Less of a post-Christmas blues

Well, here it is, Christmas is over and has been for a while. I am oficially in post-Christmas blues mode. I don't feel too bad about it, however, for a number of reasons. I am at home for one, so I am not feeling homesick. And it is a proper winter here, with snow and everything. So I feel like I experienced Christmas as it should be. I might feel different about it come January, but right now, I am just chilling and enjoying the moment, without having to stress about too many things just yet.

Guille et Brigitte Bardot

Je sais, j'ai déjà blogué ce gag  de Mafalda en 2018, mais le décès récent de Brigitte Bardot me l'a remis en mémoire. Toujours aussi drôle et Guille est vraiment mon personnage préféré de la série.

Railway "Action" Figures

 Every Christmas at home, since I am a child, we have the LGB model train at the foot of the Christmas tree. We have been having it for more than thirty years. We also have from early on LGB train figures. This is the very first set we've had: the 5045 one. It consists of a mechanic, a hot dog/burher salesman, a waiter and a signalman (I thinik?). When Iw as a child, the waiter was my favourite figure, for some reason. These people lived many adventures on the railway, fighting villains and spies, going from place to place, they really are adventurers as much as railway or train staff. We still play with them from time to time. Sadly, we lost the waiter and we cannot find him anymore. If I can find an affordable one second hand, I might buy a new waiter one day.

La tourtière

Moment incontournable pour chaque séjour au Saguenay durant les Fêtes: faut que je mange de la tourtière (et je veux dire de la vraie tourtière, pas un pâté à la viande) une fois durant ma visite. Ce fût le cas hier. Il y avait du lièvre et de l'orignal en bonne quantité, elle goûtait vraiment la viande de bois. Par gourmandise autant que par appétit, je me suis servi deux fois. Il y en a encore pour ce soir, alors je ne me gênerai pas. 

Good King Wenceslas

As it is Saint Stephen's Day today (also called Migraine Day, and another name I refuse to type here), I am sharing Good King Wenceslas. I hope you enjoy.

Noël blanc

 Photo prise hier, le jour de Noël, quand la neige tombait. Pas une tempête, mais pas mal. Le Saguenay est l'un des rares endroits au monde maintenant où l'on a des chances raisonnables d'avoir un Noël blanc. Petit loup le sait et c'est la raison pour laquelle nous sommes venus cette année, il a même insisté. Je ne sais pas quand sera la prochaine fois où nous fêterons Noël au Québec, ou quand sera notre prochain Noël blanc. Mais je suis heureux que nous aurons eu celui-ci.

Christmas Daze

Quick blog post to wish you all a merry Christmas! I am celebrating at home with my family, feeling very much like in a daze: I am spending the 25th as I did as a child and a teenager, playing with the model train, reading by the Christmas tree. The whole family is here, this is three generations now that contributed to this Christmas and the village at its base. Grandparents, parents, our children. My feeling is a cocktail of pride and nostalgia.

Une autre bûche de Noël

Tout d'abord, joyeux Noël à tous et à toutes. Je suis chez mes parents, à faire découvrir à petit loup nos traditions familiales, dont celles gastronomiques. J'ai déjà blogué plus tôt sur notre bûche de Noël. Mais nous avons trois bûches de Noël: 1)celle au chocolat et à la crème glacée, 2)la "vraie" bûche que nous mettons au foyer et 3)ce gâteau roulé, qui vient de ma grand-mère paternelle. Elle est plus simple cette année, avec moins de glaçage et de sans décorations, mais elle demeure délicieuse. Et elle fait très hivernale.

Christmas/Winter Wolfism

 Here is one Wolfism from yesterday, as we were walking in the snow. Veggie Carrie was holding my arm to dear life, wobbly feet on snowy and icy grounds. I teased her, saying it must be her South African side. She used to do this when we ice skated together. Noticing Wolfie being far more comfortable, as if he's been living here his whole life, she said her son had definitely Québécois blood. Then came Wolfie's remark: "It's because I'm ice and fire!" Best Wolfism yet, I think.

