellement, à une affaire de drogue. Le sucre crée des dépendances, après tout. Mais plus sérieusement, le vol est aussi stupide qu'ignoble. La pâtisserie s'appelle Le Palais. Je n'ai jamais mis les pieds à Shawinigan, mais si jamais j'y vais, je vais acheter un dessert là pour les encourager, promis. Ca ne risque pas d'être durant les Fêtes, autrement ce serait bien entendu une bûche.

A children's Christmas Party

Last weel,Wolfie had his Christmas party at school, which he seemed to be quite anxious about. We don,t know why, but he said that he didn't want to go to the party and the "Christmas disco". So when we left him at the school gates, we told his his teacher about his concerns. She told us not to worry, that many pupils, especially boys, were a bit afraid of it at this age. So I said: "When you are a boy, fear of parties follows you well into teenage and into adulthood, until you are no longer expected to attend such events." They all laughed. I think it is due to dancing: I always hated dancing in parties and clubs and I know many, many men who feel the same. Anyway, that was last week's great unknown line.

Faire la bûche (ou pas)

Je partage encore une fois une photo de la bûche de Noël que mes parents ont fait il y a quelques jours. Avec les petits sapins en déco. Je me demande si je ne devrais pas me risquer à en faire une, par tradition familiale et pour Wolfie. La dernière fois que j'ai essayé, il y a plus de dix ans, ça ressemblait à une pieuvre de Noël, mais il faudrait que je tente l'expérience à nouveau, rien que pour voir.

A Christmas Village

As I already mentioned in my previous post in French, ysterday, my family and I went to meet my wife's family for a day out in the model village of Beakonscot, which is in Beaconsfield. The village was adapted for the season and they added lots of Christmas elements to it. I want to blog about each and everyone of them, but right now I just wanted to share this picture. A perfect Christmas village, with snow and trees and people being festive. Walking there made me feel quite nostalgic, in a good way.

Le train de Noël

Hier, nous sommes allés en famille rencontrer la famille de ma femme (ses parents, sa soeur, le chum de sa soeur, leur fils donc le cousin de petit loup) à Beakonscot, un village miniature avec chemin de fer et trains électriques. Ils avaient adapté le lieu pour les Fêtes, avec enre autres un train de Noël qui transportait le Père Noël et ses rennes. Il a fait une forte impression sur petit loup. Et sur son père aussi. C'est pas le train de grand-papa, mais c'est impressionnant quand même. On l'a suivi tout letemps qu'on était là.

The family's Yule Log

My dad sent me last night pictures of the Yule log, or bûche de Noël as we call it, he made with mum. It's not Christmas without one. My parents added Christmas trees on it, which is a bit of a novelty. I tried to bake a Yule log once, but it ended up looking like a squid and tasting not so great. I bought one from  shop, which I put in the freezer. We will decorate it with Wolfie, just like he did with the one his grandparents made during our last visit to Québec. Not quite the same, but it somewhat preserves old family traditions.

Pointsettias

Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo des pointsettias que mes parents ont mis dans la maison pour les Fêtes. Je ne me rappelle jamais du nom (ou de me rappeler de la manière de l'écrire) et mon père doit me remettre en mémoire à chaque fois, mais j'aime beaucoup, parce que ça fait vraiment Noël.

Our Gingerbread Man

Many think that gingerbread men are a stable of Christmas. I do too, but it has never been a dessert I was particularly fond of, although I do it some from time to time, if only to give me a quick Christmas feeling. I eat it more for the feeling than the taste, if that makes sense. But is especially remind me of the tale of the Gingerbread Man. And recently, I lived my own mundane version of the tale. A week ago, I went to a nearby corner shop to buy bits and bots and saw that Cadbury had made a Gingerbread Edition of their Dairy Milk. So I bought it for my wife, who loves chocolate and special editions of classics such as the Dairy Milk bar. But I left the bar at the counter. I saw when I got home that I had forgotten it. As I needed to get back to work, I could not walk to the corner shop and correct my mistake, but my wife went there for me, even though I had not asked for a receit. She managed to get it back without too much trouble. Nevertheless, it felt like this Gingerbread Man, like in the old tale, tried his hardest not to be eaten.

