life on banana hill...

Day 1 of KK exchange!

2010-12-13T09:55:00.001-06:00

And new life was brought to Banana Hill! Meet Hash Brown! He is a delightful little monkey just FULL of sock monkey Christmas spirit!

meet pickle

2010-11-23T08:15:00.001-06:00

Pickle is my newest sock monkey. He is a farm monkey rescue given to me for my birthday! Love him!

a & b get new names and a whole new life!

2009-11-27T16:25:00.009-06:00

above: today started with the old girls bringing in the twins to be prepped and go into surgery. they have named them ~ olli & lolli. olli is only so slightly the larger twin. burgeon and sweety are doing a great job taking care of them and they really are well adjusted. both mothers sat with the children while the family waited for surgery to begin.

above: the operation table, prepped and ready to go. i used felt and embroidery floss for the eye surgery.

above: birth picture of the twins, from their adoption file. the button tumors are highly visible and you can clearly see the ears lack canals.above: the new eyes are placed where they should go so that during surgery i have a clear idea how things should go.
above: both twins were put to sleep and their eye tumors removed. after replacing lolli's eyes i bound them so that they could heal and she would be comfortable.
above: both olli and lolli are through with eye surgery and doing fine. they rest as i prepare to move on to ear surgery,
above: sweety and burgeon sleep in the waiting room. i told them to go home but they would not have it.
above: olli has had her ears removed and i am moving on to lolli.
above: the surgery table with new tools. in the foreground i am in the end process of removing lolli's ear.
above: the only complication of the day - olli had a small whole at the site of her left ear removal.
above: new ears and eyes unveiled, the twins are doing so well we decide to go ahead and remove the nostrils and re-string the mouth so that the girls are all ready to go and don't have to o back under at a later date.
above & below: the girls all ready to roll - new eyes, mouth, ears and names! from left to right - olli (blue eyes), lolli ( lavender eyes), burgeon & sweety! yay!

conjoined twins

2009-11-25T13:24:00.003-06:00

above: while there have been several additions to the sock monkey family here at banana hill none are as eye catching as the siamese twins, a & b. a & b are very healthy despite their situation and they are fully functioning together. after several test it was decided that a & b would not be separated because of the many risk that would involve. however, now that they are healthy and have found their forever home we are going forward with several other surgeries to correct minor health issues and bring them a longer, more enjoyable life. those surgeries, which will be documented here on banana hill's blog, include a complete replacement of both twins ears, you will notice that they are deaf - with out any working ear canal; i will also be correction their vision in several steps that start with the removal of the pink button tumors that currently leave the babies with minimal vision and causes them a bit of motor problems.

welcome katarina la pearl!

2008-07-28T19:25:00.004-05:00

if you have read this blog for any amount of time you know that while i love sock monkeys i do not love the mass production-breeding of sock monkeys for gifts. unless you know that the person you are giving the monkey to both wants a life-long commitment and can give the proper care to a monkey. you probably know that i came to own several farm monkeys through various donors. we just recently were informed that big mac had met a monkey he grew very fond of and he expressed the desire to have her move to banana hill. katarina la pearl joined us this weekend. katarina is my only monkey who is clothing trained at this point, she also seems to come from a breeder who works with farm monkey as she has been customised to have a thick head of dark black hair. katarina la pearl is very friendly and a wonderful monkey. she and big plan to be married very soon and (i am so excited to say this) they want to start adding to the la pearl-mac family as soon as possible! yay!

above: katarina la pearl

above: kat and big - they are so happy!

pssst!

2008-07-28T15:58:00.000-05:00

omg! tonight! tonight i am uploading some LOVELY news! kisses!

adoptables!!!! yay!!!

2008-07-17T16:41:00.005-05:00

these and many more monkeys are featured on etsy.com where many talented artist are breeding wonderful monkeys! i don't know any of the breeders or anything about the line, i know that the monkeys i feature on this site are cute, and seem to have good dispostions and happy families...

above: brown & white super monkey by mostlymonkeys.

above: purple passion by dixiexking.

above: leon by cuddlet.

above: stripey girl sock monkey by gimikimi. (love the user name!)

above: red heel sock monkey by dolllady237.

side note: these photos were taken buy the etsy store owners, not me. these monkeys are all cute and seem to be of high quality and good spirits - i do not own any of these or any from these breeders (other than iamsunshine, which i love her monkeys.) please, when adopting a sock monkey remember the commitment and love involved in a pet and adopt responsibly. let me know how it goes and if you adopt one of these, or any other, monkeys send me pictures and links and i will be glad to post them on banana hill.

wow! how long has it been?

