Why shouldn't I take the offer

Recently we watched someone that had an offer given to them and they simply walked away because they figured that they could do better than the offer. Well, I can honestly say that if I had of known that the patent was running out in the next 5 years, I probably would have taken the offer and run away happy. 

If you are saying that you can make $10,000 in profit in the next year but someone is offering you $100,000 for the business I think I would be thinking very hard and probably taking the offer because yes it might be something that I am attached too but can I make that profit quickly compared to what I could get right how.

One of the other issues that I have noted is that the patent is going to run out within the next 5 years so that isn’t going to help you at all and there are already people trying to copy the device so that isn’t good either. What you aren’t seeing is that you could walk away from this idea and then spend the money figuring out a new project where you could get a current patent and move it forward.

When I first found out about this product, I thought it was a newish idea, but little did I know that the project has been around for at least 19 years, and they haven’t been able to make a name for themselves. Sure, you can do the local markets and hope that you can sell some products, and you can also do some trade shows but what is the post of each of these booths versus the revenue to you making for each of these events. My biggest question is where I can purchase this project when I cannot attend an event. If you are saying that your product is only available at specific markets, you are eliminating a lot of people.

If you have a product that you would like to sell either through markets or online, you need to ensure that you have an online presence otherwise you are going to be eliminating a lot of sales. If I was to purchase an idea at a market, and I like it and want to share it with friends and family, I need to know how I can purchase the item online other wise it is a failure. If I can only purchase at item at an event/show that you are attending that doesn’t show that you are willing to make it available to a mass market.

In this case, we watched someone appear at Dragon’s Den and simply walk away from an offer because they felt they could make more money. The offer was something that I probably would have accepted because the cost versus the project wasn’t worth the time and energy.

 

Hearing the works "thanks"

It can be such a challenge when you are working within a community group and hearing the works “thanks”. It doesn’t have to be publicly but at least hearing it from someone that it from the committee can make a big difference.

What made me happy is someone from within the community thanked both my husband and I for the work we do for the community and that makes me feel so good. It shows that someone sees what we are doing and appreciates it. I know that is just such a small thing isn’t that major but when you haven’t heard from the committee or other individuals for a while it makes such a difference.

We have been involved with this community for over 15 years now and we do spend quite a bit of time working on various things and donate quite a few hours a year to helping them out. I know that not everyone is going to fall all over and thank us for what we do but at least getting an occasion thanks would make a bit difference. There are times when we either can't be at a meeting, or we get to a meeting a little later than planned because of work or transit so we can't help that time and it needs to be understood that we cannot do everything every time.

I know that a lot of people think that it is a given that you are thanks for what you do, but honestly if you don’t hear the works “thanks” it is hard to know that you are appreciated, especially when someone else is fallen all over for the little bits of stuff they do. Hearing the words “thanks” or “thank you” can make a lot of difference. There are going to be times when you cannot help at an event for a given reason and needed to know that the committee understands why makes a big difference instead of feeling that you should be helping no matter what.

Yes, hearing the works “thanks” does make a big difference and it can either keep someone helping within a community or the lack of thanks can make the person walk away because they don’t feel they are being appreciated.

 

How I start most days

People have asked me how I start my day and most of my days are very simple unless we are heading out to meet clients or go to a conference. I do like my morning routine, and it has been something that I have been doing for quite a few years now and it has helped me get things achieved most days.

Once I am up and ready to start the day, it’s important that I make my cup of tea which is normally English breakfast tea. I don’t have this everyday and, but we are going to be home, I am going to be starting my day with my 16-ounce cup of tea. Once the tea is made it is off to my desk where I will start the computer and open the documents that I normally use to start my day.

Here is what I will start with each morning when I start the computer:

• Writing outline – word document
• Word count – spreadsheet
• YouTube – Port of Miami Cruise Ship Terminals (BLC Streams)
• Email accounts

These are what I will have open before I start by day and yes having two monitors, but my laptop screen helps me be able to have all these things open and available for me to check things. Now a couple of these things that I open by sound a little different, but they help me with my focus.

