The 29th

 Okay, here we are, today is the 29th of February. A first in.. four years. I don't have much to say about it, except that we are a leap year. February is not my favourite month of the year, not by a long stretch, it usually my worst month job-wise, or at least this is the month I find most difficult. It is also often in February that I receive work-related bad news (or at least it did when I had that job I hated). So yeah, February is short, but I often find it a bit too long for my taste. That said, February is also the month when I started blogging, back in 2008, also on a leap year. So I guess it is not all bad. But anyway, how do you feel about the 29th of February? Does it mean anything to you?

Un Temple de Cthulhu à Paris

 La nouvelle franchouillarde et horrifique du jour: il y aurait un Temple de Chtulhu à Paris. Ou peut-être pas. C'est un mystère, mais il y a en tout cas un panneau qui indique son existence. Avez que ça donne la chair de poule. Le panneau a été ou sera enlevé et je trouve ça dommage. Bon, c'est pas comme si Paris était avare d'attractions touristiques, mais j'aime les attractions sinistres et Paris a son côté sombre (bien qu'assez peu lovecraftien). Dans tous les cas, pour les fans d'horreur littéraire comme moi, c'est le genre de nouvelles qui m'aide à patienter jusqu'à l'Halloween.

Pumpkin Pie's Chocolate

 Oh the treasures you can find in the local sweet shop. Among them, this one in particular, from Stateside Treat Emporium, ironically a UK company making American-themed treats. I found it shortly before... Christmas (ironically) and I hesitated to buy it, not being the season and all. But the owner just threw it in my bag, so I had it as a freebie. I shared it with Wolfie after the new year. It does not taste that great to be honest. The pumpkin syrup, allspice and shortbread don't come up all that much. Neither does the pumpkin flavour. But it has a cool Jack O'Lantern on the label! I bought some more afterwards. One bar, to be precise, but got a second one as a freebie. I think they just want to get through the old stocks until next Halloween. All the same, it is just nice when I long for Halloween to have a piece of chocolate that reminds me of it. I know I'm a sucker, but I will buy more.

Retrouver IXE-13

J'ai blogué il y a moins d'une semaine sur IXE-13, ainsi que sur la nouvelle adaptation en série. J'y reviens, car depuis, les critiques sont excellentes. Et je me mords les doigts de ne pas pouvoir la regarder. Jusqu'ici, elle n'est pas disponible ici, mais je vais demeurer aux aguets. D'ici là, j'ai trouvé un blogue consacré à la série de romans et je me fais un plaisir d'en apprendre plus sur un héros bien québécois qui a même précédé James Bond dans le monde de l'espionnage. Ce n'est quand même pas rien.

"Nordic Noir"

 I stumbled on an article in Forbes today: Nordic Noir: 5 Must-Read Crime Novels Set in Norway. I don't know if I ever heard the term "Nordic Noir", but I love it and this is now the word of the day. I have read very little Scandinavian crime fiction, in fact I think I only read one book. I know, I know, this is borderline shameful. It is ironic, because, although I have never been to Norway, I love a lot of things Scandinavian and Scandinavia in general is a great setting for Noir crime fiction. Therefore, I will check if these five titles and their authors are available in the local bookshop next time I go there. And if you have any recommendations for Scandinavian crime fiction (or crime fiction in general), please leave them in the comments.

"Brocéliande et ses légendes"

Je suis (re)tombé sur un bouquin il y a quelques minutes Brocéliande et ses légendes. Un ouvrage de vulgarisation sur la forêt de Brocéliande, plus touristique qu'autre chose. Il n'y a sans doute rien dedans que je ne sais pas, étant médiéviste de formation, justement spécialisé dans la littérature arthurienne. Cela dit, je me suis rendu compte que je n'ai pas terminé de le lire. Je voulais le faire en 2016, peu après notre déménagement ici, question de renouer avec mes amours médiévales, mais la naissance de petit loup a chamboulé mon programme. J'essaierai de le faire cette année.

Another post about Anthony Burgess

Two days ago, on the 25th of February, it was the birthday of Anthony Burgess, my favourite writer. I forgot to blog about it. I kindof feelguilty, because I want Vraie Fiction to be about more than just, well,the silly trivial things I often blog about. And because he is my favourite writer. When I started this blog, I was considering turning it into a literary blog. It is still a bit like that, but that is another story. If you want to know more about my love and admiration for his work, you can this post, that post, or this one as well. There are more. So yes, if you read him, tell me in the comments.