2008-07-17T12:33:00.000-05:00

i am so sorry my monkey loving friends! this year has been full of insanity and recently we moved so blogging has been the least of the worries. (i mean can you imagine the task of moving 5+ monkeys and keeping things in order???) well, i'm back and i should have a new friend to intro at the beginning of next week, and confetti will be having some recuperative surgery - so stay tuned! oh, and before i forget i will have some VERY affordable adoptables coming up later today! yay!

welcom baby ????? (update) - baby's name is agatha [or agi for short]

2008-03-25T10:24:00.004-05:00

our newest bundle of sheer joy has arrived today, and she doesn't have a name! there are two i am throwing back and forth - igga or azure. i love azure, but it seems so obvious and lately i have been dying to name something - ANYTHING - igga. she could be either and i am so overwhelmed by the idea of making a choice!

above: baby curled up instantly in the sock monkey slippers i keep at work. she's so sweet and playful!

a new baby for banana hill!

2008-03-14T10:35:00.002-05:00

i have blogged about puncezilla on banana hill once before and i have been waiting and waiting for a monkey from her that i could not stop myself from loving! well, i found the monkey i have been waiting for today. a tiny baby monkey, blue and silver and much too beautiful! payment is made and the beautiful monkey should be here within the week! yay!

above: small blue and silver puncezilla monkey who will be our newest addition!

the whole family - i am sure it will grow soon!

2008-03-13T14:41:00.005-05:00

above: fauna, tipi (tee-pee,) ledger, zinger (hiding his face,) geena, stan lee, cinereal, burgeon, baby, and sweetie. (not pictured are lori littleman, big mac, tatter tot or daryl the sock dragon.)

stan lee

2008-03-04T12:48:00.005-06:00

stan lee is my first attempt at putting together a monkey. (yes, he was before ledger.) i was on the phone with my friend sherri last night and i was like, "look at that blue monkey." and she answered, "there is no blue monkey." i thought for sure she was being silly but she was right, somehow i had over looked blogging about stan lee. stan lee is a meatball of a monkey and upon his arrival he was quick to get the ooohs and ahhhs of the two banana hill hotties, geena and cinereal. he is an old soul and loved 80's rock and kiss (hello, paul stanley.) while stan insist on playng the cool single guy he seems to be spending more and more time with cinereal; which makes me happy because i see a lot of myself in cinereal and a whole lot of amber in stan!

above: stan lee striking a yeah-you-know-i-rock-and-you-want-me pose! stan's bulk comes from polyfill stuffing in contrast to the smooth easy look you get from cluster stuff. oh, well, you live, you learn!

sock monkey atc's

2008-03-02T22:22:00.005-06:00

i hosted a sock monkey swap (that i mentioned on here a while back.) and these are the cards i made and sent to my partner:

more adoptable friends (adoption fees under $20)

2008-02-27T09:48:00.005-06:00

i took some time again and i strolled through the etsy.com sock monkey sales and come up with a few friends who need a home AND have very reasonable adoption fees. i can not give all these great monkeys a home. so here we go:

above: from pinxit, ed the art student. another breeder i have noticed before and will one day own a monkey of. ed is like, made for me. i would like to mention here that pinxit is an etsy breeder i have mentioned before on this blog. i plan on owning a pinxit monkey oneday, though i am aware that i will probably own many after i get my first! they are all so cute and have such personality! often her monkeys are clothing and tool trained. i mean, hello, ed is an art student for cripes sake! while going through the lower cost adoption fees i was amazed at pinxit monkeys and kept thinking that her monkeys were low priced monkeys who were just as good AND better than most high priced breeds. PINXIT - amazing breed and a fine breeder!above: no longer available! from roadtripdiva, icey blue sock monkey. aside from being bright and blue i like this guy because of his friendly smile and happy feel. above: from cgower14, hans the sock monkey. i adore these little monkeys. small - sweet - darling! also, they come is such lovely, soft, colored fur!

above: has been ADOPTED!!!! from cloud9critters, furry pink sock monkey. aside from being furry and cute this little monkey seems very inspired and high spirited. above: from radicalandretro, charlie the sock monkey. there are some larger monkeys that have this look and i have really liked them, so when i found this little guy at such a good price i thought i should list him!

