Scarecow Jack

I saw this Jack O'Lantern on the window of a local business. It was fairly small and well hidden, but I have an eye for it. I love it, it is all shadowy and it is also a scarecrow. The mix of Jack O'Lantern and scarecrow always work, IMO. A perfect image of the season and the Season. It is autumnal, it is Halloweeny and it also represents harvest. Oh and by the way, the Scarecrow Festival will start soon, so you will see more of these critters.

Soupe à la citrouille

J'ai acheté de la soupe à la citrouille à Laurent il y a quelques jours. Parce que c'est l'Halloween et donc le temps de la citrouille, parce que c'est l'automne et donc le temps de la soupe. Je ne l'ai pas encore mangée, si elle est bonne j'en achèterai d'autres. Je ne mange pas de soupe assez souvent, ce qui est étrange parce que j'en suis assez friand, surtout quand arrive l'automne, surtout pour la soupe à la citrouille. Je n'en fais pas, au lieu de ça j'en achète quand j'en trouve dans les commerces qui ont l'air d'avoir de l'allure. J'avais une coloc, dans mon année à Liverpool, qui avait fait une grosse batch de soupe à la citrouille juste après l'Halloween, ça m'avait sustenté pendant des semaines.

Gibbet Hill (a "new" ghost story by Bram Stoker)

For today's countdown to Halloween, some great news for the amateurs of gothic horror, like myself. Especially those, again, like myself, who are fans of of Dracula. My wife pointed me to this article: they found a long lost ghost story by Bram Stoker, after 134 years. It is titled Gibbet Hill and I hope to find a full copy online soon. Until then, I don't want to read too much about it. Stoker had written just when he had started working on his most famous novel, so that ought to be interesting not only as a bona fide horror story, but on a genetic perspective: there might be some tropes or themes common to both short story and novel. Or not. Either way, what a timely discovery, just before Halloween.

Tourtière

 Mes parents ont fait une tourtière la semaine dernière, pour mon frère, sa femme et ses deux garçons. Il faut bien leur fairedécouvrir leurs racines saguenéennes. Je n'avais pas la photo, mais mon père me l'a envoyée pour que je la partage. Parce que chaque repas de tourtière, bien entendu, est une excuse pour partager la photo, puisque je ne peux pas la savourer. En plus, c'est pas mal le temps idéal pour manger de la tourtière.

Dracula's Daughter

For today's countdown to Halloween I come back again J.H. Brennan's gamebook Dracula's Castle. The book that was the basis for the Dracula Game of my childhood. I was obsessed about Count Dracula before I got my hands on the gamebook, but it certainly helped me develop my fascination for classic horror and it allowed me to explore it while I was still not allowed to read the original text. I am sharing two images from it. The first one is of a beautiful maiden whom you meet in the castle when you play Jonathan Harker. She is afraid of you and you think she might be an innocent victim lost in that dreadful place...

...until she turns out to be a vampire. Well of course. And not just any vampire, as you have guessed reading this post's title. When you explain to her that you came here to slay Dracula, she answers: "You want to kill Daddy?" I could have guessed right away, but apparently Harker could not. It makes for a nice bit of dramatic ironu. Anyway, I half expexted to see this unnamed daughter of Dracula when I read the novel about a year later. But she was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, I was not disappointed. The source material is better in every way and the female vampires invented by Stoker are far more terrifying. be that as it may, this was my very first lady nosferatu, depicted both as lovable and fiendish, which is pretty much how they are traditionally depicted. And since I love the pictures, I thought I would share them here.

