No more legacy interface

 Well, I was dreading it, but it seems that the option to keep the legacy interface of Blogger is not available anymore. So I will be now stuck with the new interface forever. Unless, that is, I decide to move this blog somewhere else. That said, as I always liked the look of Vraie Fiction and changing host seems to be tedious, I will keep blogger for now. At least, the navigation and editing are easier than it has been before, so I guessed they worked to improve this "new" blogger. Maybe I just have to get used to it.

"Beau-thé"

 "Beau-thé" comme dans "Aujourd'hui, vous êtes en beau-thé". Tel qu'écrit sur une l'étiquette d'une poche de thé, prise chez mes beaux-parents il y a deux semaines. Il y avait aussi une version anglaise de l'autre côté, je ne l'ai pas prise en photo et je ne m'en rappelle plus (je ne me rappelle pas non plus de la marque de thé), mais c'était aussi atroce. Le thé était bon, ne me méprenez pas, mais ce calembour est vraiment imbuvable. Je me demande qui est le génie dans l'équipe de marketing qui a pensé à ça. C'est peut-être intentionnel que le jeu de mots soit aussi mauvais, qui sait.

Seasonal pasta bake

One of the many things I love about autumn, is the hearty food you eat. I am always on the lookout for more autumnal dishes. My wife is vegetarian and she likes to try new veggie recipes, either from her many, many recipe books, or from the internet. So around this time of year, she generally cooks something we could both enjoy. We are not always lucky, but sometimes she strikes gold. She did this week, when we found a pasta bake recipe from a book (booklet really, it's only a few pages) I bought during our holiday in Devon a few years ago: Vegetarian Recipes from the West Country. At £2.99, it was a bargain. What got our attention was the "Devon farmhouse cheddar, bramley apple and pasta bake". I am not sure how authentically Devonian, but it is definitely an autumnal dish: because it is hearty for one, with plenty of milk, cream and cheese to fill you up, and also because it has apples in the recipe. Apples being of course the fruits of autumn.

It might seem strange to mix apples and pasta, but it turned out really good. Of course by hindsight it made perfect sense: apples go well with cheese and thus it enhances the cheese sauce flavour. There is so much tasty stuff in there: the cheddar, the apples, the leeks and the tarragon (my wife is not a fan of the latter). A lot of the dish we had tried in last autumn had not gone so well, so we are really happy to have found something we both enjoy (Wolfie is a bit more fussy, if you were wondering). Anyway, as the book is out of print, I thought it would be okay to share the recipe here. If you bake it, tell us what you thought of it. We will definitely do this recipe again.

Trouver les feuilles d'automne

J'ai pris cette photo à Wallingford, le petit village anglais plein de cachet que j'aime tant. C'était vers la fin août, quand le temps était plus automnal, ironiquement, qu'il l'a été durant les derniers jours. Mais ça se tasse encore une fois et la saison devient un peu plus typique, alors je ne me plaindrai pas. Cela dit, il y a une chose qu'il y a (avait) à Wallingford et que nous n'avons pas encore beaucoup ici: des feuilles qui ont changé de couleurs. Ici, elles sont encore rares. Je sais que la saison est encore jeune, mais je suis à l'affût des couleurs automnales. Hier, il a venté et quelques feuilles sèches sont tombées dans le jardin. Ce n'est pas tout à fait ce que j'espérais, mais c'est mieux que rien.

A toad in our garden

You may remember that I blogged a few weeks ago about a possible frog hiding in our garden. Well, it turned out we were only half right: it is not a frog but a toad. We found it this week, when I noticed that Domino was trying to bite something in the grass. I thought it was another mouse (Domino is a merciless mouser), then I saw this little fella. I managed to hold Domi and bring him back inside, so the toad survived unscathed. I even had the time to take this picture. Now I have no idea how the toad got there, or if he is a permanent resident or just a regular visitor. In any case, this is pretty cool news.I think we must find it a name.

Revisiter Le port de tête

Je ne sais pas trop quand je vais revoir Montréal, avec tout ce qui se passe avec la pandémie ça risque d'être plus tard que je le voudrais. Quand j'y retournerai, j'espère avoir le temps de bouquiner dans les librairies où j'allais d'habitude, mais aussi celles que j'ai à peine eu le temps de découvrir quand j'y suis retourné. Dont notamment Le Port de tête. C'est un tout petit commerce, une librairie comme on n'en fait plus, mais j'y ai toujours trouvé au moins un titre que je voulais acheter. J'espère que la pandémie ne leur a pas fait trop mal.

