The Haunted House Game

As Halloween is getting closer and closer, I am getting into a spooky mood and I have been reading scary stories, some I have never read, some personal classics that I want to revisit. As I do every year, I have already (re)read All About Ghosts, the old Usborne book which inspired many of our childhood make belief games and inspire my writing to this day (because yes, I do try to write horror from time to time). As I mentioned before, one of the differences between the original English and the translated French version was the presence in the latter of a game, a sort of board game on the last page. It was called "The Great Ghost Game". My brothers and I never properly played it, as the rules were unclear. But we liked the setting, even though the house looked a tad modern for a haunted house. The setting and the ghosts doing the haunting inspired our make-belief games.

La Bouquinerie fermée

Triste nouvelle apprise de mon frère PJ et confirmée sur la page Facebook de la Bouquinerie du Plateau: elle est fermée jusqu'à nouvel ordre. Pourtant, sa page Facebook avait pris encore tout récemment les couleurs de l'automne (cette photo date du 14 septembre). Je ne sais pas ce qui se passe, mais j'espère que la durée indéterminée sera courte. Ou, au moins, que ce ne sera pas une fermeture permanente. La Bouquinerie est une institution sur le Plateau et on y trouve vraiment des trésors.

Upcoming Bookshop Day

I have been wanting to mention this for a while, but got caught up in other things (read my last post), so anyway, little announcement for the people living in the UK: there will be a Bookshop Day on the 11th of October. Kind of perfect time in the year for a bookshop day, as it is my favourite time in the year. Anyway, even though I am not short on books, I will go to our nearest indie bookshop and buy a few. There are worse ways to spend Saturday.

L'escoufle dans les feuilles

Bon, petit billet aviaire et saisonnier en même temps: nous sommes après tout le dernier jour de septembre. Nous avons des milans royaux ici, aussi appelés escoufles. Je les prends en photo parfois. Il y en a un qui vient se percher dans un arbre derrière chez nous. On le voit très mal, mais on le voit mieux depuis que les feuilles ont commencé à tomber. Bien qu'elles soient encore très vertes sur cette photo. En fait, quand je l'ai prise, je croyais les couleurs plus jaunes un peu. Mais bon, ça compte quand meême pour une photo automnale.

Unemployed again

 Okay, as you guessed it from this post's title, I am suddenly unemployed again. My new job was short lived: I started early June and did not even make it through probation. No, I did not get fired for gross miconduct or insubordination. It was just a bad match from the start. After a few weeks, I could tell that things were not working, even though I got along well with my colleagues and was giving my all. To be honest, I had a nagging feeling this would be a bad match even at the second interview, but I thought this was due to stress. Anyway, they thought I would do good, I needed somehting then and there, so I accepted the offer. Last Friday, my employers and I mutually agreed that this was not working out. I am disappointed, but on the plus side, I should have a good deal of free time in October, when Halloween is coming, in the heart of autumn. I can spend more time outside, when I am not being interviewed or job hunting. There definitely could be worse moments, especially since we are okay financially.

Des squelettes géants

Je partage une nouvelle photo que mon père a prise lorsqu'il marchait à Chicoutimi. Je dis nouvelle photo, mais elle date de quelques semaines, les décorations se sont multipliées sur ce terrain depuis. J'adore ces squelettes géants et je voulais les partager.

Pumpkin Spice Chai

I love tea, but I love to drink tea even more in autumn. Hence, I love autumn tea. So I was happily surprised to discover that Teapigs has its own blend of autumn tea, the Pumpkin Spice Chai. And it's naturally caffeine free as well, so this will be my go-to hot drink in the evening. That should last me until Halloween, maybe after. Which is fitting, as it is a pumpkin tea. And if you have more suggestions for autumn teas, please let me know in the comments.

Salon du livre: dernière chance

Message pour ceux de ma région, ou qui s'y trouvent: c'est le dernier jour du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. J'y allais surtout le samedi, plus rarement le dimanche ou en semaine. C'est le temps de l'année où la région est à son plus beau et le plus atmosphérique. Je n'ai que des bons souvenirs du Salon du livre du Saguenay. Si vous pouvez y aller, allez-y, je vous assure que ce sera une journée de pur plaisir.