Les Nuits de l'Épouvante et Lovecraft

 Lors de mon retour au Québec, j'ai eu le plaisir de me retaper Les Nuits de l'Épouvante pour la première fois depuis au moins trente ans. Mon frère PJ me l'avait laissé à l'appart. J'ai été heureusement surpris de découvrir des éléments lovecraftiens explicites. Ici, Sir Leo, le héros (britannique, bien entendu) de certaines des histoires consulte le Necronomicon. Ah oui, et jolie ambiance, avec le bras reptilien que l'on voit à droite, juste parce que. Je regrette ne pas avoir pris plus de photos pour le blogue. Durant l'Halloween, c'est la bédé parfaite.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tea

 My Halloween would not be compelte without tea, which is my go-to non-alcoholic drink for the season. Of course, it has to be pumpkin flavoured tea. I drink the Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tea from Bird & Blend. There are others, but this is my favourite so far, at least on this side of the Atlantic. It's smooth, tasty, just spicy enough. I buy the 300g pouch, which should be enough to last the whole month of October and, if I am lucky, a little bit after. I think next time I will buy more, so I won't have to ration.

Chocolats de l'Halloween chez Première Moisson

 Nouvelle bouffe trouvée sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson: ils font aussi des chocolats de l'Halloween. Ils sont trop beaux pour être mangés.

Halloween Choco-Lollies

I bought these recently at Lidl. They have a great section of sweets and food for Halloween. Not so much because of the taste of the food, but because of the wrapping and packaging. They have scarecrow Jack O'Lanterns as their sort of mascots and I love it. It's just spooky enough, it's atmospheric and not gory at all. I bought some stuff for trick or treat, but these I might keep for the faily. I would keep the wrapping if I could.

L'Halloween en vitrine

 Photo prise avant-hier dans la vitrine d'un restaurant vietnamien local. J'aime quand les commerces sont de la fête.

In a Glass Darkly

For today's countdown to Halloween's reading suggestion: In A Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu. It contains a few short stories and novella, all but one are horror stories. It also has its most famous work, Carmilla. Aka that story with a lesbian vampire, which I blogged about recently. A story now in the shadow of a far more famous vampire. While I prefer Dracula as a novel and a vampire story, Le Fanu's creation stands on her own and so does his writing, which has never been surpassed or erased by Bram Stoker, who in the end was a one hit wonder. Carmilla is a deliciously creepy tale of infatuation in an exotic setting, with just enough blood and violence, but the other stories should not be neglected. Green Tea is maybe my favourite, where a clergyman is haunted by a demonic monkey, which may be an hallucination caused by an excessive drinking of green tea. I'm not making it up. It's classic Gothic horror at its best.

Gâteau Faumage à la citrouille

 J'ai pris cette photo sur la page Facebook d'Aux Vivres e resto vegan que ma femme adore(et moi aussi), et qu'on n'a pas visité lors de notre dernier séjour. Mais je digresse. Je disais donc, ils font un gâteau au fromage sans fromage, donc au faumage, et à la citrouille. C'est très Halloween et j'aimerais essayer, parce que de tout leur menu, je préfère leur dessert.

Spooky Jack

 My wife bought me this door sign on the cheap a few days ago. She knows me so well: I love this. We might use it on the door during trick or treat, but until then it is on my desk. I love, love, love this Jack O'Lantern. Everything about him is so perfect: the wicked smile, the bats in the background, the witches (warlock?) hat, the mix of ochre and black. I might use it as a model for one of the pumpkins wewill carv, as I think it is perfectly scary. We are now in the middle of October. Time goes way too fast.

Citrouille gonflée

 Photo prise par mon père. Vous avez déjà vu la citrouille ici. C'est une photo que je partage aujourd'hui pour maquer le milieu d'octobre, qui est idyllique ici.

A Warning to the Curious

Okay, here is another post for the countdown to Halloween, just because something struck me: I don't blog about and read enough of M.R. James these days. A few years ago, he was synonymous with Halloween: I had to read at least one of his ghost stories in the weeks leading to Halloween. Sometimes months: I discovered him during a dark and stormy night of May in Liverpool. But I digress. Anyway, if I may suggest some classic terror for you tonight, try A Warning to the Curious. There is no gore, no monster jumping out of the shadow, but a solid, subtle, "corner of the eye" type of ghost story, where tension and fear are slowly and meticulously built. It's absolutely terrifying. There is a BBC adaptation available on YouTube, but the original is still the best. You can read it here, among other places online. I don't want to give anything away, but in a nutshell this is an archeologist's worst nightmare, especially if he happens to be a medievalist.