Une tranche de bûche de Noël

 Qui dit Noël au Québec, dans ma famille, dit bûche de Noël. Une en gâteau, une en gâteau et crème glacée, avec sauce au chocolat en plus. C'est celle que nous avons eu hier, au plus grand plaisir de Wolfie. J'ai pris cette photo de la tranche (de la rondelle?) de bûche qui m'a été assignée. C'est pas mal décadent. et c'est la première fois en six ans que j'en mange, alors c'est encore meilleur.

Live from Winter Wonderland

If you were wondering about my silence: I am currently home with my family, with Wolfie and my wife. but back in Québec, in my parent's house. My brothers, my sister-in-law and our nephews are here too. So we are celebrating in the Saguenay region, it is snowy, we are having a proper, borderline ideal winter, otherwise doing as little as possible. Wolfie is very happy here, as he is with his cousins and in a wintery place. In fact, I can safely say that we are in a true winter wonderland, one of the last few on earth.

23 Décembre (bien entendu)

Nous sommes le 23 décembre, donc, je partage 23 Décembre de Beau Dommage. Je l'écoute en boucle...

Glögg (word of the day)

 Don't judge me, but I have been watching a Christmas romcom series on Netflix, called Home for Christmas. Not exactly groundbreaking, but while not original it can be genuinely cute at times and reasonably clever. But I watch it because it's set in Norway and it looks perfect for the holidays. Oh, and it's the same team that made A Storm for Christmas, which I really loved. Anyway, I discovered thanks to the third season a sort of mulled wine (or spirit) called glögg. Originally from Sweden, or so the Wikipedia entry says. I love to discover new Yuletide traditions and I hope to try glögg one day. Anyone ever drank it? Leave me a comment. And glögg is the word of the day.

Bouffe des Fêtes

 Photo prise par ma mère dans la résidence d'une de mes tantes, l'an dernier. J'ai déjà blogué sur le sujet. Tout ça pour dire que j'ai hâte à me goinfrer pour Noël.

Christmas Yeti

'Tis the season to be wearing. When Christmas comes, we wear Christmas clothes. I have mine, my wife has hers, and Wolfie too. I think Wolfie has the coolest one, at least for a little boy. It's my wife who found it: a Christmas jumper with a yeti on it. And well, it's just really , really cool.

Autre photo de neige

Je partage une autre photo de la neige tombée à Chicoutimi. Mon père m'a dit qu'il y a et aura un redoux, mais que la neige devrait retomber bientôt. Je l'espère.

Sleigh Ride

I thought we needed a bit of festive music on this blog, and Sleigh Ride came to my mind. The original orchestral piece by Leroy Anderson, not the song. I have an anecdote regarding it: I used to bein a concert band as a teenager and we did this very piece and a few others for a Christmas concert. It was great fun, but we really struggled on the day of the performance. A real pain, in fact. So I always remember that night when I hear it. Thankfully the medley of Christmas carols we had afterwards was far more successful.

L'Avent des oiseaux?

Vous connaissez la chanson Le Noël des petits oiseaux? L'un des cantiques de Noël que je déteste un peu. Il semblerait cela dit qu'il existe un Avent pour les petits oiseaux. Enfin bref, j'ai trouvé ce calendrier de l'Avent dans un commerce local. Je ne l'ai pas acheté, parce qu'on est déjà en plein milieu de l'Avent, mais j'avoue que je suis curieux: qu'est-ce qu'il y a derrière les fenêtres/cases de ce calendrier? Des informations sur certaines espèces d'oiseaux? Je crois que je vais en acheter un l'an prochain.

Christmas at the Bookshop

 I went to the local bookshop today for some Christmas shopping. There was so many books stacked that I made a few fall. But the staff was very understanding. One of them told me: "Oh don't worry, books are jumping all over the place today, they're very lively." This deserves to be a great unknown line. I bought nothing for myself. I suspect my wife made a few purchases there anyway. So I behaved.