Bat House

We went to a local fayre about two weeks ago, one of my favourite ones because it's in my favourite time of the year. In one of the stands, they were selling various bird houses as well as bat houses. I love bats, for many reasons, one of them is that they eat insects. And I know we have them around here, I oftens ee them flying in the evening. I don't see them much, they are very elusive. But I considered buyingone house for them. The only problem is that I don't think I would be able to install the house properly. So I decided not to buy it. But I regret it now.

Paté chinois et betteraves

Des fois, ça m'arrive, je fais un pâté chinois. Je le fais à la québécoise, pas comme les shepherd's ou cottage pies anglais: je mets du maïs entre le pas viande et les patates et pour accompagner c'est toujours des betteraves. Ma femme n'est jamais trop sûre pour les betteraves, mais mon fils les a adoptées. J'en suis très fier, d'ailleurs. Cela dit, nous réserves de (pas)steak, de blé d'inde, de patates et de betteraves, alors il me faudra faire des provisions avant la prochaine fois, qui ne saurait tarder: je trouve que ce temps de l'année est propice au pâté chinois.

Autumnal Chronicle

 This year, I really cannot complain about autumn: since the beginning of September it has been truly great, like I did not hope it would be. Here is a list of the things I enjoyed these last few days:

• Almost every afternoon when we pick up Wolfie from school, it smells of bonfire. I thought it was a one off, but no.
• While it can get warmer in the afternoon, it nevertheless remains cool enough to warrant long sleeve shirts, if not jumpers and fleece.
• In fact, I have started wearing my thick jumpers in the evening.
• I also wear thick socks and sometimes gloves.
• Evening is falling earlier and earlier every day. The light is absolutely gorgeous.
• It's still sunny, yet cool. Pure bliss.
• The leaves on the trees are showing colours earlier this year. 

Anyway, that's my autumn so far. What about yours? 

Un parc gentrifié

Je reviens sur le billet que j'ai écrit le 17 septembre sur le Parc Chopin. Ou le Parc de la Clé de Sol, comme on l'appelait communément jadis. C'était un parc pour enfants qui a été rapidement envahi par des adolescents, souvent les enfants devenus plus grands. Et dans les photos envoyées par mon père, une chose me frappe: il n'y a pas de terrain de jeux, pas d'espace pour jouer en fait, seulement une table. C'est devenu un parc pour adultes. Et je trouve que c'est un peu triste.

September Witches

 I am not the only one thinking about Halloween already: my father took this picture recently, someone is my home town of Chicoutimi has decided to go grand for Halloween and to start early. But September is, after all, Halloween eve. I also read somewhere (in this book, to be more specific) that one of the dates for witches' sabbath is the 23rd of September. So here it is, I think that's what it was. Do you see the witches, raising the dead and greeting the dead? Ghosts and skeletons, there's even a ghostly Jack O'Lantern in the background. I love this display. Anyway, I must remember to do something special every 23rd of September to remember that witches gather on that date.

Le Salon du livre, 2025

Annonce pour tous ceux qui sont au Saglac: c'est aujourd'hui que commence la 61e édition du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Je partage la nouvelle avec leur vieux logo, que j'aime tant. Et j'aimerais vraiment y être.

Farewell to the River & Rowing Museum

I blogged about it before, back in early July: the River & Rowing Museum in Henley will close down this weekend. As we live fairly close to we went there a few times, obviously not often enough. I had bought a year pass in January 2020, thinking I would make my return on investment within three visits, I only used it once, for obvious reasons. I don't think we will visit it before it closes, but I hope something nice and available to the general public will open in its stead. Because the venue was really lovely too.

Mafalda et l'ONU

J'ai trouvé ce gag sur la page Facebook de Mafalda hier. Parce que c'était le début de la 80e session de l'Assemblée générale des nations unies. Si vous vous rappelez, Mafalda voulait y travailler comme interprète. Je ne sais pas si elle a pu suivre ses rêves d'enfants. Parfois je me dis que oui, mais à voir l'état du monde, je n'en suis vraiment pas certain: je crois que le monde se porterait mieux si elle travaillait à l'ONU. Quoiqu'elle n'aurait sans doute pas assez d'influence comme interprète, même avec l'éthique de travail espiègle qu'elle projetait d'avoir. Même comme Secrétaire générale des Nations Unies, je pense que son influence aurait hélas été limitée. Cela dit, elle ferait une excellente Secrétaire générale.