side note: these photos were taken buy the etsy store owners, not me. these monkeys are all cute and seem to be of high quality and good spirits - i do not own any of these or monkeys from any of these breeders. when adopting a sock monkey remember the commitment and love involved in a pet and adopt responsibly. let me know how it goes and if you adopt one of these, or any other, monkeys send me pictures and links and i will be glad to post them on banana hill.

monkey photo shoot

2008-02-26T09:36:00.004-06:00

so tipi (tee-pee) arrived yesterday and he is stunning in person! completely fabulous! and so sweet it's sick, though he is also a bit shy. i am in a used film swap on swap-bot.com and i decided to do a 12 exposure roll of the growing monkey family. it's crazy because we really haven't done a group shoot in a some time and getting them all together really was a lot. (oh, as it is i have to remember to bring home lorie and big and take a picture of those two plus tater tot. i mean, they are part of the family, too.) anywho, doing that for the swap made me think that i really need to do it for the blog and i will so new family photos will be coming in about a week.

subversive seamster - more extensive monkey care (and maybe an outfit or two)

2008-02-25T11:00:00.004-06:00

i mentioned the book sew subversive once before and i just wanted to revisit that for a moment. the girls who wrote that wonderful book have put ot another book, subversive seamster: transform thrift store threads into street couture. (while the ideas here are more than the basic you will need for simple monkey mending you will probably like the ideas. none of them were exactly me BUT after reading the book i was really thinking out side the box and feeling truly creative!) check it out and you might wind up with the chic-est monkeys in town.

above: subversive seamster, by two melissas and a hope

siansburys - an etsy breeder

2008-02-25T09:39:00.006-06:00

okay, this weekend in my adoptables post i mentioned blue, a beautifully patterned little guy from siansburys. well in searching for more adoptable friends i came across the most DEVINE red heeled sock monkey, and who was the breeder? siansburys! i mentioned that i would like to adopt a red heeled as soon as i found one that was well bred and i have found my dream monkey red heeled! then i started to look into the siansburys and i was just so impressed. (this is very surprising also because siansburys also breeds other sock animals, and i like them!) so here are some babies from siansburys. don't get too excited - i am probably going to put a hold on the red heeled and blue!

above: punk, a very indiviualistic monkey. probably a tough nut to crack, but once you let her chill i am sure she'll be your best friend!

above: lofty, this monkey is an example of what i mentioned in an earlier post. sometimes a breeder stays true to health and style and still gets an unique monkey who has a surprising look. lofty is lumpy, still healthy and still lovely!

above: archie, sooooo cute!

above: monty, a red heeled monkey. the finest i have seen. i really want him. i am not sure what i will do if i have to choose between him and blue. i might die!

above: a painting by siansburys

siansburys on etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5113762

adoptable friends

2008-02-24T09:01:00.009-06:00

i took the time today to comb through the etsy.com sock monkey sales and come up with a few amazing friends who need a home. i would give them a home if i could but as i already have zinger, geena, fauna, sweety, burgeon, cinereal, lorie little man, tatter tot, big mac, ledger and stan lee (plus we have the newest monkey expected in the next week) i can not give all these great monkeys a home as well. so here we go:

above: has been ADOPTED!!!! from friedokra, elwood. elwood is a toesock monkey which results in his head being sort of thin and having a faux-hawk like top. (friedokra also has a monkey who looks beautiful and super friendly BUT is a special needs monkey whose limbs make her need 33" long. if you or someone you know has the time and love for a long limbed monkey please adopt from friedokra.)above: has been ADOPTED!!!! from iamsunshine, sock monkey friends for baby. SOLD!!! love it, love it, love it! these are great little friends, which are easy to care for and super fun to train. plus, start a baby off with a sock monkey and they will be a sock monkey fan for life!above: has been ADOPTED!!!! from thewillowtree, bananas 4 u. i don't usually like button eyes on monkeys, however this monkey rocks and has bananas on his chest, heck yeah!
the willow trees also has another monkey, blue eyes, who seems to be very well bred.above: has been ADOPTED!!!! from siansbury, blue. they just don't get much cuter. i am so in love with this monkey and while he is priced well for his quality he is a bit out of my range right now. but, honestly, it almost hurts me to list him here and think of someone else buying him up. :(above: from puncezilla, brown and blue sock monkey girl IN A DRESS!!! i have mentioned her monkeys before and i am waiting to adopt. very well priced and clothing trained, this monkey is amazing! she'd be a steal!

woot! woo!

