Until I Found You

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, I am puting this song from singer Stephen Sanchez. Of course, it wasn't sung on our wedding day, Sanchez was at the time about Wolfie's age, but both my wife and I love it, and it is fairly rare that we both love the same song (not sure if Wolfie likes it though). In any case, the song reminds me of us, so it is a fitting one.

Les escaliers de Montréal

 Photo prise pas plus tard que cet après-midi sur le Plateau Mont-Royal. Lors de notre promenade juste avant la pluie. Je la publie parce qu'elle montre un élément assez unique de l'architecture montréalaise, l'escalier extérieur tournant. Typique d'ici. Aussi parce que nous sommes le dernier jour du mois d'août et que l'escalier pour moi représente justement une transition. Alors voilà, je crois que c'est une excellente photo pour terminer le mois et notre séjour à Montréal.

Cool breeze in August

I found this meme online and it made me laugh. August is about to end, it does not really feel autumnal yet, or rather not all the time, but yes, mornings are cool and there are cool breezes from time to time and yes, that's my state of mind when there is a cool breeze. I'm glad I'm not the only person who thinks like this.

Canot d'écorce

 Cette photo a été prise lors de notre dernière visite au Jardin botanique de Montréal. Elle n,est pas très bonne, parce que je ne suis pas très bon photographe, mes excuses. Ils ont un jardin entier consacré aux Premières Nations et on y exhibe, entre autres, un canot d'écorce. Je suis toujours impressionné de voir des canots d'écorce, en fait toute embarcation faite de bois et de manière entièrement artisanale m’impressionne encore beaucoup. Le travail, la dextérité et les connaissances qu'il faut pour finir par créer un canot complet, avec des outils limités, ça me coupe le souffle un peu. Surtout qu'il faut que le canot tienne l'eau et soit assez solide pour transporter quelques hommes dessus. Enfin bref, je regarde ça et je suis ébahi.

A freebie from St-Viateur

A bit of an anecdote about one of my recent visits on St-Viateur.The one on Mont-Royal Avenue, which has been my favourite eating place in Montreal since 1996. I say eating place and not restaurant for one reason: I buy my bagels there when I'm in the city, but I rarely eat there. I find it easier to buy the essentials, then be my own chef at home. So yes, I
 bought my usual two dozen bagels, plus some other stuff, then asked the guy there if they had any t-shirts for kids, to give Wolfie. They had one in stocks, but it was a tad small, so he gave it to me as a freebie. I thanked him profusely. It turned out it was too short for Wolfie, but it fitted his little cousin, so we gave it to him. All the same, I love receiving things for free, especially from my favourite place in Montreal.

Attention: Plantes Carnivores

Photo prise au Jardin botanique de Montréal, dans la boutique de souvenirs. J'ai trouvé ça très drôle. Enfant, j'avas une vision assez romanesque et naïve des plantes carnivores, à cause des dessins animés et des bédés qui les mettaient en scène. Je n'ai jamais complètement pu m'en défaire.

A Proper Thunderstorm

Well, I had been hoping for one, for months, but it did show up. Then last night, around ten o'clock, unpexpectedly, it started storming. I had not experienced one like this in ages. We have had a short outburst of thunder on Sunday, but it had been short lived. I mean last night was a proper thunderstorm: lots of lightnings and thunder, rain falling heavily, the lot. I remained there, in the dark, listening to it with delight. Just when summer is finishing, after a few days of hot temperatures, far too humid and sticky for my taste, it stormed. I don't want to sound like everything is better in Montreal, but yes, my city delivers, even weather wise. Thunderstorms are among the very few things I sitll love about summertime. I'm glad I experienced one this year.

Petit Crémeux

J'écris un autre billet de bouffe, rien que parce que. J'essaie d'initier petit loup à la bouffe québécoise, surtout la bouffe saguenéenne. J'ai donc acheté du Petit Crémeux, un Cheez Whiz gentrifié de la Fromagerie Boivin. Et sérieux, même si vous n'aimez pas le Cheez Whiz, vous allez aimer le Petit Crémeux. Je ne sais pas exactement l'ingrédient secret qui fait que c'est différent, mais dans le genre pseudo fromage jaune orange qui est bon sur les toasts, c'est pas mal parfait.

