The Big One-O

As you know if you read yesterday's post, it was our son's birthday recently. I wanted to get back to it, as Wolfie has reached the age of ten this year, which is, well, a new decade. It means we have been parents for ten years, of course, it also means our son is growing way too fast for my taste. A decade is always an important benchmark, at any age, but for a child, ten years old is maybe the stepping stone, the one that officially makes you a big kid instead of a little one. That's what I got from Wolfie anyway. For a parent, it might be an even bigger step, because it makes you realise that your child will not be a child forever and that he will eventually become an adult. It made me miss for a moment the first few months of being a parent, when everything was so hard, yet so simple. It also makes me feel melancholic. In any case, Wolfie is now ten years old.

Mycologie (mot du jour)

 C'est pas parce que ma cousine Amy m'a envoyé des photos de champignons que je cherche un prétexte pour bloguer sur le sujet (et partager ses photos), même si c'est un peu le cas. Enfin bref, la mycologie est l'étude des champignons et notre mot du jour. C'est un terme que je connais depuis le primaire. À l'école, on nous donnait des cours à n'en plus finir sur les champignons et il y avait une randonnée par année, durant les mois d'automne, où l'on allait les cueillir. J'adorais. J'ai toujours été fasciné par les champignons, lisez ce billet de 2010 pour les détails. Les sorties en automne me faisaient toujours plaisir, en plus de stimuler mon imagination.

Three Layers Birthday Cake

So it was Wolfie's birthday recently and he had a very special request for me: a three layers cake. But that wa snot all: he asked for blueberry flavoured icing between layers and a chocolate ganache on top, covered with Smarties and Maltesers (milk and white chocolate). As I never back from a cake baking challenge and I never refuse my son's birthday cake requests, well, I did it. Thankfully, it wasn't too wobbly. Very rich, gigantic, indulgent, but presentable and it stood up. All the same, my wife was somewhat horrified. "A heart attack on a plate," she said about it. Which deserves to be a great unknown line. I shall blog more about my son's birthday soon, but I thought I would show you his birthday cake.

Salon du livre (passeport et dernière chance)

Photo prise sur la page Facebook du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Vous l'avez vue pas mal souvent sur le blogue ces temps-ci, je sais. Tout ça pour vous dire qu'aujourd'hui est la dernière journée de la prévente pour vous acheter un passeport pour le Salon.

Autumnal Chronicle

I thought it was time for a new autumnal post, this time a generic post about how autumn is so far. Because yes, it is autumn, because yes, the season starts with September. So here are my observations about autumn here:

• So far, it's not ideal, as it is a tad too warm. Yet, after the ridiculous and never ending heatwaves of summertime, it's still enjoyable. (More on this below.)
• Morning and evenings tend to be cool, so I can wear a light jacket or coat. It's lovely.
• While it's not cold enough yet to wear thick jumpers, at least I have been able to wear long sleeve shirts for the first time in months.
•  Trees have started showing some colours. Not much, but still.
•  There is often a nice, cool breeze that makes even warmer days tolerable.
•  For some mysterious reason, we can often smell bonfire when we step outside.
• The sun goes down earlier. Yeah, I know, it's supposed to, but it's more noticeable and every time the dimming light is just lovely.

So that's my pre-equinox autumn so far, how is yours? I will write more in the upcoming days.

Truites sur barbecue

 Mes parents ont fait des truites il y a peu de temps, que mon père a fait cuire sur barbecue. Comme quoi on ne fait pas que des burgers et des hot dogs sur barbecue. Je suis très friand de truites, c'est l'un de mes poissons préférés. J'en ai déjà cuisiné moi même, de différentes façons, mais jamais sur barbecue. J'en mange encore parfois, quand je vais au restaurant, mais je n'en fais plus. Si seulement j'avais de quoi faire un barbecue...