2008-02-21T23:09:00.004-06:00

so, i was a really good girl. i have been kind of hard to deal with and angry (the boot-stompin'-i-don't-give-a-f-bomb kind of angry girl.) i dyed my hair blue, which really helped me improve my mood, only to find out the perfect blue i have searched for all my life is DISCONTINUED. yep, that's right. i have been really hard on amber, almost unbearable. i have let house work suck and my job suck. i just checked out i guess. now i am clawing my way back and trying to meet the people in my life half way. so today i made some big compromises and i thought, "i am sure this will work out." and then i jumped online to etsy and found a darling new sock monkey baby! i am not sure, but his name may be tipi (teepee.) i am in love and i tell you this, he is coming to alabama with me. me, tipi, my magazines, my camera, my cell phone, my atc supplies and a book.

above: the newest member of the banana hill family. he should arrive in the next week.

ledger

2008-02-11T09:46:00.000-06:00

i was devastated when i learned that heath ledger died, for two reasons. one - i was really looking forward to the day he realized that he was in love with me. two - if i couldn't be with him i really wanted michelle williams to be with him. i liked them together and wanted them to work out in the end. i was also sewing up a d.i.y. sock monkey kit at the time and decided that the monkey would be my little tribute to heath. so, here he is. ladies and gents i would like you to give a warm banana hill welcome to ledger! ledger is a happy monkey who is simply full off umpf! he is a smiley guy and is constantly laying it on thick for all the girl monkeys here!

above: ledger chillin' on the couch...

shhhh... it's very hush, hush!

2008-01-20T11:03:00.000-06:00

on the down low - zparkleys etsy store now have d.i.y. monkey kits. um, i have purchased three of them and for a while now they have just been chillin'. i have been afraid that i wasn't good enough. then the other day one of the babies brought a stuffed monkey to me and i was like, "oh, is this the guy i fixed?" and i was trying to figure our which leg was which. she was like, "yes, but the monkey is fine now." and it hit me. i can soooo make a sock monkey. i am going to sew up these kits and then go bananas from there. my first monkey project is a blue and gray "rock & roll" monkey. yay!

oh, and you - if you are very keen at observing - might notice there is a count down clock at the bottom of this blog. yep, it's really real!

baby tater tot

2008-01-08T11:24:00.000-06:00

i came into the office today to find a number of little suprises. amber put a poppyseed muffin (my favorite) on my desk, and a grumpy carebear cookie (the kind that has the hard sugar icing on top a sugar cookie) on my key board, and an evelope with my name on it. i picked up the envelope and it was a card and gift from faye's son, pryce! it was this teeny tiny non-sock sock monkey on a chain! i love it! his name is tater tot. i am soooo happy to bring him to our family here one banana hill!

above: me wearing tater tot, and my Christmas 2006 shirt

laundry monkey

2008-01-06T11:17:00.000-06:00

geena got down and dirty helping amber clean the other night, though she seems to be taking more of a break in this picture. i believe that geena is getting all mommy on us. she constantly chatters about babies. zinger says he does not want kids yet. the pressure is on!

above: geena helping amber

why not red heel monkeys?

2008-01-02T20:07:00.000-06:00

a few people have expressed alarm when i show them my monkeys. it seems that the general consensus is that if it is a sock monkey it should be a red heel sock monkey. hmmm, to a large degree i understand the thought process but i just do not agree. red heel monkeys are fabulous and iconic, however my monkeys represent originality, individuality and creativity. i do hope to one day adopt a red heel sock monkey, however i find that often the breed is watered down, in poor shape and lacks true craftsmanship.

above & below: traditional red heel sock monkeys, as far as the breed goes i think that these two are fine examples of what they should look like.

(red heel photos from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mitty77/)

happy new year, 2008!