Ourson de Noël

J'ai acheté cet ourson pour petit loup. En fait non, j'ai acheté une boîte, avec dedans le toutou, la rembourrure pour le toutou, une aiguille, du fil et un manuel d'instructions simples pour le construire. Avec son foulard rouge carreauté, il est supossé être un ourson de Noël. Enfants, mes frères et moi nous avions des petits oursons avec des foulards rouges et une tuque rouge comme celle du Père Noël. L'ourson de Wolfie me fait un peu penser à ceux de mon enfance.

Christmas Gin

During my last time at the Christmas fayre, I had the chance to taste the products of The Marlow Distillery. The town doesn't only have a brewery, it also had a distillery that makes dry gin. Among them, a Christmas gin that is now sold out, which is a shame as it is really a delight. It tastes spicy and festive. I suspect Santa Claus has a few on his big night out, to get through the job. I'd leave him a shot if I could. Anyway, I am not a connoisseur, but I might buy their products one day.

Bûche et bonhommes de neige

Photo prise encore une fois sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson. Ils font des bûches avec des bonhommes de neige choco-vanille. Bon, des bûches carrées, je ne suis pas encore un fan du design, mais j'essaierais.

Radio Times ('Tis the season to be watching)

 It is a sight I always look for in shops this time of year: the Christmas edition of Radio Times! Because, as I said it before and as I am saying it again now: 'tis the season to be watching, falala lalaaaa... I buy it every year, except when we don't celebrate it in the UK, although even then I would be tempted to buy it anyway, just for the sheer pleasure of owning it and reading it. There are always interesting festive articles and interviews. This year, you may be surprised to know that I will not buy it. Because yes, we are going away. All the same, I love seeing Radio Times in the shops. It makes me feel Christmasssee.

Pain sandwich orange

 Photo prise sur la page Facebook de la Fromagerie Boivin. Un pain sandwich fait avec du Petit Crémeux, recette de Ricardo. Le pain sandwich est un classique des Fêtes. Pas pour Noël même, mais pour les jours avant ou les jours après. J'ai des opinions ambivalents envers le pain sandwich. Cela dit, j'essaierais bien celui-ci.

Gingerbread Man Babyccino

Sometimes, after I pick up Wolfie from school, we stop by one of the local coffee shops and we have a drink and a cake together. I have tea, he goes for babyccino. And, as Christmas is coming, it seems that they have special figures for their babyccino. Now, there is no gingerbread or ginger at all in this drink. It's just literally a figure made of cocoa powder, like you often see on real coffee. All the same, it'svery cute and festive and worth the price of the babyccino. Which is very reasonable, by the way.

Le futur TGV Québec-Toronto

Des nouvelles à propos du TGV Québec-Toronto, un projet de transport en commun et plus précisément de transport ferroviaire qui m'intéresse beaucoup. Parce que j'aime les trains et parce que le transport ferroviaire, au Québec et au Canada, en, il fait vraiment dur et faudrait que ça change. Toujours est-il que j'apprends que le premier tronçon sera construit entre Montréal et Ottawa au plus tard en 2030. C'est une bonne nouvelle, si ça se concrétise (je demeure prudemment optimiste). Et j'ajouterais, sans raison précise: jolie image promo dans l'article de la grosse Presse.

First presents wrapped

Here is a quick post about Christmas preparations. I am being slow, but yesterday, Wolfie and I wrapped together the presents to his cousins, my nephews, aka my brother Andrew's sons. I'm not going to blog pictures of the presents, because I am terrible at wrapping, even Wolfie told me I was hopeless. But it gets me in the mood for Christmas. Anyway, what about you, dear readers? Did you start wrapping the presents, or you leave it to the last minute?

Festin de Noël

J'ai blogué une photo similaire l'an dernier, ma mère l'avait prise dans la résidence d'une de mes tantes. C'est une représentation artistique d'un festin des Fêtes. Noël s'en vient et j'avoue que je commence à avoir hâte de me goinfrer.