Caffè Nero is here

 I blogged about it before and then again, but I heard the news from my wife yesterday: there is a Caffè Nero in our little town. I thought it was a good news at first, but then I thought again: we didn't always have good experiences there and last time we went into a Caffè Nero was pretty catastrophic. Also, it will be about the third big coffee chain that will have a franchise here. And that never fare wells for the small independent cafés we love. Not that I like coffee anyway, mind you, but I love the atmosphere of such places. So maybe, instead of going to Caffè Nero, we will encourage the long standing independent local businesses.

Pâté chinois

Des fois, il me viens une rage de pâté chinois. Ce fût le cas en fin de semaine. On avait des cannes de maïs (en grains, hélas, pas en crème), de la pas-viande hachée et des patates. En plus, il fait frais dehors, c'est vraiment le bon temps pour en manger. Donc, je n'y suis pas allé avec le dos de la main morte en cuillère, j'ai fait un pâté chinois. Et je dois dire que, même sans maïs en crème, ce fût sans doute l'un de mes meilleurs pâtés chinois depuis que je suis expatrié.

"Welcome Autumn"

 Today is the equinox, which means, well, that we are officially in autumn, by any standards and measurement, and that nobody, and I mean nobody, can claim otherwise. For me, of course, it doesn't start on the 22nd of September, but the first, as it should anywhere. Be that as it may, summer is gone, dusted, buried until next year. And to celebrate, I am sharing a photo of a decoration my wife bought me last year. With a pumpkin on it to remind us of harvests and of Halloween which is getting closer.

Le 22 septembre, c'est aujourd'hui

Bon, plus personne ne pourra dire que nous ne sommes pas en automne: nous sommes le jour de l'équinoxe. Comme c'est la tradition, je partage Le vingt-deux septembre de Georges Brassens. Petit air automnal bien mélancolique qui devrait vous mettre dans l'ambiance.

 

The Dracula Game (a memory)

 Long time readers may remember that I blog from time to time about the Dracula Game. This was a make belief game my brothers and I played with some friends back in 1989, freely inspired by J.H. Brennan's gamebook Dracula's Castle, before I read the original novel. We only truly played it once, but it was one of the most exciting games we ever played, one that got us in an early Halloween mood, and I remember it fondly to this day. I am mentioning it again because after doing a bit of research I can say with a fairly strong amount of certainty that today is the anniversary of the day we played. It might sound silly to keep track of time like this, for one afternoon in our childhood, but that fateful day was important: my brothers and I made a new friend (read the original post for more details) and it was my first proper introduction to classic horror and to my favourite horror story.

Des nouvelles de McAuslan

Vous savez comme j'aime les bières de McAuslan. Et je me désolais il y a quelques jours de l'absence de leur bière à la citrouille sur leurs publications sur les réseaux sociaux. Comme si elle n'existait plus. Cette photo, par exemple, date de... 2023. Alors je me demandais si l'une de mes bières d'automne et d'Halloween (quand je suis au Québec) avait été abandonnée. J'ai donc contacté la Brasserie pour en avoir le coeur net. On respire: elle sera bientôt de retour. Bon, je sais que je ne pourrai pas en profiter cette année, mais c'est quand même rassurant.

Codename: Cool Man

 Yesterday, coming back from school, Wolfie was holding a little piece of paper with a look that I could qualify as both conspiratory and proud. I wondered at first if it was a sweet message from one of the girls who has a crush on him (I suspect a few have a crush on him), but to my wife's relief, it was not the case. It was one of his male friends from school who had written down the codename he had chosen for Wolfie for one of their spy games they take very seriously. Because yes, make belief games, when you are a young boy like Wolfie, are very serious business. I know, I was the same at his age. His codename is Cool Man. Well, of course it is. Because my son is very cool. Is it silly to be proud of him?

Mafalda et le printemps en Argentine

Comme pour l'an dernier, la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda me rappelle que c'est le printemps en Argentine. Je trouve toujours ça surréaliste, étant habitué aux saisons de l'hémisphère nord, mais enfin bref, je partage un gag de Mafalda aujourd'hui.

The smell of bonfire

 We were going to pick up our son yesterday. It was a tad cool and the colours had started showing in the trees on our way. It was feeling very autumnal, then it went up a notch: we could smell bonfire in the air. We did not see where it came from, we could not see any smoke, but the smell was very distinctive. I love it. Today was way too warm, but it should go down dramatically this weekend. So I am in a happy, borderline blissful, autumnal mood.