2008-01-01T19:03:00.000-06:00

well, the family camping trip went wonderfully! we had a really great time and can not wait to it this summer! the junior monkey keepers were pleased as pie with there monkeys. they have quickly bonded and became the best of friends, i will be putting pictures up as soon as i figure out how to get the pictures of my new camera. oh, it's a new new camera because while the panasonic to lovely pictures and had a zillion options i didn't like it. i opted to go with a newer version of the sony cyber-shot (which is what my old camera was) and i love it! yay! baby aidan was born on the 28th and while he was healthy at birth he has had a few bumps in his short little road. mom is doing well and i am sure he will be fine very soon, but in the time between now and then any favorable energies that you can send his way are welcomed!

hope everyone has a sock-tastic year and a banana-rific january!

sloppy breeding = poor health

2007-12-27T10:30:00.000-06:00

occasionally a monkey may pop up with a strange or peculiar look to him or her. that's kind of like breeding for yellow labs and getting a chocolate one in the mix - no harm no foul. however, sometimes breeders strive for an odd or "unique" selling point. often they are relying on the shear novelty of the monkey out weighing the health and well being. people who are not well researched in sock monkey genetics will buy the "funny" little guy with out thinking of long term care or the facility they are supporting. some examples of shisty breeding are: extra long limbs, with out any thought to the fact that the monkey is incapable of normal movement or everyday activity. tailless monkeys, "punk" monkeys, "zombie" monkeys or just plain "sock monkey" creatures.

i am willing to conceive that some of these breeders are not trying to harm the monkeys and that there contribution to the arts is an important one, still i want the best for the monkeys and so i am asking people to support the true artist of sock monkey breeding.

above & below: examples of extra-long limb monkeys. i do not own these animals and i do not know anything about them OTHER than there breed, they could very well be wonderfully sewn and beautifully crafted. they could also have wonderful personalities...

my first monkey love

2007-12-26T14:42:00.000-06:00

no, he wasn't a sock monkey. in the world of sparkelle sock monkeys are a relatively new obsession. my first monkey wasn't mine at all in the beginning, he belonged to my aunt twila. (who was wicked mean and wretched when i was a child, she greatly favored my sister. it's no secret.) anywho-doo, the monkey was from the early 70's, he was stuffed with a plastic face, plastic ears, feet and hands. one hand held a banana you could fit into his mouth and his chest was yellow and his head, arms and legs were black. my aunt no longer played with him and one day i picked him up, or asked my granny for him and she handed him to me. i fell hopelessly in love with the monkey and against my aunts will my granny gave him to me. i don't remember his name, i do remember that he was my all time favorite toy. i also remember that my mother tried to give me a new one that was virtually the same but had brown limbs and new fur. i lost that guy at church and continued to love my vintage monkey until... well, i am not sure when he left my life. in my memories i always loved him and then he just disappears. i got this picture from ebay.com, it's pretty much the same monkey i just don't remember my monkey having a belly button.

above: photo found on ebay, auction ended

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2007-12-25T12:27:00.000-06:00

i have so much going on today, and it's been going on since around thanks giving! that's okay, this is the final push and then ~ camping! that's right, sparkelle and family are leaving banana hill on the 29th and not returning until 2008. (don't worry, the monkeys will be taken good care of.) the holiday season brought about some real surprises this year, the biggest would be cinereal. cinereal is a zparkleys.com monkey who was a gift from amber! yay! she is a lovely, yet mischievous monkey who fell into crazy fascination with the christmas tree! my two junior monkey keepers will be receiving their first monkeys, unofficially named sprinkle and confetti. and, always a believer in turning kids on to amazing things at a young age, i broke a rule of my own to purchase a "mutant" monkey for my dear friends soon-to-be new son, aidan. the new baby monkey came from iamsunshine on etsy.com and can be purchased at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5415882, there are none available at the time of this post but they do have adorable pocket friends and glove animals. i broke the mutant rule because i view this as more of a modification to make a more baby-safe monkey! (when you check out the pictures you may notice that the picture of cinereal looks a bit different, my digital camera dies this weekend {i know, can you believe the luck. a dead camera on christmas morning!} and i replaced it today with a panasonic dmc-tz3. supposedly the panasonic camera is a real bitchin' job. we'll see!

above: cinereal, christmas morning

above: sprinkle & confetti

above: baby aidan's monkey man

looks like a monkey to me!

2007-12-19T10:15:00.000-06:00

it's been said, and i am sure that we have all heard, that sometimes a human will begin to resemble there pet. well, sock monkeys are no exception. if you live with them long enough and love them hard enough eventually you may start noticing a similar appearance. (which is in no way a bad thing as long as you have a cute, cuddly and adorable sock monkey!)

above & below: a cutie-pie bambino and his sock monkey friend! (please if a monkey and child are raised together they can have a really beautiful relationship but be sure that the monkey is a suitable friend by checking small pieces [ie. button eyes] and behavior!)