Machine dans la forêt

 Mon père a pris cette photo sur le lot de mes oncles. Je crois que c'est pour Wolfie. Une machine dans la nature.

Missed blogging anniversary

 Quick post today, just to mention one thing: I missed my blogging anniversary, which was yesterday. I missed another birthday, then another from the day before, but these two are for two different posts. So anyway, it baffles me, but I missed my blogging anniversary. I have been blogging since the 25th of February 2008. Blogging is a lost art, on social media it looks bleeding ancient, but I happen to love it, so I try to feed Vraie Fiction regularly. So yes, that's it really.I feel like I missed my own birthday.

Les Pères trappistes au Québec

Photo trouvée sur la page Facebook des Pères trappistes il y a pas longtemps. Rien que pour vous dire que leurs chocolats de Pâques sont disponibles à peu près partout au Québec maintenant.

The fingers of the bookworm

I don't follow the Facebook page of Waterstones, but somehow the memes they share turned up on my feeds. And I must say, they are very good. This one made me laugh, anyway. It is pretty much how to try to justify my purchasing habits. It is, in essence, the story of my life. An autobiography indeed.

Se faire les ongles (et une réplique)

 Une amie de longue date, la mère de mon filleul pour être plus précis, cherchait hier des recommandations sur Facebook. Elle voulait qu'on lui propose des personnes qui font des ongles. De beaux ongles, en fait. Je n'ai pas pu résister à lui répondre: "Ben d'habitude, ils devraient pousser tout seuls." Oui, je sais, c'est de l'humour de gars, mais je me suis trouvé drôle quand même. Et puis je crois même que ça mérite d'être homologué comme une grande réplique inconnue. Sinon, c'est dans le secteur de Jonquière que mon amie demeure, si vous avez quelqu'un à lui suggérer, dites-le moi dans mes commentaires, je lui transmettrai la suggestion.

Foggy Morning

 Life is a bit uneventful these days, so what do I do when I blog? I blog about the weather, of course, like a true Englishman. Anyway, this morning, I saw a fairly rare occurence: it was foggy. Or misty, I am never sure if it is thick enough to qualify as fog or mist, but here it is. I have seen foggier days of course, but gosh I love the fog. Sadly, it was gone by midday. I did not even have the chance to walk through it. But it was a nice sight while it lasted.

Orchidées (phalaneopsis)

 Je publie encore une fois une photo des orchidées de mon père, des phalaneopsis. Rien que parce que. Les fleurs donnent une couleur au blogue, c'est une manière de le décorer, pour ainsi dire. Sinon, des fois je manque d'inspiration pour des sujets plus sérieux ouplus profonds, alors je partage des photos comme celle-ci. Quoique l'orchidée a sa place dans la littérature, alors elle est plus profonde qu'il n'y paraît. Je tenterai un jour d'écrire un billet sur le sujet. Il me faudrait du temps pour faire des recherches plus poussées.

A walk through the maze

I took this photo in the Isle of Wight, in Robin Hill. It had many attractions and fun games for children and grownups, including a maze. This is its plan. It seems so simple when you see it like this. I love mazes, big and small. This one wasn't the most difficult to get through, or the fanciest, but it was great fun.

Bonne Maman et le chocolat

Tout le monde aime les produits de Bonne Maman, non? Je veux dire, ils font surtout dans les confitures, mais ça doit être santé, enfin pour des confitures, puisqu'on les mange au déjeuner et que bon, c'est comme plus naturel, plus artisanal que d'autres confitures. C'est l'impression qu'on nous donne en tout cas. Ben maintenant, ils font aussi des tartinades de noisettes et chocolat. Comme du Nutella, je crois que c'est encore plus addictif. C'est plus gentrifié aussi, mais c'est vraiment comme du sucre et du chocolat en jarre. C'est vraiment diabolique.

The many names of Guinness

I found this meme about Guinness a few weeks ago. In less than a month, it will be Saint Paddy's, so might as well share it now, before I forget. Guinness used to be my poison of choice about 20 years ago, ex aequo with real ales. I only drink it round the 17th of March now. But anyway, I thought this meme was quite educational. I particularly like Irish champagne and soup. And you, what's your favourite name for a pint of Guinness?

Phalaenopsis

Mon père m'a envoyé des photos de ses orchidées.

