OCTOBER COLLECTION 2011

TWO LOVELY LADIES - BROOKE & KARA SCHAEFER

MY BEAUTIFUL FRIEND BEV AND HER TWO WONDERFUL DAUGHTERS.

BEV, SOCK MONKEYS AND GOALIE GEAR!

Here I am at the end of October, 304 sock monkeys made, and a photo shoot with my very good friend Bev and her two lovely daughters, Brooke and Kara. Bev has been my biggest fan and supporter through this year and always has a great comment or two for my bio's. I absolutely loved her idea of getting in her goalie equipment and stuffing it full of sock monkeys for the picture. It turned out fantastic!
Thank you so much Bev, Brooke and Kara. You made my day (and the sock monkeys)by agreeing to pose and be a part of October's collection.
Ten months down, two more to go. Thank you to all who still read the blog and continue to donate socks.

THE EARL OF DRAKE-U-LA

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, THE EARL OF DRAKE-U-LA.

THE EARL OF DRAKE-U-LA: Born - October 31st. Drake (as he's called in most Sock Monster circles), is a distant cousin to the one and only, Count Dracula. I think their father's uncles grandmothers were cousins...something like that. ANYWAY, unlike the Count Dracula, Drake took the less evil route and is NOT a blood sucker. Drake tends to suck on lollipops, particularly the bubble gum flavoured ones. When he gets to the center where the piece of gum usually is, he spits it out. Drake is not much of a gum chewer, just a lollipop sucker....

Halloween happens to be his favourite day of the year. It's the only time he can walk around looking the way he does without people freaking out. He also gets a ton of candy - mostly bubble gum lollipops. You see, years ago he started a rumor that if he didn't get his fix of bubble gum lollipops, he would steal their first born. Okay, he doesn't do that BUT, if they think it, he never runs short of lollipops. It's a win-win situation! Smart thinking Drake.

CEDRICK, PETRA & DIRK

CEDRICK: Born - October 28th. Cedrick has decided to start collecting his toenail clippings and make works of art out of them. While he hasn't figured out what kind of art, he is strongly leaning toward sculpting. Picture it. A sculpture made entirely of toe nails. AWESOME!! I wonder what he'll sculpt? Maybe a car or a person clipping his toe nails. Can't wait to check out his first exhibit.
PETRA: Born - October 29th. Petra likes to pet things. Mostly animals. She will spend hours at a petting zoo or pet store. One time, she was so occupied petting the guinea pigs that she didn't notice the pet store closing. Someone forgot to do the rounds and make sure everyone was out and Petra had to overnight with all the animals. Did you know that they can talk when humans aren't around?? At least that's what Petra said. She had an intense conversation with a goldfish about scurvy. I know...odd. Anyway, Petra is a petting fool!
DIRK: Born - October 30th. Dirk is a wonderful little poet who will soon have a book of poetry published. Here's a sample:
      There once was a sock monkey named Fred
      Who wore underwear upon his head
      His friends laughed so hard
      That they woke the jail guard
      And now they all live in a shed.
So, mostly it doesn't make sense BUT, it all rhymes. Here's another:
      Roses are stinky
      Violets smell too
      Sugar is fattening
      And so is pooh!
That one may not be published.  Keep at it Dirk!
     

ADELE & VANCE

ADELE: Born - October 26th. Adele just happens to be born on the most wonderful day of the year, my birthday! She is smart, kind, creative, funny, musical, sport minded, sometimes shy, maybe a little quick to anger, usually smiling, often busy, rarely bored, loves coffee, loves life and if you happen to be her friend, she is loyal to the end. Adele is a very cool Sock Monkey and there should be more people - I mean Sock Monkeys like her in the world.
VANCE: Born - October 27th. Vance missed out on being born on the most important day of the year by one day. Poor Vance. He is grumpy, not very kind, can't laugh, really doesn't have much of a mind for anything, always bored, whiny, hates coffee and all things purple. However, Vance just needs a little love and understanding and he'll come around. I've seen his soft side and when it's there, he's rather sweet. Come on Vance, let the love shine through!

ROSA GOLDING, LONZO & GISELLE

ROSA GOLDING: Born - October 23rd. Rosa Golding can't seem to dig her way out of her depression. She has tried many times to rise above the waves but, seems to get pulled under more often than she'd like. Why is Rosa Golding depressed? She is depressed because she lives her life in the shadow of others, never really making a name for herself (although "Rosa Golding" is a very cool name).  Okay. This is depressing just writing a depressing bio. Roas Golding is NOT depressed and lives a very happy and authentic life. Yeesh!
LONZO: Born - October 24th. Lonzo works as a parts man in a local dealership. He's kind of moody and whines a lot. No one likes to play with him. They don't let him near the photo copier and they definitely don't leave scissors near his desk. On weekends though, he is a pole dancer at the Monkey Tail Bar and makes a ton of money.  Everyone loves "Lonzo the Lover" when he's out working the pole....
GISELLE: Born - October 25th. Giselle just had hip surgery for the 7th time. It started when she rode her bike off a small cliff at age 4. Now, at 22, she just looks the wrong way at a set of stairs and her hip gives out. Mind you, if I had birthed 31 monkeys, my hips would probably have given out as well.  At this point, we are looking for a hip donor. If you know of anyone who doesn't need a hip anymore, let me know and we'll be over with the surgeon.