Chanson hommage à l'Action de grâce

Je sais que je l'ai déjà bloguée par le passé, mais cette chanson est un classique instantané et il faut bien souligner l'Action de grâce. Je me rappelle l'avoir vue et entendue et grande première, dans ma vingtaine, ça ne rajeunit personne.

October Screams

 Okay, first a disclaimer for today's countdown to Halloween post: this is not really a reading suggestions. Because October Screams is the Halloween book I am reading at the moment. More and more, for my seasonal spooky reads, I forego "traditional" or classic horror stories for the month of October to focus on Halloween themed books, either novels or anthologies. The classics, old and new, I read them in September, August, July even. Sometimes as early as April, to be honest. But yeah, I have now a pretty nice collection of Halloween books, enough so I have started recognising names contributing to these anthologies. So many books to read, so little time left. I hope I can finish it before the 31st, so I can revisit my other Halloween books. The more you read, the more you find yet to discover. So yeah, I am binge reading horror stories.

Une tourtière pour l'Action de grâce

 J'ai déjà partagé cette photo en 2020. Parce que c'est l'Action de Grâce au Canada aujourd'hui. Comme c'était le cas en 2020, et pas mal à chaque année, mes parents ont fait une tourtière. Je n'ai pas encore la photo au moment où j'écris ces lignes, alors j'ai décidé de repartager la même photo, surtout que ça fait un bail que je n'ai pas blogué sur notre met régional.

The Howling II

 For today's countdown to Halloween reading suggestion, The Howling II. By Gary Grandner. Not the novelization to the sequel to the first film, but the sequel to the original novel that inspired the rather uneven and lacklustre film franchise. The Howling II might have well been titled Karyn Can't Get a Break. Because the heroine/damsel in distress of the first novel, after surviving the horrors of Draco, a village full of werewolves, after being through the trauma of witnessing her then husband turn into a werewolf AND cheat on her has, well, to survive more ordeals. She's now remarried to a widower, she's a stepmother and she's undergoing therapy. Because, you know, the events of the previous book. But it turns out some lycanthropes survived the fire that destroyed Draco. Her (ex)husband Roy, for one, and his new partner, Marcia, who has been wounded by a silver bullet in the head, but not killed, for some reason (Brandner tend to retcon things). Marcia, now turning into a she-wolf/human hybrid every night, is pretty unhappy about it, and she's planning revenge on Karyn. So yeah, it's not very good. The Howling was a flawed, but enjoyable horror story, with plenty of atmosphere and a great setting. Its sequel is more flawed and less enjoyable. Gone is the claustrophobia, the remote environment, all the little details that made the first book work in spite of its flaws. But this one nevertheless has its moments, and remains better than the sequels of the movie franchise. In any case, this is a reading suggestion, not a reading reocmmendation. And we always need some werewoves for Halloween, right?

Vitrine automnale

 Hier, nous sommes allés acheter des souliers à petit loup. La vitrine du magasin de chaussures était vraiment jolie et automnale, alors je l'ai prise en photo.

About Carmilla

 This is, I think, the version of Carmilla I borrowed from the local library, back in 1990. I said "I think", because the cover was completely repaired and its image covered. All I had in my hands was a red book with the title on. And it had other stories by Le Fanu: Green Tea and The Familiar, maybe more. I read Carmilla first, then Green Tea, but gave back the book before I could read the other(s). Anyway, I blogged before about my first experience of reading Carmilla, but I wanted to mention something that I have been reminiscing about recently concerning the world's second most famous vampire.The horror in it is very restrained, slow and gradual, as the antagonist is first depicted as a beautiful, sweet and pleasant woman, even an innocent one. A bit of an ingenue, in fact. This cover shows it perfectly: the title character is walking in broad daylight, in charming woodlands. Yet there is something unsettling about this image. Terror comes from a place of beauty. Anyway, tell me what you think in the comments. I should come back to the work of Sheridan Le Fanu in future posts.