Halloween and a September Memory

I found this meme online, at the beginning of the month. I wanted to share it today before it gets too deep in the month. My wife would agree that this is very me. It also reminded me of an anecdote from my childhood. My brother PJ's birthday is in October. Because of this, we prepared his birthday during the month of September. When we went to the shop to buy decorations and accessories for his birthday party, we often took the opportunity to check and buy Halloween decorations too, as they had starting getting on sales. One Saturday after lunch, around mid-September, before going to the shops, my brothers and I first stopped to talk to my best friend, who lived on the same street as me. I was all enthusiastic about the afternoon's plans, so I told him we were going to go Halloween shopping. My friend looked at me disdainfully and said: "It's way too early for Halloween!" His father had the same disdainful reaction, using the exact same words. I changed the topic, but the conversation felt awkward and my friend remained cold and aloof, borderline rude at times. After a few minutes, we excused ourselves and went shopping. Years later, we ended up growing apart. It's nothing dramatic, it happens to a lot of childhood friends, they rarely all survive teenage and adulthood. But I always suspected that it had started that day. My friend had no interest whatsoever towards my favourite holiday. Fair enough, but he didn't have to be so dismissive about it.

Tarte aux pommes (parce que septembre)

Mon frère PJ a cuisiné une tarte aux pommes il y a peu de temps, "parce que septembre" (je le cite). Je partage la photo ici. La pomme, c'est le fruit de l'automne, c'est le temps des récoltes de pommes, donc c'est le temps de la tarte aux pommes. Je vais faire un aveu: je n'ai jamais été fan. Pour PJ, c'est je crois sa tarte préférée. Moi pas. Oh, je peux en manger! Mais ce n'est pas mon premier choix de dessert. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi. Cela dit, j'essaie autant comme autant d'apprécier la tarte aux pommes un peu plus.

25 Years of 9/11

In case you haven't noticed, today is the anniversary of 9/11.We tend to forget, what with what is happening in the US or because of the US at the moment, but there you are. Once upon a time, Islamofascism was the greatest threat Western civilisation seemed to have. Nowadays it is still a major threat, mind you, but Christian fundamentalism proved to be at least as dangerous. But I digress. For my memories and thoughts (rambling?) on the subject, read this post from 2008 and that post from 2009. This post from 2024 isn't too bad either. So yes, I commemorate it every year on Vraie Fiction.

Un champignon

Autre photo de champignon prise par ma cousine Amy l'artiste-photographe. Si ça ne vous met pas dans une ambiance automnale, je ne sais pas ce qui le fera. L'automne, c'est beau partout.

The Blue Flame

I have some good news for crime fiction aficionados like myself: The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos has finally been published. You may remember that I was impatient for its release. Pelecanos is now busy with scriptwriting for television, so we don't often see new books from him. It's as rare an occurence as it is welcomed. Now I will not read it yet, as I am in a spooky mind until November. However, the novel will be perfect to start #Noirvember. Otherwise, it features PI Derek Strange, a long-time regular of Pelecanos' universe, but who hadn't been seen in his most "recent" (who were no long recent) publications. It was about time.

Salon du livre (prévente et rappel)

Photo prise sur la page Facebook du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Ce billet est un bref rappel: l'évènement aura lieu du 1er au 4 octobre et les passeports sont présentement en prévente, jusqu'au 14 septembre, alors vous avez encore quelques jours.

The Earl of Warwick's Revolver (Signature Weapon)

This post is part of my Signature Weapons series and is actually about a real signature weapon. So we went to Warwick Castle during our last holiday. And I saw the Earl of Warwick's revolver. Revolvers belong to westerns, most of the time, it's a rather old-fashioned firearm. We don't see them often in crime or spy fiction anymore. They mostly belong to vintage stories, old adventure novels, these sort of things. But hey, the Earl of Warwick once had a personal revolver. It's worth nothing and it's worth a blog post.

Un loup blanc

Photo prise par ma cousine Amy l'artiste-photographe lors de sa visite avec sa petite famille au Zoo de Falardeau. J'adore les loups et celui-ci est vraiment superbe.

Farewell to the local gift shop

There's some sad news I have been wanting to share: one of our local gift shops, an independent shop, has closed down recently. At first, I thought it was temporary, but no. It's completely shut down. I seldom went there, but I always enjoyed my time there and it was one of my go-to local shops when I wanted to buy birthday presents, especially for my wife, sometimes also for Wolfie. So this is really not good news. Especially since both their birthdays are fairly soon. Tragically, the gift shop it had been here for at least twenty years. It was open when we first move to this town. So yes, this one hits hard.

