Black & White Whisky

 Sometimes, I just receive flashes from the past and it gets stuck in my mind. For instance, I remember that in my parents' bars, when I was a kid, there was a bottle of Black&White whisky, with the very distinctive black and white dogs on the label, the black one a Scottish Terrier, the white one a West Highland White Terrier. Obviously, I was then too young to drink any, but the label caught my attention. I understand it's far from the best whisky to drink, but all the same, I am not a whisky connoisseur (I mostly drink beer) and since it appeared in a number of works, films and novels, some of which I love, I would not mind trying it. Plus, I have a bit of Scottish blood on me and the label just looks so Scottish. If anyone ever drank Black & White, tell me about your experience.

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.

Adopting a Pound Puppy?

I went to the local toy shop this weekend. I was happy to find the Pound Puppies. I hadn't spotted them before. I blogged about Pound Puppies twice already. We have plenty of plush toys here, but I would not mind adding one of these pups or two to our family's menagerie. Because I wouldn't adopt a real dog. But so far, Wolfie has been lukewarm at best about the idea. I'm not sure why, because he loves cuddly toys. I might buy one just for myself, for nostalgia's sake. He'll take it anyway. So yeah, I am pondering about adopting a Pound Puppy.

Pound Puppies

We went to the local toy shop last weekend. We did not stay long, just long enough to buy a birthday present for a friend of Wolfie. And enough time to see the stocks they have this time of year, thus giving me inspiration for future birthday presents. I was happy to see that they have a good selection of Pound Puppies. I knew they had them since last year. I was even tempted to buy one (the bottom right) for Wolfie, but decided to wait a bit. What is nice about Pound Puppies, is that each is unique. So it is almost like adopting a real dog, except without all the troubles.

Another new Pelecanos

Well, I a spoiled as a crime fiction reader. You may remember that, a year ago, I was complaining that George Pelecanos. had not published anything new in a while. Luckily, this year he published Owning Up, a collection of four novellas. That made me happy enough. I bought the book right away to have it on release, then I read it eagerly. I will blog about it again. But my luck did not stop there: I learned yesterday that he will release another novella, titled Buster: A Dog. About a dog named buster, of course, but it's also crime fiction. Knowing of Pelecanos' love of dogs and how they have been featured in his previous works, this story promises to be both original and touching. I am not much of a dog person, although there are a few dogs that I loved, however I pre-ordered the book.

Jólabókaflóð

I know about this before and I know we are not Christmas Eve yet, where it happens. But I did want remind you all of this Icelandic Christmas tradition of giving books on Christmas eve. I don't celebrate it, ironically enough, for a simple reason: I have enough books to read at the moment! Like a lot. Not to mention those to reread. I intend to do this until Christmas, between  all the preparations. And you, do you celebrate Jólabókaflóð? If so, please comment below. Maybe I have some Icelandic readers, who knows.

Literally Dead

For today's countdown to Halloween reading suggestion: Literally Dead,:Tales of Halloween Hauntings. Another welcome discovery this year. There's a lot of ghost stories in this anthology, and very solid ones too, but there's also a few creepy critters. Among them, a candy monster and a creature living in a fridge, both generous and nasty, if not dangerous. There are proper horror stories and dark (as in very dark) comedies, but if I had to give a general feeling to the whole body of work, I'd say it is nostalgia. With what it entails of sorrow, loss and melancholy. One doesn't always gets scared reading these stories, but they're terrifying in other ways. Oh and on a side note: what a cover.

A post box in Wallingford

My readers know that I love the little town of Wallingford. We try to go there as often as we can, because it is so darn enjoyable. During our last time there, we walked pass a post box with a pink crocheted dog on top of it. Although I am not a dog person, I found it so cute and quirky that I could not resist taking a picture. I believe it was placed there by a charity to raise awareness for breast cancer. Many post boxes in the UK have little extra things like this for special occasions, that makes them stand out. It brings a bit of fantasy to the mundane and trivial.

Pound Puppies are back!

 Well, that came off as a surprise: we went to the local toy shop yesterday and lo and behold, here is what I saw. On the picture, right there. I could not believe my eyes but yes, the Pound Puppies are back! I can still remember the jingle. My brothers and I loved Pound Puppies. What I loved about them and I hope it is still part of the brand, is that not one was the same to the other. There were different spots, different colours, shape and ear size for each one of them. So your puppy was always unique, he was your own. Wolfie did not seem to think all that much of them, but he might receive one or two for his next birthday.

Idyllic Autumnal Picture

I found this picture online,in one of the many autumn pages I am now following on social media and I wanted to share it here, as this blog is followed by many autumn lovers. I know that the image has been photoshopped, but all the same, I think it shows many things I love about autumn: fiery colours, chilly weather, warm comfy clothes, warm comfy blankets, hot black tea (and said tea without milk) in big but fancy tea mugs and, well, everything. Oh and I am no dog person but there is a cute dog too. Of course this picture is idyllic and borderline allegorical, but if it does not reflect reality it reflects my current state of mind. Right now, even though it is not very cold, the temperature still dropped a few degrees down, enough so I can finally wear long sleeves and jumpers as well as thicker socks, I wrap myself in blankets to read just for the fun of it, trees are starting to show colours and I drink a lot more tea. And you, how is your autumn so far?

