adventuring in Ikea

Adventuring at Ikea was great!
It's a big, funny store & they put all kinds of different rooms on display, so you can walk into these spaces & just sit, or play, or climb on all the stuff.

Mum goes there with her friends Richard & Michael, and they talk and talk and talk and it's kinda boring for a Monkey like me, but Mum lets me climb on all the fun things there are to climb on. And there are a lot of fun things to climb on & around & in...
I even found a friend, a nice orangutang & we swung around a bit, before Mum & her friends caught up with us.


But Ikea also has many different storage things, like boxes & trunks & containers, and a small Monkey like me has to be careful...

Ikea shuttlebus

My Mum loves to go to Ikea. She likes to buy furniture. Occasionally, she just goes to visit her friends Richard & Michael, and have the $1 breakfast. (It's a good breakfast, with eggs & sausages & endless tea - they're things I don't really eat, but Mum says it's yummy.) Anyway, to meet her friends, we took the subway up to Ikea, and there's an Ikea shuttlebus that goes back & forth between the subway & the store. Mum has never before been able to take the shuttlebus. She could never find where it picks up passengers! She always just wound up walking from the subway to Ikea, but this time she was determined to find out where the shuttlebus stop was, and she did find it! There was no sign or anything, but fortunately, there were other people going for the $1 breakfast, so we all got to ride on the Ikea shuttlebus! It was fun! It was a really neat old bus with big windows, a door on the back of it, a curving wooden roof, and bars to swing on. While Mum chatted with the two other ladies riding the bus about how great the $1 breakfast is, I got to play on the bars. I've never gotten to play inside what was essentially a moving playground before! While I swung & spun around, everything bumped along, and too soon we were at Ikea!

chocolate banana muffin

Oh my, such a big Chocolate-y, Banana-y Muffin! Oh, how wonderful that my Mum has bought me this giant Chocolate Banana Muffin! My life is complete! This is truly food the way it ought to be! I wish I could eat Chocolate Banana Muffins every day! I am at a Second Cup place somewhere, and my Mum is chatting with Aunty Natasha and Aunty Mairead, but I get this Chocolate Banana Muffin all to myself! I am the luckiest Sock Monkey ever right here and now. When my Chocolate Banana Muffin is gone, I shall be very sad. But I must eat it, and then it will be gone. I think maybe Chocolate Banana Muffins are my favourite food in the world! Everyone should tell my Mum that I need to eat Chocolate Banana Muffins often, and then I will not be sad ever again! Happiness can be found in a Chocolate Banana Muffin! mmmmm!

blogging limerick

A Monkey who lives in Toronto,
thought, I'd better get writing, and pronto!
new things in my blog, but my heads in a fog,
and I'm not sure quite what I want, oh!

It's so hard to type with just paws,
no fingers and not even claws...
I must wait for my Mum, always busy, the bum!
in her work; I must wait for a pause...

There is so much that I want to say,
and I could write more every day,
of Adventures I've been and the things I've seen,
and there's such great games still to play!

I found an old hat I never wore before,
and went iceskating and walked on the shore,
and played with a train and in puddles of rain,
and then I went to Adventure some more!

I'll keep trying to get my Mum to write
my stories, and post my pictures alright,
my journaling will be dutiful &
my blog will be beautiful,
and it will be such a wonderful site!

the fairies valentine

it was St. Valentine’s Day. the fairies were wondering what all the fuss was about. where did the holiday come from? what did it mean to be someone’s Valentine? Freya remarked demurely that it was supposed to have something to do with “romance” and the two boys, Farnum and Nut, made rude noises and feigned choking while the other girls rolled their eyes. why did they always have to make fun of things they didn’t know anything about? Bobbin asked Freya if she knew any more about it but Freya said that it wasn’t her forte; she still wasn’t really sure about the New Year’s celebration she’d gotten to see recently. it was all memories of noise and that coarse drink that the humans imbibed on the occasion. the one redeeming fact was that there was music. tonight might be the same.

and so the Sock Monkey Girl followed the Sub-human out the door to a Valentine’s Day show, and all the fairies got to join her on the adventure. Freya made up her mind not to let her younger charges drink anything besides water and juice when they got there. apparently it was at a bar called the Fox and Fiddle. The Sock Monkey Girl was able to walk to the place. the night was warmer like the New Year’s Eve. The Sock Monkey Girl told the fairies to stay hidden until they got there so that they wouldn’t frighten passersby’s. humans can be rather unpredictable when they know that the Children of Eld are near. Freya doubted that the humans of this place would have noticed at all with the noise and goings on, for most drinking establishments are meant to distract and amuse humans. small fairies go unnoticed more often than not.

as they suspected, there was music and this time the Sub-human was playing some of it with some of his musical companions. there was a friendly singer lady who seemed like she might have been gracious enough to be one of the enchanted people. there was another person who played on something called a guitar and had a hat people called “cowboys” normally wore. Neenie said the guitar player reminded her of a Viking she’d once stumbled across. the Sub-human played two instruments, one thing called a bass and another thing called a stick of Chapman. Farnum liked this second instrument a lot. it had more sounds in it than even the guitar player’s guitar. he thought it was too bad the Sub-human didn’t put it on too often but when he did the band sounded slightly bigger. then there was the drummer who was as quiet as his drums were loud. Nut liked his playing very much.

