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.

WIPGO - is it right for every cross stitcher

The idea behind this challenge is you select either 24 or 25 projects that you want to work on during the year and place them on what looks like a bingo card. You can also set the goal that you want to achieve on each of these projects, so it is up to you how you really work on it. Just before the beginning of each month, two numbers are randomly chosen, and the idea is for you to work on the projects and goals that were chosen. Now for a lot of people they will choose 24 projects so that the number 13 is considered a free space. If you happen to have 25 projects, the month that number 13 is called, you are going to have three projects to work on. The basic idea behind this is to work on moving projects that you selected forward. 

I was someone that wasn’t sure that it was going to work for me in 2025 so I decided to pick four projects, and I was going to see if I could work on them whenever the number was called. I figured I would give it a try for the first couple of months and see what happened. Well, what happened for me was it started to work, and I started to see progress on my various projects. Sure, it was a bit of a challenge to pick up some of the projects, but I also had the ability to switch out a project if the project picked just didn’t work or I finished the project while it was still on the board.

In 2025, I gave myself a goal of 500 stitches on a piece and then a bonus of 500 stitches when it was called but I decided it was just better to work on a project for a week and see how many stitches I could accomplish. My new goal turned out to be at least 1,000-stitches or 7 days on a project. It meant that the projects started to get moved forward and even one of the projects on my WIPGO board got a finish.

Here it is the last month of 2025, and I am currently sitting and trying to figure out my WIPGO board for 2026 and I think I have figured it out or at least I hope that I have. Next year I am thinking that I will have five projects that will be on my list so that I can move things forward. The fifth project is going to be called my “challenge page” project and that will be any project that I started prior to 2026 or mini project. I have also changed my goal for each project to a minimum of 1,000 stitches or 7 days of stitching.

WIPGO has shown me a bit of discipline because I have been able to move projects forward and I haven’t felt the pressure to get lots done at any time and I also haven’t felt the burn out of working on a project for too long and not wanting to work on it again for too long a time. If you are someone that would like to find a bit of structure in your stitching maybe WIPGO is something that might work for you.              

For me, I have found that WIPGO gives me two or three weeks of discipline each month and that helps me move projects forward and hopefully before long I will see some of my projects finished. Let me know if you think WIPGO is something that would work for you. 

Customer service in restaurants

Check and make sure that the people that are seated first are served first because people do see that. We were sitting in a restaurant and a table that was seated after us got attention first. People do see that, and it can really impact how they feel about the restaurant. Of course, on a Friday at lunch time a restaurant can have some unusual spikes of people showing up and making sure that everyone gets served would be a good thing.

Something that we have come to realize that in some restaurants the servers are only working to get their tips and paycheque and aren't there for the customers. You can actually tell by how they interact with customers and how often they are checking their personal devices. There are other restaurants where the staff seem to stick around for ages, and they care about the customers.

One thing we noticed is that if you are nice to a server, you can make them change their attitude. In our case there was a spike at lunch time, and the restaurant seemed to be understaffed which meant people were sitting waiting longer than normal to get served. In our case we were not in a hurry because part of me wanted to spend some time writing. Sometimes there are times when I just want to hide and sit in a spot and write and enjoy watching people.

The nice thing that happened with our server is she thanked us for understanding that they were busy. Just acknowledging that a restaurant can be very busy makes a difference on how you are served. Sure, someone else in a different section might be served before you but if you server has just taken an order before you were seated and the other server is free it can make a big difference.

Our server made sure that we felt appreciated and did everything she could to make our visit a good experience. It does help a lot when you feel appreciated and valued as a customer because there are times you will either spend longer and purchase more, or you will make sure you return to the location.

"I'm OK" aren't always the right words

Recently I have been hearing the words “I’m OK” without really knowing that the person that is saying that is totally being honest with those words. I’m OK can basically be telling people around you to just don’t bother to care about your feelings or emotions but that isn’t going to happen.

If people around, you care enough to understand that what you are saying or trying to say is I need a little bit of time to take of things myself is one thing. But saying I’m OK and trying to hide from everything else isn’t a good thing. The simple words can have so many different meanings and we must accept that those around us are going to accept those simple words different ways.

I know that I have used those words when I have wanted to hide from the world and just deal with my emotions alone, but I have also found that isn’t always the best because trying to do it along can be a big challenge and without others around you doesn’t help you deal with what you are going through. Knowing when it is the right time to use those words can make a big difference because you might just need an hour or two to deal with things yourself and then you are ready to deal with talking about things with others.