• YouTube – Port of Miami Cruise Ship Terminals – this is a live stream of the cruise ships that sail out of Miami, so it is a nice to have a nice relaxing view for my day. This is normally open most of the time as I enjoy just having something to look at and I usually refer to this as my window. Also, the weather is a lot nicer to Miami than it is in Toronto in the middle of the winter.
• Word count – spreadsheet – this is a document where I document the number of words that I write each day and the total word count for each blog that I write. It is for me just a fun way of tracking how the writing is going each day.
• Writing outline – this is the document where I do my journaling and I say it daily so I can see what I was thinking and feeling that day. It is also where the raw blog posts are written so it is fun to see when specific blogs get written.

So, my morning routine is quite simple, with my cup of tea sitting in front of me I start to work on my daily journal and that normally lasts for about the first hour or hour and a half of my day and then after that is when everything else happens. I enjoy having this time to myself and I must admit there are days that most of the writing for the day is completed in this time.

My routine is quite simple, and I love it because it helps me get the focus for the day and then I can move other things forward. Of course, during this time I do quickly check email to see if there is anything that needs my immediate attention otherwise, the emails wait until after I have got my writing done completed. My daily planner is also checked but again it is just to make sure I know what the day ahead looks like.

I think most people have their daily routine and it how they start their day and for me I am happy with my routine and quite often this routine also happens on the weekends, so it is nice to have that consistency. If you have a similar routine, please let me know because it would be interesting to compare them.

What Nashville Needlework Market means to a stitcher

Of course, if you are a cross stitcher and follow some designers you are going to hear the term “Nashville Needlework Market”. This is an in-person market for designers, dyers and accessories supplies to have the chance to show their projects in person to shops. This is an opportunity for you to support your local cross stitch ship or online shop and purchase the various projects that are going to be made available at this show. It isn’t a market where individuals can attend but it is a great way to ask your local shop if they are going and if they can pick up the various projects that you might be interested in. 

Shops will travel from distances to be able to see the products in person and be able to purchase the items and bring them back to their shops. Designers, and dyers are going to the market so that they can show their products in shops to leave the show with no products remaining because the shops have purchased all their products. As designers and dyers say prior to Nashville Needlework Market, we go to the show with cars and boxes full of product and we hope to leave the show with empty cars, etc because all the shops are leaving with full cars and boxes.

If you are a shop that is going to be attending the Nashville Needlework Market, make sure that you communicate on your site and with your customers that you are going and will do preorders for the various patterns that designers are making available. What I have seen is that there are shops at the last minute say that they are attending Nashville Needlework Market but don’t let their customers know how they can either request patterns to be picked up or what patterns are available for preorder.

For local shops that are attending the Nashville Needlework Market you need to ensure that you have communicated with your customers so that when you go down you have an idea what your customers are wanting to you to bring back. Sure, you might think you know what your customers want to see in the shop, but you also need to figure out what they want from the various designers. There are designers that never release a pdf version of their pattern so being one of the first people that get the pattern would be nice.

Something that you have to think about is maybe last time you went to the Nashville Needlework Market, your customers wanted a certain set of designers but have times changes and the designers wanted are different. The only way you are going to be able to determine this is by asking your customers what they would like to be made available in the shop right after the Nashville Needlework Market. The other thing that you need to do is have a special event the event after you return to showcase the projects that you brough at the Nashville Needlework Market for those that didn’t have a chance to preorder the charts that they liked and hoped you bought back.

Why "might" isn't a guarantee

There are so many times when you are saying that I "might" be able to do something and someone else thinks it is a guarantee and isn’t happy when the "might" doesn’t happen.

I have been part of community for a while and there was one person that was trying to assist in the group, and I said to them that we would see, and we "might" be able to provide a bit of a benefit for them. Well, the benefit never happened, and I never said that I was fighting for it so was surprised when this person asked me if I had been able to get them a full pass. I had never promised that at all and hearing them say that caught me totally off guard. If I had of been able to get a full pass for this individual they would have heard from me way before the event, so I was a little frustrated.

There are going to be time when someone will say to you, I "might" be able to assist in something, but you must understand that the "might" isn’t a guarantee. The "might" is saying that I will try and see what I can do but you must understand that there is no guarantee.

Also, if you are trying to assist with some things within a community, please remember that the person that you are dealing with isn’t going to be totally available when you want them to be available. It can be a challenge for someone that is doing their own duties to be available when you expect them to drop everything and just do something.

There are so many ways that someone can help within a community and just knowing that people do appreciate your assistance, but you also have to understand that there are limits to everyone’s availability to walk away from their duties just because you think it "might" help the community.