Another Snakes & Ladders

I try to get Wolfie interested about board games, with varying degrees of success. I do this because I love board games myself, but also because I often find it more fun than video games. And more educational too. You know that I love playing Snakes and Ladders, even though it is pure dumb luck and has zero strategy in it. It's just because I find snakes cool. And I just like the board of Snakes and Ladders, they are always different from one another. So I was happy to find during Wolfie's last play date that his friend and her brother have the classic game. Strange to see the ladders being as twisted as the snakes.

Les jeux à batteries

Quand Wolfie et moi jouons au jeu de guerre et espionnage et toute la patente, nous n'utilisons pas que des armes. Nous avons aussi d'autres équipements. Dont, notamment, des walkie talkies. je sais, je sais, j'utilise un anglicisme. Émetteurs-récepteurs? J'ai acheté un set pour Noël. Je me rappelle en avoir eu un pléthore quand j'étais enfant et je me rappelle comme j'aimais ça. Wolfie adore également. L'ennui, c'est qu'il a fallu trouver des batteries AAA, parce qu'elles n'étaient pas comprises. Mais bon, être capable de les installer et de rendre les walkies fonctionnels, je me sentais un peu comme Q dans James Bond.

Cow Express

 This picture was taken in the Isle of Wight, in Robin Hill. I was looking through the pictures of our time there and it made me want to share some of them. This was one of Wolfie's favourite ride, the Cow Express. Kind of fitting for a name: in real train journeys, you often see cows at some point, cows that watch the train going. It makes sense to have a train named after them. Even if it is a park ride. I found it very cute, in any case and I love all things trains and railway, so I had to share it.

Trouvez le paon

Photo prise dans l'Isle of Wight, dans le parc de Robin Hill.Je regardais mes pohotos de voyage, qui datent de 2022, et je me disais qu'il fallait bien en partager quelques unes. Il y a un paon qui se cache sur celle-ci. Le voyez-vous? Bon, il n'est pas si difficile à trouver, mais quand même.

Boston on the Bucket List

 My brother PJ went on holidays to New York recently, and I blogged about it, saying among other things that I am not really interested about going there. He asked me in the comments where I would like to visit in the USA instead. Well, I am not sure why, but the first US city that comes to my mind is Boston. There are other places on my bucket list, but Boston is most likely at the top of them. For years, it was in my mind just the city of a nasty hockey team, rival of the Habs, that had nastier fans. I would have avoided it like the plague when I was a child, just for that. Now, because of the few images I have seen of it, because of its kind of cosy look, maybe because it's an old city as well, at least by North American standards... I'm kind of curious about it. It just sounds like a pleasant place to go to and not the first place on anyone's holiday list, which by itself is good enough to be on top of mine. So yeah, among my readers, anyone visited Boston? Is it worth it? How was your time there? Any recommendations? Tell me all in the comments section.

Préparer ma fête?

Ma fête n'arrive pas avant deux mois. Pourtant, je suis tenté de commencer à la préparer. Par cela, je veux dire faire une liste de suggestions de cadeaux (quoique je ne sois pas difficile à combler, dixit ma femme), songer quoi faire cette journée-là, quoi manger, qui inviter (ou pas), etc. Il y a encore quelques célébrations d'ici à mon anniversaire: la Saint-Patrick et Pâques, notamment, que je fête pas mal. Pâques qui arrive beaucoup trop tôt cette année, soit dit en passant. Mais ce qui est bien quand je prépare ma fête, c'est surtout de pouvoir me replonger dans la nostalgie: je me rappelle les bons moments passés, les cadeaux qui m'ont marqués et j'essaie de revivre les moments mémorables ainsi que les occasions manquées. Les cadeaux de mon enfance que je voulais mais n'ai pas reçus, ou ceux que j'ai perdus ou brisés, j'essaie de les remettre sur ma liste. Wolfie finit par en profiter autant que moi. En fait, je prépare au moins autant ma fête pour lui que pour moi.

A revolver for the artillery drawer

 Yesterday, our family went for a walk and we stopped at one of the corner shops on our way. I always buy a thing or two when I stop in a corner shop, I can't help it. I also buy a thing for Wolfie, whether he is there with me or not. Of course, somehting caught his eyes. Not a sweet or a sugary drink, but a magazine with a toy. Another gun I'm afraid, with ammo and protective glasses. It will go in the artillery drawer we have and we should use it soon during our War Game. Which we haven't played in a while, but I expect that the acquisition of this revolver should get Wolfie into it again. I will repeat it: having a boy allows me to have a second childhood.