MILO, TILLIE & BASIL

MILO, TILLIE & BASIL: Born - October 20th, 21st & 22nd respectively. So, there I am in a kids clothing store in Edmonton and this 3-pack of socks just jumps out at me. Not kidding! It seriously "jumped" off the rack, and landed in front of me on the floor. I picked up the pack and these three lovely socks were inside. How could I resist them? I had them named before I paid for the package...
Milo, Tillie and Basil knew they were meant to be created into sock monkeys, NOT worn by some young child who would wear holes into their heels and lose them in the dryer. They also knew exactly who to throw themselves at in the store. Weird. Anyway, here they are in all their glory - ready to be donated to a child who will love them soooooo much that they will still end up with holes in their heels - just hopefully not lost in the dryer... Ironic hey?

POOKIE, BRENDA & MOO

POOKIE: Born - October 17th. Pookie is a sweet little companion to all Sock Monkeys and plays well with other critters. He likes to hang out at the watering hole and play tag with anyone (or thing) that will play with him. Most of the time he can get a good crowd together and have an excellent game of tag however, on the occasion no one's around, it get's rather boring for him. Have you ever tried playing tag with yourself? Well, Pookie has and it's not much fun...
BRENDA: Born - October 18th. Where do I start with Brenda? So many stories, so little time. I guess the most important thing you need to know is that she is a top notch friend and can make you laugh so hard you almost pee your pants. Mostly you're laughing AT her, but, that's because she does the goofiest things - not intentionally either... I love Brenda and her ability to laugh at herself, her kindness and generosity. You totally ROCK!!
MOO: Born - October 19th. Why is Moo named Moo? I'll tell you why. For the longest time, all Moo could say was "Moo". He'd say two moos for yes and one for no. Depending on the articulation and tones of his "Moo", you knew exactly what he meant and how he was feeling. The Scientists of the Sock Monkey kingdom actually studied him and developed a language that has helped them to communicate with cows! How amazing is that?? Cows don't like being tipped. Thought you might like to know. Anyway, Moo can now talk and speaks four different languages - cat, dog, pig and cow of course.

BINKY & SETTA

BINKY: Born - October 15th. Binky is a small business owner and sells bottles of dust bunnies to scientific research labs all across Canada. She sneaks into our homes and quietly collects the unsuspecting dust bunnies. Don't look now, but that's probably her under your couch collecting her specimen. What? YOU don't have dust bunnies? That's like saying you don't have a functioning brain. Wait...am I talking to a guy? Hmmmmmm... bad comparison. Anyway, Binky makes a ton of money selling these dust bunnies and since they're just dust, they don't seem to mind.
SETTA: Born - October 16th. Setta rhymes with Jetta which is a fancy car. Setta is NOT a car. Setta is a Sock Monkey. Glad we cleared this up.

Author's note: Hey, I was TOTALLY kidding about the whole "guy" thing and "non-functioning brain" thing. Really.

SIR EVERMORE GREYSOCK

SIR EVERMORE GREYSOCK: Born - October 14th. He wasn't always Sir Evermore Greysock. His real name is Jerry. The story is a little twisted BUT, if you stay with me to the end of it, you'll understand the new name.
Jerry had a problem. Every time he tried to turn left, he would go right. This wasn't too difficult to work around and eventually Jerry would figure out creative ways to get from point A to point B. One day, Jerry was daydreaming and ended up in a bar - the Monkey Tail Bar to be precise. He decided to have a Banana and licorice shooter to waste some time while he figured out how he was going to get to point B. You know how it goes. One shooter turns into two, turns into three and before you know it, you've fallen into a vat of grey dye. Okay, maybe not everyone has experienced that but, this is how Jerry became grey. He was solid red before. He managed to keep some of his body parts out of the dye but as you can clearly see, he's not a great swimmer. Jerry was so embarrassed and was the laughing stock of the Sock Monkey kingdom for a very long time. Whenever he went out, people shouted "hey Greysock!' or "hey not red" or "look at the ever grey monkey" or "hey dumb ass"...ooops...sorry...not sure where that came from....
ANYWAY, his name became "Sir Evermore Greysock" and now no one (including Jerry) remembers his real name. True story.
Author's note: Sir Evermore Greysock still struggles with the whole right/left thing HOWEVER, he doesn't day dream anymore.