La citrouille et le vaisseau fantôme

J'ai blogué sur le sujet lundi dernier, je partage une photo à nouveau: un vausseau pirate fantôme et une gigantesque citrouille. Rien que parce que.

Demonic Hand

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, I thought I would write about an horror trope. I found this picture from used  J.H. Brennan's gamebook Dracula's Castle . It shows an Evil Hand. When you play Dracula, it attacks you and, if you win, it submits to you and becomes your ally, or rather a kind of macabre, supernatural, sentient gadget. I always loved the image. This hand made such impression on me that it made its way into the Dracula Game. It tried to strangle and claws many of our vampire hunters. there is just something about a limb with a mind of its own, bend down on committing murder and create terror. But this post is mostly an excuse to share this striking image.

Le solarium

Mes parents ont fait refaire l'extérieur du solarium. Je le trouve un peu austère, sans les plantes grimpantes autour. J'ai toujours aimé notre solarium, lire ce billet de 2013 pour un peu plus de détails.

Horror on the Orient Express

Decades ago, I used to be a game master for  Call of Cthulhu,the role playing game based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Sadly never round Halloween time. It's a shame: it would have been perfect for the season, one more way to enjoy its spooky aspects. I always try to put a bit of Lovecraft flavouring on my Halloween. Anyway, there is one module I have always wanted to try: Horror on the Orient Express. I love trains any time of year and it's no different round Halloween. I blogged very often (and recently) how much they suit the horror genre, having modernity and technology clash with the supernatural. A classic train like the Orient Express is just the perfect horror setting, with the comfort and the cosy atmosphere disturbed by paranormal dangers. Apparently, it's an excellent game, although a highly risky one for the characters. But then again, I would expect no less. Anyway, I hope I can get my hands on it one day and find a few players. For those who enjoyed it, please leave a comment.

Une bière pour PJ

 C'est aujourd'hui la fête de mon frère PJ. J'ai toujours été un peu envieux qu'il ait sa fête en octobre, si proche de l'Halloween. Comme c'est une tradition chaque année sur ce blogue, je bois à sa santé une bière virtuelle, la Hobgoblin Gold de  Wychwood Brewery. C'est la bière qu'il a bu lors de sa dernière visite ici en 2017, lors de la fête de petit loup. Cette photo date de 2018. Malheureusement, ils ne font plus les étiquettes des bouteilles comme celles-ci.

Trick or Treat (preparation)

 I took this picture on Halloween day 2023, this is the front of our house, in the afternoon. I think we did an okay job with the Jack O'Lanterns. Anyway, today's countdown to Halloween post is about trick or treat. Or rather, its preparation. Last year, I thought we were too modest with the amount of pumpkins we carved: not quite enough (I prefer five, at least), not enough big ones either. We bought the first one two days ago, but I will purchase more in the following days. Then I will have to buy treats. For Wolfie's treats, everything is pretty much ready: he has his costume and a brand new bag. More on that later. Anyway, my wife and my mother might think I am trying too hard: we are a bit out of the way and we don't get many visitors. But those we see, I want them to enjoy the experience.

Mortelle Adèle et l'Halloween

 Lors de mon dernier séjour à Montréal, j'ai découvert les bédés de Mortelle Adèle. Ce n'est pas tout le temps génial, mais c'est assez plaisant, dans le genre sous Calvin et Hobbes franchouillard. Mais j'ai quand même bien aimé, J'en ai acheté quelques unes, les ai lues là bas, puis j'ai dû les relire pour Wolfie, qui a décidé qu'il les aimait aussi. J'ai donc décidé de lui acheter pour sa fête le mois dernier un calendrier Mortelle Adèle. C'est un calendrier scolaire, il est de septembre à août. Pratique. Mais j'ai été très heureux de découvrir que Mortelle Adèle, pour une petite fille française, semble aussi aimer l'Halloween: la page du mois d'octobre y est consacrée. C'est vrai qu'elle a des goûts macabres.