Pâté à la truite et tarte aux bleuets

 Il y a quelques seaines, mon père m'a envoyé des photos du repas que mes parents ont mangé avec mon frère PJ. Un pâté à la truite. Et comme dessert, de la tarte aux bleuets. Les Anglais appellent les pâtés pie, le même nom qu'ilsdonnent à la tarte dessert. De la tarte et de la tarte, donc. Tant le pâté à la truite que la tarte aux bleuets se mangent n'importe quand, cela dit je trouve que ce sont plus des repas du mois d'août, idéalement. Surtout la tarte aux bleuets. Cela dit, je partage aujour'hui, rien que parce que.

A Dragon in a Teacup

I know I am very late in the news, but I wanted to share this image taken from the Facebook page of David's Tea. It was publishedduring the Chinese new year. Even though it is most likely AI generated, I found it so cool that I wanted to share it here. If there is one thing I love about Chinese culture, is that they brought us tea. Like the proper stuff, strong yet delicate. That and their dragons. And there is actually some association with Chinese dragons and tea, read this post from 2016 to know more about it. So yes, I love this image.

Fleur(s) de givre

C'est toujours l'hiver à quelques endroits sur cette planète. Je dis ça comme ça, un peu pour ne pas me décourager: ici c,est gris, sans faire chaud il ne fait pas froid et dans un mois ce sera l'heure avancée. Phoque. Sans farce, ça me fout le cafard rien que d'y penser. J'aimerais qu'il fasse froid. D'ici à ce que le printemps arrive, je partage cette photo de "fleurs de givre," comme mon père les appelle. Parce que c'est parfois encore l'hiver.

Improvised pasta

 My wife and my boy were away for the week, so I had to cook for myself like a bachelor. I have to say, I did not do too badly. I made a pasta variation from a recipe I had learned from my Italian friends back in my years at uni: pasta and salmon. I got a tin of salmon, mixed it in a bowl with fresh tomatoes (diced), spring onions (chopped small), some olive oil, basil and a bit of salt. Oh and I added olives just to give it a bit more colour, more flavour and make it even more mediterranean. Then I threw the pasta in. I had enough for three meals. It tasted delicious.

IXE-13

J'ai entendu parler, bien entendu, des aventures de IXE-13, la série de romans d'espionnage pulpbien québécois. Je n'ai jamais lu des romans, à ma honte, même si j'ai vu certains titres dans des librairies de seconde main sur le Plateau. J'ai bien entendu vu le film, il passait tout le temps à Canal D. Mais c'était une parodie et ça a vieilli. Or, j'apprends qu'ils font finalement une adaptation en bonne et dûe forme, sur Illico, IXE-13 et la course à l'uranium. J'aimerais pouvoir la regarder. Selon l'annonce et les extraits que j'ai vus, ça a l'air très solide, même si c'est peu original. J'espère qu'ils profiteront de la sortie de la série pour rééditer les romans, à moins que je puisse en trouver lors de mes prochaines visites à Montréal.

A local Wetherspoon

They are constructing a new Wetherspoon in our little English town. It will be, as far as I know, the very first Wetherspoon in town, there was never another one before. We have and had other pub chains (in fact most of the pubs here belong to a chain, big or small), but never as of yet a behemoth like Wetherspoon. I'm of two minds about it. I like Wetherspoon pubs for their affordable beers and guest ales. The menu is decent and generally cheap. But it is often overcrowded and, while some of them have genuine atmosphere, they can be quite bland. On principle, I prefer independent businesses. I also fear for the other places round it might suffer from its presence. And finally, before this Wetherspoon, there was a clothes shop in its place. With cheap, but not cheap looking, affordable clothes. It was really practical, especially for Wolfie. And now we don't have it. Come to think of it, I am not sure I am so happy to have a Wetherspoon opening in this town...

Les pêcheurs et leur canot (santons)

Photo trouvée sur la page Facebook sur les Santons de Charlevoix. Je cherchais quelque chose sur Rose Latulipe, ne trouvant rien, j'ai pensé partager celle-ci. Ce que j'aime dans les Santons, c'est qu'on dirait qu'ils vivent une histoire. Ce ne sont pas que des petits bonhommes, ce sont vraiment des personnages.

