Okay, my grasp of what day of the week isn't fantastic since I haven't managed to find a new day job. I thought yesterday was Sunday for sure, and that wasn't helped by the fact that allergies have mostly kept me in the house, itchy, sneezey, and covered in hives. Stupid pollen. This time of year always ends up in hives for me. The only time I could go out and not worry was when it was pouring. Sorta takes all the fun out of spring!
However, while I've been trapped in the house, snuggling my bottle of Benedryl, I've been observing what the monkeys have been getting up to. Poor Eli Monkey, he had finals last week*.
Can't talk. Studying.
I'm not sure if you can see, but I was nice and let him borrow my Justin Bieber notebook to make notes in. I don't have a good reason to have a notebook with a Justin Bieber sticker on it, it's for a novel I'm working on. Really.
As the week went on, the studying got pretty hard for Eli. He was up late lots of nights, there was lots of coffee involved, and dinner consisted of "whatever could be pulled from the freezer and zapped" easily.
Can't talk...ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzZzZZZZZZZZZ
He kind of reminds me of myself (and everyone else who's a writer) during November** Lots of coffee, lots of papers strewn everywhere, and lots and lots of post-it notes. I've also more than once fallen asleep in front of my computer as well. It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but if I write in bed, I often wake up later cuddling my computer.
Sirus monkey helped keep Eli properly caffeinated and when things got a bit too much for Eli, Sirus made sure that Eli got some rest.
Shh!!! Eli needs his rest!
Sirus Monkey is clearly, a very sweet monkey. He tucked Eli in and let him sleep, but made sure to get him up in time for his very last final the next morning. I'm sure that Eli has made his sock primate brethren proud!
*Eli Monkey is the first sock monkey to attend college. We're quite proud of our smart monkey!
**National Novel Writing Month. Squee!
This may come as a surprise to most people, especially those that know me really well-- not ALL of my life is devoted to sock monkeys. For the most part, it is. I get up every morning* thinking about what monkeys I need to make, the cool socks I just bought the day before, what monkeys I'd like to make (but probably won't have time for...), what Eli and Sirus are up to... that's kind of all that's in my brain most days. I'm starting to think that there isn't much more than socks, stuffing, and felt in my head. I hope I'm not turning into a sock monkey!
Advantages of turning into a sock monkey:
1. Adorableness-- every one but the most evil of evil pirates will love me!
2. A tail! Think of all the swinging from things I could do! No more fumbling for keys when my arms are full of groceries, I'll just unlock the door with my tail!
3. No internal organs-- I'm already down one, why not get rid of them all? It would certainly save money on food!
4. No pressure to do things like "be responsible" and "get a REAL job".
5. No body image issues to worry about. Sock monkeys don't look in the mirror and ask "does this pattern make my butt look fat?" No, because it will always look ADORABLE!
Disadvantages of turning into a sock monkey:
1. Lack of fingers. Sure, I can work the keys with my tail, but how would I type?! I like my fingers, there one of the few body parts that haven't failed me yet in some major way.**
2. It would be perfectly acceptable for anyone, at anytime to pick me up and give me a cuddle, because I would be adorable, this would probably happen often. That could be upsetting.
3. No bacon. Now that I can actually eat it, I REALLY like bacon too!
4. Boredom. Not all monkeys are adventure seekers like Eli, who is the first sock monkey to attend University. Knowing me, I'd probably just sit with the rest of the monkeys on the couch, hanging out.
5. Perpetual nakedness. This makes the random cuddles more upsetting.
6. Acts of Dog. I've seen what even a tiny dog can do to a sock monkey-- EEK! I'm already on the fence about dogs anyway***, and to be a potential chew toy would be TERRIFYING!
I think more than anything, the Act of Dog makes being a sock monkey not an option. Not that I have a dog, I'm not even allowed to have one in my building. I'm a cat person though. Kitties know how to treat a sock monkey. No chewing, no violent "make the monkey flail" episodes****. Just cuddles, purring, and occasionally pushing the monkey out of the way. Oh sure, kitties love the taste of ribbon (especially blue ribbon, for some reason, they have no care for yarn though), but I think it's far preferable to have the accessories nommed than the body!
Does this look dangerous to you?