Caiman

We went to the Biôdome a few days ago, a most-see when you visit Montreal. One of its sections is the tropical rainforest, which is the most exotic one. I was happily surprised to see that they even have a caiman. Not only parrots and monkeys, but a bona fide caiman. I have a certain fascination for all lizards and saurians. Kind of scared fascinated, like all dangerous, cold blooded predators. I see a caiman, I get a shiver, because that thing is dangerous. And it feels even more real with the humid heat you feel in this "rainforest".

Les champignons bleus

 Vu il y a quelques jours sur le Plateau Mont-Royal. Je ne sais pas torp pourquoi, mais j'aime beaucoup. Parce que c'est vaguement psychédélique? Parce que c'est (très) vaguement automnal? (Parce que oui, les champignons sont des signes de l'automne). Parce que le bleu fait très québécois? Dites-moi dans les commentaires ce que ces champignons évoquent pour vous. Et si vous êtes l'artiste qui avez eu cette idée, dites-moi ce que ça représente. À part des champignons bleus, je veux dire.

New (Expected) Sign of Halloween

 God knows how much I don't care about Starbucks, as I am no coffee drinker. But my wife loves it. That said, I am now ready to make peace with Starbucks. They are okay in my book. Because for the company, autumn is already here and so is the Halloween season. We went there two days ago, at my wife's request, and of course they are already selling their trademark Pumpkin Spice Latte. I will not drink any, because coffe is not my thing, even if it tastes of pumpkin and spices and all things nice. But it is autumn in Starbucks, they have Jack O'Lanterns on display, they are in the right spirit. So yeah, from now on, Starbucks is family to me.

Boîte à livres

 Je trouvais ces boîtes à livres assez souvent en Angleterre. je ne savais pas qu'elles existaient aussi ici, à Montréal. Elles sont partout sur le Plateau Mont-Royal en tout cas. Je ne sais pas trop comment on les appelle de l'autre côté de l'Atlantique, ici je crois qu'on appelle ça un Croque-livres ou une boîte à livres. Jusqu'ici, j'ai résisté à la tentation d'en piquer un. Pas tant parce que j'ai déjà beaucoup de livres, mais parce que je ne suis plus résident du Plateau, alors j'ai l'impression que j'abuserais de mes privilèges de visiteur. J'ai quand même bouquiné.

About Sticks

I posted last week about sticks, or about Wolfie's interest in sticks picked up in public parks, an interest he shares with his little cousin. Well, in their last walk in the park yesterday, Wolfie collected half a dozen sticks or thereabouts, which he generously shared with his cousin. The adults were not too keen on it and a bit baffled by their fascination with pieces of wood. My brother Andrew asked this rethorical question: "Why do we bother buying them fancy toys, getting them streaming services, when all they need to be happy is sticks they find in public parks?" That is a great question and a great unknown line. Be that as it may, of all the things they have done together, picking up sticks seems to be the most entertaining one.

Chocolat chaud maison

 Les avantages de se retrouver en famille, pour petit loup, c'est de pouvoir profiter des talents de barista mon frère Andrew. Pas pour du café, bien entendu, parce que petit loup est bien entendu encore trop jeune, mais pour le chocolat chaud. Alors donc, il a eu droit hier matin à un authentique chocolat chaud maison, un grand bol, la taille de son bol de céréales, c'est dire. Fait à la machine, avec du cacao, pas de l'instantané. Nous assistons peut-être au début d'une nouvelle tradition familiale.

Autumn-Summer tango

I was blogging last Wednesday about autumn that seemed to be already showing up in Montreal these days. Well, it now has been much warmer, at least during daytime, and temperatures will rise in the next few days. I guess it could not last. Still, we're in Montreal, and hot temperatures are far more bearable here. And at least we have aircon when it gets too hot. And the leaves have already started changing colours, so autumn is still on its way. But it feels like it is dancing tango with summertime. In people's psyche too, but that will be for another post.

Un TGV Québec-Toronto

 Je voulais souligner une nouvelle importance pour les tenants du transport collectif et les amateurs de trains: une majorité énorme de 92% de répondants à un sondage veut un TGB Québec-Toronto. Je dis énorme, mais c'est plus qu'un consensus, c'est une quasi-unanimité. Presque soviétique. Et c'est une bonne chose. Il faudrait vraiment que ça se fasse un jour, si vous voulez mon avis, et plus tôt que tard.