when the band started they played a bunch of songs to start off and then announced that anyone could suggest songs to play or play the band’s instruments if they wanted. this was what was known as a “Jam night”. the patrons would sign their names on a list and the instrument they wanted to play. some of the people even brought their own to play and some brought their own songs too. the fairies liked the fact that they could do fairy dances to some of the tunes and did so as often as they could. all this time the stream of sound and drink flowed and the lights were orange and green and they hid the fairy folk as they were all wearing at least one of the colours the spotlights projectd at the band. there were two server people who were back and forth between the tables and Nut was overheard to say he wouldn’t mind dancing with the pretty server lady but she was so busy he thought she would never hear him if he asked anyhow. Freya said he could send her a “Valentine” and Nut asked her what that was. she seemed a little bit annoyed and wouldn’t answer which confused him further. Nut came over and asked if Freya was alright. Freya didn’t answer at first but when Nut smiled and said he would rather dance with her then she smiled and he gave her a peck on the cheek.

meanwhile, Bobbin and Farnum danced up a storm, even when they played really loud heavy songs. the pair shouted, “wheee!” as they twirled. very silly thought Neenie. Mouse had the urge to sing but since no one could actually see her in all the noise and distraction she had to sneak to the microphone and sing her tiny fairy song on top of it, not realizing that one had to sing in front of the mike to be properly heard. oh well. Nut tried a similar thing on the drums and wound up sounding like a bunch of cats running across a rug in the upstairs of a house. thub-thubba-thub... thub-thub-thubba-thubba. Farnum jumped nervously when he thought he heard the cats coming and then realized that it was only Nut playing the drums as if there were invisible paws padding across the skins. as the night wore on nobody noticed as the walls of the bar became festooned in fairy garlands and the table where they were dancing grew a small patch of soft green grass. nobody noticed as a herd of small elephants wandered out of nowhere to graze on the mantle over the fireplace and sweep their tails back and forth, trumpeting in the warmth of the spotlights. at one point there was a small silver airship circling over the band area surveying the stage and the fairies realized that others of their kind had come to see the spectacle too. Freya thought she could see their tiny faces in the windows of the delicate dirigible which eventually melted through the wall. Nut at this juncture pointed to another table, at which the others turned to see a group of iridescent rainbow trout as big as fairy whales swimming in the shimmering surface of the table, presumably where a glass of something had spilled.

all these tiny happenings were immensely amusing to the fairies but the humans didn’t seem to notice a thing. their attentions were fixed on their own kind and the music that was coming from the band area. then it came time for The Sock Monkey Girl to go and she said goodbye to the Sub-human with a kiss and Bobbin asked what that meant. Freya said it was what Valentine’s stood for she guessed, for she had been watching the couples of humans in the bar exchanging gifts and cards and sitting together. Neenie then had a thought that perhaps Freya would have preferred a Valentine thing from Nut that evening. she tapped Mouse on the shoulder to ask her about this idea and when Mouse turned to her and stopped singing, the elephants began to wander off, the trout leaped out of the table and disappeared with a luminescent splash into the spill and the garlands and decorations began to fade. Mouse looked tired, as if she’d been doing much more than singing in all that time. Neenie sat with Mouse as the singer began to nod and Freya, seeing this realized it was time to go home with Mum. none too soon... they had all had an exciting time and Nut, as they were leaving said that he would like to be Freya’s Valentine if she was okay with it. she smiled and he guessed that might mean “yes”...

happy valentines day

Yesterday was Valentines Day, and the little fairies that live around here decided to follow the Subhuman to a musical gig he was playing at a bar called the Fox & Fiddle...

Happy Valentines Day to everyone & for the rest of the year, too!

the Subhuman

This is my Mums Sweetie. His nickname is the Subhuman, and he's very, very tall. Sometimes he's very quiet (he doesn't talk a lot) & sometimes he's very noisy (he plays different musical instruments). He plays bass guitar & electric guitar & acoustic guitar & then something called a Chapman Stick (which has strings, but it isn't a guitar.) (He also has a glockenspiel, a tamboa & a zither, but he doesn't play on them... Mum likes to buy him funny instruments for presents.) He can play a million different songs & practices new ones every day! He sings, too! And he's Fuuzars Dad, too. He's very nice & very funny, and always helps me with things when I ask him, like tying my shoe laces or finding my glasses.

thank you to the Fiddle Guy

My Mum, Donkey & Babetta all say a big THANK YOU to Chad the Fiddle Guy for letting them visit him. They had a very good time that weekend.

THANK YOU!

what we learned

If you want to do something, you have to MAKE IT HAPPEN!

relaxing in North Bay

Monty notes: Everyone had a very nice time in North Bay visiting Chad the Fiddle Guy.

