Patricia Sands

Author

Naomi Bulger

Paw de Deux …I purr therefore I am …

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

This is a cat that gets around! This week two dear friends introduced me to Henri, the existential cat, on their fabulous blogs. Naomi Bulger in Melbourne, Australia and Tamari Etherton in California both featured this video  so you may have already seen it. I just know you are going to want to watch it again, right? How can you not?

For those who haven’t had the pleasure, enjoy it now. I simply had to share it with you! Trés amusant! (I’ve only watched it about a dozen times so far … just love him!)

Here’s the original video of Henri as he first shared his philosophical angst.

If you fell in love with him, as I did, you can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

BON WEEKEND!

The internet never ceases to amaze me. Whether you want to be educated or entertained the choices appear to be infinitessimal.  I particularly like it when something causes me to laugh out loud ! Was there something you came across online this week that really rocked your world? Henri certainly rocked mine thanks to Naomi and Tamari!

Post-Thanksgiving Thankfulness

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The Thanksgiving weekend weather in southern Ontario could not have been more perfect.  This holiday is my favourite.  I love it no matter what the weather but it’s even more fun counting your blessings when the sun is shining!

Taking time to be thankful every day is a habit I have long cultivated and the … ahem … older I get the more I think about it. We all have days when issues drag us down into negative territory. That’s life! I like to recognize each day for the gift it is, grab on to it and make it the best I can.

Before  I do anything more with this fine day, there are some friends I need to thank … in fact, I should have done this some time ago.

Thanks to Social Media Goddess and Mighty Fine Lady, Kristen Lamb, whose blogging course a number of people took a few months ago, a group of bloggers came together in quite an extraordinary way. A unique cyberbond was formed. (I need to interject here that Kristen is running the course again so if you haven’t signed up … do it! Go! Right now! I’ll wait for you to come back. Click here for the link.)

Now for the overdue thanks. Recently, Tameri Etherton(A Cup Of Tea and Sorcery) , Kate MacNicol (Hanging by A Moment), Carrie Spencer (Smartass Romance) and Natalie Hartford (Life Out Loud), talented bloggers all, on separate occasions honoured me with the Liebster Blog Award. I was thrilled. It’s always fun to receive awards. Thanks to all of you! For you readers, when you have time, click on those links. You will be glad you did!

However with everything else that’s been going on in the past few weeks I am only now getting around to passing on the award. The whole point of this is to pay it forward and build community. Liebster, by the way, is a German term of affection. Very sweet.

Ok, then, these are the *rules*: this award is meant to highlight newer blogs. So the blogger receiving the award links back to the blogger who awarded him/her, and tags 3-5 people. For those I am about to award, I should also point out there is no obligation to continue this award. If this is not your cup of tea, don’t worry.

Naomi Bulger, Messages In A Bottle, author of Airmail, a wonderful quick read that is quirky, magical and thought-inspiring … just like her unique blog. Don’t miss it!

Linn B. Halton, author of Touched By The Light and founder of the fabulous loveahappyending.com website which brings together writers, readers, reviewers and literati in general around the world.

Barbara Conelli, author of Chique Secrets of Dolce Vita, who writes about Italy in a way that makes you feel you are there!

Patricia Caviglia, author of Masks, and a young woman who speaks to the reality of juggling the demands of parenting, the day job, and being an author.

Congratulations ladies! Pick up the award and put it on your website. This award means you deserve to be recognized.
Do with it what you will!

Then – tadaaaaaa – last week this award arrived from my friend and fellow blogger, Angela Orlowski-Peart, who writes from the heart and has the best smile ever!

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated me.
2. Share seven random facts about myself – which I did here.
3. Pass the award along to deserving blogging buddies.
4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.
I’m passing this award on to Amy at Everything But The Kid, who puts more energy into every single thing she does than anyone else I know … and always with the cheeriest attitude.
Thanks again all of you, for your thoughtfulness, support, and enthusiasm. Blog on, my friends!

Gentillesse Gratuité – Free Kindness

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If It’s Friday, It Must Be France …

My friend author Naomi Bulger (don’t miss her Messages In A Bottle blog) is in France and Italy right now on a wonderful holiday with her family. I know they are having an awesome trip making memories that will last a lifetime.  Naomi has such a quirky, creative eye and the ability to discover beauty in the most unusual places, I can’t wait to hear about her adventures and see her photos.

I was delighted when she asked if I would contribute to her blog in her absence! Since it’s Friday and she’s in France and so am I (although we will miss each other by days) and  I always write about France on Friday, here it is!

Last week I wrote on my blog about random acts of kindness and it was awesome to hear from so many of you. Thanks for the e-mails! There’s a lot of good stuff going on out there in this big wide world of ours and your stories are inspiring. Keep spreading them! In France the term translates as Gentillesse Gratuité – Free Kindness. I like that, don’t you?

On November 13, they celebrate La Journée de la Gentillesse in France and the number of people participating each year is growing.

Apparently November 13, 2011, is now officially World Kindness Day,  a day that encourages individuals to overlook boundaries, race and religion. According to modern psychology, altruistic acts increase our own happiness in a profound way.

The mission of The World Kindness Movement, introduced in 1988,  is to inspire individuals towards greater kindness and connect nations to create a kinder world. The WKM encourages individuals of all nations to set up their own kindness movements and join the WKM. Currently, membership includes representation from France as well as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Dubai, England, India, Italy, Japan, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, South Korea, Thailand and the USA.

This post isn’t as much about France as other Fridays and I’ll make it up to you next week, I promise! But I did find this video which has that je ne sais quoi flavour to it.

Why can’t we make every day a kindness day? I mean, wouldn’t we all be a lot better off?  Let’s each start our own personal movement right now and see where it takes us! Let me know how it’s working for you and pass the message on.

If you go to www.giftofkindness.com you can order these cool cards.

Be the change you wish to see! La gentillesse a toujours du bon!

Request Free Cards Via Mail | Send Your Name and Mailing Address to Cards@GiftofKindness.com

Kindness Card (2 sided – back image of card below)

Request Free Cards Via Mail | Send Your Name and Mailing Address to Cards@GiftofKindness.com

Thank You Card (1 sided)

Request Free Cards Via Mail | Send Your Name and Mailing Address to Cards@GiftofKindness.com