(these photos were found on flickr.com and are not mine. i intended to leave the link but my firewall prevents me from finding it again. to find these photo and the person who took them you can go to flickr.com and search for "sock monkey.")

five little monkeys

2007-12-15T19:13:00.000-06:00

you may notice that five little monkeys is not on my list of favorite books, well it was until yesterday. sweety, who is an avid reader, was excited to see what i had recommended. you can imagine her extraordinary dismay when she came across five little monkeys. she was quick to tell me the more accurate account of things (which by the was it was lemmings jumping on a bed) and then she went on a tirade about how everyone and their mother knows that monkeys are much to smart to jump on beds and how unsafe jumping on the bed can be. so i decided to pull the book both because it spreads deceitful lies about monkeys and because it promoted very unhealthy and potentially dangerous behavior.

the last few days...

2007-12-14T10:53:00.000-06:00

the past few days have been really busy with the monkeys arriving, carpet being installed this weekend at work and everything. unfortunately i haven't really had too much extra time but the monkeys are doing so good! i am happy to see that i have quite the intellectual group of little sock monkeys, they all enjoy a good read. while fauna is very much mommy's little monkey she has been taking a real interest in the book i have been reading, may bird and the ever after. it's a fabulous book and she stays glued to each page. sweety and burgeon have found a slight bit of independence from each other, mainly due to the fact that burgeon has discovered our pet mice on amber's desk and sweety has no interest in rodents at all. sweety is, however, completely enthralled in my graphic novels, right now she is reading my dead girlfriend, vol. 1. zinger and geena have also taken to spending a little less time together; zinger is 100% amazed by the internet and more often than not can be found surfing the web with amber while geena has shown an unnatural interest in celebrity gossip. (a monkey after my own heart!) lorie and big mac have been somewhat in hiding, but are getting much friendlier. the flash of the camera seem to freak them out a bit so i am leaving them to themselves in hopes that they will relax more and eventually be able to play with the rest of us!

above: zinger, hanging out with amber online. he is all about learning as much as he can about his favorite topic - sock monkeys! (what a vain little monkey!)

above: fauna, my very own little may bird. (i swear if i were a sock monkey i am pretty sure i would be fauna!)

above: sweety, loves the light hearted gothic nature of my dead girlfriend.

above: geena, she is insane with celeb gossip rags!

above: burgeon, i am pretty sure that she has fallen in complete love with pharisees our baby mouse.

quarantining a sock monkey: why & how

2007-12-13T11:26:00.000-06:00

it is very important to quarantine any new sock monkeys upon arrival, especially if you are unsure of their origins or if they are farm monkeys. quarantining new monkeys ensures that your healthy, happy monkeys are not exposed to outside illness. it also gives you a chance to get to know your new family member's temperament so that integrating them into the group will go smoothly. it can also be helpful to quarantine an injured monkey during the recovery period (for emergency mending tips see the previous blog: http://bananahill.blogspot.com/2007/12/sew-subversive-emergency-monkey-care.html) now that we have covered the two main reasons why a monkey should be quarantined we should move into the how.

above all things you don't want your monkey to feel like he or she is punished, you want them to feel overly loved and cared for. to do this you may try to think of the quarantine box as a mini vacation island or spa experience for your new or sick baby. here is how i like to do it: start out with a box roomy enough for a rambunctious monkey to spend a day or two with out getting to restless. make a snugglie bed for them, a really cushy pillow and a baby blanket are a wonderful way to go. i like to include a polaroid of me and maybe the other monkeys (so the monkey doesn't get too lonely,) a soft toy to cuddle (hand made felt banana plushies are what i go with,) a coloring book and washable colors will keep any monkey entertained (but be sure that they are washable because after all we are talking about monkeys here!) as a final note, i like to keep a label on the box so that i have a record of who, why and how it all went - just in case.

above: fauna, holding a simple drawing which illustrates the basics of how to quarantine.

oh my, what a crazy exciting day!

