Cold, clear, and a Tuesday with some good options tonight

Bonjour-hi, and welcome to a cold one. It's zero degrees this morning under a clear sky, the kind of crisp Tuesday where the air bites your face on the walk to the métro but the sun is doing its best. Bundle up properly, and if you're heading out for a 5 à 7 or a show, remember the sun goes down at 5:49 this evening, so anything after that is a night outing, not a daylight one. The UV is modest at 3.0, so sunglasses are a nice-to-have rather than a must.

On the bins: garbage collection is moving to every two weeks in more boroughs, and bins become mandatory from November 2. If your collection schedule has changed, check your borough's calendar this week so you're not hauling a full bin to the curb on the wrong day. It's the kind of small thing that's easy to miss until the truck has already gone by.

A few things in the news are worth knowing before you head out. The Quebec sovereignty question is back in the conversation, 31 years after the 1995 referendum, so expect it to come up at the dinner table. The premier is set to meet the AFNQL on Wednesday after skipping the Ottawa first ministers summit, which is a story you'll hear a lot about this week. And if you're someone who likes to look at the numbers behind the transit system, L'ARTM has launched a public mobility data hub with ridership, service and accessibility figures, which is a good spot to see how the métro and buses are really doing. On a heavier note, a Quebec coroner has resumed the public inquiry into heavy truck collisions that killed a mother and her five-year-old son, a reminder to give the big trucks some room on the road.

If you're grabbing food today, be a little careful with the shelves. Several recalls are out: Boulangerie Richard has pulled pâtés over undeclared wheat and fish allergens across Quebec, a Montreal-North bakery has recalled all its products over possible wood contamination, and Néo Chips freeze-dried fruit sticks are being recalled for possible dried stem fragments. If you've got any of those at home, check the labels before you eat them. On the restaurant side, six Amir locations across Quebec were fined $12,500 for food safety violations over the past year, so this might be a day to double-check where you're ordering from.

Tonight, live music is the main event. Sting is in town at MTELUS at 6:30, Loreena McKennitt's strings take over the Maison Symphonique at Place des Arts at 7:30, and if jazz is more your speed, the Jazz Sessions au Balcon start at Le Balcon at 7:00. For something different, El-Funoun Dance Troupe's Ya Saheb Al Tair is on at L'Olympia at 7:30. Everything tonight is indoors, so the cold won't be a factor once you're inside. Dress warm for the walk there and back, and book your ride or check the métro schedule before you leave, since the evening will be dark early.

Have a good one, and bring a toque.