Un paon au château

 J'ai pris cette photo au Warwick Castle. Il y a des paons sur le terrain. Enfin, il y avait celui-ci. Pour une raison quelconque, dans ce pays et ailleurs, on y trouve des paons dans bien des châteaux et des résidences luxueuses. Je ne m'y fais pas: ce sont des oiseaux à l'apparence tellement exotique pour moi, avec un plumage coloré et élégant. J'imagine que c'est la raison pour laquelle on aime les faire résider dans les jardins des châteaux.

First Sign of Halloween

Last Sunday, we went to town. As we were walking on the high street, we saw the window of the local Cancer Research UK shop. And it made me very happy. See for yourself. It's full of pumpkins, leaves, it has a few small Jack O'Lanterns and, well, it's just a great display. The first proper sign of Halloween to come since the beginning of September. I love the attitude: whatever some people may say about autumn starting only with the equinox, the season truly starts with the month of September. And now is not too early for Halloween.

Un champignon dans les bois

Ma cousine Amy, l'artiste photographe, a pris des photos il y a quelques jours dans les bois. Elle m'a donné la permission de les partager. Je partage cette photo-ci, parce que c'est vraiment une photo parfaite et parfaitement automnale d'un champignon. Je le dis souvent, mais c'est parce que c'est vrai: les champignons sont un signe de l'automne. Alors j'aime en voir dans la nature, ça indique que ma saison préférée est en chemin, ou est arrivée. Bien entendu, je ne capture pas les champignons en images comme ma cousine le fait, raison de plus pour partager cette photo.

Sachertorte

 I took this picture somewhere in Salzburg last year, I can't remember where. It is the classic Sachertorte, a chocolate sponge cake with apricot jam in the middle, If I have this right. We ate all sorts of indulgent desserts during our holidays in Austria,and of course we had to try the Sachertorte. I think I never ate desserts as delicious as in Austria, even in the most ordinary places. Classic ones of course, but also plenty of new inventions and variations on classics. The Sachertorte wasn't even my favourite, but it was still up there among the best.

Les mardis aux Catacombes

Je blogue encore une fois sur les "Catacombes" du Cégep de Chicoutimi.QUi sont aussi celles du Centre socio-culturel, où se trouvait (et se trouve encore) l'École de musique. Enfant, j'avais des cours à l'école de musique le mardi soir, parfois aussi le jeudi. Alors je passais souvent le temps entre deux cours dans le restaurant des Catacombes, ou alors je marchais dans le corridors et je laissais aller mon imagination. J'ai souvent blogué sur l'endroit, je l'ai revu plus souvent une fois au cégep, mais dans tous les cas, ça m'est revenu en tête aujourd'hui, que je passais beaucoup de mes mardis soirs là.

The Summer People (Shirley Jackson)

Today is Labor Day and, at least it is on the other side of the Atlantic. And I associate Labor Day with one horror story of Shirley Jackson. I first read it in the anthology of her short stories Dark Tales. Since then, it is part of my early countdown to the countdown to Halloween, a staple I try to read every Labor Day. It's called The Summer People, about an elderly couple from New York, the Allisons, who spend every summer in their lakeside cottage in the country, always leaving on Labor Day. Except one year, when they decide to stay longer because of warm weather. And this is where their nightmare starts. The locals start getting passive-aggressive, warning them in vague terms that no "summer people" ever remained there after Labor Day. They stop providing the couple with kerosene and groceries, then their phone line is cut and their car won't start. I don't want to give more away, but it's a brilliant and subtle (well, it's Shirley Jackson after all) tale of eerie unease. You can read it here. As for my take on the story, it's this: never think it's still summer when September starts. Also: autumn comes faster than you think and you should respect that. You're welcome.

La Fête du Travail

 C'est aujourd'hui la Fête du Travail en Amérique. Je n'ai pas pu profiter de la Fête du Travail (en tout cas pas en septembre) depuis des années. C'est dommage, car un congé férié en septembre, autant dire en automne (oui, oui, septembre c'est l'automne, bon), même d'une seule journée, même un lundi, ben c'est pas mal idéal pour moi. Non seulement on peut profiter du début de la saison, mais ça adoucit un peu le retour au travail (ou à l'école). Bref, si je le pouvais, je l'importerais ici.