MARY & MAURY

MARY & MAURY: Born - October 12th & 13th. Yup, another set of twins, only this time they are male/female twins. Mary and Maury were raised on a small ranch in the southern regions of Australia. They both love to surf and chase crocodiles at midnight. This can come in handy when crocodiles escape Zoos and try and eat anyone within chomping reach. That's right. These two Down-under crocodile wranglers love to play with crocs. Once they've captured them, they teach them a nicer way to use their chompers - like cracking open walnuts or ripping apart chip bags or grinning for toothpaste commercials. It's all very civilized and most rehabilitated crocodiles become fine young contributing reptiles in the animal world. Come on - it could happen. Doesn't anyone read Richard Scarry books anymore???

TYRONE, FAMILIA & ALEJANDRO

TYRONE: Born - October 9th. Tyrone is a boxer. Not just an ordinary boxer, but one who also boxes with his tail. Sometimes this can be difficult as the shorts they give him don't have holes for his tail however, he has since worked that kink out. He wears his boxer shorts backwards so his tail can hang out as needed...Anyway, he is World Champion 3 times over in the ISMBL (International Sock Monkey Boxing League) and will be going for his fourth title next month. We're all rooting for Tyrone (otherwise he'll kick our asses..).
FAMILIA: Born - October 10th. What kind of a name is Familia you may ask? It is Spanish for "Family" and as today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, I wanted to honor that with a Sock Monkey named for what I am most thankful for. Not just my relations, but all my friends whom I have considered family over the years and who sometimes stick by me more than my related family does... AND of course, my Sock Monkey family!! You have kept me sane and saved my life more times than I can count. I love my FAMILIA!!!
ALEJANDRO: Born - October 11th. So, in case you didn't know, Alejandro happens to be my husbands name as well. It is also our 14th wedding anniversary today - well, we've been together 17 years but legally 14 - but I digress. This man is the love of my life... okay, I'm pushing it a bit here... Actually, he truly is my soul mate and it has taken us 17 years, 3 kids, some ups and downs, thrown in with a few "in-law" issues, sibling squabbles, numerous cats & dogs not to mention broken vehicles, falling apart house, tripping over sock monkey parts and all the other joys that come with marriage (I'm sure you all know them),  for us to be as happy and content as we are. So, in honor of my incredible husband, I give you Alejandro, the Sock Monkey.

SCOOTER, ETCH, NUGGET, HOCUS & TONGO

SCOOTER, ETCH, NUGGET, HOCUS & TONGO: Born - October 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th respectively. So, did you ever wonder why bananas are yellow? Was it just a "luck of the draw" thing when God handed out colours? Does it have anything to do with the pigmentation in the fruit itself that colours the peel? Could it be something in the ground that takes hold in the roots of the banana tree and causes it to be yellow? How about the sun just wanting a yellow partner on earth? Well, if you've wondered about this - as I have - wonder no longer! These five little sock monkeys have studied this question for years and have finally found the reason behind bananas being yellow. You see, yellow is the colour of "crazy". That's right, crazy. Walk into any institution and all the walls are painted different shades of yellow. It apparently soothes the crazy mind and helps calm any kind of living crazy "thing". Now why do you think monkeys love bananas so much? Cause they're all freakin' CRAZY!! Try living in a house full of them for awhile...you'll start loving the colour yellow... Oooooh! Is that a banana? Gotta go....I'm a little hungry...

ELLEN, TED & DAVE

ELLEN: Born - October 1st. Ellen got caught in an ant hill and now has ants permanently stuck to her body. Actually, according to Ellen, while she was in the ant hill, she had tea with their Queen. They dined on other insects and bread crumbs the worker ants had scavenged. The Queen took a liking to Ellen (as most people do) and released her unharmed. They drew a mural of ants on her body so she'd always remember her time in the ant hill and how close to death she was. Good thing Ellen's a comedian or she'd be ant food right now.
TED: Born - October 2nd. So, all I could think of was a surfer dude I once knew named "Ted" when I bought these socks. The design on them is palm trees and surf boards, therefore, they've always been named Ted in my mind. I only met Ted once at a conference I was at. He was one of the speakers and told a story about his previous life as a surfer. I like to think that Ted the Sock Monkey is STILL a surfer and rides the Great Slave Lake waves on a windy day. When he's done, he pins himself up on driftwood to dry out in the wind. Pretty cool if you ask me.
DAVE: Born - October 3rd. Dave is a Libra and true to his sign. He's a slight perfectionist, charitable and has an uncanny attention to detail. He loves intellectual conversations and credit cards (could be his...or yours...). Don't ever pressure him into decisions or rush him out the door...Dave does not respond well to confusion. On the bright side though, he's all about seeking balance and fairness in any situation, a natural negotiator. We love our fair-minded Dave.