Moose Antlers

 We went to the Biodôme today, one of the biggest tourist attractions of Montreal. It is eco friendly, but not too preachy. I have visited it fairly often, the first time in 1993, my most memorable visit. I love all sections, but somehow I have a soft spot for the North American one, with its Laurentian forest. It really feels like the real thing. Even when some animals are not there, they have ways to make us feel their presence. Case in point, these moose antlers. For a moment, I genuinely thought I was in the middle of the woods. It just adds to the realistic depiction.

Castor

 Nous sommes allés au Biôdome aujourd'hui, un arrêt obligatoire lorsqu'on est touriste à Montréal. Ou même lorsqu'on est expatrié. Je me rappelle encore de ma première visite. Parmi mes animaux préférés, il y a le castor, parce que je n'en vois guère ailleurs que dans les zoos et autres parcs d'animaux. Mais, même en captivité, ils demeurent timides et élusifs et, quand on peut les voir, ils sont difficiles à prendre en photo. Je n'ai donc pas pu prendre une photo satisfaisante de la bête. Que des clichés imparfaits. Mais bon...

Albion

As my readers know, I am a beer drinker. I am mostly an amateur of real ales and microbrewery products. In England, I drink English ales, which is fitting as they have been my favourite since my twenties. When I go back home, I drink local beers I missed and try to make new discoveries.  So recently, I discovered that there is a Brasserie Albion that brews an English type ale named... Albion. As in perfidious Albion. Well, I guess I cannot escape it. But yeah, the beer tasted nice.

Un jardin sur l'Avenue Mont-Royal

 Petites découvertes amusante sur le Plateau Mont-Royal: 1)ils ont fermé la circulation sur l'Avenue Mont-Royal du mois de mai à octobre. 2)ils ont mis des jardins dessus également. Un vrai de vrai jardin, avec des plantes qui poussent et un sentier en bois et tout. C'est la campagne en ville. Je sais que bien du monde peste contre la piétonnisation de l'Avenue Mont-Royal et du Plateau en général, mais pas moi. Je suis conscient que je suis maintenant un touriste dans ma ville, mais quand même, justement, Montréal c'est toujours ma ville. Et ce que les automobilistes perdent, les résidents y gagnent. Les promeneurs aussi. Et les familles également: Wolfie a adoré, ça a fait sa journée hier.

New Signs of Halloween at Dollarama

Sometimes happiness come in the most unlikely place. A few days ago, we were checking into a Dollarama (which is the Quebec equivalent of a Poundland or a dollar store) when we saw an entire aisle full of Halloween stuff. Decorations, disguises, some treats too, the lot. Roght in the middle of August. I was not surprised, Dollarama is often early with holiday displays, but it was lovely to see all the same. We bought a few things. The funniest thing was that I did not even have to convince my wife, she was as enthusiastic as the men in the family. ANyway, I bought a lot of Halloween related things at dollarama over the years, it was nice to renew with this tradition.

Fromage Boivin

 Parfois, on retrouve le Saguenay à Montréal. Comme par exemple quand on peut y acheter du fromage en grains de la Fromagerie Boivin.Pas vraiment donné, mais la bouffe est rendue chère partout au Québec anyway, même et surtout les fromages. Qu'à cela ne tienne: Wolfie adore le  "skweeky cheese" depuis sa visite de la fromagerie en 2019. Depuis le début de notre séjour, c'est même une part importante de son alimentation, en tout cas lors des repas du midi. J'imagine que c'est son côté saguenéen qui se manifeste.

Autumn's Dress Rehearsal

Before I came back to Montreal for the holidays, I had been told that it was going to be scorching hot. I was kind of dreading this part of our stay. Well, it has not been the case. On the contrary, yesterday morning, I checked the temperature: 17 degrees, windy, rainy. Like a typical early autumn day. As a child, I would have felt really devastated, like the season to come taking time over the holidays to remind us that they would reach an end. Not anymore. I see the leaves changing colours already, I feel the cool air and I feel energised. Like autumn is having a dress rehearsal and I can enjoy it a little bit before the time comes. And in Montreal too, which I consider still to this day my city, even though I left it years ago.

Les ratons du Mont-Royal

 Nous avons fait une promenade hier sur le Mont-Royal, en famille. Ce fut épuisant, mais plaisant. Au Belvédère Camilien Houde, Nous avons vu des ratons laveurs. J'en ai compté cinq en tout, qui n'avaient pas peur des touristes. Lesquels avaient oublié la vue sur Montréal pour se consacrer aux petites bestioles. Wolfie aussi, d'ailleurs, il n'en avait que pour eux. Il en avait vu avant, dans les zoos, mais dans la anture comme ça, c'est autrement plus impressionnant. Ce fût le clou de la journée.