Isola in September

 I blogged about it last year, but I thought I would do it again for those like me who like to read seasonally. And who love crime fiction. Anyway, the second novel of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, The Mugger, is set in September. So it's a very autumnal novel, as well as a neat little suspense. Important recurring characters as introduced, such as Detective Meyer Meyer, Monroe and Monaghan, Fats Donner, also Eileen Burke. And Bert Kling is the main character of this entry, for the very first time. But yeah, for the anecdotal history and for the seasonal readers, it is a crime novel for September. The seasonal is beautifully rendered.

Prévente pour le Salon du livre

Je fais une annonce pour ceux qui peuvent et ceux que ça intéresse. Oh, et j'ai pris cette image sur la page Facebook du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Enfin bref, les passeports pour le Salon sont en prévente du 1er au 14 septembre. Moi, je n'ai pas besoin: j'ai mon passeport à vie. Pas que je puisse en profiter, mais qui sait, un jour peut-être, sait-on jamais. Enfin bref, c'est mon Salon du livre préféré, pour pleins de raisons. Allez-y.

The Autumn D&Dr Special Day

First, a disclaimer: this image is the front cover of a fantasy novel I absolutely loathe. That said, the artist Larry Elmore gives really nice atmospheric pics, if nothing else. And it suits this post. Today is a special day for Wolfie and me: a few weeks ago, he told me he wanted a special father and son day, in early autumn, where we would go to a café, eat and drink autumnal stuff, then play Dungeons & Dragons and Minecraft. I'm not sure how he came up with this idea, but it's a day to celebrate the new season doing our favourite seasonal activities. As meteorological autumn has started, we decided that today would be the day. If it's a success, it might become a family tradition.

Le Viennois en automne

Même si je suis de Chicoutimi, je n'ai jamais mis les pieds à la boulangerie et pâtisserie Le Viennois. Parce que j'étais déjà un peu expatrié quand ils ont ouvert en 1997, d'abord pour les études. Ce qui ne m'empêche pas d'être curieux à son sujet. Je me suis rendu compte qu'ils ont une section spéciale dans leur site pour les desserts d'automne. J'étais déçu de voir qu'elle était vide. Cela dit, après des recherches sur internet, j'ai pu retrouver une page qui présente un gâteau appelé Délice d'automne, décoré d'un tournesol. Je ne sais pas s'ils en vendent encore, mais ils devraient mettre à jour leur site et garnir cette section. Automne et pâtisseries, ça va bien ensemble.

Fauda Very Soon

You know I am a big fan of the Israeli crime/spy/action thriller series Fauda,for many, many reasons. It has gripping drama, it's very realistic, directed soberly, without the budgets of Hollywood, but with a quasi documentary style that makes it feel genuine. It's also full of atmosphere, and as a bonus, Krav Maga is often depicted, which makes it so very cool. Anyway, this post is a reminder, if there are fans of the series among my readers, or if you are curious about it: the new season will start on the 8th of September on Netflix. I cannot stress how good Fauda is.

Le coeur à l'automne

 Voici une chanson de Pierre Louki, paroles de Georges Brassens. Avant que l'automne arrive, je l'écoute souvent, puis je l'écoute encore une fois l'automne arrivée. Elle décrit parfaitement la saison.

A Bookmark from Warwick Castle

Some people buy collect stamps, spoons, wine bottles, dolls, sports cards, cars, etc. I collect bookmarks. Not only because I am a hopeless bookwork with more books on my TBR list than I have time to read, but because bookmarks are a really, really, really useful thing to collect. They always come in handy. When you have books, that is. Anyway, we recently had a short but very fun stay at Warwick Castle. So of course, I bought a bookmark as my personal souvenir from the place. It cost £2.50 I think. I might blog more about our stay, I'm conscious that the picture of a bookmark is not exactly the most exciting thing to see after spending some time in a important historical setting, but all the same, it's a nice looking bookmark and I like to blog about the little trivial things that make life.