So, if I say I “might” be able to do something, please remember that I used the word “might” as that is not a guarantee that I am going to be able to do something and don’t expect me to drop everything when I do have my other duties and responsibilities. Any individual can only do so much and you cannot expect them to do more than that and don’t get upset if the “might” doesn’t happen because there are other things beyond the control of this individual.

Knowing when to slow down

For a lot of us knowing when to slow down and take some time for ourselves can be a challenge. I know for me being able to understand that I have just been doing too much and giving my time to everyone else can be such a challenge.

There are times when you are going to have to just slow down and understand that you have to be there for yourself and that is the most important thing. It might not be on a schedule that you want it to be on, but you still need to understand that you are going to have to slow down no matter what. It is better to see it coming up so that you can start the slow down before your body just says I have had enough, and you are slowing down if you like it or not.

For a lot of us there are things that we want to keep doing and you don’t want to accept anyone telling us it’s time to slow down even just a bit because we think we know better than anyone else, well including our body. There are times that people around us are going to see the warning signs that we are starting to deal with burnout before we know that we are dealing with it.

Being able to understand that we all need some time to just slow down and do some of the things that we enjoy doing, such as crafting, can make such a difference on how to handle the stresses and demands that life throw at us on a continual basis. In a lot of cases being able to set aside some time each week where we do something that we enjoy can help us from totally burning out and that is, so important.

For me, I make a point of a few days a week to find a little bit of time to do some crafting, so that I can make sure that I have taken some personal time. It doesn’t have to be hours but at least knowing that you have taken that bit of time away from the demands that we all deal with is important.

If you are someone that keeps going until you totally burnout, remember that just taking bits of time for yourself no matter what you do is important. I know people that will just curl up in front of the TV and binge watch something as their break. At least it is taking some time to do something that you enjoy doing and making sure that you are recharging your personal battery before it tells you it’s empty.

Why some companies are still encouraging remote working

Something that has happened over the last couple of months is some companies have required employees to return to the office. In some cases, it is all 5 days a week and others are requiring all employees to at least be in the office Tuesday through Thursday. One of the situations that has happened is some companies have resized their office space so that few employees can be in the office at the same time.

Being able to figure out what is best for the business is very important. Do you need the employees in all the time or can you have them working remoting part of the time and then in the office at other times. So many people over the last few years decided that they wanted to escape the big city and they moved away from their office location because they figured they would be working remoting and only having to go to the office occasionally. This has happened for some people, but a lot of people have found out that they are required to be in the office more often.

What has happened to some companies was that given the change in business they had to downsize their location and that means that not everyone can be in the office at once. This is something that companies had to consider but, in some cases, it was either downsizing their location to stay in business or keep the big fancy offices and possibly must close the business. For businesses that had to downsize their location this means being flexible with how staff are going to be working.

We know businesses that have done both things of getting people back in the office either full time or most of the time and then companies that have downsized their space and now have a routine set up for various groups of individuals to come into the office or a specific day or two during the week. By doing what works best for the business is what every business needs to do. Some staff may not agree with the decision that is being made but they must respect the business owners as they are doing the best for both the staff and the business.

Being able to understand that not every business is doing to do the same thing is something that everyone must understand. Of course, there are businesses that are people facing businesses and yes, those people need to be in the office where people come to do business. For employees that have had to make decisions about their jobs because they have moved away from their former location that was something they did and must accept that will have to either move back or maybe find another position that is closer to where they now life.

The new business operation is going to depend on the actual business, and everyone must accept that there are going to be times when employees aren’t going to be happy because they must commute again maybe every day or even a few days a week. One thing employees must understand is that at least they still have a position given how many companies over the last five years had to close their doors.

Parking Garage - why should I scan?

There are so many times that I have watched to see cars run into issue because they haven’t scanned their fob before going into a parking garage. There are some of the reasons why you should scan your fob no matter if the door is open or not:

 Part of the reason the door is open is because someone has either got into the garage or out of the garage, but you haven’t seen them either exit or enter. You don’t want to have issues when you try and enter the garage.

1.     Am I willing to pay for the damage if I hit the garage door? There are times when you think that you might be able to get into or out the garage door without it hitting your vehicle, but are you willing to pay the damage to either your vehicle or to the door because you are going to be liable for that damage.

a.      If you hit the door you are going to probably have to pay for the damage to the door that you damaged.

b.     If you damage your vehicle during this time you are going to have pay for the damage that was incurred to your vehicle.

