ESQUIMALT, B.C. -- Blaire was going out for a walk with her dog on Christmas morning when she noticed that her beloved statue was gone.

“I got teary and upset,” she says, recalling how she felt after realizing it was stolen.

The large sculpture — called The Blue Lady — was made by a friend and had been prominently featured in Blaire’s front yard for years.

“It’s sad because she had been there for so long,” Blaire says. “She brought so many smiles to people (passing by).”

So Blaire posted a hand-written sign at the scene of the crime that read: “Whoever stole The Blue Lady please bring her home.”

The culprit didn’t respond, but a stranger did. Somebody left a small, handmade, blue plasticine sculpture at Blaire’s door with a note.

“The note said, ‘When I read your sign I felt sad,’” Blaire recalls. “‘I only had a little bit of clay, but I made you a blue lady.’”

Blaire was so moved by the thoughtful gift, she replaced her first sign with another. It read: “Acts of kindness make days brighter.”

Blaire felt transformed.

“To feel angry and resentful, it doesn’t feel good. She shifted it to something more positive,” Blaire says, before smiling. “And then I got another little gift.”

Someone left a small angel statue in the flowerpot in her front yard. While Blaire doesn’t know who presented it, she’ll never forget how it was received.

“The smile.” Blaire beams. “Oh my.”

Then, earlier this week, Blaire arrived home to find a third unexpected and anonymous gift: a large stone statue of a mermaid, resting on a rock.

Blaire was initially speechless, before feeling overwhelmed with gratitude.

Now, Blaire doesn’t expect her original statue to ever be returned, but hopes that whoever found themselves feeling so bad on Christmas Eve that they chose to take it, will find The Blue Lady comforting, just as Blair has found these new ladies inspiring.

“It doesn’t take much to make somebody’s day bright,” Blaire smiles. “In these troubled times, most people are kind and generous.”

Although one statue was stolen, the three acts of kindness that followed will endure.