Déjà l'Halloween à Chicoutimi

Mon père m'a envoyé es photos de sa dernière promenade à Chicoutimi. Il semblerait que pour des citoyens de ma ville d'origine, l'Halloween est déjà arrivé. Je suis d'accord et très heureux.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie

As for every autumn (because yes, it is already autumn now, even though it is way too warm at the moment), I stocked myself in the Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tea from Bird & Blend. Some people drink Pumpkin Spice Latte, I don't drink coffee, so I pumpkin flavoured tea is my autumn and Halloween tea. So, I bought a big pack of loose leaf tea. I received it and a few freebies, including this tea bag of the same brew. If you feel like making it yourself, you now have the whole list of ingredients.

L'escargot de Prévert?

 Nous allions chercher notre fils à l'école il y a quelques jours. Comme d'habitude, nous faisons attention de ne pas piler sur les escargots sur le sol. J'ai donc dû en déplacer un hors de la chaussée, je l'ai mis sur une feuille morte et je l'ai pris en photo. Ce qui m'a fait penser au fammeux poème de Jacques Prévert, Chanson des escargots qui vont à l'enterrement, que vous pouvez lire ici. Je suis plus familier avec ses dérivés et ses mentions dans d'autres oeuvres. Cela dit, grâce à Prévert, j'associe les escargots à l'automne... et à Prévert.

KitKat Ghost Toast

A few days ago, I found in the local sweet shop a new sign of Halloween and I did not want to wait until october to show it. So yeah, what did I see? a KitKat Ghost Toast. It was kind of expensive for its size and I am not always into variants of a winning formula, but all the same, I bought it for my wife. I regret nothing. Because I love Halloween that much and yes, it is already time to get yourself into a spooky mood. And sweets and desserts are an integral part of the spooky holiday.

Pavillon du 9e art

J'apprends via la page Facebook des Bouquinistes, d'où j'ai pris cette image, qu'ils tiendront un pavillon sur la bédé lors du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Si seulement j'y étais.

Windy and Autumnal September Day

 It is getting a bit warmer and it should get borderline Indian summery soon (albeit we did not really have a frosty day), however, I cannot complain too much, as we have been blessed so far with a very autumnal September. It has been suitably cool and we even had two days ago a very windy day, enough so there was a yellow warning of winds. Nothing to worry about, it was just really nice and it allowed me to wear for the very first time a thick jumper, because temperatures had gone down with the wind. We had a perfectly autumnal September day and I was in seasonal heaven.

Le Parc Chopin modernisé

J'ai déjà blogué sur ce parc de Chicoutimi, celui qui était le plus proche de chez nous. Un parc presqu'entièrement condamné, devenu un trottoir entre deux quartiers. Bien, il semblerait qu'il soit redevenu un parc,mais en plus modeste et en plus sobre. Mon père m'a envoyé des photos. Un peu triste que ce ne soit pas conçu pour des enfants, mais bon, c'est mieux que rien. Et autre détail: je me suis rappelé que son nom officiel est (était?) le Parc Chopin. On l'appelait le Parc de la Clé de Sol, parce qu'il y avait une emblème avec une clé de sol à son entrée.

Cat’s Eye

Well, I didn't expect that. Have you ever heard of the manga series Cat's Eye? It's a caper series about a trio of sisters who are also cat burglars, one of them in love with a young police officer who is bound to catch their cat burglars alter ego. I never read it, but when I was a kid I did watch its anime adaptation. Growing up on Japanese anime, I was bound to come up with it, but I enjoyed it far less than other animes. In fact, I borderline hate watched it at times: too over the top, even for an anime, with a bumbling cop heroic antagonist who was seriously stupid, burglars who did not wear gloves... Well, I wasn't a fan. A few years later, I rewatched a few episodes on YouTube, and frankly it didn't change my mind. Of all the Japanese cartoons we young Quebeckers had, Cat's Eye was one of the silliest. So why am I blogging about it tonight? Because it got adapted again. You can see the trailer below. I might give this one a chance, if only because it's a new adaptation and I (re)discovered recently with Wolfie that I enjoy Japanese cartoons. Worst case scenario, this Cat's Eye will be as bad as the 80s one. Anyway, did any of you ever watched the old anime or read the manga? Tell me in the comments.

Question existentielle (399)

 Une question existentielle inédite jusqu'ici, enfin je crois:

-Qu'aimez-vous faire en septembre? 

