Full House Chinese Cuisine: Dim sum lunch for Lunar New Year had been deferred, family schedules have been busy. Youngest son arrived first with hunger, placed triple orders beyond the capacity of our stomaches. Quality food, good service, no crowds on weekends, this restaurant is becoming a favourite. (Full House Chinese Cuisine, Finch Avenue East, Scarborough, Ontario) 20250209Milliken Mills East neighbourhood: Friendly family game of mahjong with one master and three novices. Relaxed pace, as we’re discovering the tactics of finishing off a hand to win. Not a regular player, I discovered that I picked up a few heuristics from a childhood of watching parents play with Northern Ontario Chinese diaspora. (Milliken Mills East neighbourhood, Markham, Ontario) 20250209Four Winds Hollow neighbourhood, Mississauga: Annual Superbowl party, with the younger crowd coalescing around the kitchen table in front of a big screen. Turned down audio volume and relied on closed captioning, as our conversation was not related to sports. Enjoyed BBQ burgers from outside grill, weekend snow relented for a few hours. (Four Winds Hollow neighbourhood, Mississauga, Ontario) 20250209OCADU Graduate Programs: Full house at #SystemsThinking Ontario session on “Evolving Styles for Learning Systems Thinking”, relating history and updates in progress for Understanding Systems course in OCADU SFI program. Relaxed conversation with some current students, alumni, and extended community in Toronto. Restarted tradition of post-session dinner on Queen Street West. https://wiki.st-on.org/2025-02-13 (OCADU Graduate Programs, Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20250213Bakery Lane: Timed Sunday afternoon snow shovelling by hand, clearing 17cm accumulation in front of garage with precipitation ending within the hour. Plows might come to laneway by Tuesday if we’re lucky, aimed for a zone where car won’t get stuck. Placing snowbanks is an art, so that neighbours aren’t blocked. (Bakery Lane, Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20250216Pape Village: Family Day dinner combined with deferred birthday recognition. Joined by winter storm refugee with cancelled train to Montreal. City streets moving slowly with only major routes cleared. (Pape Village, Broadview Avenue, East York, Ontario) 20250217Assured Automotive: Three-vehicle collision that occurred 23 days ago, finally admitted our vehicle for body work with 7 to 9 days estimate to repair. Adjuster assessed not our fault, the driver in curb lane probably didn’t check blind spot, and turned left to hit the front bumper. Had “damage reported to police” sticker, car was functional except front passenger door was jammed. (Assured Automotive, King Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20250219Jimmie Simpson Recreation Centre: Advance poll for provincial election called early since last vote in 2022. Three days after big snowfall, sidewalks and side streets are still to be cleared. Wondering if winter obstacles encourage more voters who are unhappy with the incumbent ruling party. (Jimmie Simpson Recreation Centre, Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20250220
Queen Street East at Saulter Street: Thursday night walk home, discovered last leg on transit interrupted by construction. Workers on site around the clock to replace new rails and concrete. Estimated one week to complete, this means minor annoyance to walk 2 streetcar stops. (Queen Street East at Saulter Street, Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20250227Soulpepper Theatre: Cast of Kim’s Convenience taking bows for performance, announced as extended twice before moving on to San Francisco. We didn’t see the original production, and noted the pacing as considerably faster than we experienced with the tv show. Following the family pattern of attending local Asian-Canadian plays. (Soulpepper Theatre Co., Tank House Lane, Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario) 20250228