When shouldn’t I scan my fob when entering or exiting a parking age is easy. You should never not scan your fob because you do not know when someone may have triggered the device and are you within that time. You may not be certain of the timing between the scanning of the fob and when the door will close. Unless you are 100% certain that someone has either entered or exited the garage immediately when you arrive, you should always scan your fob.

For me, I will normally scan my fob unless I am either following someone into the garage or I have just witnessed someone coming out of the garage.

Making sure that you scan your fob when you either enter or exit the parking garage is extremely important. Know that you have done what is right where you live is important. We have heard people complain that the garage door has damaged either vehicle but what they haven’t said is if they scanned their fob before entering the garage So if you are going to complain about something please make sure that you aren’t the issue because it can make a big difference.

So next time you are thinking of getting upset about something, you should make sure that someone has either entered or existed the garage recently enough and make sure that you aren’t someone that is causing them an action.

 

 

Food allergies and hearing the words "Oh good"

For people with food allergies, hearing the words “Oh good” can be a hard thing to hear, especially when you are out in a restaurant. Sure, that comment might mean something entirely different from how it comes out, but it doesn’t help the person with the food allergies.  Here are some other ways that statement could be worded:

Oh good, I appreciate you letting me know – the staff stating they are happy you let them know about your allergies so they can make the necessary adjustments and let other staff know.

Thank you for notifying me – this one is an ok statement because at least you know that the server understands that you have food allergies.

Oh, I’ll be sure to let the kitchen staff know – this is the statement that I appreciate the most because the server has heard what you have said, and they are going to notify the staff that are involved in making your food.

Oh, I’ll be sure to let management know – this statement is OK, but is there a policy to let management know, and they let the kitchen staff know. This statement can be a little difficult to handle, especially when the restaurant is busy. Your food might be being prepared before the manager is notified, and they can let the kitchen know.

The words “oh good” when said alone can sound like I’m glad it’s you that has the allergies and not me. Having food allergies is a challenge enough when you are in a restaurant, especially when you have one of the common allergies, and it is in the restaurant. In a lot of restaurants that have the electronic ordering system, they have a button that they can press and enter the allergies that you have and that is sent along with your order to the kitchen.

So, if you work at a restaurant, please remember that saying the words “Oh good” can have a very negative impact on the person you are saying it to. If you can figure out a nicer way to acknowledge that you have heard what the person is saying and how to communicate it to the rest of the staff, please try and do that. It is a challenge for both the person with the allergy and the serve to figure out just how to manage saying it and acknowledging it.

Being invited to a wedding

This year we have been told to save the date to two different weddings and our reaction to both of those weddings were entirely different. One was for something that we are very close to and the other was to a wedding to a couple that we are not close to, and the bride doesn’t appreciate when people do things for her. 

The first wedding that we got the save the day for was our nephew and his finance and they are both appreciate for even the very small things that we do for them. It wasn’t just saving the date; it was they made sure to call us to let us know that they were engaged. The other thing that makes us happy about this wedding is they have made sure to let us know the date, time and location of the wedding and that made us both very happy.

Now the other save the date we received was an email from a new Gmail account that went into our spam account. Of course, this made us double check to see if it was a legitimate account and it was from …wedding@gmail.com. So, this email account was very new, and it is going to be use just for the wedding and that’s it. The other thing about this wedding is we haven’t had any communication with this couple other than through her parents since before the pandemic. We did get to see them once since then, but it was a quick dinner. So, this couple, we do know the bride, but we haven’t really had a chance to get to know the groom at all. Now the other thing about this wedding is the location isn’t close to a lot of things so that means we would have to either say at the resort where it is being held or figure out another spot where we can stay. I looked up the location, and we could only book a room at the resort within three months so it isn’t something that we could book now and know we have a place to stay. I then decided to try and figure out a location close to it and there aren’t very many places to stay so that would mean over an hour drive each way to the wedding which isn’t something either of us are really happy about. 

The wedding that we will be attending is going to be held in downtown Toronto and the reception is also downtown so that means it is easy for us to get to and from without having to figure out a place to stay other than at home. It is nice to know that we can get ready for the wedding at home and we can then return home after the wedding and that is nice.

