The Fall 2013 Monkeyville Flock! Plus Exciting News!

Everywhere else, sock monkeys (and monkeys of the non-sock variety) come in troops, but here in Monkeyville, sock monkeys come in flocks. Maybe it's because they're fluffier than non-sock monkeys, maybe it's because they zoom in out of nowhere, or maybe it's because that's what Ninja Muse called a group of sock monkeys, and when you're luck enough to have a Ninja Muse, you go with what she says. Okay, so it might also, just a wee-bit also be because I forgot that monkeys come in troops, but mostly it's the Ninja Muse thing.

The first of the Fall 2013 Flock

The completion of the first part of the Fall 2013 Flock isn't the only exciting news I have to share though! These guys (the ones who haven't headed to new homes already) are now available in several places!

You can go into the following places and pick out a sock monkey of your own (and not have to worry about shipping):

Nyla, and her friends are available at POSH Design Center, Norwood MA

• POSH Design Center,  Located in Winsmith Mills, Norwood,  MA (that link has autoplay music, just in case you're sneaking a peek at Monkeyville while at work)

 

Rocky and his friends are available at The Arts Desire Torrington, CT

• The Arts Desire, Torrington, CT

 I've also been working very hard on making enough monkeys to not only stock the physical stores, but to also be sure to stock the online shops as well, since I know not everyone lives near Norwood or Torringing. Monkeyville monkeys can be found in two places online now!

Sienna and her friends are located on Etsy

Everett and his friends are up for adoption on Storenvy!

Since I don't make the same monkey over and over, all stores-- both online and physical-- have different monkeys!
I spent about a week working quite hard, saying things like "I never learned how to do this stuff! We didn't have the internet when I was in school*!" I finally broke down and asked the wonderful Ninja Muse to help me with the Storenvy shop, which she did wonderfully, and now there are links on Facebook to buy the monkeys directly from the Facebook page. *Squees* I hope that this will save a lot of effort for those people who would like to reserve their monkeys when they see the photos on Facebook. Now that Ninja Muse and I set everything up, I think it will be easy for everyone to use. YAY!


*Okay, we did have the internet when I was in college, but it was like the rough draft of the internet. Imagine if the whole internet was done on cheap newsprint paper, in charcoal. It was just like that, except the "whole internet" was mostly just Myspace. It was a bleak place back then.

Shower Curtain Belle... an Actual Blog Post

This is a post so filled with awesomeness that it took me an extra *glances at calendar* uh... month or so to write. Also, it's really easy to say "I should write another post" then get completely busy doing tons of other things, and think "oh, that last post wasn't so long ago..." Before I know it, about a month has passed, and I'm looking at the calendar with that "how dare you change the date without my permission" look on my face.

I don't intend for so much time to pass between posts, I really don't. So in order to make up for taking so very long between posts, I'm going to try to make this one Extra Awesome. There's a minion involved, so that right there makes it way more awesome then the average post, but wait! There's more! There's also a massive ray gun* involved too!

Trust me, that and the title will actually make sense if you happened to be in Waltham on May 11th. It was the Watch City Steampunk Festival**, and being a fan of steampunk things, I had to go. This posed a problem though. One of the most fun things about steampunk events is wearing an awesome steampunk outfit and steampunking some weaponry. The weaponry I had tackled once when I made a mini ray gun for myself a few months ago. The outfit... EEK! I didn't have anything suitably steampunk! I didn't even have anything suitably Victorian really, beyond one coat*** and I needed something to cover the bottom half of my body.

In full on fret mode, I scoured the local stores looking for something I could turn into a costume, with no luck. There was a extreme lack of any clothing in my size that wasn't neon colored. The world decided to turn on its head that week, because generally, I have the exact opposite problem. Finally, if managed to find a simple skirt that was the right size, but not at all steampunk-y. It was five bucks at Walmart though, so it would work well enough as a base.

*Cue tweeting birds and rays of light falling on the curtain department at Walmart*

I bet the title is starting to make sense now isn't it? I managed to get some awesome curtains and some pretty shower curtains for super cheap, and decided I was going to make my costume out of that. I also bought all of the black tulle on spools in North Attleboro. Sorry to any brides looking for that color! I made the worlds biggest tutu, sewed the shower curtain into a skirt, topped it with the cheap Walmart skirt which I added ties to so I could make it more drape-y in the front, and made a bustle by taking an itty bitty dress I found at a thrift store, adding a bit of tulle and sewing it shut on the top and bottom.