Nine of Hearts

 As you know, our family went into Marlow last weekend, as a spur of the moment thing, to go to The Mixing Jug. My wife to try their coffee, me because I wanted a day out as a family and because I was curious about their smoothies. More particularly, the Nine of Hearts, which I you can see here. I wonder why it's called the Nine of Hearts, as it is made of eight ingredients: strawberry, banana, red and black currents, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry and finally oat milk. I generally don't like oat milk, but to blend a lot of fruits it's all right. I quite enjoyed it, although I found it overpriced. But it has a really cool name. Sometimes I just buy something for its name.

Café écossais?

J'ai reçu une boîte de cadeaux divers à Noël de la part de mon employeur. Parmi tous les cossins, ce sachet de café, d'Edinburgh Tea and Coffee. Du café écossais, en somme. J'aurais préféré qu'ils m'envoient du thé de cette même compagnie. Il y avait aussi du thé ens achet, mais pas celui-là. Qu'à cela ne tienne, je vais le trouver, mais bon, c'est un autre sujet de billet (et une autre quête). J'ai donné le café à ma femme,pour le partager avec ses parents. Elle ne l'a pas encore essayé. Du café écossais, c'est juste bizarre, je dirais même incongru.

Boxercise?

In the evening, my wife exercises a bit at home to stay in shape. Something I should do, as my life is horribly sedentary, but I don't. Wolfie told me that she did boxing and I was wondering what he meant. Apparently some of it is boxercise. Like workout that using movements and exercises that boxers do. I teased her saying that she should perhapstry real boxing. Okay, so she is the most nonviolent person you can ever meet, so it might come as ill-suited, however her grandfather was for a time a professional boxer, or so I heard. I think she might have a natural talent. And learning any kind of combat sports or martial art is also useful for self-defence, in any case. This anecdote also reminds me that I should go back to do Krav Maga. For fitness and for self-defence. But that is for another post. Anyway, does anyone among youdo boxercise? What do you think of it?

Carnaval-Souvenir de Chicoutimi

Enfin! Je suis tombé sur la chanson-thème du Carnaval-Souvenir de Chicoutimi. Ah, les trésors qu'on trouve sur YouTube. Ce qui veut dire que j'ai la chanson au complet. On l'avait apprise par coeur à l'école. Pour mes souvenirs du Carnaval, lire ce billet de 2015. Des souvenirs qui se réveillent en écoutant ça.

Pink Latte

 First and foremost, I want to wish happy Valentine's Day to everyone. As my wife and Wolfie are with his parents on leave, I am celebrating it alone for the first time since, well, since the last time I was single, which dates back to 20 odd years. But we sort of celebrated this weekend. You remember my post about the The Mixing Jug? Well, we went to Marlow and had lunch there. I bought a Pink Latte for my wife, just because Valentine's Day was coming soon. That was a mistake: she didn't like it, it tasted too spicy, like a gingerbread coffee they sometimes serve in coffee shops round Christmastime. Because she was struggling to drink it and did not want to waste it (The Mixing Jug is an expensive place), she asked me to help her with it. I made the mistake to accept it. It was the first time in 15 years I drank coffee. I hope it is the last. But hey, that's love for you.

Rose et mercredi des Cendres

 Vous savez tous quel jour nous sommes, j'en suis certain. Et bien entendu, c'est le... mercredi des Cendres. C'est un peu une tradition (une autre) de ce blogue: je partage une image du Baiser maléfique. La meilleure version, à mon avis, de la légende de Rose Latulipe. Vous voyez la Rose en question, qui ne fait pas ses vingt ans. Morale de l'histoire: mesdemoiselles, n'embrassez pas de beaux étrangers aujourd'hui. Et ne dansez pas non plus.

Shrove Tuesday

 Today is Shrove Tuesday. I refuse to call in Pancake Day, or whatever they name it these days. I have been celebrating it since I came to England and spent a lot of time with the French community at uni, because the French students all celebrated it. It's funny: before that, I never really celebrate Shrove Tuesday, even when I was a good little Catholic boy. So today I will stuff myself with pancakes, drowned in maple syrup, because I'm from Québec and this is how we eat pancakes (that and sometimes molasse, but finding molasse here is kind of tricky). This is not how Wolfie eats his pancakes too, he is very fond of maple syrup, as I mentioned before. So anyway, do you celebrate Shrove Tuesday? If so, how?