2007-12-11T09:15:00.000-06:00

first off the monkeys have arrived! and there is a surprise with them. (not a surprise to me, but to everyone else as we have a monkey who was not previously announced!) i also have another monkey i was not expecting at all! (thank you, faye!) i would sit here and blog all about it but that will have to wait until work is done! for now i have some pictures and after spending some time with each monkey i will post a proper introduction!

above: sweety and burgeon, these two seem like the best of friends and may be slightly rattled by the shipping process.

above: geena (surprise) and zinger, the love monkeys, if banana hill does wind up breeding i believe they will be our first parents!

above: fauna, sitting right next to my keyboard - she is so friendly!

above: mac (a larger breed of farm monkey) holding lorie littleman, they both seem very relieved to have each other and a bit frightened of the other monkeys and myself.

(all of my breeder monkeys were hand made by space at zparkleys and came from her etsy store, you can go there by clicking the link in the side bar. the farm monkeys came from kmart. i understand that farm monkeys can be cute and are easy to pick up without a second thought as to how long you will have to care for them and who will be responsible for them and that they are sometimes very attractively priced, still please consider their lives and buy hand. thank you.)

puncezilla - an etsy breeder

2007-12-06T10:44:00.000-06:00

jolene is another breeder who i have noticed but have not yet adopted any of her monkeys, key word - yet. the puncezilla breed is roughly eighteen inches tall and lovingly hand stitched. they appear wonderfully tame and sometimes she has monkeys who are clothing trained. jolene also breeds sock cats and while i am not often about a breeder who makes other sock "creations" her animals are all darling and i do plan on adopting a cat (as long as he gets along with monkeys!) the puncezilla breed is available on etsy @ http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=55341.

above: orange and brown stripe sock monkey, already adopted (his brother is available in her shop as of 9 dec 07! hurry!)

zinger & they are on their way!!!

2007-12-06T10:11:00.000-06:00

zinger is the final monkey who will be coming to banana hill for the year 2007! zinger was sponsored by my sister for my birthday! a great big wonderful I LOVE YOU and THANK YOU goes out to my big sister. you rock so hard! also some really amazing news is that zinger and the girls are on their way today! i an expect them to arrive within the week. i am so excited. (so is lorie littleman, though i can tell he is a bit worried over what will happen to him.)

above: zinger

(photos by stacey taken from her store listings @ http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=67193)

sew subversive - emergency monkey care

2007-12-06T07:59:00.000-06:00

sadly all monkeys who are played with or "loved actively" run the risk of needing some emergency monkey care from time to time. in a situation where arms, tails, eyes, whatever may need a bit of reinforcing it is best to know your basics in the wonderful world of sewing. i, myself, have just gotten into sewing within the last six months and it really can be helpful and open doors to new creativity outlets. if you have little or no sewing experience then i suggest that you get the book: sew subversive - down & dirty diy for the fabulous fashionista. my sister gave me this book a month ago and it really helped me out a lot with basic understanding and refreshing my interest and inspiration. if you plan on keeping one or multiple sock monkeys you should pick up this book and a simple sewing kit for any medical care. (if you don't plan on keeping monkeys maybe you should pick up this book and a sewing kit and let your inner creator loose!) either way - good luck!

above: sew subversive by 2 melissas & a hope

welcome little lorie!

2007-12-05T10:14:00.000-06:00

i have been really sick lately and so more often then not i roll around in this fog. today as i sat at my desk my co-worker (and the love of my heart) amber said, "sparkelle, have you really not noticed the sock monkey that faye gave to you?" (faye is another co-worker.) i looked up, honestly confused, and shook my head, "where?" amber indicated for me to turn around and there he was, lorie littleman. lorie is a six inch tall non-sock sock monkey, he is not a baby or adolescent, he is just short. lorie is a "farm" monkey, not a breeder monkey. farm monkeys are mass produced for public consumption with little or no hand stitch interaction and as a result are not very friendly, they are usually not even made from actual sock but instead from a knit sock-like material and lorie is no exception. ordinarily i would never support such an operation and i suggest that no one support such a thing, instead you should seek out an artist breeder, like stacey @ http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=67193, that way you can be sure that your monkey will be a lovely, one of a kind, hand sewn little friend. (and as we all know, hand sewing makes a huge difference in the temperament and disposition of a sock monkey!) lorie littleman is extra extra shy and seems to want little to do with me in fact when i turn my attention to him he simply plays "stuffie" in an attempt to make me believe he is not real, just as would be expected from a farm monkey. he does however watch with interest as i work and seems to relax a little more each time i pick him up. because i do not know his history or his personality very well lorie will be in quarantine as soon as i can get a little box set up. he is a lovely little guy and i hope that he makes a full adjustment to being a part of the banana hill family!

