NOVEMBER COLLECTION 2011

THIS IS BRENDA - SHE ROCKS!!!

I THINK THEY WERE GETTING FRESH WITH HER.....

Well folks, there they are, my November Sock Monkeys and my most awesome model, Brenda - she's the monkey in the middle...just in case you were confused.

This month has been a bit crazy as I was doing double time and finished all my Sock Monkeys for December as well. December is such a busy month and I didn't want the stress of getting these finished and donated before Christmas was upon us. So, here I am at the end of November with my goal of "A Sock Monkey A Day" completed.

My latest donation was to the Ft. Smith Fireman's Annual Toy Run in November - 60 Sock Monkeys will find good homes this Christmas in Fort Smith. The last of my Sock Monkeys will go to the Secret Santa in Hay River and hopefully make some young child smile.

Special thanks to Heidi and Franco for making the Ft. Smith donation possible and also to my fantastic friend Brenda for agreeing to be my November model. It's never easy working with a bunch of monkeys...

TUNDRA: Born - November 29th. Tundra smokes weed and lots of it. Don't get your knickers in a knot, it's actually weed from the ditch that he rolls and lights up - no illegal substance at all. He can't afford cigarettes and refuses to do drugs so, he got creative. C'mon, you must remember back in 4th grade when you thought smoking a dried hollow reed from the bush was cool and just like a cigarette. No? Hmmmmm...maybe that was just me and my siblings....Well then, another thing to add to my list of dysfunctions....
DEMPSY: Born - November 30th. Dempsy is my psychiatrist. He thinks I had a dysfunctional upbringing. He also thinks the world is flat and the sun revolves around us. I think Dempsy isn't really a psychiatrist. Seriously, how many psychiatrists actually live in small rubber rooms? Maybe that should have been a clue....
Author's note: In no way am I incriminating my siblings as "weed" smokers...no sir, we are perfect children.... clearly no dysfunction here....

FORT SMITH DONATION 2011

CHILLIN' ON THE BACK OF THE FIRETRUCK

"MONKEYING" AROUND!

FIRETRUCK FUN!

This month my Sock Monkey's travelled to Fort Smith and were delivered to the local firehall for the Fireman's Annual Toy Run. I would like to thank my good friends Heidi and Franco for watching over them this past month and making sure they were delivered without any "mishaps". ALTHOUGH, I think Heidi had a little too much fun with these guys - check out her video "Case of the Missing Bananas" on her website: www.westernwillow.com - you're gonna love it!
So, thank you Heidi and Franco from the bottom of my heart for ensuring these 60 dudes and dudettes will find good homes this Christmas.

HUDSON, BAXTER & FI-FI

HUDSON: Born - November 26th. Hudson was found under a rock. The rock wasn't very large but, it was big enough that it hid him until I tripped over it and saw a tail sticking out. I dug away at it and there he was, smiling up at me and blinking at the sun. It took us a few washes to get all the dirt off and eventually he was so clean that he sparkled in the moonlight. Just goes to show you never know what's hiding under a rock...
BAXTER: Born - November 27th. Baxter has a headache. It seems to never go away. Not a big deal except when you want him to help you out with something. He'll keel over in pain, whine and moan then run for the nearest jar of Tylenol or Advil. After he downs a dozen he lays down and is out for a few days. We tend not to ask him to help out anymore - although, when he's out for a few days there's alot less moaning and whining going on....
FI-FI: Born - November 28th. Fi-Fi cleaned out my pantry the other day and found a multi layered cake pan that she has now claimed as her house. She has decorated it with bits of fabric, ribbon and dried banana peels. It actually looks kinda cool and it smells like banana - which isn't such a bad smell once you're used to it. She fashioned a doorbell out of an old cowbell and anytime you want to visit you have to smack it with a drumstick seven times. Effective? Yes. Annoying after the 4th smack? YES!!

LENNIE, COVEYA & GILLIS

LENNIE: Born - November 23rd. Lennie happens to rhyme with Kenny. I have a brother named Kenny who happens to have the middle names of Ernest Leonard. His nickname is "Kenny Ernie Lennie". I like the name Lennie. Lennie rhymes with so many funny things - like my brother Kenny. Nuff said.
COVEYA: Born - November 24th. I have been drinking red wine for about an hour now and have no idea where the name "Coveya" came from. HOWEVER, it's a cool name and if I ever own another cat, I will call it Strauss. Bet you all thought I was going to say Coveya. Ha, ha!
GILLIS: Born - November 25th. There is a mountain called "Gillis Mountain" - not sure where, I just heard a song by the Rankins called "Gillis Mountain" and assumed there was an actual mountain called that. Those Rankins could just be pulling our leg and only called it Gillis Mountain because it sounded cool in the song. I'm gonna write to them and get to the bottom of this. Gillis Mountain, my a**....
Author's note: I've come to the conclusion that it's not a good idea to Blog when you've been drinking the wine. I would recommend this nice wine I found - Wally's Hut - a Cabernet Shiraz. Quite nice.....and now back to the wine drinking...

