On a beautiful day recently, A and I walked for 4 hours. At Sunnyside Beach, where in another time people danced to the music of big bands in the Palais Royale, I saw a swan. I learned that this is an aggressive and invasive species, unlike the native swans with
Continue readingAuthor: Lilian Nattel
A Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Review: Little Failure
Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a memoir about life as an immigrant child from the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s, a subject that I’ve become very interested in because of this memoir. I rated this a four (though I am
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Review: Tenth of December
Tenth of December by George Saunders My rating: 5 of 5 stars Brilliant stories. My favourite was only two pages and in that compact space told the story of a father’s rage and pathos through the vehicle of an unusual scarecrow. A book I want to own. View all my
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Review: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson My rating: 5 of 5 stars A book people seem to love or hate. I did laugh out loud. It’s a tall tale, not my favorite genre usually: the hundred year old man runs away from
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Sunrise on New Moon
(click to enlarge) Part of my project for 2014 is to pay attention to the day. Every morning I jot down in a notebook the time of sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset, the phase of the moon, and the weather, not the forecast, but the feel of the day:
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Real Winter
kitchen window (click to enlarge) I thought that climate change would end winter. Instead it ricochets from one season to another. Everything at hyper-speed, plants, animals, viruses on the move. We’re riding the rapids. Hang on! Filed under: Beautiful, Concerning Tagged: winter photography
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Cardinals Know the Day
I heard cardinals singing this morning. They know the days are getting longer. – A One minute longer than yesterday. Filed under: Uplifting Tagged: city birds
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Sun on Ice
It’s very cold but I’m grateful for the sun. (click to enlarge) Sending warm thoughts to everyone still waiting for power and to all those working so hard to restore it. Filed under: Uplifting Tagged: urban photography
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Toronto Ice Storm: Birch Tree
Mercifully we have power. So I can appreciate the beauty of this: (click to enlarge) That’s the birch tree leaning over our back balcony. Across the street the limb of a tree fell down on a power line. A neighbour set up orange pylons around it. I pray for the
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Cat’s Eyes or Owl’s
Winter night It was pitch black to my human eyes, but this is the way an owl sees or a cat, I thought. The camera was on a tripod, the lens wide open for six seconds. The world was light. Filed under: Beautiful, Interesting Tagged: night photography
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: The Day Calls
Car Rainbow (click to enlarge) The day calls to you and you call back. Filed under: Uplifting Tagged: urban photography
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Archie and Thanks for the Books
I use Grammarly for proofreading because I want Veronica to love me. – Archie We’ve been having an Archie issue in this house. Archie and his pals (my fave is Jughead) hide under pillows and on top of bathroom shelves. Now, I have nothing against those folks. When I was
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Richness
I was trying on a jacket at The Bay. It cost twice as much as I’d normally spend, but there was a 50% off sale. H said, “You look like a rich lady, Mommy.” I was out for the day with my two daughters. I didn’t need the jacket. I
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Camera Parable
Recently, I bought a new lens. It was a cloudy day with intermittent rain, but I couldn’t wait for better conditions. So as soon as I left the shop, I took my camera out of my purse, removed the jerry-rigged camera bag (a pink sweatshirt sleeve), and checked the light
Continue readingA Writer's Playground: Lilian Nattel Online: Happy Dance for Alice Munro’s Nobel
Alice Munro wins the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first Canadian woman to take the award since its launch in 1901. Munro, 82, only the 13th woman given the award, is considered one of the world’s greatest writers of short stories. via Alice Munro is 1st Canadian woman
Continue readingA Writer's Playground: Lilian Nattel Online: Creatures in Lake Ontario
Today I rambled along the boardwalk of Toronto Island and this is what I saw: Cormorant The cormorant stood drying her wings for as long as I was taking photos. Mink I never knew that mink had such cute faces. He scrambled up and down the outcrop of rock, swam
Continue readingA Writer's Playground: Lilian Nattel Online: Postcard Story
After finishing Web of Angels, I did some writing exercises to get used to facing the blank page again so I could start something new. Recently, I re-read what I wrote then. This small piece of fiction surprised me, and I want to share it with you today. Sunday My
Continue readingA Writer's Playground: Lilian Nattel Online: Elephant
Toronto Zoo Click to enlarge and see her beautiful eyes as she looked at me on my birthday. The elephants are being prepared for transfer to an elephant sanctuary. It was a joy to see her before she goes. Filed under: Beautiful Tagged: urban photography
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Grammarly vs Word
I used Grammarly to grammar check this post because summer is nearly at an end and I’d rather spend my time outside than proofreading…especially after putting Grammarly through all its paces. I evaluated Grammarly using two pieces, a project description of my own, and a 300 word assignment of my
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Mystery Station: for train lovers
Filed under: Fun Tagged: Bessarion, TTC charms
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