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.
Happy Canada Day folks … to all of those born here, and to all those who have found their way to our shores. Remember to hug the ones you love today. Or a stranger. Or, preferably, both!!
Hugs,
M&M
P.S. A shout-out today to our wonderful friend Glennis, who wrote this beautiful poem back in 2019: Free Hugs
P.S. II, the sequel – a reminder that next Saturday (July 6, 2024) 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
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
Hi Folks:
Today (June 8) is a very special day for us, for three reasons:
1) It’s World Ocean Day! As Sylvia Earle said, “No blue, no green.” Oceans are vital in so many ways that we can barely begin to comprehend.
2) On June 8, 2002, Marcia proposed, and we continue to celebrate Us every day.
3) AND, our first Free Hugs adventure was on June 8, 2010! You can read more about that here, but when we set out we were – in a word – terrified. Excited, but terrified. We had no idea what to expect, and we stood there with our FREE HUGS posters for what seemed like an eternity until a little girl saw us and came running over. The rest, as they say, is history. Eleven years, thousands and thousands of hugs, handshakes, fist bumps, smiles, stories and more shared with people from (at least) 88 countries. Our thanks to each of you – every hug is unique and special.
In honour of the occasion we updated our Hugging Spot in front of our house:
(No you’re not allowed to point out that we got the rainbow colours reversed – purple is such a lovely colour and it called out … and it went downhill from there. Think of it as a sunrise instead. A new day. Yeah, that’s it. 🙂 )
Remember to 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“!
Hi Folks:
2024 marks the third year we’ve been creating Hugging Spots on the sidewalk in front of our house (and occasionally elsewhere). Last year I believe we made 11 patterns and about the same in 2022. We’ll see what this year brings! The image above is actually our second pattern for this year; the first was for Valentine’s Day. To keep all of the patterns in one place we’ll add that 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 and special thanks to the young woman who offered a hug before the artwork was completed!
If you want to see our previous patterns you can find them here: 2023 Hug Zones and 2022 Hug Zones.
Remember to hug someone you love today, even if it’s you!!
M&M Continue Reading →
Hi Folks:
Today is Valentine’s Day, an international excuse to be more loving to each other (not that we need one) and a reason to eat good chocolate (not that we need one!) We always think sharing hugs with loved one is a good idea, so we wanted to encourage others to join in the celebration!
NB: While Mike was drawing with chalk, Marcia was scampering around the neighbourhood leaving anonymous valentines in our local Little Library boxes … 🤫
Hugs,
M&M
P.S. We’re in the middle of Random Acts of Kindness week. What are you doing to be kind today? Remember to be kind to yourself as well as others!!
P.S. II, the sequel: Apparently in the 17th century it was customary for young gentlemen to write the name of their betrothed on their shirt cuff for Valentine’s Day – hence wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve.
Hi Folks:
According to the folks at Postcrossing.com, today (October 1, 2023) is World Postcard Day! The theme for this year is, “Sharing Postal Hugs”. We always think sharing hugs with loved one is a good idea, so we wanted to encourage others to join in the celebration!
Send a postcard (and hugs) to those you love today!!
Hugs,
M&M