CARLTON: Born - January 2012. Carlton used to be a doorman at the local hi-rise. His job was to be available at all times to open the door for the tenants of the building.This went well for Carlton until the day he let in an old grandmother who took it upon herself to have a heart attack in the elevator between the 12th and 14th floor. This did not go over well with the hi-rise owner as where she died would be considered the "13th" floor that does but doesn't exist in the hi-rise. I mean right in the middle of those two specific floors. Creepy. Anyway, half the tenants were freaked out and moved so Carlton got fired. The owner realized it really wasn't a necessity to have a doorman anyway, just give all the tenants their own keys. Not rocket science but it took him long enough to figure it out.
TED: Born - January 2012. 'There once was a monkey named Ted, who constantly hogged the whole bed, his wife named Flo, said "Ted, you must go", and promptly shot him in the head.' Ha, ha - Ted's gonna love that one!
NORBIE: Born - January 2012. Norbie loves poetry and especially limericks. He wrote the above one and bribed me with foot massages to post it. Ooooooh... that feels great...wow....nothing like a good foot massage after a gruelling day at the computer.
McFLY, MARTY, DOC & BUNZ: Born - January, 2012. Sing it with me folks - "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong..." Have you figured it out yet? Well, here's a hint. The movie previewed in 1985 and was the highest grossing movie that year and shot Michael J. Fox into super stardom. Still don't have it? It involved a "pimped-up" DeLorean car. Alright, the movie is "Back to the Future" and the above first three Sock Monkeys (McFly, Marty & Doc) are named for characters from the movie. As for Bunz, he doesn't have a tail and the name seemed to fit. Getting back to the movie, it was recently re-mastered on DVD and 27 years later, my kids are watching it and LOVING it! Fabulous trilogy, if you can rent it sometime, do it - you won't regret it.
Now back to the monkeys. All they do is hang out in the TV room waiting for someone to get home so they can beg you to put in "Back to the Future".... You knew I was going there right??
SNOWY & JOSEPH: Born - December 30th & 31st. SWEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!! You know what this means folks? It means I am DONE!!! I have successfully built and donated 365 Sock Monkeys for the year 2011!!! Yay me!
Seriously, they are the last two of the year and also the last for my personal challenge of making one a day in 2011. Am I proud of myself? You bet! Did I think I could do it? You bet! Am I happy it's finished? Ummmm.... maybe but now what am I going to do with my time????
Have no fear. I always have something on the go or in my head ready to be created. I will continue with the monkeys but Iwill also be adding my Sock Owls, Sock Monsters & Critters, maybe even a Sock Puppet or two...
I would like to thank my biggest supporters: Bev, Duane, Alex, Bailey, Weston, Elliot, Brenda, Kate, and all those that continually read my blog and laughed along with me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You believed in me and helped make it happen.
I wish to thank every single Sock Monkey/Monster I created this year. You taught me about commitment and quite possibly you'll get me committed....
Lastly, I wish to give a heartfelt thank you to all the people, children, family & friends I donated to this year. You are what made this project important to me. God bless you all in 2012.
Yours in Monkey business,
Jessica Latour
MAGUIRE: Born - December 28th. Maguire is somewhat of a traditional Sock Monkey. Made from a pair of wool socks, the only thing missing is the red heel which would make him very authentic. It would also make him funny looking with a big red mouth - never liked the look of the red mouthed sock monkeys... Guess I'm a little biased?
PORTER: Born - December 29th. Porter rolled his truck the other day. For some reason he thought it would be cool to drive it down the set of stairs in my house. He made it to the first landing but from there, everything went wrong. Firstly, I'd like to know where he got that remote control truck, secondly, who put that idea in his head? I think it's time I questioned the kids...
JIGSAW: Born - December 26th. Jigsaw is a bit of a puzzle. You're never quite sure if she likes you or not. Sometimes you get the distinct impression that she's just messing with you and actually can't stand you while at other times she may give you a genuine smile and heartfelt comment. While we may never know if she likes you or not, it is wise to stay on her good side....but that's another story.
FANNING: Born - December 27th. Fanning got caught in a ceiling fan once and was stuck on the fast spinning cycle for over an hour. He has never quite recovered and walks a crooked line.... Hey - that reminds me of a nursery rhyme "there was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile, something, something, something and had a crooked smile." Sorry, just a little distracted...
EBENEEZER & SCROOGE: Born - December 24th & 25th. Now most people would say that's inappropriately named as Christmas is all about Jesus and sharing and love - not about an old geezer who hated Christmas and was mean to everyone. Well my friends, it's not the "name" we focus on but the lesson Ebeneezer Scrooge was fortunate enough to learn before his life ended miserably. A lesson we'd all do well to learn from as our focus on this most Holy season has become more commercial rather than what it was all about - the birth of Jesus Christ.
Honestly, it doesn't really matter if you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Gnostic, Jehovah, Atheist or any other denomination I have neglected to mention. The IDEA behind this season is one of love. One of remembering those less fortunate than us. One of remembering how fortunate we are to live in a country that's not at war. One of sharing. One of giving. One of believing in the kindness of mankind. One of forgiving and forgetting past wrongs (imagined or real) against you. One of hope - for a better day, for happiness and true peace among nations, religions, leaders and genuine love within our own communities, homes and families.
So let's take the time to remember Ebeneezer Scrooge and his lessons and be thankful for what we have today. Spread the love one smile at a time and begin a revolution of kindness!! God's blessings be with all of you through this Christmas season and let it carry you throughout 2012!
Love,
Jessica (and all her 365 Sock Monkeys)
RACER & PONGO: Born - December 22nd & 23rd respectively. These two lovely sock monkeys are both socks with Disney characters on them. One from the movie "Cars" and one from "101 Dalmatians". If I had to choose which movie I enjoyed more, it would be "101 Dalmatians" hands down. You just can't beat the good clean entertainment from the 60's - no swearing, no underlying sexual jokes or innuendos - just someone wanting to bash in the heads of 101 puppies. Yup. Good clean fun....
ANYWAY, getting back to Racer and Pongo, they both prefer the movie "Cars". They thought "101 Dalmatians" was too violent - kinda like the old Bug Bunny shows - which in my opinion was good clean fun....