Un nouveau panda

Il y a deux mois, petit loup s'est fait fabriquer un panda à la ferme pour enfants la plus proche, où il y avait des activités de Noël. Il l'a appelé Wisher. Et, comme il est en vacances avec sa mère chez ses grand-parents cette semaine pour la Relâche (elle arrive plus tôt en Angleterre), il a décidé de me le confier. C'est pour que je me sente moins seul alors que je garde le fort. Alors voilà, je suis seul ici avec un chat noir et blanc, un panda et toute une ménagerie de toutous.

Say it with Mozartkugelns

In two days, it is Valentine's Day. I always find it a bit stressful. For my wife, it is kind of easier, because I only need chocolate and I am a happy man. Any will do, pretyt much. This year, I got spoiled: I found Mozartkugels in the local sweet shop that were shaped like hearts. My favourite
chocolates, now perfectly prepared for the special occasion. I had to tell my wife, who bought a box two days ago (yes, I know she bought it, but that's okay, I will only start eating them in two days. Nothing says I love you like these chocolates, or the music of Mozart. It is just so perfect. Oh and to start celebrating the day, here is an aria about love, from The Abduction from the Seraglio. Sung by Malin Hartelius. Unlike others that he composed, this aria does not show a cynical world view of love, but it rather idealises it. So yes, it is fitting.

La Saint-Valentin le Mercredi des cendres

 Bon, je me prends un peu d'avance cette année, mais bon, une chose m'a frappée il y a quelques jours quand je m'en suis rendu compte: la Saint-valentin tombe pile poil sur le Mercredi des cendres cette année. Quand j'étais un bon petit catholique, ça aurait créé la source d'un dilemne cornélien: anger ou pas du chocolat? Maintenant, plus vraiment, mais je trouve que ça indique que Pâques arrive trop tôt cette année.

About New York

 My brother PJ is taking some holidays in New York. He is going today. When I spoke to him last night, it struck me that I have yet to visit the USA, which is a shame. And that of all the places in the US I would love to see, New York is... not on the top of my list. I am not certain why. I have a housemate back at uni who was from there and he was a great guy. Actually, I met a few Americans from New York and they all seemed really nice. I enjoy a lot of movies and TV shows set there. I think maybe that's why, actually: New York has been featured in so many films, so many TV series, so many novels, so many everything, it does not feel new or exotic. It's like I am afraid I would be disappointed, or underwhelmed, if I was to take holidays there. Nevertheless, there is one place I want to go to that is in New York. But that is for another post.

Feu de foyer

 Il y a une semaine, nous sommes allés voir la famille d'une amie de Wolfie, dans ce qu'ils appellent ici une "playdate". Ils vivaient dans une maison cossue, assez pour avoir un petit foyer. ce foyer-ci. C'est vraiment pas le gros char, mais ça fait des années que je n'ai pas eu la chance d'apprécier un feu de foyer. Il était alimenté pr des petits bouts de bois sans écorce, rien à voir avec les bûches qu'on a au Québec. Mais je n'ai pas boudé mon plaisir. Même un petit feu donne sa part d'ambiance et de chaleur.

Coffee at The Mixing Jug?

 No, no, do not worry, I have no intention of drinking coffee. I think it tastes like it looks like it smells and I think it is borderline poisonous. For how I discovered that I dislike coffee, read this post. That said, while I dislike coffee, I love a nice coffee shop. I love spending time there with my wife, who loves coffee, and my boy, who always enjoy something there.  I was walking in Marlow a couple of weeks ago and saw this ensign advertising The Mixing Jug. I had heard about it, but we haven't been there yet. According to one TripAdvisor review, which has to be true, it is the best place for coffee in Marlow. I wonder if the review meant for the drink itself or the whole coffee shop experience. I am more interested in the latter. In any case, I checked their website and it looks likea nice place. Furthermore, it is in Liston Court, a nice atmospheric little spot in Marlow, a town full of atmosphere it itself. So for our next family visit there(whenever that may be), I think The Mixing Jug is on our bucket list.

Les Bouquinistes: vente d'inventaire

Pour mes lecteurs du Saguenay (surtout mon père et ma mère donc), petit rappel pour vous dire qu'il y a une vente d'inventaire aux Bouquinistes. Les détails ici. La vente se termine demain. les Bouquinistes, c'est ma librairie préférée de mes années saguenéennes, qui vont de mon enfance à l'âge adulte. Alors allez-y en grand nombre et faite une razzia.