Cosmic Horror Day

 Today is the birthday of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft.Not a very pleasant man as a person, but the father of cosmic horror and maybe the father of modern horror, period. His work was also the primary source of inspiration for the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu, which I always loved to play this time of year, for the kick of it, but also to get myself into a Halloween mood during summertime. It is part of the countdown before the countdown, so to speak. I would love to play a game now, just for fun. I am in a spooky mood.

La Papagena du Saguenay

Petit moment de fierté régionale pour l'amateur d'opéra et pour le Mozartien que je suis: la soprano Élisabeth Boudreault, originaire de Saint-Ambroise, a fait un album avec Warner Classics. Et la compagnie a partagé un extrait sur YouTube. C'est tout un accomplissement. Et une petite fille du Saguenay, j'en suis fier.

Authentic Traditional Bagel

 Oh it has been too long! Since I am back in Montreal, my main diet has been of the traditional bagels, with bagels bought at St-Viateur Bagel. Wolfie asked me what was my favourite food no later than yesterday and I pointed him to this. Proper bagel, cream cheese, quality smoked salmon, onions, tomatoes, capers. Better still: he tried the smoked salmon for the first time on his and loved it. So this is now a family tradition.

Gourganes

Mon père a acheté des gourganes. Beaucoup de gourganes. Les gourganes, c'est le légume du Saglac, c'est aussi bien entendu la base de la soupe aux gourganes. Un des plaisirs simples de la vie d'un Saguenéen, c'est de manger de la soupe aux gourganes ces temps-ci de l'année, quand vient le temps des récoltes. C'est l'un de mes plaisirs de mon temps au Saguenay dans tous les cas.

Of sticks and fountains

 Today, my son spent a lot of time with his little cousins from my father's side. This was a lovely time, but I want to blog about one particular moment which suprised me. It happened in the park: we were there and my son found a stick, which prompted his cousin to pick up a stick for himself. As we walked, we stopped at a fountain and they spent ages just dipping their stick into water, making them float and so on. I was really amazed: at home,Wolfie gets bored every time I make him stop playing on his kindle or force him to stop watching cartoons. Or tidy his bedroom. And there he was, spending ages with a stick and some water, not wanting to go back home. My wife observed: "It's quite zen, in a way". I think it deserves to be a great unknown line, if only because it's true. And I guess that's what made him enjoy this activity.

La St-Ambroise...

 Cahier de retour au pays natal: j'ai bu ma première bière de McAuslan.Une St-Ambroise, parce que bien entendu. En cannette. J'aurais pris de la griffon, idéalement, mais au dépanneur en face, il n'y avait que de la St-Ambroise en cannette. Alors donc, j'ai bu de la St-Ambroise. C'est quand même une blonde avec du caractère, pas rien qu'une blonde insipide comme il y en a trop. Il y a un griffon sur l'étiquette, mais ce n'est pas le nouveau design que je suis vraiment curieux de voir.

The Owlman

 For the people following me for a while, you may know that among all my interests, I have some fascination for cryptids, although very skeptical about the existence of any of them. I don't think any exist, in fact, but love the (ancient or modern) folklore associated to it. I also think they make for great source of inspiration for horror stories. Some time ago, I found out about the Owlman, who was spotted in the seventies in a church of the village of Mawnan, in Cornwall. I know the legent of the Owlman has already been adapted into one horror movie, and the cryptid made his way into other stories, but I think there is more to tell about him. It's just something ghostly and eerie about owls in general, so a mansize, hominid version of the bird is just... Well, really creepy. Especially if he dwells in a village church. I hope he becomes better known and a new character for Halloween. When I go to Cornwall, I hope to visit Mawnan.

Demain matin Montréal m'attends

Je mets ça ici parce que, ben...

Time to harvest apples?

I said it before, but autumn is on its way here: after a few days of heatwave, it is far cooler, and you can feel it in the air. One way for me to check if autumn is going to come early is to watch the colours of apples on trees. I took this picture back in July, in my in-laws' garden. And even then, the apples looked like they were reddening. Now it might be time to harvest them. My brothers and I used to pick up apples in my parents' garden round this time of year too. We loved this little autumnal ritual. I think it might be time to make it a new family tradition, only this side of the pond, and with a new generation. Ideally, I would grow an apple tree in our own garden, but I am a lousy gardener.

