Winter in Ontario

There are some years when we get to Christmas and we look out the window and wonder if we are ever going to get snow and then there are the years that we have snow way before Christmas. This year we had snow earlier in December and then most of it melted so Christmas at least in Toronto was one of those where you could wear running snows and not worry about slipping and sliding. 

In southern Ontario the snow came on December 26^th when we got hit with quite a bit of snow. Of course, it made driving rather difficult so anyone that was heading off to see relations had to deal with snow covered roads for most of the day. For us, it was a day to stay home and not think about venturing out. We finally did go out on the 30^th of December just to get out and see what it was like out, but boots were part of what was needed for that trip out.

The weather has also been very cold which hasn’t helped at all because it isn’t even enjoyable being out in the snow so for us it’s been a season of hiding at home and not wanting to deal with the wind chill that we have been getting. Being able to go out only when we had to go out was nice.

January 5^th which was the first day back to work and school was met with another 10 cm (4 inches) of snow which isn’t something anyone wanted to see when they were trying to commute to work. It resulted in a rather messy day on the roads. Being able to work at home does have its advantages because we didn’t have to deal with the traffic or the snow.

Here it is the next day when I write this, and we are now under a freezing rain warning with a possible accumulation of 1 to 5 mm of ice accretion or build up possible. This isn’t the start to the new year that people have wanted. School buses outside of Toronto have been cancelled because of this year so it isn’t the start that anyone wanted. The forecast for the next few days so looks like it is going to warm up some so we will see if that really happens. We may still get rain but the forecast for Friday is 9C (48F) so a lot of the snow is going to melt.

Yes, winter in Ontario is so different and you don’t have to drive very far out of the City of Toronto before you see lots more snow. We will see what the rest of the winter is like and know that there are other places even in Ontario and other parts of Canada that are getting worse weather than us.

Why people do online shopping versing going into a store

There are so many times that I wonder why people do online shopping versus going to a store to buy and purchase something else. I think I have figured out why, just being able to purchase things in a store makes me happy, but you have to understand that there are times that I would like to just walk into a store and pick up the items that I need and not have someone trying to figure out how they can help me when I know what I want and I know where to find things. 

What I have found is that sometimes I need to figure out what is available online and maybe it is more important to just pick up the items that I need versus doing an online order. Sometimes there are things that you might be able to find online, but the delivery is going to be three or four days, but it is available in the store immediately, so you have to make the decision if picking it up in person is more important than getting the item delivered.

What is overwhelming is trying to figure out if doing an online pick up for an item in store, versus going into the store to find the item versus ordering the item online and getting it delivered, which is better. It can be such a challenge to figure out the price difference and the timing difference because there are times that ordering something online and getting it delivered means you will get it faster with last frustrations than going into the store and trying to find the item or standing around waiting while a person tries to find your online order.

It can be such a frustrating thing to try and figure out what is the best way to find a items, but it might not be available to purchase in store, and it might be available to purchase online for a store pickup but that is going to be longer than if I just purchase online and get it delivered to my house and if I purchase enough I will get free shipping.

In our case we discovered that something that I wanted to purchase was available at the store that we were visiting but when I checked online those items were not available in that specific location. Before we went to the store I decided to look up what was available for a specific scent and they told me that nothing was available, but when we got there the quantity that was available was far more than I expected. I was able to purchase what I wanted without having to dig through multiple bins to find what I wanted, and I walked out with more than I originally thought I might be able to get.

So something that I found is that the company website might tell you that I an item you are looking for might not be available in that location but you need to do to that location because it might just be sitting on a shelf and is ready to be purchased.

Another year has come and gone, 2025

Here it is the start of a new year, and it is time to look back to see what happened in this last year. The good news is I was able to post a blog every week in 2025 which was good. Now what happened in the middle of September, I’m not quite sure, but I started posting 2 blogs a week, because I started writing even more. I didn’t think the two blogs a week was going to last, but I must admit that it has continued to happen and let’s see what 2026 has in store.

One of things that I did in 2025 was really focus on getting blogs written and it didn’t matter to me when they were going to be posted, it just matters to me that I had a blog that I wrote and it was going to be posted in the future. Sure, having lots of blogs scheduled into the future has meant some rescheduling of the blogs, but that doesn’t me as I just keep moving the different blogs forward and that means that I have things ready to post in the future. 

My writing has been very important to me this past year and I hope through 2026 I can continue to write lots of posts like I have in the past. I have some ideas for some other topics so we will see what happens with them. Until then I am going to say I hope everyone has had a good holiday season if you celebrate, and I look forward to continuing to get more blogs written in 2026.

When in a group on social media, provide some detail

There are so many times when I am looking up something on social media and people will say there’s an accident on X Street, but they don’t give any more information than that. Of course, there are going to be times when X Street is extremely long, so you aren’t providing any details that are good for people in the area.  It’s like saying to someone in Ontario that there is an accident or fire on Yonge Street. Yonge Street is a very long street, so no additional information isn’t going to help anyone. 