This Is Halloween

 For today's (and this year's first) countdown to Halloween reading suggestion: This Is Halloween, by James A. Moore. "Ten Tales of Terror" as the cover says. Not all of them are explicitly set round Halloween, but many of them are. And many of them feature the sinister Bedlam Woods, where a ghostly witch and her monstrous offsprings dwell. Relatable characters are mercilessly sent to and through hell, and neither critters nor ordinary humans are devoid of moral ambiguity. Moore is great at turning familiar places and traditions into unsettling backdrops. I also loved how original his monsters often are: you have undead made of bones, shadowy female spirit that haunts and attacks its preys like lightning, a blobby shape-shifting fiend who puts on a human skin and walks among them as a... but I don't want to give too much away. This is the perfect seasonal read. Preparing this post, I learned that Moore sadly passed away in March this year. I am sad to discover a new horror writer as of late, but this will not be the last book of him that I will read. This post is a posthumous homage.

L'Halloween à Première Moisson

 Petite nouvelle bouffe trouvée sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson: non seulement ils ont des produits d'automne, mais ils ont maintenant des produits de l'Halloween. Dont cette miche de campagne avec une chauve-souris dessus. C'est tout. Pourquoi on ne vit pas à Montréal?

Brio's Haunted Train Station

I blogged before about Brio's  a Spooky Train Station. Well, I bought it for Wolfie's last birthday. My wife said I really bought it for myself, but it's not true. I mean not really: I truly, genuinely thought Wolfie would love it. And he does. He has his first Brio toy about five years ago, but he hasn't stopped playing with them since, although he plays less often.

All the same: he loved the Spooky Train Station, even though we don't, I mean he doesn't have the train that goes with it and has it doing spooky noises. My mistake, I should have thought about it. It's still fun and he made a display in the living room. I particularly like the ghost conductor. I thought he was a zombie at first, but he really looks like a ghost and a Gothic one at that. But a friendly ghost, most definitely. I love the mix of old fashioned horror and railway, as it is a staple of modernity and technology meeting the supernatural. Trains and train sations make for great settings for horror stories. Anyway, Wolfie wants to play with his set, however he said that once Halloween is over, this is it: the train station and its ghost will not show up until the next countdown to Halloween.

Le vaisseau fantôme

 Mon père a pris cette photo en septembre, je ne sais plus où. Dans une quincaillerie (Rona?) je crois. Dans tous les cas, je suis toujours heureux de voir que des commerces célèbrent l'Halloween longtemps en avance. Et dans un autre ordre d'idées, suis-je le seul à remarquer une association entre pirates et l'Halloween?

M&S Halloween Train

We went to Marks & Spencer before October and I was pleasantly surprised to see their Halloween display already. Even more pleasantly surprised to see this box of chocolates. They outdid themselves this year.

No but seriously, sometimes you buy food just for the container. A Halloween train? How much cooler can you get?

La cheminée

 Je l'avais blogué le 3 octobre, je pensais faire une mise à jour aujourd'hui: mes parents ont fait réparer la cheminée de la maison. Ils vont enfin pouvoir faire des feux de foyer, un plaisir automnal qui me manque beaucoup. Je me rappelle les soirées, parfois les journées, à s'asseoir au coin du feu. Sans oublier les vins et fromages ou les moments de farniente... Cette cheminée a une histoire et elle a été l'agent de bien des souvenirs.

Haunted Pubs

 I noticed something about the countdown to Halloween this year (so far): I haven't blogged all that much about scary stories. I am not sure wh. Maybe I have read them rather slowly this year, instead of binging on them like I often do. But horror stories, spooky stories are generally the main focus of this blog come October. It also struck me that England is maybe the best place to find inspiration for scary stories, the local folklore being often filled with stories of the supernatural and hauntings. Now I don't believe in the supernatural, but I think locallegends can make up for great starting points to write horror. I stumbled tonight on this article about South Bucks most haunted pubs. I haven't been to any of them, as far as I can remember, however some of them are not too far and I would love to go there and get a feel of the places. Maybe I could come up with my own ghost stories. Traditional pubs and inns are great places for hauntings, as they are so atmospheric to begin with.