L'étiquette de la St-Ambroise

Annonce brassicole québécoise: j'apprends sur leur page Facebook que McAuslan vient de changer l'étiquette de la St-Ambroise, avec leur griffon emblématique revampé. Je la trouve très jolie et j'ai très hâte de pouvoir en acheter en personne.

The Horn of Plenty in Tavistock

 I was googling on cornucopia recently, when I stumbled upon the website of a luxury hotel in Tavistock, Devon, called... The Horn of Plenty. I got curious about it, because I think it's a nice and original name for a hotel. And because Devon is a lovely place which I hope to see more of one day. And well, I was in awe by the idyllic look of The Horn of Plenty. It is a bit above my price range, at least for a long stay, but I would love to visit the hotel one day, maybe even have lunch there, or only a drink. Or just walk around the venue. Ten years ago, my wife and I took our holidays in Devon. But we saw only a small portion of it, as it is a large county with a lot to offer. So maybe next year, we could visit it again, but in a different part of it, and with Wolfie this time. Anyway, be that as it may, I love these kinds of fancy hotels with a bit of age, I think it gives them a charm the most modern ones never have. Maybe I will visit The Horn of Plenty one day, who knows.

Tarte aux bleuets (authentique)

Mon père (ou est-ce ma mère) a cuisiné une tarte aux bleuets et il m'a envoyé une photo. Le bleuet est le fruit de ma région, la tarte est donc, par conséquent, le dessert emblématique de ma région. Je vais confesser une chose ici: ce n'est pas mon dessert préféré, ce n'est même pas ma tarte préférée. Mais quand j'en mange, même quand les bleuets ne viennent pas du Lac, je me sens très saguenéen. Mais bon, on va se le dire, une tarte aux bleuets faite par quelqu'un du Saguenay, c'est pas mal la tarte aux bleuets la plus authentique que l'on puisse espérer avoir. C'est mon petit côté chauvin qui parle, j'imagine.

The 87th Precinct and Me

Yesterday, I was flicking through a novel from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series when two things struck me. The first one is anecdotal, even trivial, the second one a little bit more important. First, is that at least two very minor, cameo characters in the series share the same name with people I know (or, in one case, I know of) in real life. Second, I haven't read a McBain novel since the end of 2021. That is way too long, especially since I haven't read the whole series. Now, until November, I am strictly reading reading spooky stories (more on that in another post), that said, I will need to correct this. I intend to make a 87th Precinct reading marathon one day, trying to read the ones I haven't read yet, in order. That's going to be fun. Once I am done, I will read more, in original English. Oh, and I am still thinking of turning it into a family tradition, but this may take some time.

Coquille St-Jacques (encore)

 Mon père m'a encore une fois envoyé une photo d'une coquille St-Jacques. On dirait que c'est l'année des coquilles St-Jacques: il en avait fait il n'y a pas si longtemps. Moi, je suis un chef cuisinier trop limité pour m'essayer. J'ai dû manger ma dernière il y a dix ans, peut-être plus, je crois que c'était à Marc and Spencer. Ou alors dans un restaurant, mais je crois plus que c'était M&S. Enfin bref, ça me manque.

Halloween Passenger Car

 I might come off as obsessive, but I simply could not wait until October for this one: I saw on the Twitter account of : LGB hasa new wagon, a Halloween passenger car. I want it. I really, really, badly want it. It might be even better than the other Halloween trains they have made before. It is just so perfectly spooky, with its scarecrows and the witch in the full moon and the evil ghostly tree. Oh if storage space and money were no objections...

Plantes grimpantes

Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo du jardin familial. Je dois admettre que c'est joli, même si je ne suis pas (que je ne suis plus) un grand fan de l'été. Tout de même, c'est encore l'été pour quelques semaines, ce blogue prend les couleurs des saisons, alors je partage tant que c'est de circonstances. Une fois que les fleurs sont écloses comme ça, c'est que la saison va finir par se terminer dans pas si longtemps. Patience, patience...

Pumpkin Chai

I took this picture from the Facebook page of David's Tea. I am sharing it here for an announcement I have been wanting to make for a few days now. Yes, it is still summer, here we even have a heatwave, but all the same: autun is on its way (and so is Halloween) and if you needed more evidence for it, know that David's Tea's Pumpkin Chai is back. It has been since early August. For those like me who love everything autumn, but don't like coffee, this is the drink for you.

Le 12 août...

 Petit rappel que nous sommes le 12 août, donc si vous êtes au Québec... Ben, c'est ça.