When you are posting about a store, accident, or any other information about something in a community, please make sure that you are providing some information. A store, that could be in many locations and even many cities, so details are needed to the one you are talking about. Even if you can only post the major intersection that is better than just saying a street and nothing else.  I have even had times when a person has posted “Major Event” and they didn’t give any details of where it was, it was just a major event to them, and they figured everyone would know where it was.

I have been trying my best to ensure that in groups that I am either a moderator or administrator that we try and provide as much information as possible, so that any post can be helpful to lots of people in the group. There have been challenges for people to continue to provide the information and there have been even people that have hated me for wanting the information posted.

It is hard to manage a group when the information isn’t provided and when you ask for that information people can get rather rude which makes it difficult to support a group in so many ways. There have been times when I have wanted to walk away from my role as a moderator/administrator in a few groups, but I always say that I am there for most of the people and if a few people don’t like the rules they can leave.

Please remember the more information you can provide in your post on social media the more people will see it and understand it. If a group asks for more information please understand that the group can cover a large area and not everyone knows the same spot or has access even to the same store/information.

Merry Christmas

Here it is Christmas Day 2025 and there isn't going to be a normal post today, because what I wish for you is to take time and spend it with your family, because that is what today is about.

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2026. 

Let's hope that next year I can continue to write all these different blogs, and you will be around to read all of them. 

Hope everyone takes a bit of time to themselves over these next few days, even if you don't celebrate Christmas. Hope you have a wonderful holiday season and until my next blog, be safe.

Update: Something that I haven't wanted to say until today is that I have written every day for the last 12 years without missing a day. I know everyone says it can just happen, but you need to prove to yourself and everyone around you that you have able to achieve it. For me Happy 12 years and I look forward to many more years of not missing a day.

When is enough yarn enough?

I am going to answer this question very easily; it depends on who you are and what you are trying to accomplish.

The amount of yarn that you have is going to depend on a lot of conditions that you have to accept that everyone is going to have different conditions are everyone is different. Here are some of the conditions that I have heard:

1. How quickly can you use the yarn that you have in your inventory?
2. What are you going to make with the yarn that you have already acquired?
3. What are you going to do with the yarn that you don’t want to use?

These are just three questions that I was quickly able to write down and I know the answer for each of them is, it depends. Yes, it is going to depend on the type of yarn that I have in my inventory as well as what I am currently focusing on working on. If I am currently working on using up Fingering weight yarn and you are asking me about the worsted weight yarn that I have in my inventory I wouldn’t be able to give you a quick answer.

It can be such a challenge to answer the questions about how I am going to use a specific type of yarn when you don’t ask me that question. Yes, I know that I have quite a bit of yarn and there are a lot of different things that I would like to do but I need you to answer me questions that are very specific and not general questions because you can’t go the answer that you except to get when I don’t now the real question you are asking.

Yes, I do have lots of yarn and yes, I have lots of ideas of how to use the different yarns that I have in my stash but if you would like an answer about a specific weight of yarn, please make sure that you have asked me that question and not just a general question. If you ask me a general question you are probably going to get the answer of “I have lots of ideas of what I would like to do, and I just need the time to work on all the projects.”

You might think I have enough yarn and that is going to depend on your definition of too much yarn and not my definition of enough yarn. I am extremely lucky that I have someone that will ask me questions like, so how long would it take you to use this specific yarn, and when I answer that they say, OK so there is no problem getting more of that yarn.

Food allergies and asking questions

We have recently experienced someone that wasn’t sure about my food allergies, and they wanted to ensure that no matter what I was going to be safe when they were around. It is so different when there is someone that is asking the right questions when there are so many people that make assumptions and figure that they know everything.

This experience came about as we were meeting up with someone that my husband met online, and they were coming to Toronto for a visit. Of course, after lots of conversations we said that we would like to meet for diner but there were going to be come challenges given my food allergies. For me, I am someone that has the word “others” on me medica alert bracelet because of all the food allergies that I have, and they cannot all fit on the bracelet. One of my major allergies is shellfish so eating out can be a major issue because of how much shellfish is available in restaurants. Yes, for me, calamari is one of my allergies, it’s a soft shell but I still react to it.

So, we knew that it was going to be a challenge to find a spot that I felt safe and it also met everyone’s likes. At first, we found one place that might have worked, but then after seeing that there was an event there earlier in the day and the menu was a little confusing, we decided it was time to figure out another location that might be a little safer for me. We decided to go to a chain that I haven’t had any issues so far so we figured that would probably be the best bet. The nice thing is this couple that were visiting understood that having dinner with me was going to be a bit of a challenge.

Something that meant so much to me was when this friend asked if there was any issue of bringing a souvenir with some salmon skin on it because he wanted to make sure that it wouldn’t cause any issues for me. Knowing that someone would ask that question meant so much to me because it showed they cared about me and my food allergies and they wanted the experience of us meeting to be a good one.

If you have a chance to meet someone else and they have a food allergy, please make sure that you do your checking to make sure that the entire experience is good for everyone.