Owning Up, Owning It

I mentioned last week that, to my great surprise (and happiness), crime writer George Pelecanos had finally written more. It was about time. I had been desperate it for something, anything from him. The book was going to be released yesterday, so I pre-ordered it right away and I got it on its release date. It was a long wait: it arrived to my door in the evening. So yes, I am the new happy owner of Owning Up. I'm owning it, sorry for the pun... I will tell you more about it in the near future, because this is not on my TBR list, it is on my currently reading list.

Question existentielle (386)

 Une question existentielle inspirée de mon billet d'hier. La voici:

-Aux échecs, préférez-vous utiliser les pièces blanches ou les pièces noires?

The Sydney Opera House

 My wife often tells me that her ideal holiday would be in Australia. Not sure why, but she finds it very exotic. And she spent her teenageand young adult life watching Australian soaps, which I think has something to do with it. For me, Australia means two things: it's where my favourite actress is from (guess who?) and the Sydney Opera House. Not so much for its unique architecture than for the fact that it's a freaking ultra modern, gigantic, cool, majestic opera house. I'd love to visit it of course, but also and especially buy tickets for a performance of something. Preferably Mozart, although it does not necessarily  have to be Mozart. I have no idea if it is going to be possible in the forseeable future, but if one day we can afford to go to Australia we will have to go there. For those among you who have been to the Sydney Opera House, please leave me comments and tell me of your experience.

Apprendre les échecs

La fin de semaine dernière, Wolfie est allé voir une amie pour une "play date". Elle a une fascination pour les échecs, allez savoir pourquoi. Elle s'est entiché du jeu il ya quelques mois à l'école et maintenant, elle les apprend avec application et discipline. Par conséquent, Wolfie a commencé à apprendre à jouer aux échecs. Je suis heureux, il fût un temps où j'adorais jouer aux échecs et j'aime quand Wolfie apprend des jeux éducatifs et intelligents. Je crois comprendre qu'il ne joue pas en suivant les règles rigoureusement comme son amie, mais ça fait partie de son apprentissage. Son amie va dans un club le samedi et je sais qu'elle aimerait que Wolfie aille avec elle.

An observation about full fat milk

A couple of days ago, we made a food order. We rarely o to the shops anymore for groceries, except for quick top ups. My wife buys stuff online, it gets delivered to us, that's it. And we started doing it way before the pandemic. We just did it more often once the pandemic happened. Anyway, in the order, there was a substitute we did not notice: full fat milk instead of sem-skimmed milk. My wife only drinks semi-skimmed, but we kept it anyway, because I am okay to drink full fat milk. ButI hadn't done for a few years. So when I tried it again, it came as a shock. It really tastes of cream. So that was my observation. I drank full fat milk and really, it is like drinking cream, isn't it? Your thoughts in the comments.

Un bouquet de fleurs de givre

 Je partage encore une fois une photo des fleurs de givre que mon père m'a envoyées. Extasiez-vous.

Heart of the Hunter

Some good news for the crime fiction addict that I am: one of Deon Meyer's novels, Heart of the Hunter, has been adapted into a movie. Well, it's not the first time that it happened, in fact a lot of his novels have been adapted, faithfully or not, in a film or a tv series. And that is not counting the original screenplays he wrote himself. But the difference here is that it will be available on Netflix in March. So I will be able to watch it. Unless there is some kind of stupid regional restrictions, which might happen, who knows. I hope this will not be the case. I have a lot of screen time to catch on when it comes to Deon Meyer's work, but at least it means I will have the pleasure to rediscover it.

Fleurs de givre

 Des fois, mon père m'envoie des photos du givre. Le titre de son courriel était d'ailleurs "fleurs de givre". C'est d'une beauté délicate et j'ai donc voulu partager.

Mouse Trap(?)

 No, no, do not worry,we do not have a mouse in the house. Touch wood. It is just that I saw Mouse Trap recently in our local toy shop. And if all the many classic games I played as a child Mouse Trap... isn't one of them. I knew about it of course, but for some reason we never got it. I think my parents had read bad reviews about it, that the traps were not working well and were easy to break, or something like that. But my wife played with it as a child and had fond memories of it. So I might buy it for Wolfie, or put it on my list of birthday presents.

Un printemps hâtif?