Notice the lack of nomming, flailing, and otherwise Very Bad Things in that photo. That, sock monkeys and all, is Isis's favorite spot in the house. Boo prefers to sleep under the covers on my bed, or, when he's feeling sociable, ON Isis. Isis is very understanding about this. She usually doesn't smack him for it. Pan (yes, I have three kitties) tends to sleep on my chair when my butt isn't in it. When my butt is in it, he'll sleep on me. He's like a living, kitty stole.
This is not me. That is not a cat. But it is the same thing.
My theory is that wearing fur isn't bad if the fur in question is still attached to the animal and the animal wants to be worn. Pan is a tiny cat. Boo tried this once, and sent me face first into the laptop keyboard. Pain was involved, mostly because Boo tried to jump from the dinning room table to my shoulder and Boo is HEAVY. Sure, he doesn't look heavy, but he's twice what Pan weighs at least!
Pan, Isis, and Boo, in the only photo of the three of them actually side by side.
Sure, Boo LOOKS the same size as Pan, but Boo has no fluff, and Pan is ALL fluff (it's find the disappearing cat when he gets a bath). Boo, if he were fluffy, would be about the same size as Isis.
I live on the first floor, and while my neighbors might not know who I am, they know my cat. Everyone in the entire town knows Boo. Boo is friendly, he's bald, and he likes to go on car rides to Petco. Any time I bring him out, it's a guaranteed two hour adventure as everyone he sees has to pet, photograph, and ask about Boo.
Boo LOVES this. He LIVES for this. In fact, when we go out to Petco, he finds a girl he thinks is cute, and will proceed to make sure that he gets lots of attention from her. I swear I didn't train him to do this, he's just a natural schmoozer. Also, he loves the girl that sells Blue Buffalo food. I usually end up walking out of the store with a bag of that if she's there because Boo will get very upset if I don't get the food the pretty girl is selling. Boo is a pro at pouting if he doesn't get his way.
See? I am totally a cat person.
This past weekend was also Eurovision. For those who have never heard of this, it's when all the countries in Europe (and some that are bending the rules of geography) send a representative to preform a song in front of... well, pretty much all of Europe. There is voting, there's cheesy pop music, there's some kind of spatial distortion that allows Israel to be part of Europe, and there's LOTS of sparkly costumes.
Being in America, all I could do is watch it streaming. So far, they haven't bent geography enough that America is part of Europe, but I have a feeling that we'll be part of Eurovision eventually. Some of the acts are questionable (there was one country that sent an old guy in a plaid coat) and others that were awesome. I was totally rooting for Moldova and Ireland (in that order).
Moldova:
This was one of the best uses of that Giant Screen of Awe that I saw.
Also, the first time I heard the song, I thought it was about souvlaki. The song is actually called So Lucky.
Souvlaki:
Delicious, but not song worthy.
Ireland:
Also an excellent use of the Giant Screen of Awe, and by far the Best Use of Hair.
While, either of these two winning would have made my night, it was Azerbaijan that won. I'm not really sure why, because to me, their song was pretty much like any popstar duet that's ever been made.
*Shrug* what do I know, I live in the US.
Azerbaijan:
*For my purposes, morning is whenever I get up, not necessarily the AM hours of the day.
**I had lyme disease as a kid. This means on any given day, I can wake up and one joint (or more) will HURT. Even places that you don't think are joints. This should be another plus for being a sock monkey-- no diseases!!!
*** They give me hives. Even the ones that aren't supposed to give people hives.
**** My sister has a dog. I once gave her a monkey to chew on so she wouldn't be stressed out (the dog, not my sister, my sister can handle being away from home just fine. We crate trained her.). The first thing the tiny dog did? Grab the monkey by the middle and FLAIL! There was growling involved and everything. The dog totally forgot that my sister had taken all of the toys and the doggie bed to her car.
I've been working hard lately on getting caught up on custom orders, finding a new day job (that will be another entry) and taking my frustrations out on the dirty in my house. I'm almost caught up on everything. One of the orders I just finished was for tiny top hats. Once I got going on them, it went pretty quick, minus the fact that I forgot to buy black felt and had to run to the store. They're now completed, and I've found myself with a tiny top hat army sitting on my desk. They're staring at me. They're urging me to go back to the store and buy googly eyes to put on them.
