28 Days of Random Kindness - Act XX

Thankful for my friends

Well first you must forgive me for being a bit behind on my February quest. I've been away for a few days. It is now already March (3rd to be exact) and I still haven't completed my goal of 28 acts of kindness. As I've become more aware of my kindness and the kindness around me I know I've been touched by it daily but have not written about it. So here I am, already into March and I'm only at Act 20 - but I'm determined and happy to complete this goal.

Today I got in touch with a friend that I haven't spoken with for probably six months. The silence was not for any particular reason but just time that had caught up on itself. It's funny how time can be though. You start to think that maybe there is a reason you haven't heard from her yourself, doubt can creep in and you start questioning the friendship, maybe she's mad at something you did or she just doesn't actually find you that interesting. While in fact it was none of the above and you were missed as much as she was.

As I've discovered while doing these acts of kindness I really feel that I reap the benefit as much or more than the recipient. It felt great to meet up together. We started talking just where we left off and we have plans to meet again soon for lunch, or coffee or whatever it takes to get us together. I vow to myself not to base my friends visits around the tidyness of our house. I really don't think they care if there might be dishes in the sink or too many shoes and boots at the front door. As I schedule my time around my children's activities and social events I need to in fact make sure that I schedule time for myself. As a mom of active children it's easy to wrap your schedule around theirs without realizing over time that you've left nothing for yourself. As I get older I have a greater appreciation for the friendships I have in my life and I don't want to take any of them for granted.

So I encourage you to call, visit or even write a friend you haven't spoken to for a while. You won't regret it and in fact you'll probably wished you had done it alot sooner.

"A friend is a gift you give yourself".
Robert Louis Stevenson

28 Days of Random Kindness - Act IX

Keeping in touch with far away friends

I have been lucky enough to have a penpal in Holland since I was 11 years old. That's over 30 years ago and probably hundreds of letters later.

From a penpal chain letter that was going around in my grade 6 class to a long-term, long-distance friendship is quite impressive and something I want to hold on to. Letters that once talked about girlfriends and hobbies, then boyfriends, university degrees, and first jobs, turned to marriage and children and just life in general.

In the 90's, just by coincidence, my husband's brother was actually living in Holland for a couple of years. When we decided to visit in 1994 we included a visit with my penpal Johanna. Imagine, at this point I had written to her for 18 years but we had never met. We arranged to meet her and her husband at a local restaurant and all anxieties of meeting each other were quickly dropped when we started talking. They then walked us through the town, took us on a tour boat, shared dinner with us in their favourite vegetarian restaurant and then invited us for coffee at their apartment. It was Johanna who first introduced us to coffee with hot, frothy milk and I have loved it ever since (although I don't think I can ever make it as good as she did). It was a great day. One of those days that I can clearly picture and remember.

Our letters are more of an annual event now, usually around Christmas time. For whatever reason, Christmas came and went and I had not posted any cards although I did receive one from Johanna. I decided I would write to her after Christmas. January passed and now we're almost into mid-February and I just didn't want to forget about sending a letter. So today was the day. I shuffled through my lovely handmade card collection and I picked a beautiful one with a purple tulip on it and then I sat down and wrote to her. It's good to sit down and actually write something with a pen. It allows you the time to think of that person.

When your mailbox is usually full of flyers and advertisements for gym memberships and of course the dreaded bills it's so nice to see a handwritten envelope and then see the familiar writing on the address. It's the kind of letter I wait to open when I get home so I can sit down, and take a moment to read it. I hope she feels the same way when she sees my handwriting below the Canadian stamps.

28 Days of Random Kindness - Act III

Did a favour for a friend

It's amazing how often the opportunity for kindness can be set before you without any thought or planning. That's what happened to me today. It started last night when my girlfriend called to see if we had a medieval costume in our dress-up collection that her daughter could borrow. Of course, with two older daughters who have already been in grade four (the school year with the medieval studies in the curriculum) and also avid Halloween participants we did, and in fact, we had two costumes.

So, this morning I remembered to go downstairs into our storage room to look through our boxes of dress-up clothes. I found the first one fairly easily and then not too long after the second was found. I had remembered there was a special headpiece for one and I was sure we would still have it. Just a few minutes of searching and it appeared as well. Carrying them upstairs I went to grab the phone so I could call her to let her know that I had them.

That's when I realized that I could go one step further and deliver them to her house. It turns out she wasn't there at the time but I'm sure she was busy taking her younger daughter to a playgroup or volunteering in the school or running the endless errands of a busy Mom. When she gets home I'm sure she'll be happy to see them waiting for her and know that one of her errands can now be scratched off the list.


It's a little thing, but it's a good thing and I did it!

Spreading the Love

I think I've mentioned before how I enjoy making treasuries on Etsy. It's fun. It's creative. When all the stars happen to be aligned and I have the time, I'm at the computer at the right time and a treasury opens up it's pure pleasure filling in the twelve spots with gorgeous Etsy finds.

Last night I had the excitement of one of my treasuries making the front page. Can I say Whoa Hoo! I actually wasn't home at the time to see it in person but luckily was able to retrieve a screen shot. It was also great to find out that two of the items have sold. Sweet felted acorns by reyaveltman and a gorgeous bracelet by stringmealong. Awesome!

I've 'met' some really nice people from the treasuries, whether they were in one of mine or I was lucky enough to be featured in their treasury. The beautiful scarf in 'Shades of Maple' treasury was made by solidartcollective. (Check out her shop for other beautiful crocheted scarves!) I was thrilled to see I have been featured in her blog . Thank you so much!

Last week, also through a treasury I was featured in a blog by Celeste the super nice owner of cricketscreations who also makes gorgeous scarves. With the weather getting cooler I guess I've been drawn to all the beautiful knitwear on Etsy lately! All I can say is thank you, I really appreciate it!

Etsy is a great place to meet people with similar interests. I mean what was the chance of me meeting two great women from Utah and Colorado if it hadn't been for Etsy and making a treasury.

Who knows what my next treasury will bring and who I might meet. You can still visit my current treasurywest 'Darkened Skies' until Thursday at 11:26 p.m. Spread the love and don't forget to 'click'!

Etsy Friends.

I was delighted to find that I have been featured in a blog by Jewelzodonnell. Jewelz has been making some really lovely greeting cards lately. I met Jewelz in the Canadian forums on Etsy. It's there I found a great group of supportive women. Not just there to support our Etsy endeavours but really care about each other in the ups and downs of our daily lives. It's been a pleasure to get to know them over the last few months. Not only are they downright nice people but they are also fantastically talented and successful women! I'm happy to say they are my friends.


Here's a sample of the talent. I'll have to make this a regular feature to highlight everyone and their great products! Hey, that sounds like a great idea! Ok, that settles it I'm going to do a regular Etsy Friends feature on my blog.




Here's a brilliant upcycled wallet from Loscann, a sweet knitted hat for baby from Arly, a gorgeous chainmaille bracelet from CreationsbyUli and a moisturizer that sounds so good you could eat it...White Bartlett Pear and Fig...mmm...from Bovinebubbles.