J'aime faire bien des choses en septembre, mais je suis curieux de lire vos réponses.

Pot Roast

 My dad sent me this picture of a family classic this time of year: the pot roast. I remember having one every year, either in August or in September, but truly this is a proper September meal. I consider it an autumnal meal in any case, because you eat the products of early harvest; parsnip, carrots, cabbages (surprisingly tasty with plain white vinegar), sweet corn (a staple for autumn if there is one) and some meat to give it a bit of proteins and taste. There's more, but as long as you have your root vegs, your cabbage, sweet corn and a bit of meat, you are set, you have a pot roast.

Le programme du Salon du Livre

Je suis en retard sur la nouvelle, mais je tenais à donner l'information ici: j'ai appris via la page Facebook du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean que leur programme est maintenant disponible. Je n'y suis jamais vraiment allé au programme, en fait j'y allais quand je pouvais, la plupart du temps le samedi en famille, ou lors d'une sortie scolaire. Mais bon, toujours utile d'avoir la programmation.

"Bokke"

 A few days ago, my wife and I were on our way to pick up Wolfie from school when I saw a man walking on the other side of the street. He was wearing a green hoodie with the words Bokk printed on it. So I recognised right away the nickname of the Springboks. I was happy that I picked it up. I know nothing about rugby, far too little for my taste in fact, but at least I know about the Springboks. It's sort of my team, even though I don't follow rugby: my father-in-law is South African and he is of course a massive Springboks supporter. So is his son. Therefore out of family solidarity, I support the South African team. To my wife's dismay, as she is English and, well, she supports the English team. So anyway, I did not shout "Go Bokke!" to him. Maybe I should have had.

Le Viennois de Chicoutimi

 Question pour mes lecteurs qui vivent à Chicoutimi ou au Saguenay: quelqu'un a déjà visité la pâtisserie Le Viennois? So oui, c'est comment? Ils ont aussi une page Facebook, ui semble alimentée (ha, ha, ha!) de façon très sporadique. Enfin bref, depuis que ma femme a vu qu'il y avait une pâtisserie de ce nom à Chicoutimi, elle se demande comment ça se fait qu'on n'y a jamais mis les pieds. Et ça m'a frappé: moi non plus, je ne pense pas y être jamais allé. Je me rappelle de la défunte pâtisserie Allard, qui était dans le même coin, sinon la même bâtisse. Mais après, je n'ai jamais vu de quoi avait l'air son successeur. Parce que je n'étais plus dans la région sauf durant les vacances, sans doute un peu, mais aussi parce que j'étais encore en deuil de la pâtisserie Allard. Il faudra d'ailleurs que je blogue sur le sujet un jour. Mais sinon, si vous savez quoi que ce soit sur le Viennois, dites-le moi.

The Manchurian Candidate... again

 I went downtown recently to buy a few things, I stopped in a gifts shop. The shop sells a few books without being a bookshop, mostly coffee table books and whodunits. So I was surprised to find The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon on display. I have it, I read it, I watched the movie so often I cannot count. In fact I loved it so much that I made a reocmmendation to read it back in 2017. I don't know if you are like me, but sometimes I just wished I could discover a book all over again for the first time.

Des cadeaux pour Wolfie

 C'était la fête de petit loup récemment. Wolfie a neuf ans. Je vais dire un cliché mélancolique: le temps passe trop vite. Cela dit, célébrer son anniversaire est toujours vraiment plaisant. Je veux dire, j'aime plus sa fête que la mienne, même si c'est dur de voir qu'il grandit si vite. Et puis on le gâte. J'essaie de ne jamais être excessif, mais, ben... Jugez-en par vous même. Vous voyez ici les cadeaux achetés par moi, pas les autres achetés par sa mère. On n'y est pas allé avec le dos de la cueillère de main morte, mettons. C'est peut-être un peu parce qu'il est enfant unique, même si je m'étais promis de ne jamais trop le gâter, c'est un peu aussi parce que sa fête est un peu une seconde enfance pour tout le monde. Mais au moins, il n'est jamais ingrat ou blasé.

Kidult

 My wife sent me this YouGov article about kidult behaviours and activities, thinking it sounds very much like me. In case you don't know (and I sure did not until I rea the article), a kidult is an adult whose interests are ore aligned to the ones of a child, among other things his medias consumption. Yes, I agree, it does fit me, but I always thought it was due to my natural nostalgic temperament. Because I am nostalgic, guilty as charged. In case you haven't noticed. Anyway, maybe this blog is an extension of my so called kidulting. Be that as it may, kidult is the word of the day. And on a final note, I am wondering what are your thoughts on kidulting. Please leave a comment.