My outfit wasn't complete though, I needed accessories! I had a ray gun already (it doesn't fire anything at all), but I needed something else. I had a monkey that I had already been working on for a photoshoot, so I decided to bring him along. Because, monkey.

Minion, the steampunk sock monkey!

So what does a skirt made out of a shower curtain look like? What about that giant ray gun?

Me and my Dashing Gentleman Companion!

Notice the AWESOME ray gun? It was almost as tall as I am, which isn't tall for a person, but it's HUGE for a ray gun! Valt modified it from a Nerf sniper riffle (yeah, they make those), and he also made my headpiece (which you sadly can't see too well in the photo), and the monocle on his hat.A friend of mine made my necklace.

Here's a better view, taken by another stranger:

At this point, world domination was assured, and Minion could spend sometime in the car.

I had never been to a steampunk event before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I certainly wasn't expecting to pose for so many photos! It felt like we couldn't go more than a few meters or so before someone was asking us to pose for them (this is how we got the photo above) or asking to pose with us.I think it's a given that I was the only one wearing a shower curtain for a dress and I was definitely the only one carrying a minion monkey around in a cage.

In fact, I ended up naming the monkey Minion by accident, because I had to carry him around somehow, and what better way than in the birdcage I was using to carry my things in (my cellphone, with its cute owl cover wasn't exactly the most steampunk things in the world).

Of course, I already have plenty of minions, so should anyone need a minion, he is available for adoption. He's good with a ray gun, quiet, and doesn't mind confined spaces. He can come with the bird cage, but really I just put him in there for show and wasn't intending to sell that along with him.

I think I'll have to end here, because while I have tons more photos of Minion, this post has gone on long enough.

*The ray gun shot Nerf darts, I can't be trusted in the vicinity of an actual ray gun.
**The festival was May 10-12th, but we were only there one day. 
*** I have a deep love of coats. I buy coats the way some people buy shoes. Also, I'm always cold. *Looks at heater set to high*

Sock Monkey Wrangling Part Two:

When we last left off, Nyx the demonic pixie had brought the sock monkeys to the cemetery to let them run around and burn off some energy. Monkeys, even those of the sock variety, are prone to mischief, and that's exactly what PJ and Alice got up to!

*Push*

Oops! Hide it, maybe she won't see!

PJ and Alice did their best to look innocent and hide the fallen stone, but Nyx had seen it all. It's one thing to push other monkeys around, but they had damaged property! There was only one thing to be done.

Nyx and Omar delivering the punishment

Nyx wasn't going to let the monkeys get away with breaking stones*, so while the other monkeys continued their monkey games with glee, it was off to time out for PJ and Alice.

*Pout*

Once the monkeys had sat for a little while, and realized what they had done was wrong (okay, a fairly long while) they promised to behave themselves and were allowed out of time out to play with all the other monkeys. It's a good thing too, because next, it was a trip to the playground!

Everyone say bananas!

The playground is much better suited to a bunch of rambunctious monkeys than a cemetery, and Nyx didn't want anymore accidental acts of vandalism. The monkeys could get into all sorts of things at the playground without worry.

Ready? Set?

*Whee!!!*

Alice, feeling bad about her previous misbehavior was a very well behaved little monkey at the playground. She did her very best to show Nyx she was sorry.

See? I'm a well behaved monkey!

Forgiveness was quickly granted. Even a demonic pixie can't stay mad at an adorable sock monkey for very long, and soon Alice was off exploring the playground like all the other monkeys (and a few small humans as well).

Can you see me?

Even Omar, the perpetually perturbed and rather upset eyeball got into the "fun" of things.

Oh, what fun. Can I get off now?

Poor Omar! Forced to enjoy himself and take a ride on the swings! And then... horrors! The slide!

*WHEEE!!!!*

Omar may have been covering his eye, but all the other monkeys, and even Nyx had fun playing! Even though she tried to be too cool for it, the monkeys won out and got Nyx to play with them and have a good time. Sock monkeys are very, very good at bringing out the kid in everyone-- even teenage demonic pixies.

When I got home, the monkeys were all snoozing around the house, all of their excess energy burned off and the house surprisingly quiet despite being filled with sock monkeys. Nyx was paid, and I think slightly disappointed that some of the monkeys will be going off to new homes very soon. However, I'm sure that in a little while, there will be even more monkeys for her to "have" to babysit.