La rentrée au cégep

Je sais que je suis en retard à commenter les nouvelles: les cégeps ont recommencé les cours depuis fin août. Mais je veux revenir sur la rentrée des cégeps. Parce que le cégep a été sans doute la fois où j'ai préféré mon retour à l'école. Je veux dire: j'ai toujours eu hâte à la rentrée au au Cégep de Chicoutimi. Et la session d'automne a toujours été ma préférée. Je n'ai jamais dit "enfin la rentrée" de ma vie d'étudiant, sauf au cégep et peut-être un peu à l'université. Mais surtout au cégep. Et même si le Cégep de Chicoutimi est par endroits d'une laideur hideuse, ben en automne, il peut avoir beaucoup de cachet, surtout son terrain et l'entrée de l'Ancien séminaire. Je vais essayer de trouver des photos dans les prochaines semaines.

"Back to school"

I share this image from What to Look For in Autumn, at least twice before, in 2024 and 2025. It might be turning into a tradition. As you probably guessed, Wolfie is back to school today. Things have looked very much like in this picture these last few days, rainy and cool. It feels like about half of the first days back to school of my own childhood. Every year since I am a father of a child of school age, I feel both nostalgic of my childhood as well as melancholic of the time that flies way too fast for my taste. 

Un ours à Falardeau

Ma cousine Amy l'artiste-photographe est allée au Zoo de Falardeau avec son mari et ses deux enfants il y a quelques jours.Elle m'a gentiment permis de partager les photos qu'elle a prises. C'est vraiment une photographe de talent. J'aime notamment la photo de cet ours grizzly. Il a l'air fatigué.

September 1936 (a crime fiction post)

You may remember that a few months ago, I rewatched The Sting, one of my favourite crime movies and probably my favourite heist film of all time. I'd say it might be the greatest heist film of all time. But I digress. Every time I rewatch an old classic I love, I try to pay attention to things I had not noticed before. I posted about one of these details back in May. Something else struck me on my last viewing: The Sting starts in September 1936. So it's a movie set in autumn. And it struck me that it had a very September, autumnal atmosphere through and through. For those who don't like horror but love crime fiction, this could be a film to watch in autumn.

La rentrée en librairie

Il ne faut pas oublier que ces temps-ci, c'est aussi la rentrée pour les libraires et les lecteurs. Par conséquent, j'aime fouiner sur les réseaux sociaux voir ce que les librairies préparent. Sur la page Facebook de la librairie d'Arvida Le Kiosque du Quartier, j'ai vu cette photo publiée il y a moins d'une semaine. Bon, ce n'est pas mon genre de roman, enfin il appartient à un genre que je ne lis pas, mais ça fait plaisir de voir une image automnale pour le début de la saison. Il va vraiment falloir que je fasse un tour à Arvida et dans cette librairie lors de mon prochain séjour au Saguenay.

Blessed September!

It is September at last! So happy September everyone! And happy first day of autumn. Because yes, I don't care what other people say, the season starts with the month, not the equinox. It's my favourite season and it cannot come too early. And as a yearly tradition on this blog, I celebrate the beginning of the month and the start of autumn with this picture of a sort of horn of plenty. My parents made that basket arrangement back in 2008 and took a series of pictures of it. I think it looks perfectly seasonal, with apples and crab apples and homemade jellies. What do you think?

"Le temps de la rentrée"

C'est la rentrée cette semaine ici. Une réalité que je revis maintenant que je suis papa. Et pour souligner ce temps-ci de l'année, la fin des vacances et le retour à l'école, j'ai pensé à cette chanson de France Gall. Chanteuse que je connais peu. Le Temps de la rentrée, puisqu'il s'agit de cette chanson de son répertoire, je l'ai découverte grâce au générique de fin d'un anime japonais. Et ça a l'air bien nono comme ça, mais je l'aime bien parce que ça représente un certain aspect de la fin des vacances et de la rentrée scolaire que l'on a tendance à oublier: le retour vers ceux qu'on aime. Quand on est adolescent, les vacances en famille finissent souvent par sembler trop longues.