Being the good Samaritan

Last Sunday, as I was walking on my way downtown to run some errands, passing by the local clinic, I was asked by an old lady if I had a pen on me. She was walking with her dog and had a few envelopes in her hands that she needed to post through the mailbox of a drugstore. She had forgotten to write a few things on the envelope. Thankfully, I had a pen in the breastside pocket of my coat, even better it was not out of ink, so I lend it to her for a moment. I held the dog's leash, who was curious and friendly towards me while she wrote her stuff. She profusely thanked me. So that was my good deed of the day and I played the role of the good Samaritan. Moral of the story: always keep a pen on you.

The In-Law's Autumn Mug

 Last time we visited Wolfie's maternal grandparents, a couple of weeks ago, my wife received her coffee in this mug. I loathe coffee, but I want this mug. I find it so perfectly autumnal. Or is it just me? I don't want to nick it (and anyway I have autumn mugs here too), but I do hope I am offered a drink in this mug next time I'm there. Talking of autmn, the wait has been a bit more bearable these days due to a much cooler weather.

Cerberus (myths and etymology)

I hope this does not come off as geeky, but I am a big fan of Greek mythology. I found this meme recently on the internet and I thought it was so good that I had to share it, even though I am not sure about its accuracy. Anyway, it is about Cerberus, the hound of Hades (I need to blog about the Greek God of Death one day, by the way) and the watchdog of his kingdom. Anyway, whether it's true or not, mythology is certainly not boring.

Le vin rouge (cheap)

Il y a quelques temps, j'ai commencé à boire du vin rouge à nouveau, parce que je m'en ennuyais. Je ne suis pas un grand amateur de vin, je suis plus bière et puis le vin rouge me fait éternuer. C'est d'ailleurs pour ça que j'avais arrêté d'en boire. Mais j'aime boire du vin rouge avec certains repas, alors j'ai pris le risque d'en acheter une grosse bouteille et de voir si je souffrais encore d'une intolérance aux sulfites. Il semblerait que non. Même si j'ai choisi une bouteille cheap de vin australien. Je ne suis pas assez connaisseur pour apprécier autre chose que de la piquette. Mais quand même: j'ai bu sans en souffrir par la suite. Yé!

Vers un Halloween blanc au Québec?

Ma cousine Amy l'artiste photographe m'a envoyé cette photo hier. Il neige au Québec. En automne, surtout en octobre, je trouve ça un peu tôt, même moi qui aime la neige. J'aime quand l'automne est automnal et ce l'est déjà moins quand c'est blanc. Mais je me pose donc la question: est-ce que le Québec se dirige vers un Halloween blanc? Bon, le chien de ma cousine ne semble pas s'en formaliser, mais j'avoue que moi ça m'agace toujours. Ici, on en a presque eu un en 2008, il avait tombé de la neige la veille, mais finalement c'était bien automnal, quoique glacial. Je crois aussi me rappeler qu'il y avait eu de la neige à l'Halloween 1988. Après cela, je me rappelle surtout d'Halloween froids, frigorifiants, mais où il n'y avait pas de neige.

Joe Cool

Well, nobody's cool like Joe Cool. Joe Cool being of course the alter ego of Snoopy, the imaginary cool (well of course) college student, who spends his time doing very little, especially study wise. He was first featured in Peanuts 49 years yesterday. When I was a child, I thought Joe Cool was funny, but I was not certain why. At college and uni, I saw what the appeal of the character was: he lives the ideal life of any college student. And he's just so perfectly laid back, so darn cool. I wish I had been like him and could have spent my years in education like he did, without a care in the world.

Imagination in a nutshell (and Snoopy)

We are soon going to celebrate the end of another war (at least in Europe), but today I thought I would share a comic strip from Peanuts with World War 1 as a backdrop (sort of). It made me laugh from beginning to end. You can see Snoopy and his brother Marbles. Some people have lots of imagination. Others, not so much. But when it comes to imagination, I am most definitely a Snoopy. And this strip is truly the story of many moments of my childhood.

Des louveteaux et des balles

Petite nouvelle scientifique mignonne sur laquelle je suis tombé récemment: les petits louveteaux peuvent aussi, comme les chiens, aller chercher la balle. Je parle bien entendu des petits du loup et de la louve, pas des jeunes scouts. C'est adorable, surtout pour ceux qui aiment les loups comme votre serviteur, mais ce n'est pas qu'anecdotique. La nouvelle met un peu plus en lumière la relation entre le chien et le loup et l'histoire de leurs évolutions respectives.

Stuffed dogs and quirky Totnes

A few years ago, when we decided to visit Devon and stay in the little town of Totnes, we were told by my sister-in-law's boyfriend that it was a very hippy town. Well, it sure has a lot of that, but what struck me is how quirky Totnes could be sometimes. For instance, there was a homeless man, or a man who used to be homeless, who was selling The Bag Issue (instead of The Big Issue) and had two stuffed dogs with him. I took a picture of him and the stuffed dogs. Here they are, with the little word to state the obvious... I found it hilarious. I have been trying to find more info about the man, no luck yet, but I often wonder if he still in Totnes.

The April Fool is here!

I could not forget to mention it: today is not only Easter, but also April Fool's Day. So I decided to celebrate it here, briefly, with a joke from Peanuts. One day I must blog about Snoopy as the Easter Beagle, but that will be for another Easter. And I don't know why I find this strip so funny, but I do. There is just something hilarious about Snoopy's disguise in this one.