So, if you are going to be inviting someone to a wedding there are a few things to think about:

-        How often have you seen the people you are inviting

-        Is the location of the wedding/reception easy for everything to get to and from.

-        How are you communicating the save the date, as a brand-new Gmail account could result in a lot of those messages ending up in spam.

-        How far ahead someone book accommodation at the location, lots of people want to know they have accommodations and cost of accommodations well ahead of the wedding.

These are just a few things that you need to think about when you are planning a wedding and starting to think about communicating the date with everyone. So, when you are planning your wedding make sure you have quickly communicated to the people you really want to attend and figure out any possible accommodations as soon as you book a venue if not before.

Being invited to a wedding isn’t just attending the ceremony, it is getting a gift (knowing what the couple wants), making sure you have an outfit to wear and if you need place to stay knowing here that location well before the wedding. If you are going to be sending a save the date email through a brand-new Gmail or any other email account understand that a lot of those messages could end up in a junk/spam account.

Getting in a good step count

Some days it doesn't take much to get a good step count in especially when you normally don't do a lot of walking. Recently we went for a trip to Niagara Falls for three nights and doing a lot of sight seeing wasn't one of the goals as we have been Niagara Falls quite a few times. That is the advantage of living withing two hours from here we can go whenever we want. We do try and not go down to Niagara Falls in the summer as that is when it's the busiest and most expensive. Our goal for this trip was to see a concert on a Saturday night and relax and do things that we wanted to do.

Here is my step counts for the four days of being away and two of those are travel days when we don't get normally as much walking in as the days we are staying in Niagara Falls.

• Thursday - 7,580 steps (this was a travel day and we also did do some walking along Clifton Hill and also a bit of walking around the Outlet Mall)

• Friday – 10,194 steps, this is one of our full days in Niagara Falls and even going to and from Tim Horton's for breakfast accounts for 1,700 steps so that does help. We also walked over to the old Casino and walked around Clifton Hill so that also helped with the step count.
• Saturday – 13,624 steps, this is another full day in Niagara Falls, walking to Tim Horton's for breakfast and then to Niagara Casino Resort to see a concert and back. Let's see what the step count is because seeing a total that makes me happy would be good.
• Sunday – 4,296 steps, this is walking to Tim Horton's for breakfast and then the travel day back home

Of course, we may not be reaching the 10,000-step count that some people say that you much achieve each day, but we are making sure that we can get some walking in and that is the most important thing.

Being able to see that we have been able to get some steps in each day is very important and we have to accept that not every day is going to be the 10,000-steps but at least if we have been able to continue to move our body and get some steps in it is better than nothing or just getting in 1,000 steps.

 

Vacations as a small business owner

So many people ask us how do we take a vacation as a small business owner? 

I can answer this question for us because every small business owner will do things differently and that is expected. We have friends that just take a week or two off and they hope that someone can help support their clients. Of course, that should be scheduled with the person that you are hoping to support your clients because that person might also be away at the same time. Giving notice for any vacation for support coverage is important.

Our business is in IT consulting so it will be different than for an accountant, lawyer or other types of small businesses. Each business is going to have a different way of handling vacations, and no method is either right or wrong. If the clients/customers you serve are served when they need you that is what is important.

How we manage most vacations is to take a few shorter vacations and have them either start on a Wednesday or Thursday and then be back by the end of the weekend. We are fortunate that we have clients that are great hands and eyes if something were to go wrong. We can also remote into client sites from locations in Canada to assist if something major was to happen.

We have taken a couple of longer vacations, but we have arranged for people to assist with support of our clients if it was needed. This scheduling was done at least 3 months before we went away so that we knew that we would have people available to support our clients. We also made sure to let the clients know that we were going to be away for a week, but we did have support for them if needed.

It is very important as a small business owner to understand how vacations will work for you as well as your clients. Making sure that you communicate with our clients IT department is important to ensure that you aren’t away while the main IT individual for a client is away. Sure, vacations can be different as a small business owner, but it is up to you how to manage them.

 

Why can't I write

There are so many reasons why I cannot write, and I just need to figure out how to get back to writing like I have done in the past. What I would like to do is document some of the reasons that I cannot write and maybe that will help me get back to writing.

