Lilian Nattel's Blog, page 15

My Hawk and Grad

A week ago today, M graduated from middle school (grade 8). I tried hard not to bawl as the class procession walked through the gym and that was quite a task, I can tell you. My eyes tear up thinking of it. The boys were funny, some of them attempting at dignity, others not at all. The girls wore high heels (very high and clearly new to them) and they were gorgeous, M most of all. But what made my heart about burst out of my chest were the awards. M won two of them, for history and phys ed!

So today’s post is a shout-out to the Essex class of 2012, and loudest of all for M whose 13th Gotcha Day was the same week. And I remember when she was so small that she fit into my lap when I sat cross-legged to feed her a bottle in the middle of the night. Oh that toothless smile, I thought it was the most beautiful ever. But the smile I caught on camera the night of her grad, was more beautiful still.

And here is a photo of a young Coopers Hawk who posed for me in the park this morning. I was at a distance, using my small Lumix Panasonic fully extended to 16x. The hawk’s back was to me, but she turned to look over her shoulder, first casually then fiercely, practising for the hunt. (Click to enlarge)

Filed under: Beautiful Tagged: coopers hawk, graduation

Coopers Hawk

Coopers Hawk 3, originally uploaded by colographicalchemy.

I didn’t take this photo but I saw its match today. There is a family of Coopers Hawks nesting in the park a block from my house. This morning when I was out for a walk in the early morning, a young one was sitting on the fence taking in the scene. A squirrel walked by nonchalantly–she must have known the hawk was too young to hunt her.

Filed under: Miscellany

Life and Books

I am braving the heat in my sunny and a/c-less work corner (it’s the 3rd day of 34 degree heat) to post because it’s been so long. Last week, before the weather got hot, I went for a walk with A, one of our long walks: 20 km to the end of Queen St East and back. The next few days, we cleared out books, setting outside a number of boxes for neighbours to pick through. You can tell the kind of place we live in as everything was gone within hours.

Now I can actually find the books I have yet to read, and we have shelf space for new books. My kids are slightly creeped out by the neatness of the shelves in the living room: all the games neatly stacked, nothing flopping over or falling out or stacked in layers. You can actually read the book titles. Now for a couple of pics from the walk (click to enlarge):

This is a glimpse of Old Toronto (old meaning about 1870s):

And here is a church front in a gentrified area that used to be an Irish slum. Here’s my question: what is the meaning of the dollar sign intersected by a cross?

All right–I’m taking my netbook off to Starbucks to write, because our house has no a/c. And that is a story for another day.

Filed under: Fun, Personal Tagged: urban photography

Project Sanctuary: 27 Children Safe

This is the sort of story I collect, the kind that inspired Web of Angels:

Det. Paul Krawczyk and D/Const. Janelle Blackadar of the Sex Crimes Unit Child Exploitation Section could not conceive the impact they would have on young lives across the world and the magnitude of the operation – Project Sanctuary — in which the officers infiltrated a global child pornography network that was trading child sexual abuse images and videos.

A total of 60 suspects were rounded up around the world and nearly 225 charges were laid. But, most importantly, 27 children were rescued as a direct result of this investigation.

These officers recently received the Police Officer of the Year Award at the 45th annual ceremony on June 6. As a mother, I would like to add my congratulations as well as my appreciation for their amazing work.

Full story here.

Filed under: Uplifting Tagged: Child Exploitation Section, Toronto Police

Keep Calm Gallery

What's Inside – Multi | Hazel Nicholls | Artists | Keep Calm Gallery.

I love this! (Thanks to J who sent me the link!)

Filed under: Fun Tagged: fab babushka dolls

Light and Lively Reading?

My new project, which I’m now about 8,000 words into, is something different from anything I’ve done before. It’s a light (and I hope smart) novel. I won’t say anything more about it for now, but I need some book recommendations. I’ve been reading serious literary fiction and my non-fiction has consisted of an immersion in the Stalin era, except for the current book I’m reading, a memoir about a family’s history with depression. It’s time for a change.

