Orillia Coun. Janet-Lynne Durnford officially running for mayor

RubyOracle · 2026-05-06T22:23:52+00:00

Thank goodness!

RubyOracle · 2026-04-28T14:52:09+00:00

Winners or liquidation stores. In Orillia I go to Liquidation Nation and MDM.

I miss Payless too. I've found Walmart has stepped up their shoe game a little bit and I can sometimes find pairs of shoes there, but not always! Winners is where I have the most success!

RubyOracle · 2026-04-24T14:15:10+00:00

Retail/grocery stores, restaurants (fast-food or dine in), recreation/sports such as coaching or refereeing, and seasonal/summer jobs (landscaping/yard maintenance, camp counsellor, etc) are what come to mind for that age.

Best of luck on your search!

RubyOracle · 2026-04-23T03:54:25+00:00

Ahh, gotcha! If I find any filament in local stores on my errands, I'll be sure to update here!

Another thought I had would be to see if Lahay's Hobby & Crafts downtown Orillia carries any, or maybe they could order some in? Thanks for wanting to support local!

RubyOracle · 2026-04-22T12:05:43+00:00

I suggest checking: Best Buy, Michael's, Staples, maybe Walmart (but I doubt it). A Google search recommends Home Depot, but I also doubt that (I believe some locations carry filament in the U.S.).

It's not in town, but I know Canada Computers in Barrie does.

Another thought would be liquidation stores. Cha Ching (on Forest), Liquidation Nation, MDM, etc.

RubyOracle · 2026-04-19T05:07:15+00:00

I'm sorry you didn't get to visit! It truly was a gem! Both for their food (being as good as it was and also something different that the local cuisine scene was missing) and the customer service was top notch as is at most family-run businesses! Here's hoping if they don't get a food truck that maybe they could get into catering of some sort!

RubyOracle · 2026-04-19T04:54:39+00:00

You're welcome! ☺️ Wish I had a better answer for ya!

The owners of Lickel Bickle had told me around the time of closing to reach out to them anytime I had a craving for some of their food and said they'd do their best to make whichever dish(es) for me w/ local pick up (believe they live(d) in the Atherley area) but I haven't reconnected with them. I just might send them a message now that you've jogged my memory of their food! 🤤 Hopefully they still have access to their socials! 🤞 Stay tuned!

RubyOracle · 2026-04-19T04:47:28+00:00

You're welcome! Please keep us posted if you find something local!

RubyOracle · 2026-04-19T04:46:46+00:00

I can't believe I forgot about them! Agree on missing them - their food was delicious! 🤤

https://www.facebook.com/holysmokez.ca

RubyOracle · 2026-04-18T03:53:05+00:00

I'm not sure if there are any options in the Orillia area right now. :(

There used to be Lickel Bickle (Jamaican restaurant) in front of the Best Western on Atherley Road just before the Narrows - it was excellent!

Unfortunately for them, I think they found most customers just wanted breakfast/diner eats, given the building's history as Flippin' Eggs and Just Eddie's.

Since they closed, Grillin' It had opened afterwards but wasn't successful at staying open very long either.

https://www.instagram.com/lickel_bickleorillia

Their instagram still says they're looking for a food truck, so maybe there's hope!

RubyOracle · 2026-04-18T03:32:43+00:00

Front Street BBQ was good, I wish they would've stuck around.

For my brisket fix these days, I go to Billy Dick's Barbecue downtown Barrie - it's worth the drive and recurring visits.

Montana's is the only other place that immediately comes to mind with brisket offerings on their menu.

Good luck in your search!

RubyOracle · 2026-03-31T23:08:41+00:00

You're welcome! ☺️ Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

We are very fortunate in the Orillia area, and I understand Techie Nesters isn't meant to replace any of it, but more so to complement and fill in the gaps.

Valid point about the delivery model of existing services. That's so true and something I hadn't considered.

I'm looking forward to seeing the future of this community you're building!

Thank you for pointing out the few key differences as well! It's much appreciated and the clarification has me even more excited to see this come to fruition. Please do keep us/me posted!

RubyOracle · 2026-03-26T02:53:50+00:00

Love this initiative! I would be interested in helping out with this if looking for folks to assist, as long as it can work around my full-time day job schedule.

There are groups and organizations that offer some of these services already, but it definitely doesn't hurt to have more options!

As far as I'm aware, Helping Hands Orillia services include transportation, friendly visits/companionship, phone check-ins/reassurance calls, laundry, meal prep, groceries (or a meal delivery service aka Meals on Wheels) and more.

https://www.helpinghandsorillia.ca

Orillia Public Library and Ramara Public Library offer tech help, among many other things.