La gratte et petit loup

Mon père m'a envoyé une photo d'une gratte qui passait à Chicout. Pour impressionner son petit-fils. Qui aime vraiment tous les engins. Quand il contemple les engins pour gratter la neige ou la souffler, je vois comme sa nordicité dans son regard et j'en suis fier. Et ça me désole toujours de voir qu'ici, ben on est sous la flotte.

All I Want for Christmas is a Book (or Twelve)

I found this online and thought it was very funny and very "me", so I decided to share it here. It is both funny and kind of deep at the same time, if you think about it. Also, my wife has been struggling to find me presents recently, so this might come as a sort of source of inspiration, but it can also be useful to you if you are wondering what to buy to your loved ones. Or how to explain to them in an easy to follow graphic what present you want.

Bonhomme de neige de Noël

Je partage aujourd'hui une autre photo que mon père m'a envoyée: celle d'un bonhomme de neige en plastique (de la neige en plastique, ou un bonhomme en plastique?) comme décoration de Noël. Je ne suis en général pas un fan des  Pères Noël, des rennes ou des autres personnages hivernaux ou des Fêtes en plastique, mais celui-ci n'est pas mal. Tout ça pour dire également qu'à défaut de neige collante, on peut toujours se procurer des bonhommes de neige artificiels (et non pas de neige artificielle).

Have a Pagan Christmas

'Tis the season to be... well, a lot of things, but maybe Pagan is the right word. Anyway, I found this meme online and found it hilarious, because it's pretty much how I feel when I get irritated by people talking of Christmas being a Christian holiday (which often implies: "it should be exclusively Christian and no godless heathen should have fun on our Most Sacred Day.") So yes, in these moments I feel like that weird promitive, tribalistic Santa Claus and yes, I feel animated when I have a few alcoholic drinks in the stomach.

Noël à la librairie

J'ai trouvé ça sur la page Facebook d'une de mes anciennes profs du cégep et je partage parce que je pense que lorsque l'on fait ses achats de cadeaux pour Noël, c'est important de se rappeler: 1)que c'est bien d'encourager les commerces locaux, surtout les librairies indépendantes et 2)c'est un endroit où on peut trouver de vrais cadeaux inspirés. Que l'on croit au Père Noël ou non une chose ne fait pas de doutes pour moi: s'il existe, il doit se stocker auprès de librairies indépendantes.

Santa's Fun Run

Yesterday morning, it was Santa's Fun Run in our little town, and the Santas ran in the street nearby our house, almost literally on our doorstep. I took a few snapshots from the entrance, but they were not great. They were running (or walking) rather sporadically. I think this picture might be the least terrible of all the ones I took. I got three Santas in one shot, that's better than nothing. Wolfie saw some of the run and that got him curious for a few minutes. I told him that maybe the real Santa was hiding among them. he told me: "No, I don't think so. But maybe some of them are elves." I thought it was very sweet and a new Wolfism I had to share here.

La Légende de Saint Nicolas

C'est aujourd'hui la Saint-Nicolas donc, ben, je présente encore une fois la chanson enfantine et sinistre qui raconte la légende... Enfin, pour ceux qui ne savent pas, écoutez plus bas. Cette version est un peu longuette et pas la meilleure, mais je voulais une version inédite et le temps pressait.

Mozart: an anniversary

Today is the anniversary of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I try to commemorate every year on this blog. As Christmas is on its way, I tried to provide some music that was not gloomy, so no Requiem or Lacrimosa, unlike 2019. I decided to go for the same tune I shared in 2020, but this time sung by South African soprano Pretty Yende. It might be cheerful for a funeral perhaps, but it is difficult to forget or ignore how joyful Mozart's music often is. And somehow I find this Alleluja from Exultate Jubilate kind of Christmassee, so it is all the more fitting for today.

Lumières de Noël

Mon père m'a envoyé une photo prise lors d'une de ses promenades. Nous avons des lumières ici aussi, mais beaucoup moins. Et, sans la neige et sans un hiver à proprement parler, c'est moins joli. Quand j'étais enfant et qu'on allait quelque part en voiture en famille durant le temps des Fêtes, nous passions tout le déplacement à regarder les lumières de Noël sur les terrains. Les déplacements devenaient plus emballants.