1. I cannot find the time to put the writing as a priority. I know that I have the times to do that but I just don’t give myself permission to do the writing that I want to achieve during a specific amount of time.
2. I have other things that I need to get done. Have you figured out the priority of all the other things and do they need to get done today or can you schedule them for a different day so that you can get them done without destroying your writing time.
3. I cannot figure out to get the writing done that I want to do. Here is one of the biggest issues and it is not knowing how to get the writing done. It can be a challenge when you cannot think how to put writing as a priority.

Not being able to write can be such a challenge but you also need to figure out what is the block for getting the writing done and how you are going to manage everything that is currently being thrown at you. What people have said is that they have not been able to deal with the blank again and what I have done to give myself a break from that empty page, is set up a page that I can open up at the beginning of each day and it starts me writing without looking at a blank page. Before I do any writing for the day, I quickly open up a blank/formatted page and then I can start to get the writing done. I understand that there are going to be days when I can’t get a lot of writing done even with the formatted page.

I think for everyone there are going to be days or even weeks that you cannot get the writing done that you would like to achieve, and you just have to give yourself permission to accept that writing isn’t going to happen each day and we need to deal with that. It would be nice to be someone that can just write off thoughts/stories a day but there are going to be times what we all need to step back and understanding that I can’t write today and no matter how I try and get more things written it just isn’t going to happen.

This winter

Here we are the end of January, and I think a lot of us are saying when it is winter going to end. What has made this year so different is we have been having major snow falls and extremely cold weather. Here in Toronto, we have broken records for the most snow fall in one day and the coldest January on record. 

In some cases what we haven’t said anything about is the areas just outside of Toronto that have broken records of their own. Barrie, Ontario which is roughly an hour north of Toronto has set a record with getting move than 300 cm from November 1, 2025 – January 28, 2026, which isn’t a record I would like to say we achieved. So, 300 cm of snow is 118 inches of snow which is 9.83 feet of snow. I wouldn’t have wanted to deal with that amount of show and thankfully it didn’t come all at one time but having to continually have to shovel our driveway would become a little much. We have friends that live up in Barrie, and they are saying “enough is enough”.

It isn’t just Ontario that has been getting the extremely weather as there are people in Texas, that has seen snow and then areas like Atlanta, George that have received ice storms which are extreme for both of these areas. I know people in other of those areas and they have commented on how different this has been.

Here we are the first week of February and I am not certain what this winter has in store other than the next couple of weeks are going to continue to be very for us here in Ontario and I just hope things will star to warm up even a little bit for areas to the south of us. Seeing the temperatures are levels that not what we normally have doesn’t make me happy. This morning, we awoke with a temperature of -1F feeling like -28F wasn’t a good thing. Now I am looking at the forecast over the next 14 days, but we might not reach the temperatures that we did in the last couple of days, but we are still cold and that doesn’t make me happy.

We might not be reaching the lows that we have reached this past week, but I have to admit that I am very tired with the snow that we have got in the last couple of weeks (12 inches, and then an additional 22 inches) as well as the cold temperatures. I guess all we can do is except that this is the weather that we are going to get in the next couple of weeks and then hope it warms up soon.

It might not feel that we are getting a break from this cold and fridged weather but we also have to remember that in the middle of July when we are complaining about the heat and humidity we have to deal with extremely cold weather as well.

 

Are you present when out for a meal with others

How many times have you seen a bunch of people at a table for a meal and all of them are on their devices. It is always interesting when a bunch of people seem to be together, but they also seem to be separated because of how little they have communicated with each other.

I know that there are times when we might spend a bit of time checking our phones, but we also spend quite a bit of the time chatting and spending time together. There are also times when we will sit and just spend time together and totally ignore our phones because that is what we want to do. It is nice when people can go out, and our devices are put away and they are present with the company that they are with.

When you go out with a bunch of people it is important to ensure that you are spending some time with those that you are with. I understand that you might have to check work e-mail especially during the week but making sure that you can enjoy the company of those you are with is also so important.

If you want to spend all the time on your device, it is probably a good idea to just stay home and do that, because you aren't good company for other around you. If your device is more important than the company, you are with you are communicating quite a bit to those other people as well. You are saying that their company isn't worth your time or energy and those that are messaging you are very important.  

When you are out with others it’s extremely important to make sure that you put your personal device away a while so that you can enjoy the company you are with instead of the company that might be part of your phone. It might be hard to walk away from your device totally but remember we need to be present with those around us because there might be a time when other individuals are no longer around.

