Inspired by Blog Action Day, I’m writing about food while having my first (late!) coffee of the day. I’ve been on an oatmeal craze ever since a lower wisdom tooth was fixed (and my cheek swelled a lump the size of a pingpong ball) because it’s soothing and the maple syrup on it is a […]
Tag: personal
Terahertz: My November Cafe Inquiry: Humanism and Interfaith
In December I’m going to be doing a sermon for a Unitarian Church in Surrey on Humanism as part of their interfaith series. In preparation for that, I agreed to do a Cafe Inquiry for CFI Vancouver on Humanism. Realizing that we all (generally) agree that humanism is good, I decided to mix it up […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Reunion
I spent this weekend with half a dozen families that I know very little and at the same time very well. We meet every year, our bond based on the most important of commonalities: we received our babies together. Now these children are all 13 years old. Some have older siblings, bio and adopted, a […]
A Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Writing and Weeping
I intended to post my report about Scrivener yesterday, and I have photos from my Thanksgiving walk to upload. But instead I imported a document to Scrivener. It was a book I began months ago but had to put aside while working with my publisher on Web of Angels. Yesterday I looked at the few […]
I am a blogger. I am not a journalist.
I am a left-of-centre progressive. I do not pretend to be neutral. I am a blogger. I am not a journalist.
I do not take money under the table from political parties, lobbyists or special interest groups. In fact, I make no money from blogging. I am a blogger. I am not a . . . → Read More: I am a blogger. I am not a journalist.
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Should I Combine 2 Blogs?
Okay friends, I’d like your input. After just starting Canlit Rocks, I’m wondering if I am biting off more than I can chew (especially with a still broken wisdom tooth!). What would you advise: should I combine that blog with this one or ke…
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: My Memories of the Literary Triumverate
When I was a teenager, 3 great literary icons were coming into prominence, all of them women writers: Margaret Laurence, Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood. Of these Margaret Laurence was the oldest, and her writing career was a relatively brief flash. Her best known books were written in one decade, her last novel published when […]
Canada’s Shame
We are mute with shame here in Canada. Shame for our Professional Media. Even our beloved CBC doesn’t have the decency to cover the new American Revolution. You were there for Egypt, you covered the hell out of Libya, sickeningly slick graphics and foreboding intro music and all. But when our biggest trading . . . → Read More: Canada’s Shame
Continue readingA CK Special Birthday Edition — Fun Facts About 1967
Well, boys ‘n’ girls, it is the Birth Anniversary of your humble scribe. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I gave away my age. Move on. Before I go on, I have noticed some of the fools from Nexus have stopped by today. The least you coulda done was left a Birth Anniversary wish! Yeesh! You’re . . . → Read More: A CK Special Birthday Edition — Fun Facts About 1967
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Writing Again
I have 2 projects on the go–a fun idea and a serious one. However, from past experience, I know that fun can morph into serious and serious can take a completely different turn from where I begin. So this time I have no expectations of where I’ll end up with either or perhaps with something […]
A Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: A Sweet New Year
Rosh Hashanah starts tonight, the Jewish New Year, and in celebration we’ll dip apples in honey to ensure a sweet new year for us and all our friends, online and offline. Have a wonderful one, dear friends. From The River Midnight: The village of Blaszka has reached the final moment of Yom Kippur. The Rabbi […]
A Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Low Tech and High Tech
Today there was construction on my street and I have a cold. The combination of noise and brain fog meant no work. Instead I listened to music and sewed in the most low tech way, with a needle and thread. I am not a great sewer but I enjoy it greatly. There is something peaceful […]
wmtc: green tomatoes, red socks, and a white dog, plus libraries of many hues
For those of you following…First, and most importantly, Tala. She is doing really well! After our last trip to Guelph, we added on a second medication, one designed to specifically target nerve pain. We had to give that several weeks to kick in, with…
Continue readingMolly'sBlog: Molly’sBlog 2011-09-18 22:13:00
PERSONAL:GROWING UP WITHOUT THE STATE:It’s been many many years since I left my old home town. 48 if I count right. I left it at precisely the right time, when I was turning 13. Enough of “being one with nature”. Time to get into some serious trouble. …
Continue readingwmtc: back to school
My classes resume today, my third year of four, fifth term of eight. I’ve been dreading this for weeks, but for the past few days, the dread has been overwhelming. I’m halfway done with the program, but for some reason, the start of this school year fe…
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: 10th Anniversary: Sept 11th
Ten years ago, I was the mother of one, working on my second novel. A friend called me about the news. When I said, “hello,” she said, “Have you heard?” I knew it was bad. The TV shots replayed the towers going down and I wondered if this was the beginning of the end of […]
wmtc: celebrating jack: "one should always have a dream that is bigger than a lifetime"
Nothing remains to be said about Jack Layton, the man and the leader. I certainly can’t say anything that hasn’t been said so many times already. I can only continue to miss him, and to pledge my determination to his cause – to our cause. But I thought…
Continue readingDear Jack…
I have tried three times this week to compose this letter, each time only to trail off in a cloud of tears. Here it goes.
First of all, I want to thank you for your selfless service to your country. We talked about service when I asked you about the F-35 sole sourced . . . → Read More: Dear Jack…
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Thoughts on a State Funeral
20 years ago, Jack Layton founded the white ribbon campaign to end violence against women. Now it is a movement across 60 countries. That’s what I learned while watching his funeral service today. I was bawling, not over the sadness, but the dignity and nobleness of the occasion. I’m spurred on by Jack’s integrity, by […]
wmtc: follow-up: cuisinart honours its warranty
Although this earlier post – “we work to buy things that are built to die so that we must work to buy more things that will break” – was not meant to be about the trials and tribulations of my coffee maker, I do want to finish that part of the story.Al…
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