Being able to accept that others are willing to be there and help you when things aren’t going the way that you wanted or expected is important. Those people can make a big difference in how you manage the challenge. I know that I kept telling everyone that I was OK, but I was just trying to hide behind an emotion which wasn’t the best things. Most of the team that I had been dealing with during that time knew what I was really going through and me saying “I’m OK’ was just a way to tell the rest of the world that I needed time. The team stood by me and they accepted that those words were just a way of me saying that I am going to need some time in the future but right now I am doing to be there for my team.

To this day I will always remember the team members that stood by me during a difficult time and accept that I needed the time and space to deal with things and I will always thank them for that.

Do I turn my stitching

 On the pattern that I am working on should I turn my pattern to work on each of the sections or should I keep it in one direction? The pattern has sections that come off the centre in four directions how do I manage things?

This is a question that has come up a number of times regarding a pattern that is growing on four directions on a monthly basis. To put it simply you do not turn your work when you are working the sides and bottom of the pattern. When you come across a situation such as this it is important to make sure that you have marked the top of the pattern and your fabric, and you are to stitch everything in that direction.

The only time you can turn your project is when you turn it 180 degrees because that will still give you the stitches in the same direction as the rest of your work.  If you were to turn the pattern 90 degrees each time you stitched a section, you would be impacting how the light will reflect off the stitches and how the stitches will lay when they are done. When you are doing cross stitch, the idea is to ensure that the top stitch always crosses in the same angle for all the stitches.

I do that there are some individuals that will cross each row of these stitches in the opposite direction but that is only two directions not four. If you were to turn your pattern each time you worked on a different section, you are going to affect how the light reflects on the various sections and also how it looks when it is done. 

It is important that when you are working on a cross stitch piece that you remember to make sure that you are keeping your stitching in one direction and you don’t turn your stitching. The only time you can turn your stitching is if you turn it 180 degrees so that the stitches look the same. If you turn it 90 degrees, you are going to have crosses that are totally different. 

So next time you look at a cross stitch pattern and you are working on it on a monthly basis remember that you need to ensue that your stitches are all crossing in the same direction and you are not going to be turning your piece for each section. A cross stitch pattern is designed to be stitched in one direction so you need to remember that and make sure that you mark the top of your design to ensure you are always stitching in the same direction.

Don't tell me not to care

There are so many times when we are dealing with people online that we hear “I’m fine, you don’t need to care about me”. Well, I am going to tell you that there are so many people that do care and that what to make sure that you are managing everything that we care about in a manage that works for both you and the group.

In the last little while I have seen that a group that I belong to have had some challenges, and it is because of the different things that have happened. It becomes a challenge for the moderators/administrators to manage everything without letting the entire group know that there are challenges. It might be dealing with members that aren’t following the rules or people just trying to say that they are the boss and everyone has to deal with what they have to say.

When you are an administrator or moderator of a group you have to understand that others do care and maybe there are going to be people that complain about something that you have done or will do but the majority of people are going to stand behind you and thank you for what you do. It is a job that not many people want to do because it is a volunteer position. It is a position that a lot of people don’t realize that someone doesn’t get paid to do the role, but we do it because of a passion for the group not for the title.

What, I don’t like to hear is what someone says thank you for what you do, and your reply is “you never need to worry about me, I am good”. Maybe what you are telling the group is I am there for you but can’t care about me.

I am going tell you that the people that care about the community are going to care about the person or people that manage the group and no matter what you say we are going to care. Maybe, saying you are “good” is a statement that you want everyone to think about, but I am going to tell you that groups care and we are all there for the person or persons that are the leaders/administrators/moderators of a group.

 

 

Fireworks - Niagara Falls

When you go to Niagara Falls if you can schedule your visit to see the fireworks that take place over the falls, I would recommend that. Between the middle of May and the middle of October, the fireworks are every evening at 10 pm and it is a five minute show. If you are fortunate enough to have a hotel room that overlooks the falls, I would say at least one night just stand by your window and enjoy them from there.

We had a room at the Courtyard Marriott on Victoria, and the view was amazing as we seemed to be right where the fireworks were being let off so that was nice. We originally thought we might see the fireworks on the Friday evening, but we were lucky enough to be able to enjoy them two nights and both of them were from our room.

Here are a couple of pictures of some of the fireworks that we saw, and being able to see them very well from our room was nice. If the weather is just right and you have a room that is facing the falls, I would recommend checking the schedule for the fireworks and be prepared for a nice view. 

Niagara Falls normally has fireworks all year on a Friday night and then some other special events like New Years Eve, so you need to check to see when they are happening so that you don't miss the opportunity to see the show.

One of the spots that we found that was really good to watch the fireworks from if you want to be closer to them is near the base of Clifton Hill because the fireworks are set off between there and the Canadian Falls. If you can get down near the Niagara River, it is a nice experience, but you also have to be prepared for crowds because a lot of people will be down there to watch the fireworks.

Here is a short video of some of the fireworks that we saw. Fireworks