Pain saveurs d'automne

J'ai pris cette photo sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson. Il y a bien des choses que j'aimede cette boulangerie-pâtisserie, dont ses produits automnaux. Il y en a un qu'ils ont sorti récemment: un pain saveurs d'automne. Décrit comme "un mariage qui célèbre l’automne et les moissons à la perfection," il est fait de "pommes fraîches du Québec, de dattes, d’épices automnales, de miel et de graines de citrouille grillées". Vous devinerez que ça parle mon language.

A perfect autumn evening

 I don't care what people say, we are in autumn, even though the equinox is stil a week and a half away. Our family had the opportunity to appreciate it during our evening walk. It was, in fact, a perfectly perfect autumn evening. It was a little bit after six o'clock, sunny, but the air was chilly enough so we needed warm clothes. It felt and smelled autumnal around us. Comfy clothes, comfy weather, the sun about to set... I just felt great.

Les requins du Saint-Laurent

J'avais blogué sur le sujet le mois dernier: il y a des requins blancs dans le Saint-Laurent. Le 9 septembre, on sortait un autre article sur le sujet dans la grosse Presse. Outre cela, on donne quelques conseils de prudence, comme par exemple de ne pas aller nager près des phoques. Les phoques faisant partie du régime alimentaire des grands blancs, ils pourraient confondre le nageur et l'animal. Et si ça arrivait, le nageur dirait vite phoque. (Pardon pour le calembour atroce, je ne pouvais pas résister.) Non mais blague à part, je trouve cette nouvelle fascinante. Ce qui m'inquiète, ce n'est pas tant la présence de requins blancs dans le fleuve, mais c'est le réchauffement des eaux qui est la cause de leur présence.

Medieval Fantasy Read

Anybody among you ever read The Innocent Mage? Or anything by Karen Miller? Anyone? I'm asking the question because I bought it in a thrift sale for Wolfie a few weeks ago, for a quid. I thought at this price, it could not be a bad investment. I don't think he will read it any time soon, at least not by himself, but we do enjoy reading bigger books together, albeit we haven't done it in a while. Maybe it's too grownup for him for now, in which case I might read it by myself. There is another reason for my purchase: I thought I might use it for inspiration for our Dungeons & Dragons game. Wolfie's character is a mage, so it seems like a fitting source.

Arc-en-ciel (2)

Autre photo prise par on père de l'arc-en-ciel sur Chicoutimi, il y a quelques jours. Je la partage parce que.

9/11... again

I always commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. I am doing it this year again with this post, although I don't write long posts about it. From my thoughts and memories about it, read this post from 2008 and that post from 2009. However, I will say one of thing of what happened in the USA since. On the 11th of September 2001, democracy in the West and in the USA in particular was attacked. Islamic fundamentalism showed its ugly nihilistic head. Sadly, nowadays democracy in the US is falling apart, not because of an alien force of Islamifascists, like almost a quarter of of a century ago, but because of the Xian fascists who took power. So yeah, I am feeling a tad cynical and gloomy today, thinking about it.

Qu'en est-il de la St-Ambroise à la citrouille?

J'ai piqué cette photo sur la page Facebook de McAuslan. Elle date de... 2019. Je regardais mon fil sur les réseaux sociaux, et une chose m'a frappé: je ne trouve nulle part de signe que la St-Ambroise à la citrouille est de retour. Pourtant, elle arrive en général au début du mois de septembre. À Monréal, c'est ma bière pour l'Halloween et pour l'automne. Je sais qu'ils ont changé leur branding un peu à McAuslan: la Griffon est devenu la St-Ambroise Rousse. J'espère qu'ils n'ont pas mis fin à leur bière à la citrouille...

Halloween Activity Books

Oh goodie, goodie, goodie! Halloween is not as big in this country as it is in mine, but at times, the English make an effort. So I was walking in one of the local shops yesterday when I saw these Halloween activity books. I didn't buy them, although I was very tempted. I think Wolfie might already be a tad old for it, but I might try to convince him all the same. I love doing activity books with him. And, I know you cannot judge a book by its cover, even a children book, but I'd buy them for the cover all the same. What do you think?