Blood on Snow (#Christmascrime)

'Tis the season to be reading and I know I blogged about this book before, in 2019 to be precise. Nevertheless, I thought it would be good to plug it again. Be that asit may, for me Christmastime is the perfect time to read (among other genres) crime fiction, especially (of course) crime fiction stories set during Yuletide. And there are not many as perfect for the season than Blood on Snow by Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo. Shamefully I haven't read anything from him since then. I need to correct this (new year resolution?) and I need to revisit this specific novel one day. Maybe next Christmas. Until then, read my previous post if you need any convincing. And read this book for your seasonal dose of Christmas crime (if there was no hashtag for it, there is one now).

La cabane, la fumée, la neige

 Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo de la cabane (le chalet?) de mes oncles dans le bois. C'est beau de simplicité, une cabane l'hiver dans la forêt, avec le feu de cheminée.

This year's Brio Advent Calendar

My wife and I did something very bad this year: we bought Wolfie a second Advent calendar: he already had one ready, then at the last minute we saw a really good offer for the Brio Advent Calendar and I said what the heck, it has train stuff and we never have enough of that, it won't increase his sugar intake, it looks gorgeous, the calendar itself will make a great addition to Christmas City, so, well, we bought it. And no, it's not so I can play Brio with him. That is just a happy coincidence.

L'arbre de Noël cette année

Nous nous y sommes pris un brin tôt, mais qu'importe, petit loup voulait le monter absolument, alors nous avons déjà l'arbre de Noël. Depuis la fin de semaine dernière, en fait. On n'a pas pu dire non à Wolfie: il était tellement enthousiaste et a même accepté de faire du rangement sans ronchonner afin de pouvoir l'avoir dans le salon. D'Habitude je n'aime guère les sapins artificiels, mais ça a l'avantage de pouvoir être monté tôt dans le mois. Et en acheter un vrai, c'est beau, mais c'est compliqué de le transporter ici. Il est assez joli makgré cela, je dois dire. Enfin pas tant l'arbre que les décorations. La photo n'est pas très bonne, mais je vais en prendre d'autres dans les prochains jours.

Winter Royal (Christmastime beer)

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat and... 'Tis the season to be drinking (falala lalal!). When Christmas is rawing near, this household must stock in all sorts of goods, including alcohol (even though I'm theonly drinker here), especially beer fitting for the season and the Season. I blogged about this beer back in 2018. Sine then the Winter Royal from Rebellion Beer has become my beer for the winter as well as my Christmastime beer. At least when I am in this country. It has a lovely colour and a lovely taste. Yesterday, I ordered a box of twelve (for the twelve days of Christmas?), with a few more seasonal products, which I will blog about in due time. They should be delivered before the end of this week. I was afraid at first that I would not get Winter Royal, as it appeared unavailable if I visited the online shop from my phone. Turned out it was some kind of glitch. So anyway, I should be enjoying Winter Royal soon.

La marche des rois

Comme le veut la tradition sur ce blogue, puisque nous sommes le premier jour de l'Avent et que Noël s'en vient je partage aujourd'hui La marche des rois. L'un de mes airs de Noël préférés et la chanson parfaite pour commencer le Temps des Fêtes...

Last Day of #Noirvember

I know I plugged it before, but today is the last day of #Noirvember, so if you're looking for a crime book for the month, ot maybe this month next year, I suggest The Last Hunt, by South African writer Deon Meyer. It is very dark, it has suspense, violence, political intrigue, in fact like many novels of Meyer, it mixes crime fiction with espionage, so it could just as easily be considered a spy thriller. Oh and it made me discover Rovos Rail, the luxury South African train company. I now want to travel the country in one of their trains. If only I had the money... But I digress: while the novel has a good deal of glamour (because said Rovos Rail), it is nevertheless very gritty, often grim, sometimes gloomy. Nevertheless, and again this is a staple of Meyer, there are as many good men (and women) as there are scheming, heartless bastards in The Last Hunt. It may be Noir, but there are lights that shine through.

Le chemin de neige

 Photo prise par mon père. Pas de commentaire.

Snow at last!!!