Autumn Chronicle Again

I thought it is time for a quick blog post about autumn as it is in this part of the world. As since the beginning of this week it has been very hot, with temperatures above 25, approaching 30 even. It would be an Indian summer but for the fact that we haven't had a first frost yet (which would be quite early in September anyway). I don't like it much generally, I find it too sticky. That said, it has been strangely bearable overall, although I had to wear my short sleeves, which I hate this time of year. But I will not complain: after tomorrow, the temperatures should gradually go down. I can't wait to wear warmer clothes. Otherwise, I can at least take consolation in the fact that sundown comes noticeably earlier. So not the ideal autumn, but the month is still fairly young. And how's autumn where you are?

Le franglais de petit loup

Mon fils comprend très bien le français, en tout cas quand c'est son père qui le parle. Il le parle moins souvent, mais parfois il insert des mots français dans ses conversations anglaises. Il m'est arrivé hier avec cette perle: "When will daddy's barbe grow back?" Il préfère que je sois rasé de près et fraîchement rasé, voyez-vous.

Some beavers were there

My father recently sent me pictures of the piece of woodlands owned by my uncles (his brothers). They have beavers dwelling in the lake on their property. They don't always see them, but they can see their work: these trees have been gnawed by them, as you can see. I must say, I find this very impressive, it's like beavers have teeth that do the work of a chainsaw. They look all cute and fluffy, not as cute as otters, but still, yet they are like the ravenous vandals of the forest.

Encore le pâté à la truite

Mes parents ont encore fait un pâté à la truite il y a quelques jours. Je dis "encore" le dernier datait de juillet, mais ça faisait un bail (quelques années?) qu'ils n'en avaient pas fait. Et moi, ça fait des années, au moins une décennie, que je n'en ai pas mangé" Ça me manque.

Autumn Birthdays

It was recently little Wolfie's birthday. As expected he was spoiled with lots of presents, among them this combined harvester from Playmobil. Spoiled, but thankfully always grateful: he was happy and even enthusiastic with every single present he received. We probably have done something right with him, but I also think this in part due to the fact that his birthday is in autumn. I was discussing this with my brother PJ, who also celebrate his birthday in autumn, and it seems that from what we can remember, the birthdays of our childhood we celebrated in that season always seemed cooler somehow. The presents at his birthday always seemed more inspired than the ones my brother Andrew or myself received. Maybe there were better toys on sales due to the coming winter season? Maybe because I was already unconsciously an autumn lover and thought it was nicer to celebrate during this season? Maybe it is just the nostalgia talking and twisting my old memories. I am not sure why, but I often remember more PJ's birthday presents than my own. But I cannot complain now that Wolfie has his birthday in autumn. Having a young child, it gives you a second childhood.

Le gâteau d'anniversaire de petit loup

Le gâteau de fête de notre fils cette année. Ma femme voulait quelque chose de plus élaboré, mission accomplie de ce côté: glaçage à la vanille, confiture de fraises entre les deux étages, Kit Kat, Smarties et Maltesers pour faire beau, avec la pelle mécanique et le camion en plus parce que ben, notre petit loup, c'est ça qui l'intéresse. Pour la présentation, il n'y a pas à dire, c'est réussi, contre toutes attentes parce que mes gâteaux sont souvent des gâtastrophes de ce côté. Même si parfois la confiture s'est mélangée au glaçage, ça ne paraît pas. Le problème, c'est que riche comme ça, il est pas mal indigeste.

How to celebrate the big 4-0

Here is a little anecdote that happened yesterday, when I was buying icing sugar for Wolfie's birthday cake. I went to a small local grocery shop, the one where I buy my tea. The lady at the shop asked me what we were going to do for our boy, I told her: "Given the circumstances, not much apart from eating a cake and giving him far too many presents." So we chatted a bit about how we need to adapt with the pandemic and everything and she said: "Oh my boyfriend will be turning 40 soon, and I have no idea what to do on a 40th birthday. How do you celebrate it?" My reply: "Speaking from experience, by drinking your sorrow." I think that deserves to be a great unknown line. It made her laugh anyway.

