My mom, D. and I went to Kelsey’s, but only this pic turned out well. I didn’t think to take one of us together, lol! (See next post.)

In fact, I’ve had my phone 5 whole months before I even thought to take my first ever selfie (which was of D. and I). What a slow learner I am, and a Luddite!! It’s the drugs, I swear!

Sorry to the subscribers for all the mass editing!

Since I do rattle on about socio-environmental issues in Canada, here are some ‘fun facts’ about my family below, since *credibility* is at a premium when one is a mental health survivor…

• A number of my relatives are 4th- and 5th-generation Chinese-Canadians;

• My parents obtained their respective degrees at Queen’s ’61 (Kingston, Ontario) and Mount St. Mary’s College ’64 (Los Angeles, California);

• My engineer father worked for Ontario Hydro for a couple of decades, and was responsible for a billion dollar project, back in the 1980s;

• My late grandfather (born 1909) and his 11 siblings were/are all university-educated, as was my grandmother I believe (she passed before I was born), and all my aunts and uncles on both sides of my family, and so on;

• My maternal aunt is in the Canadian Who’s Who, and has sat on the board of directors for TIFF, several hospitals, etc;

• 3 of my aunts, and 2 of my uncles (by marriage), are published authors;

• My cousin moved to the U.S. to study architecture, and ended up working in New York — this is one of his projects:

https://vimeo.com/103481838;

• My uncle (by marriage) had 3 uncles who served in the Canadian military during WWII, and their family restaurant Panama Café was a Victoria landmark from 1910 to 1967 (see photos below; I haven’t gotten around to digging out our family photos).

Pics from the extended family…

Interior of the Panama Café, ca. 1917. Chan Dun is standing behind the counter (City of Victoria Archives, M00274).

Standing in front of the Panama Café are Koo Ching Lim (left) and her husband Chan Dun (right) with three of their four sons who served in the Second World War: (from left) Ira, Paul, and Roy. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Chan).

Thanks Tony, be well. We love you.

(Note: These are NOT my photos; they come from an email circular.)

My relative who has been on psychiatric meds for over 40 years sent this email. She was able to stay at one job, got married, and has been active in church and in her communities.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who have children of their own, or have been like a mother to others! Have a great day and year!

No photography for, like, 6 months. Am having to relearn the very basics all over again – urghh!

These shots are from a day trip to Sibbald’s Point, out on Lake Simcoe, and a random pic of my dog. We did African drumming with Phil, Wendy, and Eric from Shaw Percussion.