I have a craving for some light and lively fiction. By that I don’t necessarily mean genre: I don’t want to read crime fiction, for example. On the other hand, I would consider Momo by Emile Ajar, which is poignant and hilarious, as well as brilliant (it’s about an Arab boy raised by an elderly Jewish woman who is a holocaust survivor and ex-prostitute), quite right for the moment, except that I’ve read it. Similarly The Finkler Question, which I also found hilarious and brilliant. I’m looking for humour, truth, and if possible beauty. But I’ll do without the beauty if sufficiently engaged and amused.

Any suggestions?

Filed under: Fun, Literary Tagged: book recommendations

Canada Tilts Leftward

The Canadian public is on a distinct tilt to the left, says a new national public opinion poll, suggesting concern over wealth distribution has traction beyond the Occupy tents and protest parades.

The nationwide poll suggests the New Democratic Party would form a minority federal government if this were election day and a strong majority of Canadians believe the country suffers from an income gap, where the rich are getting too rich and the poor are getting too poor.

via NDP making huge gains as Canada tilts leftward: poll | News | National Post.

In fact the poll showed that the popular vote of the undecided was higher for the NDP than the Conservatives.

Now, if the country can just hang on for the next few years without the current government dismantling health care and education and pouring oil all over any green space…

Filed under: Interesting Tagged: political hope

Heat and Skyline

Spring came early to Toronto. Summer arrived early too and I don’t like heat. Thank goodness it’s supposed to break next week. But we’re on the way to the island again. (Correction…I just stepped outside, and it’s too muggy for roller blading–it’s the mall for us. Kids just shouted hurray!) And since I’ve been neglecting my blog, I wanted to just put up a single picture of the skyline from last weekend’s roller blading adventure (click to enlarge):

Filed under: Beautiful Tagged: Toronto Island

Department of Amazing Life

Amazing animals – Mudskipper – YouTube.

Filed under: Fun, Interesting Tagged: mudskipper

A Brief Encounter with Meaning

Today I walked to the post office to mail a copy of my book to my dear friend J who is currently living in China. I’ve meant to do it for ages, but I was too busy and then I was recovering from being too busy.

So this afternoon I printed out the address in English and in Chinese characters, and packed the book, tape, a glue stick, pen and the address in my bag. I’d already inscribed the book, but on the way I planned to stop in a shop and buy a pretty card. I forgot. I forget a lot of things these days. Memory returned when I got to the post office, which takes up one corner of Shopper’s Drugmart. There were get well cards, birthday cards, anniversary cards, even cards of military appreciation there, but not a single, pretty blank card.

I checked the time. There wasn’t enough to go back to the card shop and get home in time for my children. I considered leaving without posting the book–and thought about how long it might be until I got around to the post office again. So I sent it without the card, all the while thinking about J and what a good friend she is, and how she sent a package to me with all kinds of delightful things in it, all the way from China. She is one of those friends with whom you can share all of yourself–a rarity.

So for J, I post this picture (click to enlarge) and the story that follows it:

At Shopper’s I bought a get-well card for someone I know who has just had back surgery. And while I was waiting in line, L, the cashier, was talking to the woman ahead of me. I missed the beginning of the conversation, but heard her say that she’s grateful every day because her son survived the car accident.

I asked L how old her son was. Thirteen, she told me, the same age as my older daughter. But he had been just five when the accident happened. That must have been hard, I said. Yes, she told me, her husband and daughter had died in the car accident.

My eyes misted. My son survived for a reason, L told me. For one thing, he kept me sane. You’d need a reason like that, I said.

I couldn’t say much, I was too inchaote with emotion, and thinking that this was about her and not me and I was not going to burst into tears. I said, Whenever I need a reminder that the small things don’t matter, I’ll come here and have a chat with you.

She said, The small things are important. And I said, yes we need them to lift us up.

I was wondering if the extent of her tragedy separated her from other people, the way these things sometimes do. Life had scarred her. It had raked her heart. It had made her different. We looked into each other’s eyes. That was all I could give her right then. A customer was behind me.

I walked away appreciating the gorgeous day and the fact that both my children were on their way home from school, that I kissed my husband this morning, that I have a friend of rare beauty in China. And I thought this: sometime when I tell someone what I went through as a child, and I am feeling different and scarred, I’ll have to remember that there are a lot of us walking around with invisible scars, and we are teaching each other gratitude.

Filed under: Personal, Uplifting Tagged: gratitude