A Thriller on the Swedish Railway

You may remember last year, I got my hands on  The Arctic Railway Assassin. It's part of the Adventures on a Train series, some crime fiction and adventure novel for children. Of course, I thought it would be for Wolfie, but it's really a book to be enjoyed together, father and son. It has a lot of things I love: a crime story, set in a train, during Christmastime and in a wintery landscape. What more can I ask for? We didn't have time to read it last Christmas, but we have started now. And there's another thing I discovered about it that makes me really like it: it's actually set in Sweden. What more can one want for a Christmas thriller?

Les bûches de Première moisson

 Photo prise sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson. Ils ont bien entendu sorti leurs bûches de Noël, qui sont un peu carrées à mon goût, mais bon. J'aimerais quand même y goûter. Je ne sais pas si je vais avoir l'occasion cette année.

Christmas Activities

Sometimes, I buy things for Wolfie, but truly, I buy them for me. I went to town a few days ago, and I saw Usborne Christmas Activities in a shop. I bought it right away. It is a great book of games for the Christmas holidays, but it can also be used as a sort of Advent calendar. It should keep us entertained until Christmas, in any case.

Village de Noël

 Nous sommes allés dans un magasin la fin de semaine dernière et nous y avons vu bien des patentes de Noël, dont ce village de Noël. C'est une condition quand vient le temps des Fêtes: les commerces montrent des scènes hivernales hyper typiques, montrant un Noël qui n'existe pas ou plus, avec de la neige, des sapins de Noël et, dans ce cas-ci, des skieurs (ou des gens qui se prêtent à d'autres activités hivernales). C'est une nécessité au pied de l'arbre de Noël également, d'ailleurs j'essaie de convaincre petit loup de bâtir le nôtre.

White the Husky Dog

 No, no, we didn't buy a dog. Last year, when we went to the petting zoo and visited Santa's Grotto in the North Pole, Wolfie had the right to build one plush toy for Christmas. It's the same every year: one toy, one plush toy, which he builds himself. Every year he goes for a different teddy. As the family's menagerie is full of bears already (and bears of all sorts), he went for the husky dog, As it seemed both original and fitting with Christmas somehow. He called him White because his belly is all white.

Les Bouquinistes durant Noël

 Photo prise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes. J'espère pouvoir y aller durant les Fêtes...

Everything Train for Christmas

You may remember that last year I blogged about the Christmas presents you could buy at the shop of the the National Railway Museum in York. My wife spoiled me last Christmas with, well, lots of train related gifts, among them a Christmas train jumper (which you can see on this picture) and scarf. I think most of the presents she bought me were from the NRM, actually. You know how much I associate Christmas with trains. It is even more so now.

Ciné-cadeau est commencé

Je veux faire un petit rappel pour mes lecteurs du Québec, surtout ceux qui ont des enfants: Ciné-cadeau est commencé depuis le 5 décembre. Il me semble, je me trompe peut-être, que ça commence beaucoup plus tôt que quand j'étais jeune. Pas que je m'en plaigne (ou pas que je m'en plaindrais si je vivais au Québec): ça fait durer le plaisir et ça nous permet aussi de patienter d'ici à Noël. Mais sinon, dites-moi ce que vous pensez de la cuvée 2025 et si vous regardez Ciné-cadeau déjà.

Spiced Mulled Wine

I went to a local Christmas fayre recently. Our little town has one every year, I try to go there if I can. It's pretty much the same every year mostly a night of shopping for Christmas, but it is also the opportunity to eat and drink. And, often, to drink the first cup of mulled wine. There were stalls selling it everywhere. I took a glass from The Spiced Wine Company. Not sure why this one or another, as it was a quid more expensive, but I enjoyed the drink anyway. All warm and spicy and seasonal.

Neige encore

 Une autre photo de la neige à Chicoutimi, rien que parce que.