The Details:

Cast:
Monkey Maker: Angela
Nyx the Demonic Pixie: Valtinen
Monkeyville Sock Monkeys
Omar the Upset Eyeball

Locations:
Monkeyville Headquarters, North Attleboro, MA
Newell Cemetery, Attleboro, MA
La Salette Shrine Playground, Attleboro, MA

*NOTHING was harmed during the photo shoot or in the making of this blog post. The headstone was already fallen when we got there. In fact, Valt is an expert on cemeteries and their restoration and runs Cemetery Hunters. 

Sock Monkey Wrangling Part One: Nyx the Demonic Pixie Babysitter

It's been a while, hasn't it?

I'm sorry about that, but I have an excuse reason. A very good one too! I have a day job that requires I spend about 13 hours of the day out of the house. Normally, this isn't so bad because the nice people at The Artful Phoenix here in North Attleboro have been watching over all the sock monkeys and making sure that they don't get into trouble and that they get adopted out to nice people. Unfortunately, The Artful Phoenix is closing its doors at the end of this month, so I had to bring all of the monkeys home with me.

Now, it's one thing to have a monkey or two in the house because Eli and Sirus could look after them until they went to their new home. Now though, Eli and Sirus are heavily outnumbered until I can get all of the monkey's photos taken and them listed on Etsy. After a couple days of coming home to ALL of the bananas in the house eaten and peels everywhere, I had to resort to desperate measures.

I called the Boogie Man of course.

What? You don't have the Boogie Man on speed dial? He's quite useful for wrangling little monkeys of any type! Unfortunately, he's been a bit overworked with a gig rattling pipes and jangling chains. All was not lost though, and arrangements were made for a substitute sock monkey sitter.

A thoroughly stressed Monkey-Maker and Eli greet the sitter... and are quite surprised

The Boogie Man couldn't come, the Scissor Man was just a bit too scary for the monkeys, but Boogie Man's little sister was available, and since there's not a lot of money to be made in the Boogie Man industry, she was, well... not exactly happy, but willing to look after the monkeys for a little while.

Just call me Nyx.

Apparently the Boogie Man's little sister is a demonic pixie named Venyx Malvelius. All little siblings are a bit demonic anyway, right?* I'm a huge Terry Pratchett fan, so the pixie bit didn't surprise me at all. The Boogie Man is in charge of the Tooth Fairy franchises. I checked the monkeys reaction to their new sitter.

Surprise? Shock? There expressions were a bit... woolen

Introductions were made and though slightly wary, the Monkey-Maker, Eli, and Sirus left the rest of the monkeys in Nyx's care and went out for a day of relaxation. The monkeys were a bit wary at first, they had never seen a demonic pixie before. After a little bit of hesitation, they greeted their new sitter in typical sock monkey fashion.

Monkey snuggle!!!

 Poor Nyx, apparently the Boogie Man hadn't warned her just how difficult it is to wrangle monkeys! I hope the minimum wage she'd be getting would be worth the snuggles!

Omar the Upset Eyeball is not amused.

Nyx was left with some pretty simple instructions, just take the monkeys out for a bit so they can play, and make sure that they don't get into trouble. The monkeys have a lot of extra energy now that they've been hanging around the house, and I was hoping a good day out would help them burn it off. Nothing a demonic pixie couldn't handle.

Demonic pixie teenagers are still teenagers

Nyx brought the monkeys to a cemetery not too far from Monkeyville headquarters, and while the monkeys don't mind hanging out in cemeteries at all, it may not have been the best choice for an inattentive babysitter to bring a bunch of rambunctious monkeys!

This doesn't seem like the best idea...

While Nyx talked and talked and talked, the monkeys ran around and played some typical monkey games. These are better than reindeer games because all the monkeys get to play regardless of their nose color.
There was some hide and seek:

Stella got picked first to count.

Can you spot all the monkeys?

The monkeys did their best to get Nyx off the phone and playing games with them. They were even nice enough to make sure that she would win. Maybe a bit too easy, but Nyx was a good sport. 

Found you. Duh.

Of course, an outing with sock monkeys always has a bit of mischief involved, and Alice and PJ got up to a bit of no good. However, that will have to wait for the next Sock Monkey Monday next week.