Tiny Top Hat Army. Don't let the cuteness fool you.
There's seven total, with the black one having just slightly different ribbon from the rest. I tried to make them as similar as possible, but I'm human, so a couple of them are a bit taller. I've named the black one Abe, and he's the leader. The rest are the nameless minions.
I think someone needs to name a band "Tiny Top Hat Army". It's random enough for any type of music. Please, someone name a steampunk band that! *Hums: a tiny top hat army couldn't hold me back*...*
Googly eyes... WANT!
I think I'm going to try to update the blog more often. I'm not sure how I'll do at that, but I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes. I have some things to write about, not all sock monkey related, I know it's surprising, but my life isn't *entirely* devoted to sock monkeys.**
*That goes to the tune of White Stripe's "Seven Nation Army" I SO wish I came up with that. I didn't. It was the fantastic Teffy. I did however have that stuck in my head for about a week.
There have been a lot of Sock Monkey Monday entries this week... let's just call it make up for all of those Sock Monkey Mondays I missed when I was sick. I'm feeling much better now, and working very hard on catching up. So far, I have about three done, and about seven (possibly more) to go.
However, Sherlock* has finally made a break in his case!
The line of paint on the wall led here... Sherlock pondered this for a short while, giving the monkey maker time to work on other things.
Things like getting the monkeys situated on those new shelves!
Ah! That's where the missing monkeys went!
They're trying not to make mischief while they wait to be adopted.
I wanted to wait until the shop-- The Artful Phoenix** was fully opened before I posted photos of where the monkeys all disappeared too.
More of the shop, looking from where the monkeys are located.
It's a fantastic shop, full of lots of really great things from local artists, and my monkeys are there too! Squee!!!
Mumma has some of her jewelry there as well!
I put those shelves together (with some help, but I did the heavy lifting).
The Artful Phoenix will have an online shop as well, and as soon as I find out the info for it, I'll post that too. This is what I've been spending a lot of my days working on when I'm not at home working on making more monkeys or at job interviews.
SQUEE!!!
Also, the shop now has it's sign up, and it's fantastic!
The door:
The shop is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
A photo of my neighborhood at twilight:
I love this town, it has a wonderful feel to it, and it's so pretty here!
*Sherlock is actually on his way to Canada right now, but he made sure to solve the case before he left. He's a good detective like that.
**The shop is owned by two local women-- Melissa and Jan. I only found out what it was called after a Meetup event I went to. When I found out the name, I just *had* to join!
Sherlock has been working diligently here in Monkeyville to locate the missing monkeys. So far, he's had a small break through. The shelves that were located in the living room have vanished. At first, Sherlock was perplexed... where could they have gone? Did the monkeys go with them?
Then, he went for a ride in the car with me, and lo and behold! The missing shelves!
That's definitely *not* the house. Our house doesn't have walls that are painted on like that for sure!
Were the monkeys with the shelves? Stay tuned to find out!
Alternately titled: The Mystery of the Missing Monkeys
Sherlock has just been hanging around for the most part, showing off his GQ style poses.
Actually, that should be his MQ poses, as he's a money and all.
However, a couple of days ago, strange things started happening in Monkeyville. Hmm... monkeys all binned up... why could that be? Sherlock wondered to himself.
Then, a huge cardboard box appeared! Inside that box wasn't just a normal bookcase, but shelves!
Lightweight, but sturdy... interesting development.
Sherlock takes a moment to admire the new square lamps while pondering the strange things going on in Monkeyville.
Oooh... lamp-y.
Then, one morning, Sherlock woke up to find himself all alone! Hello? Anyone?
Oh no! All of the Monkeyville monkeys are missing!
Or are they?
Finally, some gratuitous Gir!
This one is meant to look just like the cartoon. I have to say that it will never cease to amaze me when I set out to make something look like a person/cartoon and it actually does look like that person/cartoon.
Gir Bum!
His tail is pointy and cute.
More Gir.
His zipper-- felt with embroidered details.
He has that typical crazy Gir look to him too!
*Lick, lick*
Sherlock is still working on the Mystery of the Missing Monkeys, but he did locate his magnifying glass, so he's having an easier time with the clues.