Crime Fiction during Advent

 I found this picture thanks to Books Are My Bag. Although I did not get my hands on this issue of Booktime, its cover got brought my attention to Murder By Christmas. You know I associate Christmastime with crime fiction, so I spent Advent reading crime fiction. I am kind of kicking myself that I did not buy this book to have as my literary Advent calendar. I have been wanting an Advent calendar related to crime fiction since, like forever. Maybe for next year.

La légende de Saint Nicolas

C'est la Saint-Nicolas aujourd'hui. Je partage donc une vidéo que j'ai trouvée aujourd'hui, qui raconte la légende sinistre que j'aime tant, ainsi que bien des choses sur le Père Fouettard et Krampus, ainsi que quelques légendes locales sur Saint Nicolas.

Grieving for Mozart

Sad anniversary which I commemorate every year: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on the fifth of December 1791. His Requiem is  played all around the world to commemorate, I am doing the same here on this blog. It's been centuries, but the grief is still fresh: Wolferl died young, he died with an unfinished masterpiece. And I also thought this is a good opportunity to share a picture from our last trip to Austria. His statue in Salzburg. Sadly we didn'y visit his grave, even though he does not rest in it. Be that as it may, Requiem Aeternam, Amadeus. Dead, but truly immortal.

Neige

 Photo de la neige au Saguenay, à Chicoutimi. Elle date un peu, mais je la partage rien que parce que c'est l'hiver pour vrai au moins quelque part dans le monde.

Time for Christmascrimes

 'Tis the season to be reading, and, in my case, to read crime fiction. Especially crime fiction set during Christmas.  We had #Noirvember last month, I think there should be a #Christmascrime. But I am currently stuck when it comes to crime fiction: I am a bit bored with the novel I am reading, as I feared I would be, and it's not in season enough. So I am wondering if I should take a break from it and reread one Christmas crime novel I already read. Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series has a few titlesset in the Season, including The Pusher. Just for the very first sentence, "Winter came in like an anarchist with a bomb", I think I want to get back to it. But there are so many others to rediscover. And I could check in my TBR list if there isn't one set during Christmas, or at least in winter.

Les Bouquinistes durant les Fêtes

Photo prise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes. Ma librairie régionale préférée se met dans l'esprit de Noël et ils observent l'Avent en faisant des tirages de bouquins, notamment. Les Fêtes, c'est souvent pour moi les librairies, surtout les librairies locales. Alors donc je vous encourage à aller faire le plein de cadeaux aux Bouquinistes, si vous pouvez.

North Star Bucks Coffee

During our last family trip to a near(ish) petting zoo, which lead us to the North Pole through Christmas magic (or so said the elves who were not very little), we made a few discoveries. Wolfie was very skeptical it was the real North Pole, but I think it was. Asit turns out, they have their own coffee shop for Santa's helpers and anyone else living there: the North Star Bucks Coffee. Not related to a certain coffee chain. Of course, the bucks are meant to be reindeers and the North Star the actual North Start. I took a picture for proof of its existence.

Des rennes

 Noël ne serait pas Noël sans quelques rennes pour tirer le traineau du Père Noël. Même des rennes artificiels. Enfin bref, lors de notre dernière visite à la ferme pour enfants, où nous avons semble-t-il magiquement voyagé au Pôle Nord (petit loup est sceptique sur ce dernier point), j'ai pris cette photo des rennes qui tiraient un traineau immobile. Avec les sapins en arrière-plan, ça fait plutôt joli. Qu'en pensez-vous? Mais bon, j'ai hâte d'en voir des vrais. Je partagerai les photos dès que possible.

Wishing Tree

 Last weekend, we went to a nearby(ish) petting zoo for their special Christmas event, which included a visit to the North Pole to see Santa. Wolfie loves it. We think it might have been the real Santa, but we cannot be sure. Wolfie thinks he was, but he thinks this wasn't the real North Pole, even though the helpers told us we got there through magic. Anyway, there were many wonders there, including this WIshing Tree: you pick up the North Pole snow at its base, you blow it and make a wish. I don't know why there was a bear in the branches, but why not. Maybe the bear was the guardian of the tree? In any case, I'm sure this was a real magical Wishing Tree.