La pomme McIntosh en voie de disparition

Je partage pour la deuxième fois cette photo prise par mon père au Marché Jean-Talon. J'ai appris hier une très triste nouvelle en lisant la grosse Presse en ligne: la pomme McIntosh est en voie d'extinction, parce que de moins en moins populaire. Ça m'a scié les jambes. C'est LA meilleure variété de pomme. Il n'y a pas plus pomme qu'une pomme McIntosh. Et comme la pomme est le fruit de l'automne pour moi (ainsi que le fruit des récoltes d'automne), c'est un peu un aspect de l'automne québécois que l'on risque de perdre avec elle. Alors j'espère qu'elle regagnera en popularité pour survivre.

Another year of 9/11

It is a sad anniversary, but every year I commemorate it on Vraie Fiction. So it is the 19th anniversary of 9/11. I have very little to say apart from mentioning it, and as usual poiting you to my post of the previous years: from 2008 and from 2009 especially as I am very proud of them. My posts from 2011, 2012 and 2013 you may also find appropriate to read today. In a year of pandemic, a few (some who were too young then perhaps?) may find the actions of the terrorists almost trivial in scope, but let's not forget that the vicious murder of so many innocent lives to religious fanaticism is also the symptom of a disease that is still sadly a threat to us all.

Question existentielle (364)

Alors que l'on prépare la fête de petit loup et que nous sommes en pleine opération d'emballage de cadeaux, il m'est venu cette question existentielle:

-Est-ce moi, ou est-ce qu'il y a de moins en moins d'emballage dans les rouleaux de papier d'emballage?

The Autumn Chronicle

So how is your autumn so far, since the beginning of September? I say this and here it felt like autumn had started at least a week before, as the temperature was cool and we had started wearing warmer clothes. Even the leaves on the trees had started changing colours. It has been warmer for the last few days, enough to wear short sleeves, but it should cool down today and remain fairly cool during the weekend. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I am not complaining anyway: even when it is warmer, it remains in lower twenties, and only in the middle of the day when the sun is out. Otherwise, the air keeps a certain chill. Even when it is warm, there is that unmistakable autumn smell, something that reminds you that we are this time of year. Oh and you can finally notice the evening coming earlier and earlier. In fact, even daylight in September seem to be somewhat tainted and not as strong. I don't know about you, but I'm really enjoying it.

Rosa, rosa, rosam...

Je sais que j'ai déjà blogué la chanson Rosa de Jacques Brel, mais ça fait dix ans, alors je me permets de le refaire. Je la partage encore une fois pour un peu les mêmes raisons: c'est le retour à l'école depuis quelques jours ici et même si on n'apprend plus guère les déclinaisons latines ni le catéchisme (heureusement!), on doit bien s'ennuyer un peu sur les bancs d'école, comme durant la jeunesse de Grand Jacques ou durant la mienne. Moi qui suis en général un incorrigible nostalgique, je ne m'ennuie pas de tout ce qui concerne la partie catholique de mon éducation.

M&S: first Halloween display

Oh, I am really loving it these days: after seeing a pumpkin growing in the local allotment, I saw the first Halloween display at the local Marks & Spencer. Even though it s a very small M&S, almost exclusively for food. Which is all right: however small, although I cannot always find what I need, I always find something I want. Such as: Halloween delicacies. People must have thought me crazy, but I took a picture of the display anyway. So it was fairly modest, but still, there was the usual features of Jack O'Lantern, mostly chocolate delicacies, some sweets and even some cheese puffs in the form of vampire fangs (I bought a bag, because I'm a sucker, pun intended.) I can't wait to see more in the upcoming weeks.

Les canards et le héron

J'ai pris cette photo la fin de semaine dernière, lors d'une promenade avec une famille de nos amis. C'était dans une ville voisine, qui est assez laide, mais qui a d'assez jolis parcs parfois, dont celui où l'on marchait. Et dans la rivière du parc, nous avons vu des canards et un héron. Je n'ai rien d'autre à dire, sinon que j'ai toujours associé les canards à l'automne. Ce n'est pas encore la photo la plus automnale, mais quand même, on commence à reconnaître la saison, je crois.