MAJOR TOM & SGT. PEPPER

MAJOR TOM & SGT. PEPPER: Born - November 21st & 22nd respectively. Well, if you happen to be an adult roughly the same age as me OR if you're just a music buff, you will get the reference to the names and songs and movie. Major Tom is a fictional character in David Bowie's songs "Space Oddity", "Ashes to Ashes" and "Hallo Spaceboy" beginning in 1969 through to the 1980's. Such amazing songs! There are references to Major Tom in a ton of other artists songs throughout those years but none as memorable as David Bowies.
As for Sgt. Pepper, c'mon people - a Beatles classic "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" released in 1967 and later made into a movie (1978) starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees. The guest list on this movie was unreal - Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Earth,Wind & Fire - the soundtrack alone is worth the $20 you'll pay at HMV. Better yet, buy the movie on DVD and spend a lazy Sunday watching this classic. You won't regret it.

CONNIE, CUPCAKE, OZZIE & MOE

CONNIE: Born - November 17th. Connie is a natural born stripey. None of this colour dye for her, she's as natural as they come. Her vibrant mixture of colours comes from both her mother and father as they were of "mixed" colour, and this is what happens when two colourful sock monkeys have babies. Connie is all about working with what you were given. We'll see what happens when the grey starts to come in....
CUPCAKE: Born - November 18th. Well of course Cupcake is named Cupcake because of all the cupcakes on her body. What else was I going to name her - Brick? Yeesh!
OZZIE: Born - November 19th. Ozzie has an odd addiction to white glue. You know the kind. When you were in grade 2 you used to rub it on the inside of your hands, let it dry and then freak the girls out by pealing it off and saying it was your skin. Oh yeah, you even tried eating it once or twice. NOT saying this is what Ozzie does but, he remembers the good old days of grade two....just him and a bottle of white glue....
MOE: Born - November 20th. Moe is looking forward to running the next Boston Marathon. He has been working out steady for the last few months and runs over 10 km a day. It gets rather annoying though as my house is his track at the moment and he is constantly running in and out of doors, upstairs and down and then through the halls, day and night. One of these days I'm going to accidentally stick my foot out as he goes by...

TOBIAS & JETHRO

TOBIAS & JETHRO: Born - November 15th & 16th respectively. These two sock monkeys are not brothers or twins, they are cousins. However, their parents are two sisters who married two brothers and this is why they are almost identical. They've grown up together, shared the same toys, worn the same clothes, watched the same programs and have had the same upbringing. They're probably more like twins than twins are. The only thing they don't share is their taste in vehicles. Tobias is a die hard Chevy fan and Jethro loves the Japanese imports - especially the Mitsubishi. While both products are AWESOME, they do get into the occasional disagreement over which vehicle they are currently driving will outlast the other. At this time, Tobias drives his Pearl Green '69 Chev pickup and Jethro drives his Quartz Brown 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander. Both are amazing vehicles and neither Tobias or Jethro will win the argument as to which is better. Any opinions anyone?
Author's note: I own a Pearl Green '69 Chev Pickup AND a brand new Quartz Brown Mitsubishi Outlander. I love them both and could never choose between them. Believe it or not, I named my Truck "Tobias" many years ago and when I drove home with the new Outlander last week, I named him "Jethro".

ZELDA, FABIO & MILFORD

ZELDA: Born - November 12th. Zelda once had a pet chicken who only had one foot and no wings. It lived for quite a long time and used to accompany her everywhere she went. Unfortunately, one day Zelda left the house and forgot to leave the door open so her chicken could follow.  This lead to him destroying the door and his beak as he tried to "peck" his way out. When Zelda returned, all that was left of her beloved chicken was enough to make a small dinner. No more chickens for Zelda.
FABIO: Born - November 13th. Fabio is from the Italian Sock Monkey family and likes to pretend he knows Italian language and culture. He uses a really tacky Italian accent whenever he's trying to pick up chicks and pretends he's some kind of Mafia dude when he's trying to impress the boys. Truthfully though, Fabio is just another Sock Monkey from a box of socks I found at Value Village. He really doesn't have an Italian bone in his body. Actually, he doesn't have any bones in his body, just stuffing. Poor Fabio.
MILFORD: Born - November 14th. Milford is a plumber. He absolutely LOVES to use the "snake" and unplug clogged drains. Just so you know though (if he happens to come to your house to unplug something) his "snake" is an actual snake - a boa constrictor to be exact. His boa constrictor is quite friendly and won't hurt you. He happens to LOVE going down dirty drains and dealing with all the goop plugged up in there - just squeezes the life right out of it... Milford and his "snake" - call me  if you need them.