 Nouvelle assez désagréable pour moi, si elle est vraie: Fred la marmotte prévoit un printemps hâtif, ils semblerait. Le nouveau Fred, celui qui a été entraîné pour commencer cette année, pas l'ancien Fred, qui est décédé l'année dernière et est donc une marmorte. Bon, cela dit, ce qui m'ennuie, c'est je n'ai pas très hâte au temps trop doux ou au printemps hâtif. Alors je ne suis pas très enthousiaste à cette prédiction. Bon, je sais, c'est au Québec, mais comme il fait doux ici aussi, j'ai peur que la prophétie vaille pour tout l'hémisphère nord.

Play Date

 Today, Wolfie is going to a play date with a friend from school. The first proper play date in a year and the second one since he started school. Not the same friend with whom he had a play date before, but another. She is a girl who was new at school, she arrived in the middle of the year last year. She sat next to Wolfie and she got quite fond of him. Anyway, long story short, she is his best female friend(albeit he finds the attention a bit much sometimes), sometimes I joke that she is his first girlfriend. And she has been wanting for a play date for a looong time, or so says her father. I hope everything goes well. I was never so keen on play dates as a child, I used to end up disappointed at them more often than none. But in any case, it is very cute.

Pelle mécanique

 Autre photo prise par mon père pour Wolfie. Rien à ajouter.

Scotland Yard... Junior?

I found this at the local toy shop. You know of Scotland Yard, my favourite board game of all time. I didn't know there was a Junior version of it. I can only imagine how watered down it is from the original, but Mr X sure does not look as mysterious or scary on the box. I might buy it for Wolfie, as he is getting into board games, but I still want to get the real thing.

Grand-pères à l'érable (encore)

 Je partage encore une fois une photo prise par mon père des grand-pères à l'érable.  Rien que pour faire de la food porn, même si ça a l'air d'un gros blob. Le grand-père n'a jamais été mon dessert préféré, mais c'est le seul que je sois capable de faire sans le rater. Je sais que le sirop d'érable n'est pas.. tiré? extrait? cueilli? Enfin, ce n'est pas le temps des érablières, mais le sirop d'érable, une fois dans sa bouteille ou sa canisse, c'est bon pour toutes les saisons.

Wolf-like Cryptid

 Something caught my attention in the local news recently: a dead "wold-like" creature was discovered in Henley. Now, as usual, I am very skeptical about this news. For all I know, there may not even be a corpse available to prove it. The article remains very shady about it in any case. In fact, a lot of it is just a reminiscence of sighting of other creatures, some of which I blogged about back in August 2023. It seems that the local press enjoys its cryptids. I might sound sarcastic, but I found the news entertaining all the same. I actually love a bit of cryptozoology, if only as a sort of speculative fiction mixed with legends. And I love wolves, so the more wolf-like critters, real or imagined, the better.

La Chandeleur

 Bon, c'est la Chandeleur aujourd'hui... L'hiver passe ou prend vigueur... selon le proverbe. Qu'en est-il chez vous? Ici l'hiver passe et prend vigueur, parce que c'est souvent, sinon toujours, entre deux eaux. L'année dernière, l'hiver avait duré jusqu'en avril, voire mai. Mais c'était un hiver assez doux, comme la plupart des hivers anglais. Je ne célèbre guère la Chandeleur, mais j'essaie de la mentionner sur le blogue chaque année.

Britain's Landmarks and Legends

I went to the bokshop recently, looking for a specific book. As I could not find it, I bought another one with a fairly similar subject, the National Trust's Britain's Landmarks and Legends. I love finding books like that one at random, just finding something that you may not need, but think it is worth owning. I love myths and legends, especially when you can associate a specific place to a specific myth. So I don't know when I will read it, having a lot on my TBR already (and currently reading a few books). But hey, I'm glad of my new purchase. Or rather my new discovery.

Le long mois de février

Nous sommes le premier février aujourd'hui et ce sera un long mois de février. Enfin, je parle ici en des termes relatifs: cette année étant bissextile, il aura un jour de plus. Même si le mois est court, je le trouve souvent un peu long. Suis-je seul à le trouver (la plupart du temps) morne et ennuyeux? Cela dit, je vais me répéter: je le préfère aux mois d'été. Toujours est-il qu'un jour de plus à février, ça me permet de vieillir un peu moins vite, alors c'est déjà ça de pris.