i would like to say a great big THANK YOU to my friend faye, for bringing this unexpected and much enjoyed surprise to banana hill! thanks faye, you rock!

above: lorie littleman, playing stuffie on my desk

pinxit - an etsy breeder

2007-12-04T12:59:00.000-06:00

while i have not adopted any monkeys from this breeder i have been watching her monkeys as they become available and as they are quickly snatched up. these monkeys are very cute and seem consistently well made. the pinxit breed is a smaller size monkey, usually around eight inches in height. as i said i do not have any of these monkeys but i would speculate that they have a good disposition as they are all, for the most part, clothing trained. (we all know how hard it is to make a sock monkey keep it's clothes on!) mary's pinxit monkeys can be found in her etsy store @ http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=21413. go take a look and if you are looking for a monkey who has the same interest as you (sports, med school, ANYTHING) mary can make it happen! have fun and if you adopt a pinxit monkey please send pics and let us know all about your monkey!

above: susan the knitting monkey

(available at the esty link above as of this post)

banana hill: a loving home

2007-11-28T09:10:00.000-06:00

i think that as monkey-move-in time approaches it is important to get a few things straight. banana hill is NOT a sock monkey shelter (though we may take in the occasional stray and find a new forever home for him or her) nor is it a retirement home for the old and un-playful. the monkeys here are not homeless and they have not been abandoned. banana hill is a loving and caring monkey family. while i have no plans to breed monkeys as of this time we may go in that direction eventually... i feel that it is important to point out that these guys are loved and will be loved. they are not left over from a child's childhood or discarded as new toys come in. if you are someone you know has a sock monkey that can no longer be cared for (or simply is no longer cared for) please email me and let me know and we can make the arrangements needed to ensure his or her safe arrival here at banana hill. (when ever we take in a foster we need as much information on the monkey as possible so that a proper forever home can be found.)

burgeon

2007-11-26T18:38:00.000-06:00

a third monkey has been decided on, burgeon will be coming to banana hill very shortly! this is really lovely news and i am very pleased to be sharing it! my hope is that burgeon will arrive with sweety and fauna.

above: burgeon

(photos by stacey taken from her store listings @ http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=67193)

sweety & fauna

2007-11-25T17:51:00.000-06:00

VERY EXCITING NEWS! sweety the sock monkey will be coming to live on banana hill sometime in december! this is really wonderful to confirm because sweety was the first monkey i really truly fell in love with and the monkey who made me realize that i was destined for banana hill. (she is also how i found out about stacey the amazing breeder i keep talking about!) i am also very happy to confirm that the second monkey i am now positive will be coming to banana hill is fauna. fauna and sweety will hopefully be here before christmas! i will save individual introductions for their actual arrival.

above: sweety, below: fauna

(photos by stacey taken from her store listings @ http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=67193)

finding a breeder:

2007-11-19T08:29:00.000-06:00

as i mentioned earlier i have found a wonderful breeder on etsy.com, her name is stacey and you can find her at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=67193. etsy.com is a really wonderful place to find sock monkey breeders but please be wary of any breeders who don't strive for quality and personality. above and beyond the colors and patterns sock monkeys must be made with love and care to avoid getting a monkey who will not make a good friend. stay away from poor stitching, mish-moshed "zombie" monkeys or other rescue type pets; on occasion you may find a rescue that does have a sweet and loving personality. if you do bring a rescue you should be sure keep the new monkey separated for a while (i will cover quarantining a sock monkey in the upcoming blog "quarantining a sock monkey: why & how") most monkeys will make great friends for children, stacey's are even suitable for babies. be sure to decide carefully when picking out a new friend as monkeys are a lifelong commitment to fun and happiness!

welcome to banana hill!

2007-11-16T11:51:00.000-06:00

things are really crazy right now, what with the move and all. there are no sock-monkeys on banana hill, i am busy getting things ready for my first arrival. i have found a really amazing breeder but the adoption period is a long intense one and quite expensive. still, was i hoping to have four permanent residents by the new year. (lofty expectations, i know.) please stop by often, all are welcome here at banana hill!