Les fêtes d'octobre

Les réseaux sociaux (plus précisément Facebook) me rappellent que c'est la fête de deux amis d'enfance aujourd'hui. Des jumeaux, c'est d'ailleurs comme ça qu'on les appelle depuis qu'on les connaît. En octobre, on célèbre beauccoup les anniversaires de naissance parmi ma famille et mes amis de longue date. Il y a bien entendu la fête de mon frère PJ, puis celle d'un de mes neveux. Il a aussi celle des jumeaux, donc, et ça m'a rapplé une anecdote de mon enfance. Parce que j'ai toujours envié ceux qui fêtent leur anniversaire en octobre, étant le mois de l'Halloween et celui où l'automne est à son plus flamboyant. L'un des jumeaux ne le voyait pas ainsi: il ne célébrait pas l'Halloween et n'aimait pas être considéré plus jeune que moi d'un an dans l'année sclaire, justement parce qu'il était né en octobre. Il m'avait dit un jour: "Maudit mois d'octobre, j'aimerais mieux qu'il n'existe pas." Ce qui m'avait vraiment choqué.

The Pumpkin and the Goose

 My parents already bought their pumpkin for Halloween. They will only carve one. But how nice it looks by the fireplace, with the wooden goose they have. It looks very Halloweeny and autumnal. I need to start buying pumpkins... Maybe today.

L'automne à Chicoutimi

 Autre photo prise par mon père lors d'une promenade. Et c'est tout.

Aquila on Witches

 My son Wolfie subscribed recently to the children's magazine Aquila. It's fun, it's educational, it's witty. An boy oh boy was I excited to see the front cover of their October 2024 issue: a whole issue on witches, witchcraft and wizards. Nothing too scary, but a lot of information about witches through the ages and what it meant at a certain time, as well as old superstitions and folklore. And enough material among it to inspire him (and me), should he want to write a few spooky stories. Anyway, if you have kids, go and buy it now.

Couleurs de l'automne

Photo prise par mon père lors de sa promenade. Je la partage encore une fois. Ma chronique automnale, c'est parfois seulement des photos, mais on n'a pas besoin de plus.

Changelings and Dopplegängers

 I took this picture from Where the Shadows Stalk of the sadly short lived Forbidden Gateway  gamebook series. This is a monstrous humanoid made of vegetals that is turning into a copy of your character. A sort of dopplegänger, although they call him a Changeling. It is the first adversary you fight in the book and it truly sets the tone for the kind of horrors you will face during the rest of the adventure. I find dopplegängers and changelings scary and unsettling (you can be replaced by an usurper, someone you love and trust may not be who they are, etc.), but is it me or are they seldom used nowadays in horror? They deserve a comeback. Anyway, if you know of any stories involving them, let me know in the comments section.

Refaire la cheminée

 Nouveau billet de chronique automnale (mettons): mes parents font réparer la cheminée de la maison. Qu'est-ce que ça a à voir avec l'automne? C'est en automne que l'on commence à faire des feux de foyer, d'abord. Et il n'y a pas beaucoup de choses plus plaisantes qu'une soirée froide d'automne au coin du feu.

The Haunted Castle

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to share a game I bought for Wolfie during one of his schools' fayres last summer. It caught both our eyes. My son seems to have a spooky mind. We spent a rainy afternoon playing it. It's called The Haunted Castle, but it is truly a vampire castle: its owner is a vampire, aptly named Lord Darkwood. The name of the place is Dreadmoor Castle. The story is heavily influenced by Dracula, especially the first part: you even use the help of a journal left there by Abraham Van Helsing, who visited Dreadmoor shortly after the events of the novel. I don't want to give too much away, but it's a great way to introduce your kid to horror stories and classic vampire tropes. It's both clever and atmospheric.