Murale de Noël

Photo prise sur la page Facebook de la Bouquinerie du Plateau hier. Je crois comprendre que la librairie a réouverte. Mais je partage parce que leur murale, même si elle est visible à l'année, est vraiment une murale de Noël.

Roasted Nuts for Christmas

 I love the products of  Rebellion Beer. I love their beers all time of year, but especially come Christmastime, because they really have perfectly seasonal ones. So yesterday, we went to a day out at the petting zoo, our first Christmassee day out, and I saw they were selling Roasted Nuts. Roasted Nuts is available all year round now, but it truly is a Christmas beer in my eyes. So I had half a pint, because that was the only format they were selling it into. On a cold day like yesterday, it's a pleasure.

La Marche des Rois

Comme le veut la tradition sur ce blogue, je partage La marche des rois. Je le fais parce que c'est le premier décembre, premier jour de l'Avent (en fait non, officiellement c'était hier, mais bon, ça n'a pas d'importance,pour tout le monde ça commence avec décembre).

The Marlow Donkey (the railway line)

I took this picture in one of our latest trips to Marlow. Before the Marlow Donkey was a pub near the train station, which was bigger than the one they have now, it was the affectionate nickname given to the branch line. I love all things trains and their history, big or small, so I wanted to share it here. If you increase the image, you might be able to read about the line's history.

Série Noire pour l'Avent

 J'ai blogué à plusieurs reprises sur Un beau cadeau, un polar publié par Série Noire. Le roman a cette originalité d'être un polar de l'Avent, donc un roman qui se lit comme un calendrier de l'Avent, un jour, un chapitre. Il y a de ça environ trente ans (je crois que c'était en 1998) que je l'ai vu pour la premièr eet dernière fois. Je regrette amèrement jusqu'à ce jour de ne l'avoir pas acheté. Mais je l'ai mis sur ma liste de cadeaux de Noël et j'espère pouvoir le lire pour l'Avent de l'an prochain. Il doit bien se trouver quelque part.

Christmas in the Jewellery

Is it too early to talk about Christmas? I guess not, although I try to avoid the topic until December, or at least until very late November. Well, it gets hard, as Christmas comes earlier and earlier. So anyway, you may remember that I blogged last year about a jewellery in Marlow that had really nice decorations. They did it again this year, with this big teddy bear and sort of slide of presents. It's very cute. Last time we went into Marlow, I took this picture so I could share it here.

Beaujolais pas nouveau

 Bon, c'est le temps du Beaujolais nouveau. Je ne suis pas un grand amateur de vin, ni encore moins un connaisseur, mais j'aime bien parfois suivre la tendance et les vieilles traditions, enfin bref, il m'arrive de boire du Beaujolais nouveau. Ma femme en a donc commandé lors de notre dernière épicerie. Je me suis rendu compte que c'était du Beaujolais de... 2023. Je l'ai bu quand même. Pour être honnête, je ne fais pas la différence.

The Orient Express Puzzle

You know I love trains, old steam trains and luxury trains, so of course I love the  Orient Express. Since the first time I saw it, some two years ago, I keep seeing it again in posh local shops and it keeps taunting me. I don't even like puzzles all that much, but this one has class. I have it on my present lists for Christmas this year, maybe for my birthday next. In any case, I think it looks very stylish.

Vers un Noël blanc?

Nouvelle météo d'un intérêt certain, on prévoit un hiver d'antan cette année. Enfin! Ce qui veut dire qu'on aura sans doute, je l'espère, touchons du bois, un Noël blanc. Photo prise à Chicoutimi, par mon père, où nous serons pour les Fêtes.