Un chemin de fer à Val-Jalbert?

Mon père a pris cette photo à Val-Jalbert.La patente à gosse que vous voyez est, je crois, une draisine. C'est le mot du jour. J'en ai vu par le passé, mais je ne ne savais pas le nom jusqu'à ce que je fasse une recherche hier. Enfin bref, s'il y a une draisine sur des rails, c'est qu'il devait y avoir un chemin de fer, c'est donc qu'il y avait un train qui passait par Val-Jalbert. Enfin, qu'on me dise si j'ai tort. Si c'est le cas, le village est encore plus cool que je pensais.

Daunt Books Abroad

 You may remember that back in June, I blogged about the bookshop chain Daunt Books. Well, I saw someone carrying one of their bags again. Not in London, like last time, not in England in fact, but in Austria. In om Salzburg, to be precise. It was most likely a British tourist, but I thought it was nice to see it there. I know it was only a bag, nevertheless it's  nice that this small chain of indie bookshops is thriving, thriving enough to see their brand even when we are abroad. That's encouraging for literature and book lovers like myself.

Les récoltes du marché

Photo prise par ma mère au Grand Marché de Québec. Quand je vois des légumes comme ça dans un marché local, c'est automatique, je me rappelle du temps où on allait les chercher dans le jardin de mon oncle. Un autre rituel qui me rappelle le retour de l'automne. 

I'm a Cryptkeeper

 You might have noticed another badge on the sidebar of this blog, a badge I also add on this post. As the Countdown to Halloween is getting closer and closer, I have of course decided to become a Cryptkeeper again. I am a little bit nervous this year: as I registered to the countdown a bit late, Vraie Fiction is not on the blog roll yet. Not as I am typing it. But otherwise, check this space for a lot of Halloween stuff, most of the time related to scary stories.

Arc-en-ciel

 Mon père m'a envoyé des photos d'un arc-en-ciel qu'ils ont eu récemment. C'est drôle, parce qu'on en a eu un aussi il y a quelques jours, à peu près à la même date. Enfin bref, c'est joli.

Blood Moon

Tongith is a full moon, the one for September, and it is also a Blood Moon. I know it was a full moon (I do because I'm a werewolf, no just kidding), but I did not know it was a Blood Moon. My wife informed me and, at her suggestion, we all went out when evening had started falling to see the Blood Moon. We could not even see the moon. All the same, it was nice being outside when the sun was falling down. It is a simple pleasure we need to enjoy more often. Oh, and a question about full moons: are there any "normal", regular full moons? It seems that each and every one of them is a Blood Moon, or a Strawberry moon, or a Blue Moon, or a Whatever Moon.

Thé et calembour atroce

 J'ai pensé à ça ce soir, et ça me trottait dans la tête: ma femme, bien qu'anglaise, n'aime pas le thé. Je sais, c'est ironique, dans une nation d ebuveurs de thé. Elle le sait depuis qu'elle en a essayé enfant (on essaie d'inculquer de bonnes habitudes aux petites Anglaises, mais ça ne fonctionne pas toujours). Alors j'ai fait cette constatation: Carrie a toujours détesté le thé. On peut même dire qu'elle l'a toujours détesthé. Et oui, je viens de commettre un nouveau calembour atroce.

True scary stories in the library

I took this picture in October last year (I think) in the Marlow Library. The town of Marlow is a lovely place to go to any time of year, but especially round Halloween, when it is really atmospheric and eerie at places. I haven't been there in month, so I don't know if they are already in a spooky mood in its library, but I am and I have started my Halloween reads, which consists of a lot of ghost and horror stories. I don't imit myelf to fiction, but also to alleged real life hauntings and alleged true stories of the supernatural. Not that I believe in them, I am a skeptical person, but they give you a chill nevertheless and can be a great source of inspiration when you try to write horror stories yourself. And there is just something about reading ghost stories in an old library such as the Marlow one.

L'automne à Première Moisson

Photo trouvée sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson. Ils sont en mode automnal et j'en suis heureux. Ils ont pleins de desserts pomme et érable, selon ce que je peux voir. C'est vraiment dommage qu'on n'ait pas un commerce de bouffe avec un état d'esprit pareil.

"Hello Darkness My Old Friend..."