I know for use, we have made it a rule to make sure that we have found time to be present with who we are with because that is who we are having a meal with. Sure, we might need to check our device due to work demands but other than that we try to be present in the moment and enjoy the company we are with.

Snowstorm Jan 25/26

Here we are trying to document the storm that hit us here in Toronto, Ontario on January 25, 2026. The original forecast was that we might get around 10 or 20 cm of snow, so it wasn't going to be too bad. 

Well, I have to admit that after watching the snow fall throughout Sunday, I came to realize that we were getting a lot more snow than was originally forecast. What also made me wonder about the show was watching the snow falling and looking out our window and seeing that there was roughly 9 inches of snow on our windowsill, so I figured we had got a lot more snow that we had been originally forecast.

I was also trying to track the snowfall that we were getting and it kept increase from the original 10-20 cm to now 30-40 cm to what they finally said we would be going to get between 50 - 60 cm of snow before the storm finally stopped. Well, we were watching the area around us and realized that there was a lot of snow that we wondered how it had been cleared because we hadn't heard a lot of snowplows, so we decided to go outside and see what it really looked like.

Now, word of warning, I went outside without putting boots on and only went out with my runners on because I didn't think I would venture very far from the door. Well, as you can clearly see there weren't very many paths for anyone to walk so I decided that I would try and see if I could at least get some walking achieved but before long I decided it was time to turn around and head back to the door and forget about trying to adventure to see what it was like out.

What I did discover was a lot of the parking lot hadn't been plowed because the snow had just kept falling making it a challenge to doing the plowing that was necessary. We also saw that a lot of people had taken the advice of the police and had stayed home and avoided being on the road.

So now, here it is the start of another work week, and we have already heard that schools within the GTA are closed tomorrow which I think is a great idea and we will see what else ends up being closed. There were things that were closed today during the snowstorm but now to figure out what is going to be closed tomorrow as a result of the after effects of the storm. I guess we are going to be waking up tomorrow to figure what is going to be cancelled or opened tomorrow. 

I haven't heard the total snowfall accumulation as of when I am writing this blog, but I have to say that we probably have between 18 - 24 inches of snow that fell and that wasn't what was forecasted so now we need to figure out how now to manage this snow. 

If you were impacted by this storm, I hope that you were able to manage it because I know there were areas that got freezing rain, others got sleek and then there were us that got snow. I hope if you were impacted by this storm, you were able to stay safe and hopefully things are getting better for you.

Edit: now that the snow has stopped it was reported that downtown Toronto received 56cm (22 inches) of snow.

 

Getting map locations wrong

Recently we heard that a restaurant would be opening in the GTA and that made us happy because this restaurant was around when I was younger, so it was nice seeing that it was going to be turning. When I heard the announcement, it was great because it was in an area that isn’t too hard for us to get to as it was in Vaughan Ontario. The restaurant is Olive Garden so that is nice that it is coming back. 

Well, what made me laugh is when I saw a map of where the two locations are going to be in Ontario. (Picture from a social media post) The map is totally wrong because on the map, Vaughan Mill, GTA is indicated to be around Thunder Bay which is not even close to the GTA. Thunder Bay is approximately 1,390 KM from Toronto so that would be a long way to go. So that is the first location on the map that was wrong. The other location is Westboro, Ottawa region and once again the indicator on the map is off. This time it shows that the Ottawa location would be around North Bay which is approximately 350KM from Ottawa.

If you are trying to get people excited about restaurants coming to their area it would be a good idea to make sure that the map is correct because these locations aren’t even close to where they are going to be opening. Now my concern is if Olive Garden really knows where they are opening because given the map, they might be doing construction if different areas than they should be doing the work.

What makes me laugh is the company that owns Olive Garden has its corporate head office in Vaughan, Ontario so you think that the map would be a lot more accurate. I understand that the previous owners are from the states but please when you are promoting the returning to Ontario of restaurants make sure that you are showing them correctly on the map.

Intersection lights not working

 Recently we were at an intersection that the traffic lights were not working and what we saw wasn’t something that made either of us happy. We were happy that we were turning right because we weren’t going to have to deal with trying to get across this intersection. What we saw was a lot of people not understanding how to handle an intersection with lights not working. In some instances what we saw were so many people just driving through the intersection as if they had the right of way. 

What we saw was so many people didn’t seem to understand how to handle the intersection. The rule is when you come to an intersection that the traffic lights are not working you need to treat this as a four-way stop. What this doesn’t mean is just to follow the car in front of you no matter what.