Swordstick

 Today, I want to blog about (drumroll)... swordsticks. Why? Just because. I have always been quite fascinated by the swordstick, or cane-sword, as I knew it. It's a weapon that has elegance, stealth and, well, it's deadly in the wrong (or the right?) hands. It belongs to the stories of old, though: old adventure stories, or early crime fiction, maybe even spy fiction. Maybe because, from what I understand, it is pretty much illegal everwhere. And nobody uses canes anyway, except the elderly. When was the last time you saw someone wielding a swordstick in a movie or a TV show? If it was the case, it must have been a period piece. Or maybe a certain dystopian sci-fi film (which happens to be my favourite movie). Although in that particular one, the swordstick was more a knifestick. It was still cool though, as well as fitting the general retro-futuristic aesthetic of the film. The swordstick is generally used by a villain, but I could definitely see a darker (but elegant and gentlemanly) hero or an antihero wielding it in times of need. What do you think? In any case, swordstick is the word of the day.

Les bleuets

 Bon ben, si vous ne le saviez pas, c'est le temps des bleuets depuis plus de deux semaines. C'est pourquoi mon père a acheté toute un panier de bleuets. Il m'a envoyé la photo. Qu'en fera-t-il? de la tarte aux bleuets? Sans doute. Un pouding aux bleuets? C'est moins certain. Des muffins aux bleuets? C'est toujours possible. Du gin aux bleuets? Faut quand même pas pousser, même si ça existe.  Dans tous les cas, il est stocké. ce qui n'est pas mon cas, hélas.

Dungeons & Dragons, Father & Son

To start this post, I will repeat what I often say about being the father of a little boy: it allows me to live a second childhood. It also extends some family traditions. So I am not sure exactly why, but Wolfie suddenly got into medieval fantasy and he told me he wanted to play Dungeons & Dragons. So I bought some dice, dug up some old 2e edition books online as well as the data my brothers put on the clouds, and I started playing with him. Granted, it is a simplified game and we spend at least as much time walking around than sitting at the table throwing dices, but all the same. He plays a young wizard who spent the first few years of his life on an island and is going on the mainland now, with an adventuring party. It is great fun, it takes him off the screen and, to top it off, it allows the whole world created by my brothers and I to take a second life. All these kingdoms, characters, stories, now Wolfie is familiarising himself with it. So yes, let's just say I'm a proud dad.

"Je reviens à Montréal..."

Je reblogue Montréal d'Ariane Moffatt. Ce n'est pas pour tout de suite, mais c'est pour bientôt.

I Want Chaos

 I recently read this Express article (itself not recent) about Netflix shows and it mentions extensively (well, extensively for its brievety) the Israeli series Fauda. Which has been so far my favourite TV series available on Netflix. They were planning a season five, apparently, but it has not materialised yet. I guess due to, well, what's been happening in Israel at the moment, which incidentally saw some of the cast of the series taking arms to protect their country, any future season will have to wait. But I'm impatient. Fauda was, is, the best show on Netflix, it had suspense, drama, character, atmosphere and, to top it up, Krav Maga (yes, I could recognise it). So I really want to know what happened to these characters I grew fond of.

Le 60e Salon du Livre

Roulement de tambours: j'apprends via la page Facebook du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean que la 60 édition aura lieu du 26 an 29 septembre. Je trouve l'image de l'affiche moyenne et un brin trop estivale, mais c'est quand même tout un évènement, un que j'ai toujours aimé. J'espère y retourner un jour.

Medieval Blunt Weapons

I found this meme recently, on a Facebook page I follow, and it made me laugh. I have to say, I never thought about what my medieval blunt weapon is, althouh I am partial to the quarterstaff. It is simple, elegant, reliable, discreet, and not only useful as a weapon. Anyway, that's mine, what about yours?

Mafalda sur Netflix

J'ai appris une grande nouvelle sur la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda: il va y avoir une nouvelle série sur Netflix. Enfin! J'ai découvert Mafalda grâce à ses adaptations animées, celles avec des dialogues. Elles étaient bien, mais elles sont maintenant assez difficiles à trouver. J'ai vu le trailer et ça me semble très prometteur.

Bastet Plushy

This picture comes from the Facebook page of the British Museum.Today is International Cat Day and to celebrate, they are giving away plush toys of Egyptian goddess Bastet. I doubt I will win one, but she looks uber cool and uber cute.