Mum had a good time at the art conference thingy, and it helped her to start her business making many Sock Monkeys!

Babetta had a good time seeing all the sights, shopping in the mall & hanging around with the exciting, stepdancing Fiddle Guy, and quiet

Donkey had the best time sitting in Chads cozy kitchen, enjoying hotchocolate in the sunshine.

nice little place

Monty notes: While my friends Donkey & Babetta were in North Bay, Chad the Fiddle Guy took them out to a nice little foodplace.

They can't remember the name of it now, but Babetta remembers it had an oldfashioned radio that didn't play any music, and the food was nice.
Chad liked to go there regularly with friends.
They all had hotchocolate.

(That's Chad in the mirror!)

fun at the mall

Monty notes: My friends Donkey & Babetta went up with our Mum to North Bay and stayed with a friend, Chad the Fiddle Guy.

Chad took them to a mall. They ate at the mall foodplace, and Babetta had sushi!

Donkey was very overwhelmed by all the activities, colour & sparkliness.









When they finally got back to the house, Donkey sat in the backyard by Chad's beautiful lillypad pond.


It was a bit chilly, but he found it nice & quiet; more his kind of place.

the conference in Nippissing

Note from Monty: Since there are a number of us in the family, I don't get to go on every Adventure. In this story (which happened quite a while ago) my best friend Donkey & (his girlfriend) Babetta got to go!

A few years ago now, Mum went on a big, important Adventure to North Bay, and Donkey & Babetta went with her. They drove up on a rainy October weekend on Mums motorcycle, to go to a conference held by some art people, all about how to make your art a business. Mums art is making Sock Animals!

The event was held at Nippissing University, and while Mum went to seminars on how to take pictures of your art, or how to pack your art for shipping, Donkey & Babetta hung around the campus. They got snacks and were told to keep out of trouble. Donkey is usually very good at keeping out of trouble, but Babetta is a bit boisterous, so she wanted to explore the place. They couldn't go outside & play because it was raining. They found a room with something on the chalk board, and pretended to have their own seminar. They also sat at the front desk and helped hand out papers.

Mum had a good time at the conference, meeting other art people, and thinking about how to start a business making toys!

going to North Bay

Monty notes: Mum went to a conference thingy at Nippissing University.
It was called "Art Means Business" and she was thinking of starting some sort of Sock Monkey business.
She drove up there on her motorcycle with Babetta & Donkey.



It was a terrible rainy trip until they got almost there, and suddenly, the sun came out!
Mum stopped so they all could stretch, but there were some strange creatures around...



The horses were nice, but the strange totem animals were a little scary.

fun at the market

At the big Farmers Market, there's a lot to see and do. Lumpy found the giantest pajamas I have ever seen, and we explored a big red thing, but I have no idea what it does. It had a wheel, and some holes in it, but we were too small to make it work, and we didn't know how it worked anyway. Then we got some BANANA BREAD and went home to eat it! I wish I had more BANANA BREAD right this moment...

hiding in the fruit

CCs favourite part of the Market was the fruit, which is funny, considering that she's a Mountain Lion! (I think she thought she was camouflaged in all the peaches!) The Farmers Market has great piles of fruit everywhere, and it's fun to play hide and seek in all the colours! The Market is kinda close to Commander Moms house which is why Lumpy takes us there. Lumpy lives with Commander Mom. We like to get some fruit and have a picnic while the humans shop for clothing & food & fun things to decorate their houses with. My favourite part of the Market is the BANANA BREAD!

St. Jacobs Farmers Market

There's a nice Farmers Market I go to sometimes that has the most wonderful BANANA BREAD. Yum! There's all kinds of neat things there. Mum gets socks to make more Sock Monkeys there! One day I got to go with my friends Lumpy, CC & Happy. Lumpy is a very sweet, quiet Sock Dog, CC is a friendly Sock Mountain Lion who now lives in Kincardine, and Happy is a big, smiling orange flower. We played in a wagon, and on wooden toys, and made some funny new friends!

getting chilly

It has been a strange & warm winter so far! I'm not complaining - Mum doesn't let me outside to play when it gets really snowy & freezing, but I'd like a bit more snow than this so we can go tobogganing! Sock Monkeys love tobogganing!

tomatoes

Mum is making Sock Monkeys again. And this time, she really is making Monkeys & not other Animals. They seem to be getting made for Valentines Day. It is nice & romantic to give your Sweetie a Sock Monkey!
Since Mum is busy again, I don't have much time for going thru my many photos & writing things, but I have this lovely picture of Tomatoes, so I will say a little about my city. I live in Toronto, and it is a place full of fruits & vegetables! The buildings may be funny-looking, but the food is yummy! I live in an old red brick building, and in every direction is food! Restaurants, stores, markets, food of every description & colour! The Subhuman bought oranges he says are as big as softballs! I don't know what softballs are, but they must be huge! They're bigger than my head! Really! I like it here, surrounded by food.