No, no, I'm not speaking about the song. Although yes, I love it. I don't think I shared this meme before on this blog. I have first seen it a few years ago and I loved it. So I am sharing it today. Here darkness is coming around 8:00PM these days, but it's already an improvement. Evening falling earlier and earlier is one of the things I really love about autumn, so I am welcoming this seasonal change. Especially since autumn evenings are so beautiful.

Turbine de Val-Jalbert

Mon père a pris cette photo lors la visite de mes parents au village fantôme (je ne veux pas l'appeler village historique, c'est un village fantôme, bon!) de Val-Jalbert. Parce qu'avant d'être un village fantôme, c'était un village tout ce qu'il y a de plus vivant, dont la vie économique dépendait d'une papeterie. Quand même, la photo ici a quelque chose de spectral. Depuis que je suis enfant, je crois toujours que Val-Jalbert devrait être le lieu d'une histoire d'horreur. Tout y est: un lieu abandonné au milieu de nulle part, plein d'atmosphère, une nature proche et étrangère à la fois, de l'architecture rétro, ainsi qu'une technologie qui paraît maintenant bien impuissante.

Mushrooms Sighting

Two of our neighbours, an Italian couple I blogged about before, have got themselves a brand new lawn. As I walked by their place recently, I saw that it already had mushrooms on it. No dandelions, no daisies, but mushrooms. I don't know if they'd like this sight, but I was quite happy about it. Because mushrooms are one of the signs that autumn is here, or at least on its way. I love to see mushrooms come September. Less so to eat them. But I thought this looked quite nice, soberly elegant.

Des pommes au marché

Je place ici une autre photo prise par ma mère au Grand Marché de Québec, rien que parce que. On y voit des pommes, des tomates et des haricots. Mais ce sont les pommes qui retiennent mon attention. J'adore acheter des pommes dans les marchés, surtout ces temps-ci, parce que c'est le fruit de l'automne.

The Monster Game

I blogged before about All About Monsters, the very popular Usborne book about, well, monsters, mythical as well as cryptids. A lot of emphasis was put on the cryptid ones, actually. When Usborne republished the book, I quickly bought it. But I discovered that one thing in the French translaiton was missing in the original English: the Monster Game. Truly a board game that was made of the last page of the book, especially created, I think, for the French edition. I'm not sure why. The objective of the game was finding evidence for the existence of a lake monster, the Monster of Ellness Lake, basically a thinly disguised Loch Ness. We never played it. The rules were shoddy at best, for one. My brothers and I used the Monster Game, however for a few make belief games set around a lake and involving a cryptid like this one. Our characters explored the lake in a bathyscape, we questioned the locals, etc. It was quite fun. Anyway, I asked my father to send me pictures of the "Great Monster Game", beacause I wanted to share this memory on the blog. And because it might come in handy.

Un bateau dans le parc

Des fois je trouve que mon fils a une enfance plus distrayante que la mienne, rien qu'en allant dans les terrains de jeux dans les parcs. Parce qu'ils n'ont pas que des glissoires et des trapèzes, ils ont aussi parfois, ben, ça. Dans un parc à quelques minutes de chez nous, on trouve ce bateau, qui est un grand succès depuis que Wolfie a deux ans. Et encore, dans les plus grands parcs de la ville, il y a des jeux qui sont des navires et des jonques chinoises. Mais je pense que c'est celui-ci son préféré.

September Bucket List

I found this bucket list online and I thought it looked very nice. There are so many things I want to do this month, only a few of them on that list, so many ways to enjoy this month and my favourite season. Because make no mistake, we are in autumn already. So yes, I want to press leaves in a book, buy a knit piece of clothing (in a thrift or not, try a recipe with apples and go on a walk.

Salon du Livre 2025

Petit rappel que le Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean aura lieu du 25 au 28 septembre. Dans un nouveau lieu et je sais, la bannière est un peu poche cette année. Mais c'est mon salon du livre préféré et j'ai d'excellents souvenirs de mes visites.

"Back to school" tomorrow

 If this pic looks familiar, it is because I shared it last year. It might become a new tradition. If I am sharing these two pages from What to Look For in Autumn, it's because I must have read them a dozen of times this evening. Tomorrow, my son is going to be back to school and I am simply not ready. I think I am dreading it more than he does. He grows up so fast.

Mafalda et la pluie

 J'ai trouvé ce gag sur la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda. Je me sens mélancolique ce soir, alors je partage. Mafalda a le don de nous faire sourire et verser une larme à la fois.