Le 12 août (rappel)

 Image prise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes. Dessin de Mélissa Perron (connais pas). Un simple rappel pour vous dire que le 12 août, achetez un livre québécois.

Playing against Cthulhu

Maybe it is because it feels like autumn is coming these days, maybe because I'm already in a pre Halloween mood, maybe it's because it will be H.P. Lovecraft's birthday soon, but I am so very much in the mood to play a game of Call of Cthulhu, the role-playing game based on his work. We mainly used to play it this time of year. Our last session dates back to something like twenty-five yars ago or so. Maybe more. But to start the officious countdown to Halloween (which is now), a game playing an investigator fighting cosmic horror would be very fitting.

Les pierres précieuses de DAC

J'ai blogué mardi dernier au sujet de le Distribution aux Consommateurs. Que je trouvais assez étrange enfant, étant un magasin qui semblait sans inventaire. Mais j'aimais leurs catalogues, même s'il n'était pas aussi bien que celui de Sears (ou de La Baie?). Ce que j'aimais dans celui de DAC, c'était la page avec les peirres précieuses. Mon souvenir est vague, mais je crois qu'il y avait des émeraudes et des diamants. Je ne sais pas trop si on pouvait acheter les pierres seules ou si c'était pour des bijoux. Mais je me rappelle des pierres. Ou alors elles étaient des ornements pour des bagues. Nous oublions un peu ça aujourd'hui, quand on peut chercher et de l'information du bout des doigts avec l'internet, mais les catalogues des grands magasins nous faisaient parfois découvrir certaines choses. Les pierres précieuses de DAC, je les trouvais exotiques.

Autumn is on its way

I know it will get warmer, even hotter by the end of this week, but I don't care right now: I can feel autumn coming. There are the telltale signs: temperatures have dropped ever so slightly, there has been a bit of rain and you can feel it in the wind. You can smell it too, the slight damp coolness that smells so much like early autumn. You can feel it even more in the evening, and yes, night is falling earlier and when evening falls it even looks a but like the dim autumnal dusks. It is not merely wishful thinking: the season is less than a month away, so I feel deliciously melancholic in anticipated happiness. Because yes, melancholy brings its own kind of happiness.

Chocolat au lait aux bleuets (prise 2)

Vous savez que mon père a acheté du chocolat aux bleuets des Pères trappistes. La version au lait, peut-être aussi la version originale au chocolat noir. J'espère qu'il a aussi acheté la version originale, parce que rien ne bat les classiques. Dans tous les cas, juste parce que c'est le temps des bleuets et que le blogue prend toujours la couleur des saisons. Aussi, parce que c'est une excuse comme une autre pour faire un peu de food porn.

"Entertaining Cheese"

Sometimes you find really stupid yet hilarious memes on the internet. This is one of them. So yeah, I had to share it.

Distribution aux Consommateurs

 J'ai trouvé sur l'une des pages Facebook que je suis cette photo sur le Distribution aux Consommateurs de Place du Royaume. C'est drôle, parce que j'en discutais il y a quelques seaines avec une amie. Je me rappelle surtout deux choses de DAC: le jingle de la publicité, débile et débilitant, en tout cas abrutissant, et le catalogue. Pas aussi bon que le catalogue Sears, mais j'aimais bien les catalogues lorsque j'étais enfant. Avant Amazon, DAC était souvent la seule manière d'avoir des trucs qui n'étaient pas en magasin, mais je me rappelle entendre mes parents dire que les prix étaient prohibitifs. Je vais bloguer plus sur le sujet les prochains jours, mais donnez-moi vos souvenirs de Distribution aux Consommateurs dans vos commentaires. On s'en reparle...

"Back to School" (in August?)

 The holidays are in full swim now, it's only early August, yet I started getting advertisement for it. I receive promo emails, I see messages online and on the high street: it's "Back to School". I hated it as a child. It used to spoil the last week of the holidays. That's why for years, I associated the month of August with blues. Now that I am a grownup, it hasn't changed: it's like I'm receiving a shot of uber potent melancholy in the veins every time I read that dreaded message. I can smell it, even: it smells of paper, pencils and cardboard. You know the smell. Read the title of this post, I dare you, and tell me in the comments if you can smell it, see it, feel it. I feel sorry for Wolfie: I want him to enjoy his time off, not worry about the coming school year. That's a parent's job.