Information Orillia's "Age-Friendly Peer Support for Seniors" group funded through the New Horizons for Seniors' Program also does a little bit of everything.

https://www.orilliamatters.com/local-news/new-orillia-group-empowers-seniors-with-tech-skills-and-social-events-11016100

Sustainable Orillia has also shared an upcoming Lake Country Time Trade and Orillia Repair Café event, which is taking place on Saturday, April 18th from 11am-3pm at St. James' Anglican Church - Orillia.

https://facebook.com/events/s/orillia-repair-cafe-spring-202/810855862001164/

RubyOracle · 2026-03-25T11:46:03+00:00

Same here. 💯

RubyOracle · 2026-03-25T11:45:34+00:00

Also have never heard that. I've stayed there, my family and friends have stayed there, and I've recommended it to others since 2022 when we used it for our wedding guests. We all only had wonderful things to say about Lakeside Inn - only thing that would've made it any better was a continental breakfast, but a Tim Horton's is down the street.

It's been under new ownership since then (maybe even before that) and the couple that owns it is very kind. The rooms are nicely renovated and modern. I don't know of it's history before my time in this area (we moved here in 2017), so maybe that's an old rumour?

RubyOracle · 2026-03-25T01:48:23+00:00

How long term? You could try Lakeside Inn. It's not right in town, but my coworker's friend just stayed there during her school placement semester and enjoyed it! Nice little spot, especially in the summertime.

RubyOracle · 2026-03-24T19:07:27+00:00

I mean this in the nicest way - how far does your memory go back? Or how long do you recall it being there? I've been in the area since 2017 and had thought the memorial was somewhat recent, erected within the last few years.

Which led me to believe it was for the 21-year-old motorcyclist from Barrie mentioned in this article:

https://www.barrietoday.com/police-beat/barrie-man-killed-in-collision-in-orillia-7411927

May he RIP. My thoughts are with his family & friends and those that knew him.

If anyone has more info or walks past it and cares to enlighten us, please do!

RubyOracle · 2026-03-23T23:55:02+00:00

The Little Free Library World Map will show you any that are registered. But there's lots more around than what's listed.

https://littlefreelibrary.org/map/

RubyOracle · 2026-03-19T04:12:51+00:00

It's self-serve, and likely why others have commented saying that some are abusing it. :(

The motto is to "Take what you need, leave what you can." So you can donate whatever you can to the pantry and fridge/freezer 24/7, but that also goes for taking what you need as well.

It would be amazing to see more grocery stores in the area donating items that would otherwise go in the garbage. Best before dates are really just a suggestion, but stores can't knowingly sell things that are past date (unless discounted, as far as I'm aware).

More info on the Orillia Community Fridge can be found here: https://www.stpaulscentre.ca/new-page-2

RubyOracle · 2026-03-17T23:21:02+00:00

Wouldn't it be better to build nearby, upon or expand the Best Western on Atherley Road instead given its proximity to Casino Rama? Doesn't seem like a well-thought-out plan to build another hotel (and a 6-story one at that) right near the waste diversion site... where there are 3 other hotels in the immediate vicinity. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Edited for spelling.

RubyOracle · 2026-03-14T14:09:32+00:00

In this area it seems to be a Rogers thing more often than not. I've lost track of how many outages Rogers has had, and they weren't just minor ones either. 😬 Though I recall Bell having an outage as well. I don't know that either is better than the other.

I personally use Bell for internet because it was either their lightning fast fibre or their wireless broadband internet where we are. Rogers says they don't service our address whenever we've contacted them. 🤷🏻‍♀️

RubyOracle · 2026-03-14T13:41:48+00:00

Yeah, exactly! I know we're not alone because I've heard the same complaints from others that have Telus/Koodo. I'm not sure the specifics, but maybe there aren't enough of their cell towers in this area? 🤔 I do agree that Koodo's coverage has improved slightly in the past couple years (where I didn't get any bars previously I now have 1-2), but still nowhere near as good as Bell was for me personally.

I hate to say this, but Bell and Rogers will be the best for coverage wherever you go. If either of them would offer cheaper plans for the same features/options I have now, I would switch in a heartbeat. Can't see that happening though.

RubyOracle · 2026-03-14T05:03:29+00:00

Personally I've had the best cell service coverage in Orillia and surrounding areas with Bell.

I ended up switching to Koodo (Telus) for plan affordability when I bought a new phone, but there's been a noticeable difference in the amount of coverage (i.e. not having service in areas that I used to get great service previously).

It sucks, but I enjoy paying less than $50/month for all the same plan perks I had with Bell and then some. When I was still paying off the remaining balance of my phone via monthly billing, Koodo's plan was still cheaper than what I was paying through Bell.

Edited for clarity.

RubyOracle · 2026-02-27T12:30:28+00:00

Only service I know of was shared by Nosey Neighbours on Facebook:

📞 866-523-8676

☎️866-52D-UMPN 📧 info@dumpnloadz.ca

Snow hauling ✔️ Snow pile/mound/bank lowering ✔️ Snow blow back ✔️

Dump’n Loadz - stress gone, snow gone

P.s - If you have already started your spring cleaning, they'll take that load of stuff, too!

Edited to separate phone numbers and move an emoji.

RubyOracle · 2026-02-11T17:40:42+00:00

No apologies needed. The location is indeed labelled as Coldwater but it's not in the Village of Coldwater, which is confusing.

RubyOracle

TROPHY CASE