Well, I had heard snow was forecast, but I did not believe it, or at least I took it with a barrel of salt. But in the night of Sunday to Monday, it did snow, not much, but still, enough to cover some of the ground this morning. Doing the school run was hazardous, as there was black ice. But after leaving Wolfie at the gate, my wife and I stopped for a moment and I took a few pictures. This early, right before December, in this country, it is borderline sci-fi. I am starting to dream of a white Christmas. I know I should not, I will end up disappointed. But still. Winter is here.

La gratte...

 Mon père m'a envoyé une photo de la gratte qui passe. En fait, quand je dis qu'il me l'a envoyée, je crois qu'il l'a surtout envoyée à son petit-fils, qui aime tout ce qui est gros engin et qui est fasciné par la gratte depuis qu'il en a vu au Québec. Sa nordicité se manifeste comme ça et ça me fait toujours plaisir.

Grandad's Workshop

 We went to see Wolfie's maternal grandparents recently. I could say my wife's parents, but once you have children, your parents are promoted or upgraded into grandparents and really, all that matters in the family are the grandchildren. Anyway, so I saw this on one of the shelves and I thought it looked as cute as it was funny. And very true. I don't know who thought of buying that, I think it is my sister-in-law. I completely forgot to ask. I took a picture anyway, because it really shows what a granddad (or a "daddad" as Wolfie calls his grandfather) is all about.

Butte de neige

Mon père m'a envoyé des photos de la neige qui tombe chez nous. Enfin chez nous de l'autre côté de l'océan, chez nous de l'expatrié que je suis. Ici, on en espérait, il n'y en a pas eu, bien entendu. Mais enfin bref, j'ai grâce à cette photo pu expliquer à petit loup ce qu'est une "butte de neige". On n'en verrait pas ici.

Will it snow today?

As I am typing this, BBC Weather has issued for the area we live ina yellow warning of wind and a yellow warning of... snow. Now I don't get my hopes up: amber or red warnings are generally reliable, something is bound to happen with them. But yellow warning could go either way, and we could only have some normally annoying nasty British rainy weather. And the Beebs tends to be dramatic when it comes to snow: they are quick to send alerts and in the end we only get a bit wet. But if it did, then I would be very, very, very happy, as it would mean winter is truly started and started properly. It has been very cold recently, at least for England this time of year. And there is that snowy smell in the air. We will probably stay in all day and do house chores, but if it does snow Wolfie and I will play in the garden and I will take a few pictures for here.

Le séisme de 1988 du Saguenay

Mon frère PJ m'a rappelé que le 25 novembre, c'était l'anniversaire du tremblement de terre de 1988 au Saguenay. J'avais bêtement oublié de le souligner. Qu'à cela ne tienne, c'est samedi, comme le lendemain de cette journée-là, enfin cette nuit-là quand ça s'est produit, il y a maintenant 33 ans. Je présente donc le bulletin de nouvelles de Radio-Can de l'époque pour en souligner l'anniversaire:

The Maltese Falcon for #Noirvember

As I mentioned before, I read , The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet for this year's #Noirvember. The first time in decades, but I watched the I watched the movie over and over again. I read it at a snail's pace, shame on me, but it was great to read a proper old fashioned hardboiled novel and to revisit a classic in its original form, and meet again so many larger-than-life characters, private eye Sam Spade and all the array of shady, vulgar, obscene villains the plot has to offer. And at the heart of the plot, the Maltese Falcon of the title, the most perfect and maybe the most emblematic MacGuffin crime fiction (or indeed fiction in general) ever offered. I don't think any other book or film ever gave us a MacGuffin that is so perfect. Anyway, I don't want to give anything away for those who have not read it or watched the film, but if you are still looking for some #Noirvember read, this is the novel for you.

Sept de douze (pâtés à la viande)

Ma mère m'a envoyé hier une photo des pâtés à la viande que mes parents ont préparé pour les Fêtes: en tout et pour tout, sept douzaines.Il faut ce qu'il faut, même si nous ne serons pas tous là cette année. Petit loup, c'est je crois ce qu'il a préféré comme met typiquement québécois de Noël, il a littéralement passé deux semaines à se bourrer la fraise de pâtés à la viande. Il faut dire que ceux que mes parents font sont vraiment bons.