A Lamborghini in the wild

A few days ago, as Wolfie was in a friend's birthday party, my wife and I went to one of the local shops. We saw parked by a Lamborghini, which obviously was drawing all sorts of attention. It was the first time I have seen a Lamborghini, at least in the wild. It is an impressive car, but to be honest, I think it is a foolish purchase here in the UK, given the state of the roads here. It's not exactly meant for cars built for speed. The Lamborghini truly is a car designed to impress rather than be truly practical.

Spaghetti tunisien

Depuis que je suis sans emploi, je fais plus souvent la cuisine. J'aime cuisiner, pour autant que la recette soit simple et familière. Sinon, c'est souvent une catastrophe. Mais enfin bref, ma femme aime quand je fais ce classique qu'est le spaghetti tunisien, même quand je n'y vais pas de main morte avec la harissa. La photo n'est pas géniale, vous ne voyez pas les échalottes ou les champignons, mais ça vous donne une idée. Il y a des restes, alors on en mange encore ce soir.

The Italy Badge

My wife has a Fitbit. I used to have one too, but it had a ridiculously short battery life and I could not sync it, so I stopped using it after a while. But anyway, yesterday she received from her Fitbit a special badge, an "Italy Badge". It means that she has now walked the equivalent of the lenght of Italy. Not sure since when. And sadly, it does not mean that we walked in Italy. I guess it's not the same as being there, but it's a nice milestone all the same. I want to go back to Italy, she wants to go there once, so it's on our list of holiday destinations. Until then, she has the badge.

Deux sopranos du Saguenay

Petite nouvelle régionale et mélomane d'un certain intérêt: les sopranos Élisabeth Boudreault et Marie-Ève Munger seront de retour au Saguenay. Région d'où elles sont originaires, tout comme moi. C'est pourquoi je suis leur carrière depuis un petit bout de temps. Elles vont jouer dans une production de l'Opéra du Royaume de Cendrillon de Jules Massenet. ce sont deux cantatrices de calibre international, je suis donc très fier d'elles, je suis aussi heureux de savoir qu'elles pourront se faire découvrir et redécouvrir par un public local. Je vous invite donc à aller voir la production.

Socks: lost and found

I blogged recently about gloves and socks. The only way I can enjoy clothes shopping is if I buy new socks and gloves. Well, I have a new anecdote about socks, believe it or not. Something that happened recently. Anyway, a few years ago, my mum bought be some really nice, warm socks, Thinsulate ones, the best of the best. I really liked them: they had a nice forest green and ochre colours. And after my last Christmas visit home, I think it was during the pandemic, I lost these socks. For years. I thought they had been eaten by the washing machine, then I even thought I might have imagined the whole thing and never owned the socks in the first place. Well, it turned out that they were stuck behind a drawer. So yeah, long story short, I now have really good Thinsulate socks that are six years old, yet they look brand new. I'm very happy. Moral of the story: warm socks make me happy and they make my day better.

Complainte pour Ste Catherine (à la suédoise)

C'est la Sainte-Catherine, je partage donc une chanson québécoise (comme je le fais chaque année), chantée ici par des Suédoises.

Mince Pie Day

My wife said earlier: "Isn't today Mince Pie Day?" It is and her question deserves to be a great unknown line. And don't for it on Google, this is not the official Mince Pie Day, which was actually yesterday here in the UK. But today is Mince Pie Day in our household. If you have been following this blog, you know what I am referring to. One evening a few years ago, back when I was studying at uni, I was bored and feeling peckish, so I went to the residence's kitchen to eat a mince pie. Then in walked an English girl, who was visiting a friend, housemate of mine. The English girl, of course, was Veggie Carrie. And this was our very first meeting. Since then, I always eat a mince pie on that date.

L'hiver, la neige, etc.

Je partage une autre photo prise par mon père. Parce que c'est déjà l'hiver à Chicoutimi, ce dont je me réjouis. Avec une fierté toute saguenéenne, dois-je ajouter.