*Alright, being an older sibling, I might be a wee bit biased on that.

*Taps Blog* Is This Thing Still On?

*Brushes dust off of blog* It's been awfully quiet around here hasn't it? I feel like I walked into a shopping mall after closing, everything's so quiet and deserted feeling. Don't worry Monkeyville followers, I'm going to try  VERY hard not to let it get this dusty in here again. It's only the *blog* that's being neglected, Monkeyville is roaring along full force, with lots and lots of things going on! That's actually the reason that it's been so quiet around here! There are so many new monkeys (and bunnies, and elephants, and bears oh my!) that I've been spending all the time I would normally blog wrangling sock creatures.

There's no shortage of sock monkey adventures either, because even though I've been doing nothing more than sitting and working, the monkeys have been having adventures galore! December is officially Sock Monkey Month here in Monkeyville, and it's going to be a really awesome one if I do say so myself. Honestly, I just made the monkeys, I didn't take the really awesome photos. I have to thank all of the monkeys new friends for those.


Prepare for some adorableness-- Monkeyville isn't responsible for monitors melting from all the cute.

Photo by Kandi, used with permission

Princess Polly the Pirate Monkey getting lots of snuggles from her new best friend!

That is probably the best thing about being a sock monkey maker. You get the cutest emails EVER about how happy the monkeys have made someone. I've made a lot of monkeys in the past few years too, and it never gets any less cute or routine. Every time I get one of these emails, I get all melty, and I realize that the monkeys are doing exactly what I make them to do! They're going off into the world and making people (especially little kids) happy! YAY! *Kermit flail*

There has been so much cuteness going on here at Monkeyville that I have to spread it out a bit. I'd hate for someone to explode from all the cute. I mean look at how adorable This post on BenSpark.com is! It would just be horribly irresponsible of me to just post that much cute on the Monkeyville blog plus all the other cute too! I'm very glad that Eva and her friends enjoyed her sock monkey themed birthday party.

*Happy Dances*

I know I haven't done Sock Monkey Monday for a couple weeks now, but I have a good reason! I have a job now! I am no longer a bum, hanging around the house, I am once again a productive member of society! *Snoopy dances* This also means that I don't have a lot of free time anymore, so it's going to be a bit tough getting the sock monkey entries (and the sock monkeys themselves) done.

I started the new job last Monday, so clearly Wee Ninja Muse is a good luck little ninja, because the job that I brought her along on the interview for is the job that I got. I made a Lucky Ninja for a friend, and I have to make another Lucky Ninja for another friend so that we can ALL have jobs.

To those of you who know me as a monkey maker, what I do is probably NOT what you'd expect. My last job, I made hematology controls-- that basically means I did a lot of things with a lot of blood. I think my primary job was to scare the temps though. With this job, I'm once again in the lab, but doing a MUCH less gory job-- I'm an Analytical Chemistry Technician. Mostly that means I test stuff. Which means that for the past week and two days, I've spent most of my time moving REALLY tiny pieces of product around with a pair of tweezers.

The main requirement for this job was the successful removal of the "Writer's Cramp" in the game Operation. Once I proved that I rocked at Operation (I have two different versions), I was a shoe in. Okay, so it wasn't QUITE like that, but I do really like where I work. I came up with a few things that sort of show what kind of company I work for now:

• I have a toy moose on my desk. Pretty much everyone does. They're standard issue. 
• My first day, my new boss brought me and the rest of the team (there are four of us total) out to lunch at a local pub. 
• There's a HUGE couch in the middle of the office area. This couch is comfy and no one gets mad if you sit on it. No one times you when you're sitting on it either!
• There are SNACKS, lots and lots of snacks! Gummy rats, pretzels, yogurt, bagels, and drinks to go with them. And not just coffee, but juice and seltzer too!
• Last Friday, we had a JUGGLER who juggled and made balloon animals!

 The only downside is that the commute is long, but now that I'm used to it, I don't mind the commute at all. I can sleep on the train, and I haven't used almost any gas for the car. I also haven't really spent any money on breakfast or lunch stuff beyond some stuff to make a sandwich because we have it all there.

I have to admit, I didn't think jobs like this existed. Sure, I've had jobs where they were okay with you taking an hour for lunch as long as everything got done, but that was about the only "perk" I've ever had, and I lost that when I went to the last company I worked for. This new job is a bit of a culture shock for me. I think I've said about 20 times my first day "we're allowed to do that?"