La tonte du gazon

 Mon jardin était devenu une jungle, en tout cas une terre sauvage, alors hier je l'ai coupé. C'est une activité que je fais très irrégulièrement. Assez rare pour que je puisse bloguer sur le sujet. Mon excuse pour tondre le gazon chaque semaine des quatre jeudis: c'est bon pour l'environnement de laisser les fleurs pousser. C'est donc ma manière à moi d'être écologique, ce n'est donc pas de la paresse. Je ne végétais pas, donc, je permettait à la nature de reprendre ses droits dans mon arrière-cour. Cela dit, je ne pouvais pas laisser les choses telles qu'elles étaient, ça avait vraiment l'air embarrassant. Alors donc et enfin bref, j'ai passé la tondeuse. Et j'espère ne pas avoir à le refaire d'ici à septembre, voire octobre.

Camping Socks

 I kind of miss our local White Stuff shop, which shut down in 2021. Not o much because I liked shopping there, I thought it was generally a bit expensive for what it was and I am no fashion victim. What I like about White Stuff is that their shops are quite quirky, see this post for instance. It's not about the clothes, it's about the place. That said, they do have nice things sometimes. Last time I went to one, I was tempted to buy these "camping" socks. I get through socks at a ridiculus rate and these would fit nicely if we were to, well, go camping one day. Which we might, we never know. But I didn't buy them because, well, they were kind of pricey for a single pair. I mean if it had trains on them, I wouldn't even have hesitated. But yeah, they still looked cool.

Chocolats aux bleuets au lait

 Vous savez que j'adore le chocolat aux bleuets des Pères trappistes. J'ai appris il y a peu de temps qu'en plus de la version originale au chocolat noir, il y en avait une au chocolat au lait. Mon père, pas en reste, m'a envoyé des photos de cette nouvelle version. Je partage cette photo ici afin de ploguer ceux-ci. Ils sont encore en vente. J'espère pouvoir les essayer, mais je crois que le chocolat noir est plus approprié, l'amertume se mariant plus avec la délicatesse des bleuets.

Baroque Chick (and Baroque Chic)

I blogged about it before, 11 years ago in fact: there is rock in baroque. I was thinking about it when I listed to soprano Jeanine de Bique singing L'alma mia fra le tempeste, from Handel's Agrippina. Never seen the opera, but fell in love with this aria right away. It's barock all right. And if there is rock in baroque, it means there's rock chicks and baroque chicks as well. Jeanine de Bique is the latter. In an elegant emerald dress, which makes her performance baroque chic. Did I tell you she was one of my favourite sopranos?

Les Bouquinistes et le 12 août

 Image prise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes.Un simple rappel pour vous dire que le 12 août, achetez un livre québécois. Dans une librairie indépendante, de préférence.

Death on the Istanbul Express

The things one can find in the local library. Because you don't have to borrow books, you can also borrow (or buy?) jogsaw puzzles. And murder parties. And murder parties that are also jigsaw puzzles. So I saw this last time we visited it. Death on the Istanbul Express. A whodunit where, from what I understand, you need also to complete the puzzle to obtain some extra clues, or something. I used to love murder parties, but I never done anything like this. Although I do remember seeing such mix of puzzles and murder parties in the past, I believe it was back in the nineties, when murder parties were all the rage. I got curious about it, but I don't think I will ever play it. I used to love murder parties and would love to get back into it again, but I just don't think I have the patience to complete a 1000 piece jigsaw. However, I'm curious if any of you ever played this jigsaw/murder party, or indeed any other.

Question existentielle (390)

 Une question existentielle un brin cruelle:

-Quoi faire à Gatineau?

Mon frère PJ y a déjà vécu, sa réponse promet d'être intéressante.

An autumn sickle...

 And as the daylight's fading
When Lammas has come in
And gleamers go to work among the stubble
There comes an autumn sickle
To cut the summer's throat
Before the season knows it is in trouble

Martin Newell, Black Shuck

We are Lammas Day, the first day of August. To commemorate, I am renewing a tradition on this blog, abandoned after 2017: I am quoting Newell's epic (and spooky) poem. As a reminder that some harvests have already started, that autumn is coming and that, yes, Halloween is coming too. Time to read scary stories and get into a chilling mood.

Mafalda et Bureaucratie

 C'est le premier août et, quand vient le mois d'août, je renoue avec une certaine grande dame de l'Argentine, qui me fait oublier ma mélancolie depuis que je suis enfant. Enfin bref, je partage ce gag trouvé sur la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda. J'aime son attitude et son anticonformisme.