KERSHAW & LARSON

KERSHAW: Born - November 10th. Kershaw likes to dive into ice cold water and then run like heck to the hot tub and warm himself up. In most countries this is know as the "Polar Jump" and there are actually clubs you can join to do this. Here in the north we call it an every day occurrence in the summer as the Great Slave Lake never warms up. Kershaw likes to call it "The Dumb Monkey Plunge". Okay...he doesn't call it that, all the other Sock Monkeys do. BUT, if it makes him happy, who are we to judge?
LARSON: Born - November 11th. Larson is born on Remembrance/Veterans Day. Though he wasn't listed in any official army, Larson has great respect for our soldiers who have fought for our freedom and for the right to live in a free country. I know it seems insignificant in the grand scheme of life, but if my Grandfather had not fought in WWII, perhaps I wouldn't be here today with the freedom to write this blog and create my Sock Monkeys. Thank you to all who gave their lives for this one small privilege.

BRIDGETTE & SHERMAN

BRIDGETTE & SHERMAN: Born - November 8th & 9th respectively. This wonderful young couple has recently started an Aloe Vera Plant farm in Texas. Now I don't know if you know this but there are TONS of different uses for this plant and they hope to capitalize on it. Did you know that if you break a piece, the fluid that leaks out is a healing liquid? Bridgette and Sherman are learning to harvest the Aloe Vera plant and make vitamins, balm, chapsticks, cream, shampoos, diaper rash cream, soaps etc. The list is endless. One day they will corner the market in this area and be wealthy little Sock Monkeys. Best of luck you two! Oh yeah - does this mean I get free samples or am I about to be the "guinea pig".... 

TOOKIE, CLIFFORD, SPRITE & ORION

TOOKIE: Born - November 4th. Tookie is a model for the only Sock Monkey Wrinkle Free Face product out there on the market today. This highly sought after product is called "Less Krinkley". You can only use it at night and it has to be applied with a spatula and scrubbed off with an SOS pad. Basically the product itself does nothing for you BUT, the SOS pad really scrapes those "krinkles" out. You can order it from www.lesskrinkly.com and it only costs $73.00 per 2oz. bottle. Enjoy!
CLIFFORD: Born - November 5th. Clifford is a little red sock monkey NOT to be confused with Clifford the big red dog. Clifford the little red sock monkey hates dogs.
SPRITE: Born - November 6th. Sprite is sleep deprived. Some of her symptoms from sleep deprivation include: dark circles under her eyes, less energy, not able to concentrate, increased cravings, sagging skin etc. It's all very unflattering and Sprite really needs to get some serious shut eye. She's tried everything from alcohol abuse to herbal drugs - nothing has worked yet. Tonight she has promised to try my suggestion and run in to a wall. I think it will put her out for awhile....
ORION: Born - November 7th. Orion has this really cool snakeskin jacket he likes to wear when he goes out partying. No one has figured out how he acquired it but some of us have heard rumors of snake pit fights. Seriously. I hear Orion jumped in a snake pit and took on three boa constrictors, one python and a pair of Black Mambas at once and won. I believe the actual story isn't quite as exciting though. A petting zoo and 4 Garter Snakes just doesn't cut it at the bar....
Authors note: There is no such cream called Less Krinkly - don't bother checking out the website, it will take you absolutely no where. Oh yeah, don't try the SOS pads either, they hurt.

BALFOUR, GALIANNA & EMMETT

BALFOUR: Born - November 1st. Balfour is starting to go bald on the tip of his tail. He's not particularly happy about this but, it's a genetic thing and he can't avoid it. Like his father and grandfathers before him, they were all hairless on their tails by the age 35. Not one to sit around and sulk, Balfour has researched hair loss and has decided rather than try all the gimmicks out there, he'll just go with what he's dealt. A bald tail.
GALIANNA: Born - November 2nd. Galianna is about to embark on a journey away from her home. She has decided to take her family on a cruise in Florida, leaving her best friend behind.... All is well though as her best buddy gets to take care of her dog while they're gone AND, she absolutely LOVES it!! Here's to Galianna and her travels. May they be safe and filled with fantastic moments.
EMMETT: Born - November 3rd. Emmett is a key member in a Jug band - he plays the washboard and harmonica. He actually managed to find an old washboard from an attic somewhere in Saskatchewan, reconditioned it and plays it quite well. He once auditioned for Canadian Idol but sadly did not make it through the first auditions. Seriously though, no one is really looking for a washboard player other than his Jug Band. Keep rockin' out Emmett!