the Holiday monkey stories

So, just as I promised I've checked in to share a few Holiday monkey tales. I hope you enjoy these short tales and that you're all having a great holiday!

Fiona's story

Fiona’s favorite day is the day before Christmas. When the whole world is painted in bright reds and greens, gingerbread men dance in windows, and the nights become frosty. She grew up in a huge Victorian home in Cape May, New Jersey, with her parents, prosperous monkey merchants who sold goods and operated a ferry bringing rich tourists to port.

Each Christmas her parents Ansel and Greta would gather the children together near the fireplace and roast bananas flambé and toast marshmallows. Ansel, in addition to his skills as a merchant, was no slouch as a knitter – and each year he toiled away on chilly evenings to present Fiona with a treasure for the new year: a knitted dress.

So every night before Christmas, without fail, Fiona would creep down the tall 3rd story setps to the candlelit tree, find the white box tied with red and white baker’s twine, pull out the dress and dance around in it while eating the banana and chocolate chip cookies left for Santa.

Then, as morning approached she’d replace the dress carefully, run upstairs and tuck herself tightly into bed so that when her father appeared with the long white box she could look extra sleepy and surprised…

THE END

***

Fiona Likes:
Almonds
Lima beans
waltzes

Dislikes:
Mutton pies
Paisley ties
loud noises

Alice's story

Alice knows winter is coming because that’s when her ears begin to tingle. Being an all-white (and extremely rare and unphotographed) tailless monkey, she creates quite a stir wherever she goes. But make no mistake: she loves the attention!

She had a very normal and unglamorous parentage, born to 2 monkeys of median age in the deep Congo. Yet her all-white coat made her famous from birth and she was passed from monkey aunt to monkey uncle as they all scratched their heads in amazement.

It was concluded that Alice must be a descendant of the fabled snow monkeys of Mount Kilimanjaro, who haunt the icy slopes, often pelting unwitting climbers with snowballs just before they reach its crest.

Alice, for her part, was content with jungle life, but something within her searched for…something more. With this in mind, she began a friendship with a local Dutch explorer, Vim Weederens, who had studied the monkey colony from his cabin with much curiosity.

After much careful thought she decided to join Vim on his worldwide travels, and after a tearful goodbye to her parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, she boarded Vim’s schooner, headed for a world of endless adventures.

Though their adventures were numerous and manifold, her favorite had to have been their caper on the icy uncharted islets south of Africa. It was there that she learned to ice-skate, befriended her first penguin, and celebrated her first Christmas with Vim and the crew.

Vim and his crew of old sea dogs had been lured southward by tales of the Peppermint Narwhal, who could only be seen on Christmas Eve. Alice and crew had knitted festive elf-stockings to keep them warm and cozy during their Christmas Eve vigil on the deck. It had been a long, frosty day that mellowed into a white, milky darkness and they celebrated with occasional jigs to warm up.

Suddenly, a cry from Vim brought the drowsy crew to its feet – Alice leaped onto Vim’s shoulder and saw, just past the bow of the ship, the candy-cane horn of the Peppermint Narwhal.

THE END


***


Alice Likes:
the films of Ingmar Bergman
sleigh bells
cherry popsicles

Dislikes:
naughty schnauzers
brussel sprouts
crowds

current happiness

So, just as my flu was wearing off late this week, I came home from work to find 2 lovely packages awaiting me in my mailbox - both were complete surprises from sneaky sweetheart crafters... First, was a cute little Panda note from Sally, who sent along chocolate Santas and even the Christmas pudding you see above! :) I had to back out of an ornament swap late last month due to way too many things going on at once - Sally was a sweetheart and sent me this little ornament anyway - thank you so much - it really cheered me up! :)

And from Claudia, look at these beautiful embroidered ornaments:


I oohed and aahed - turning them over and over - her handiwork is amazing. She also sent along crafty supplies which I can't wait to use up:


Floss, felt, buttons, stickers, tiny birds, and a mix CD with familiar tunes. I was beaming - I'm sure it's the reason I got better so quickly - there's something about sharing music with people that has always touched me in a way I can't explain. People who are moved deeply by music, I just feel like we understand each other - or at least we understand that part of each other... I'm strange about gifts - the things that really "do it" for people never really do it for me... diamond rings - meh, expensive clothes, dinners, etc, meh - but floss, felt, buttons and a mix CD? Cloud nine. :)

Also making me happy are a pair of crochet gloves:


I've been coveting the crochet gauntlets Kalurah makes for a month now - you know where you stare and stare at a picture and you get this hungry feeling like you're craving a taco? Ok, it's a weird allusion, but I've been wanting these gloves big time - so I finally buckled under the pressure and bought them last week. She is a sweetheart and they're so beautifully made - you must check out her shop and see what's she's up to...



And finally, here's an image of the only craft I made when I had the flu. The bug I had was dreadful - I had no energy, felt so run down and when I wasn't coughing, sneezing, or blowing my nose I had this awful headache and stuffy head. I churned out two of these fabric trees and hung some of my vintage buttons on with straight pins. I hope you're all keeping warm in this icy weather!

sick update

I'm awfully, miserably sick with nothing new to say. And yet I just felt I had to share something with you, so instead of taking a picture of my miserably sick self for proof, I'll share a chipper picture of Horace:



Getting a flu in the middle of doing my first sale on Etsy has been a bummer - each evening I've dragged myself over to the computer to see if there's been a purchase and I must admit I'm half hoping there is no sale because then I don't have to walk to the post office! ;) I'm a wuss, I know, but seriously this is a bad bug that's made me miserable for days. I even got my boyfriend sick so we spent the weekend inside, only going out to get soup and buy tissues.

But the good news is Fiona is on her way to a new home... right here in New York! That means all 3 monkeys in stockings are still up for grabs - Mr. Horace, pictured above, and Alice the snow monkey and Edgar:

And I promise they are carefully boxed away in a germ-free environment so they won't catch this nasty flu. If only I was so lucky. Stay healthy, friends!

back from vacation!

And we couldn't have picked a chillier, icier day to return on Sunday - I stuck my foot out of the cab and directly into a snowy flowerbed. The vacation was one of those experiences you know you'll remember for the rest of your life. Every time I looked out at the amazing landscapes of blue ocean, sand, and greenery I thought to myself it is too beautiful, it can't be real, and how is it that I am here now?

We arrived first in St. Martin, where the sunset is as impressive as the moonrise:


Then early the next morning we took a tiny propeller plane to St. Barth, a French island just 15 minutes away. We were all scared of the small sea plane but the ride was incredible, and I realized I was finally living out my 6 year old child's dream of arriving somewhere by sea plane, just like on Fantasy Island... :)



Then we drove up impossibly steep, winding mountain roads to get to where we stayed, high on a cliff green with blooming flowers and cactus, and surrounded by a sea horizon that was beyond words:



We were surrounded by moths, frogs, birds, turtles and lizards and every day discovered something new. Under some low palm branches we found this well hidden nest:



Hummingbirds! They were tiny and black, with a faint iridescent green patch on the tops of their heads. While we watched the nest a hummingbird darted around nearby, perching often and keeping a close eye on us. The birds must have been fledglings because the next day there was only one, and 2 days later no birds in the nest, only a spider occupying a new home...

I had to bring le Carotte, of course, and he graciously modeled for a moleskine painting:



It was the kind of trip that leaves you stunned and grateful to live on the earth. Just a few quick words before I update the shop with monkey business -I'll blog about that tonight!