The rule clearly starts that you are to come to a complete stop as if you are approaching a four way stop and then only clear the intersection when it is safe to do so. What this doesn’t mean is you can just drive through the intersection as if you are the only one. The best way to handle an intersection when the lights aren’t working is for two of the directions to go at one with only the first row of cars moving and then allowing the other two sets of cars to complete crossing the intersection. Yes, it can be a challenge in some instances because there are going to be individuals that they that they have the right of way no matter what.

Every city as a means of reporting when an intersection doesn’t have working traffic lights, and you just have to figure out where you are and how to report such an issue. In the case of Toronto, they have a clear method of reporting the issue and it is something that everyone needs to know about.

Toronto rule and how to handle it

If you see a traffic light at an intersection in Toronto not working, you should treat the intersection as if it were an uncontrolled intersection, meaning treat it as if each corner has a stop sign. To report the malfunctioning light to the City of Toronto, you can call 311 or use their online service request system. 

Summary

So, when you get to an intersection that the traffic lights are not working remember to treat this as if it is a four way stop and not just immediately follow the car in front of you. If you simply just follow that car in front of you, there are changes that you could be involved in a serious accident, and you don’t want to be in it or the cause of it.

Children and high C versus well behaved children

 How many times have you been somewhere and you have heard at least one child screaming and hitting what seems to be high C. We were in a Tim Horton's recently and there was one child that seems to think it was fun to run around and scream loudly and at the high C. The mother just laughed it off and said "well at least everyone is awake now". The child continued to run around and the parents didn't do any discipling which was wrong. If you have a child that is causing a disturbance it is up to you to make sure that they are being told what they are doing wrong.

This same child was running all over the place and getting in the way of other customers which didn't help. The child figured they had the right of way and if they wanted to run and stand in the way they could. The parents just continued to pay attention to the other children in their family and ignored this child. When the kid screamed because she wasn't getting her way they just let the child scream.

When you are out and have children, it is very important to ensure that they are respecting the other guests in a restaurant. In some cases, this child could cause an accident, and the parents would probably say that the other customer should have been watching where they were walking. We have also seen children that are very well behaved, and they listen to what their parents are saying, and they don't run around at all. Just as I was writing that last sentence, a child decided it was time to have a breakdown because they weren't getting their way.

There are also the times when children and climbing all of the seats and parents are encouraging this behaviour. What this is shows that sure the children might be burning off some energy, but would you want to sit down on a seat where a bunch of children have been climbing all over the seats.

Parents need to consider others around them and not just thinking that their children's behaviour is ok with everyone. How a children acts can really show a lot about the parents are raising them. I know that I have seen parents that ignore their children and then there are parents that are full time and into whatever they children are doing.

Bucket List Concert

I think we all have a few concerts that we would like to see and one of mine was to see Il Divo perform in person and in October 2025 that dream became a reality when we went to the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls Ontario.

I had been looking forward to this concert for quite a while and as it got closer, I started listening to the songs that I had and watch videos on YouTube of them as I was very excited to have a chance to see them there in Ontario, Canada. As the concert was in Niagara Falls, we decided to make it a mini-vacation and spent a couple of nights in Niagara Falls. Before we went to the concert, I mentioned to my husband that I hoped that they would sing one of my favourite songs and that is “Passera”. Of course, I listened to that song a few times before the concert, and I think my husband was getting tired of hearing it. 

The concert started as they had a feature act and that was “Simply Three” and their music was really nice and something that we both enjoyed. After this trio performed it was time for Il Divo and sure we were not sitting right down at the stage but the fact that we were there is what was important. They performed their opening song and then, I heard a few notes of a song that I had been waiting to hear. Yes, the second song that Il Divo performed at the concert was Passera and I was able to get a video of that song being performed and I have wanted it quite a few times since then.

The entire concert was wonderful, and I know that I was smiling through it all because a bucket list concert had been achieved and the song that I wanted to hear them perform live happened as well. We all have bucket list concerts or shows that we want to see and sometimes we just have to go for it and make it happen. Would I go and see Il Divo perform again, absolutely because it was a great show and I am happy we made it happen.

So, if you have a concert that you would like to see make sure you keep an eye on where the group or individual is performing because you never know when you will have that chance to make off something that is on your bucket list.

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.