(click on the image to see the original page)
Remember to hug someone you love today. Or a stranger. Or, preferably, both!!
Hugs,
M&M
PS. Would 1 million hugs help you heal?
Traveling the World Getting One Million Hugs Helped Me Heal After Losing My Brother on 9/11
…because Manhattan is too far away…
Hi Folks:
As Christmas is nearly upon us once again, Twinkles and Krinkles knew it was time to make their annual sojourn downtown. They’ve been doing this pretty much every year since 2015… So many people lose their smiles this time of year, and these two reindeer take it upon themselves to help people remember their smiles by smiling and waving at them. Some people smile and/or wave back and some don’t, but that’s okay. Some smiles are buried deeper than others, but the two reindeer know that memory is a powerful thing and smiles have a way of bubbling up to the surface unexpectedly.
Normally the two work in tandem, but when she heard Mrs. Claus was scheduled at a high-level E.L.F. meeting, Krinkles knew her path lay elsewhere.
This left Twinkles to his own devices, but he didn’t mind too much. Together or apart, they take their role of having fun very seriously. Wandering through the Bay Centre and the streets of downtown Victoria, Twinkles made sure to engage as many people as possible.
Of course, all of that smiling and waving uses up a lot of energy, so at one point Twinkles had to retire to a local shop for a cup of tea and a little bite to eat before heading out again.
Her meeting finished, Krinkles and Twinkles and Mrs. Claus were united once again. With big smiles on their faces, they were happy to head home. You’ll notice that this close to Christmas Mrs. Claus was doing her best to travel incognito…like that would ever work. Her glow gives her away every time.
If you come across someone today who has temporarily lost their smile, be sure to gift them one of yours! Even if they only take that smile and bury it down deep, it will find its way back out when they least expect it!
&
P.S. For more of the adventures of Twinkles and Krinkles, click here.
From our house to yours, we wish you a safe and happy Holiday Season, and a New Year filled with as much love, joy, adventure, peace, excitement and prosperity as you can handle!
Hugs,
M&M
Hi Folks:
Well, it’s now been 16 (!!) years since our blog took its first breath; it continues to be quite the journey! Our site has been much quieter this year than in the past; medical challenges have prevented us from being in the office as much – but we’re still growing! We currently have 729 blog posts and 151 pages on our site. The posts cover poetry, photography tutorials, our hugging adventures (88 countries and counting!) and Free Hugs chalk art (as well as various other musings); our pages include some of Marcia’s stories, some of Mike’s stories and free Adventures of Rainbow Mouse colouring pages to download and enjoy. We’ve shared some wonderful adventures with you through these and are looking forward to sharing more in the future! This blog is our gift to you, our readers, and we very much appreciate having you here with us. Feel free to drop by any time, check out Marcia’s books, download our colouring pages, read our stories, leave a comment or reach out, relax and enjoy yourself. We don’t have any birthday cake that we can share (this is the best we can do: ), but we send you love.
Remember to hug someone you love today, even if it’s just screen to screen. You’ll both feel better for it!
M&M
P.S. Extra special thanks to our son Nick, who does all of the techie stuff that keeps us afloat!! 🙂
Happy Canada Day, folks!! Many thanks for celebrating this day and our beautiful home with us!!
Hugs,
M&M
P.S. A reminder that next Saturday (July 5, 2025) is International Free Hugs Day! Let your hugging inhibitions go and embrace the love!!
Hi Folks:
All of Marcia and Mike’s parents are gone now, but we have two sons and a son-in-law and five beautiful grandchildren. We are Grandy and Grandalf! 🧙♀️&🧙♂️
As with those who are moms, Happy Father’s Day today to all of the strong, loving men who are fathers, to those who are chosen dads, surrogate dads, step-dads, adoptive dads, and to the women who are also dads.
Special thanks to all those who love and support them.
Hugs,
M&M
Hi Folks:
June 8 is a very special day for us, for several reasons. First, for the world in general, June 8 is World Ocean Day. Not only do the world’s oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface, but they hold 97% of the world’s water. Keeping our oceans healthy is vital in so many ways it would be impossible to begin to list them all.
Second, June 8 is the Anniversary of Marcia’s marriage proposal. Yes, it was 26 years ago, and after giving it due consideration (for less than half a second), of course Mike said yes. No fool he. We continue to feed each other every day.
And third, June 8, 2010 was the advent of our Free Hugs sessions in downtown Victoria. In 11 years we shared hugs with locals and tens of thousands of visitors to our fair city from (at least) 88 countries. Every hug is unique and special and we treasure each and every one of them. Our only rule was that we offered, but those who were interested had to come to us.
The illustrious Marcia, Free Hugs poster in hand, during our first Free Hugs session (image A. Licht)
Hi Folks:
2025 marks the fourth year we’ve been creating Hugging Spots on the sidewalk in front of our house (and occasionally elsewhere). Unfortunately, by the time you see this image the chalk art itself will be long gone. We had an uncharacteristic dry spell last month, long enough to put out our first effort for the year. We’ll see what 2025 brings! To keep all of the patterns for 2025 in one place we’ll add future works to the bottom of this post. If you happen to be walking by our little corner of Victoria feel free to share a hug with those who are accompanying you. If you’re nowhere near us, feel free to create your own Hugging Spot! All it takes is a little chalk, a little time and a little love. Many thanks to the wonderful people who stopped to chat while work was in progress!
If you want to see our previous patterns you can find them here:
2024 Hug Zones
2023 Hug Zones
2022 Hug Zones.
Remember to hug someone you love today, even if it’s you!!
M&M
Hi Folks:
We came across this story via the Good News Network and we just had to share it with you. Remember to keep your eyes on the sky tonight!!
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night! ~ Clement C. Moore
Mrs. Claus, Twinkles and Krinkles at the Bay Centre, Victoria, BC. Still much waving to do!
Taking time for a refreshing cup of tea!