L'automne au Saguenay

 Mon père a pris des photos des arbres lors de sa dernière promenade. Je n'ai même plus besoin de lui demander de m'envoyer quoi que ce soit: il le fait de son propre chef.

Countdown to Halloween!

 Today we are the first of October, so it is our official Countdown to Halloween, b! So happy countdown everyone. I took this picture in August, in the Dollarama on the Plateau Mont-Royal, in Montreal. I was so happy to see that they were already in a Halloween mood. It may the official countdown, but of course I had started preparing for it since last Halloween or so. My personal countdown to the spooky season starts in August, sometimes even in July. Be that as it may, watch this space, I should post daily, mostly but not exclusively about horror stories.

La Citrouille chez mes parents

Bon, ben mon père n,a pas perdu de temps: il a déjà acheté sa citrouille pour l'Halloween. Avant-hier, je crois. Il en a profité pour m'envoyer une photo. Elle est vraiment belle, avec une tige encore assez grosse pour pouvoir être empoignée proprement. J'ai très hâte de voir le design qu'elle aura dans un mois. Et je dois m'y mettre moi aussi et en acheter au moins une dans les prochains jours (la première, mais pas la dernière). Je me sens fébrile.

"El Jeepo"

 Last time we went to the yearly September fayre, we saw a number of army behicles on display. Mostly British, but some were American. Many of them had personal nicknames. Among them, a jeep aptly named "El Jeepo". With a strange critter meant to represent some animal, real or unreal. I thought it was funny anyway. Somebody has any idea what animal is this El Jeepo? I guess it's American, maybe Mexican? A wildcat, perhaps? A cryptid? An obscure cartoon character? For those who are into vintage army vehicles, army stuff, please let me know in the comments.

La Saint-Jérôme

Nous sommes aujourd'hui le 30 septembre, jour de la Saint-Jérôme. Je le sais, mais ce n'est pas à cause de mon passé catholique. Saint Jérôme ayant traduit la Bible à partir de l'hébreu, il est devenu le saint patron des traducteurs. Le 30 septembre est donc devenu la Journée internationale de la traduction. J'ai déja blogué sur le sujet en 2018. J'ai pensé le mentionner ici à nouveau, rien que parce que.

Craving a Sunday Roast

This picture dates back from... June 2021. It struck me recently that I haven't had a Sunday roast in ages. And by ages I mean: not since February 2023, according to my calculations, and even then, it was a "guerilla Sunday roast" (bought and eaten in a cafeteria). So we should eat one tonight. But I really am craving one in a pub, with an excessive amount of trimming on a plate. I love Sunday roasts all year round, but especially in autumn, so now is the perfect time to eat one. The season kind of enhances the gastronomical experience.

Dernier jour du Salon

 Ultime annonce pour ceux qui peuvent y aller: c'est le dernier jour du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Allez-y si vous pouvez. Pour les nostalgiques comme moi qui l'avez connu dans le passé, racontez vos souvenirs dans les commentaires.

I'm a Cryptkeeper

 It is not officially the countdown to Halloween, but I have been counting the days since last Halloween. And, more specifically since August, I have started the preparation. Because yes, the Halloween season starts as early as possible for me. So anyway, you may have noticed that I put up the Cryptkeeper badge for 2024 already. There was a wide choice, I went for the one with the scarecrow Jack O'Lantern. Scarecrows, especially with pumpkin heads, are a staple for Halloween and they are great in horror stories. This one is suitably spooky.

Le Salon du livre de loin

C'est encore le Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean, aujourd'hui. Quand j'y allais, c'était la plupart du temps un samedi, quand il battait son plein, en tout cas dans mon souvenir. C'était le gros évènement, la grosse célébration, de la fin de semaine, avant la fin de semaine de l'Action de grâce.  Maintenant je le suis de loin, enfin un peu, par le biais des réseaux sociaux. Mais sinon, si vous y êtes, c'est comment cette année? Faites-le moi savoir dans les commentaires.