I'm used to being watched constantly, I'm used to being punished for punching in just ONE MINUTE late. I feel guilty when I go in and eat breakfast while sitting on the couch... even though that's what the couch is for. I'm used to scarfing down my lunch as quick as possible because 30 minutes isn't a lot of time if you have something that needs to be microwaved for 5 minutes, and having to count that time it will take me to walk to the time clock, etc.

None of those things apply at my new job. People don't grunt when you say good morning. People don't look at you like you have three heads when you say good morning. People are HAPPY there, and I know for sure that this company is far more productive than the other company I worked for. It's the little things, like free bagels that actually matter a lot. My last place didn't understand this. They were... all "stick" and no "carrot". For whatever reason, they never realized that it's easier to do something small, and make people HAPPY to work for you, than it is to FORCE people to work for you*. People will volunteer to take on extra work without extra pay, and things like that if you give them those little incentives. I know that for sure, I tend to recruit family and friends as monkey making assistants, and they do good work in exchange for pizza!

Speaking of which, Haunted Monkeyville will be debuting this week! Starting September 1st, there will be Halloween themed monkeys in the Etsy shop. Due to Irene, this will have to be a rolling debut, as the sewing machine doesn't work without electricity and we lost it here for most of Sunday. Also, I am COLLABORATING on a very, very exciting project that was set to debut at the same time, but while I have power, the wonderful and talented Melanie does not. Without her, the project will be *slightly* postponed.

We were lucky here in Monkeyville, all of the towns around us lost power from Sunday until sometime today. Other towns, not too far away STILL don't have power yet! I hope that everyone else has made it through the storm without any major tragedies.


*That job even had enforced merriment! The Christmas "party" was in the MIDDLE of the day, attendance was mandatory or you didn't get paid for that time, and it was just a really bland buffet lunch where we were only allowed soda or water to drink. It was also NOT friendly to anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas (or vegetarians), as the only foods there were salad, pork with some kind of fruit, and cold pasta with shellfish. I ended up having salad and rice for lunch two years in a row because the first year I was a vegetarian and for the second the party fell right in the middle of Hanukkah! I don't eat Kosher most of the time, but around Hanukkah I do my best to.

Ninja Thursday: The Adventures of Wee Ninja Muse

Subtitled: I go to Cambridge looking for a job

 
 Yesterday was a BIG day here in Monkeyville! First, I had a very exciting interview at a company in Cambridge. The application on Monster had the question: "What are your current goals in haiku form". How can you NOT want to work for a company like that?!

Of course, the first thing I did when I found out I had an interview for this job was to tell THE Ninja Muse, who was quite excited for me, though rather jealous that I would be going to such a pretty place without her. We tried the teleporter, but our prototype still isn't up to snuff. I teleported Ninja Muse's socks back to her (the only items that made it through-- coincidence? I think not!) and we sat and thought. Ninja Muse then mused "I wish I could shrink myself down and tag along in your bag".

Ah-ha! I set about to work instantly, and in under an hour, Wee Ninja Muse was born! Wee Ninja Muse was just the right size to fit in my bag or coat pocket without it looking like I was trying to smuggle puppies into Cambridge. This by the way, is why it's so good to have a Ninja Muse. Without Ninja Muse, there would be no Wee Ninja Muse, and my photos of my trip up to Cambridge would be much, much more boring.

Wee Ninja Muse with her ticket. Only pirates get smuggled aboard trains. 

"Is it here yet?" Nope, sorry Wee Ninja Muse.

"Yay! It's here!" Wee Ninja Muse traveled via coat pocket for safety.

"This... is not very comfortable...."

 "Ah, that's better. Wake me up when we get there." Even though I had only 10 minutes sleep the night before, the train was too loud for me to sleep. So while Wee Ninja Muse snoozed in my bag, I went over the notes I had made for my  interview. I was excited, but NERVOUS.

Finally in Boston, it was time to hop on another train. 

Wee Ninja Muse tried to be patient. 

"Is that it?" Nope, right color, but wrong side of the tracks.

First stop in Cambridge? Breakfast! 

Wee Ninja Muse was starving, she ate half my lemon square! That's okay though because I was hiding a brownie in my bag for later.

