Hi folks:
Mike here.
Pretty much every year for the past 15+ years I’ve made an image of Marcia on New Year’s Day. It’s my favourite image of the year and becomes the wallpaper for my phone. This is the image for 2026.
I think she gets more beautiful every year. 🌞
Hugs,
M&M
…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.
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:
Mostly every year since 2010, on New Year’s Day we’ve taken the opportunity to make some images of Marcia, and without hesitation it’s my favourite image of the year. We started out doing this at Government House, but for the past several years we’ve headed to Beacon Hill Park instead. This is the image for 2025:
Marcia, New Year’s Day 2025
I know she looks beautiful here, but the image doesn’t really do her justice. You’ll just have to take my word for it.
From Marcia and me, we wish you a new year filled with as much happiness, health, prosperity, excitement, love, peace and adventure as you can handle!
Hugs,
M&M
Mrs. Claus, Twinkles and Krinkles at the Bay Centre, Victoria, BC. Still much waving to do!
Taking time for a refreshing cup of tea!
Hi Folks:
We haven’t done much chalk art recently because of the rain (no complaints – it refills the aquifer and we’ll appreciate it next summer). Unfortunately rain isn’t very kind to chalk art! We’re expecting another major storm this weekend so we’ll have to put out something else for Hallowe’en, but in the meantime, remember to hug someone you love today. Or a stranger. Or, preferably, both!!
Hugs,
M&M
Hi Folks:
As Labour Day weekend is upon us we’re starting to wind down summer once again. Vacations are (for the most part) coming to an end, children and adults are going back to school… Still, we wanted to offer a reminder that even as seasons change, some fundamental things don’t. Self-value is inherent, and not linked to what we do. And kindness is always the right response.
To that end, we wanted to offer you a reminder to put on a happy face and engage your world with love. 💗
Hugs,
M&M
P.S. This drawing took two whole sticks of yellow! But it was worth it… 🙂
P.S. II, the sequel: This is our ninth Hugs chalk art pattern for 2024. If you’d like to see all of them, click here: 2024 Hug Zones.
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
P.S. For anyone who’s interested in knowing how the spherical pattern was made, click here:
Father’s Day Hugs (behind the scenes)
Hi Folks:
This is a short post that covers a bit of what went into making our latest chalk art drawing, for those who might be interested…
To start with, credit and thanks to @the.world.of._drawing on Instagram for the design! Much appreciated.
Now, if only sidewalks came with grid squares we would have been all set. Unfortunately, they typically don’t. So, in order to create the design in sidewalk chalk, we had to get a little inventive. The first step was to create the pattern in CorelDraw, like this:
The second phase was to take that pattern and cut it into 12 pieces. Each section is contained with an 8″x10″ rectangle so as to fit on a sheet of letter-sized paper. An X-Acto knife was used to cut out the red lines in the paper, leaving gaps at the junctions to hold the template together. 
The next step was to assemble the cut-out pages of the template into three strips of four images, using painter tape to hold them together:
These strips were reassembled on the sidewalk, and a piece of white chalk was used to transfer the cutout lines to the sidewalk. After that, coloured chalk was used to complete the pattern. The final result looks like this:That’s it!
Hug someone you love today. Or a stranger. Or, preferably, both!
Hugs,
M&M
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the world’s Mothers and to all those who fulfill the role … step-mothers, chosen mothers, adoptive mothers, surrogate mothers, soon-to-be mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, brothers, uncles, dads and more. And let us not forget the Earth, the great Mother of us all. 🌏
Remember to hug someone you love today. Or a stranger. Or, preferably, both!!
Hugs,
M&M
P.S. As Marcia’s dad used to say, “Remember Father on Mother’s Day“!