After that was the job interview (sorry, no photos of that) and Wee Ninja Muse was very good about sitting quietly in my bag for most of the interview. Little did I know this was because she was nomming my brownie!

However, she's adorable, so I forgave her... but not before threatening to feed her to the weird graffiti monster. 

Wee Ninja Muse in front of a well known Cambridge landmark.

This was right up the street from the company I interviewed at. Any guesses?

Eli Monkey goes to Harvard, but Wee Ninja Muse and I agree that MIT is WAY cooler.
Of course, Wee Ninja Muse wanted to see Harvard too, since she prefers the old brick buildings. We were in Cambridge already, so we hopped on the train again and went two more stops to Harvard Square. 

Sadly, we couldn't go to a few places that Wee Ninja Muse wanted to go, because I had stupidly worn boots expecting it to rain. It didn't rain, so I was stuck in big heavy boots with thick socks in 80-something degree weather. This resulted in a blister right on the heel of my left foot.

We stopped at Cambridge Commons for a while so I could sit and get my bearings (I was also kicking myself for not getting directions from Eli) and so that I could take my boots off and let my socks dry out. Yeah, yeah, gross I know. However it was hot out so they dried fast and we were once again headed for adventures.

With the help of the Mildy Intelligent cellphone, we found a quick way to get to where we were going. 

Sorry, you can't read the text on the banner. The camera chose what it focused on based on cuteness. 

Same problem. 

We went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. 

Wee Ninja Muse studies the Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt list in preparation for our tour around the Museum, while I drop off my coat and bag. 

The first thing Wee Ninja Muse saw made her sad. 

It's a display of birds hunted to extinction: the Great Auk, Dodo, and Giant Moa. I could only fit the moa's foot in the photo.

Then, we saw some funky looking pigeons (everything is stuffed and in a display case here).
 

And then it was on to what was probably Wee Ninja Muse's least favorite part of the trip:

Wee Ninja Muse posed very unhappily on a photo of a spider.
"These are all dead right?"

Um... sure... don't move Mr. Cockroach!
There were a few living animals in the insect area, including these guys-- Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. Wee Ninja Muse was starting to get nervous, so we moved on to the next area quickly. 

For now, it's a display of all the cool things that grow out of animals noggings. There were lots of displays of various antlers and other animals horns. It was a museum/hunting lodge hybrid area.

*touch*

After that, it was off to see some older horned (and some not horned) animals. 

Triceratops.

Big... thing... I can't remember what it's called. It was so huge I could only get it's head in the photo, no matter how far away I stood. 

Moving forward in time:

This is a giant ground sloth, with a Wee Ninja Muse in front of it.
"The isolation of South America for about 75 million years led to the evolution of bizarre animals"

Yes, yes it did. 

Wee Ninja Muse and I agreed this guy was VERY bizarre!

And look! in the next display, we found one of the scavenger hunt items!

I'll admit, our finding these was largely by accident, as there was so much cool stuff to see we forgot to specifically look for them. Well, I forgot. Wee Ninja Muse kept pointing them out to me. 

Birds! Right to left: kiwi, puffin, ostrich chick. I always thought puffins were bigger. 

Off to the next room.
Look out Wee Ninja Muse!

 "Don't worry Ninja Writer,  it's not like it can swim through glass!"

Um...

Tiger: *nom*

Me: *saves Wee Ninja Muse*

Wee Ninja Muse: "It's stuffed silly".

We then walked through the ocean mammals room (skeletons mostly). And then took a turn into...

"Can you see me?"

Okay, it looked like a forest, complete with trees growing mushrooms, but we were still in the building. 

"You're SURE this isn't alive RIGHT?"

This was the North American Forest display, and the arrangement of everything was very cool.

We found lots of things on the scavenger hunt list here, including Snape's Patronus:

Aw, Snape had a cute patronus!

Wee Ninja Muse and I giggled over how dirty that sounded. 

When we left the forest, I happen to take a break on a bench to rest my hot, sore feet, and Wee Ninja Muse found another item on the list!

*Snarl*

Up and moving again, this time it was my turn to find an item:

Wee Ninja Muse was starting to get tired too, so we skipped the glass flowers and the rocks and minerals (meaning that we did not complete our scavenger hunt mission) and headed back to the train.

We used the Mildly Intelligent phone to find the nearest T stop, which resulted in us walking through Harvard Yard. We took the red line to South Station, and got there just in time for the 3:45 train home.