"Once Upon a Monk"

 

Hello... my name is Monk and this is my life story.

It all started when I was sitting on a hospital gift shop shelf.

That was 37 years ago.

Back then my adopted Dad (Don) purchased me and placed me in the

hospital bed right next to my adopted Mom (Nancy).

I've been keeping her company since that 7 day hospital stay!!!

Then things just kept getting better and better.

I loved going for a ride and sitting on the dash

But I would often hit the deck when Dad would suddenly

brake or accelerate.

So Mom solved that problem by putting a visor around my

waist and YIPPEE, I could ride for hours and enjoy the view.

I loved traveling by car and seeing all the wonderful places

we visited throughout the United States.  And I rode in

a colorful tote bag as we moved into and out of various

hotel and motel rooms.

Hotel and motel rooms weren't bad and I always

liked it when we went out by the pool to enjoy

our adult beverages after a long day's drive!!!

I also enjoyed my morning coffee outside before

we hit the road for the next adventure.

When I wasn't being carefully watched, I'd find

some pretty place to sit and smell the flowers.

Sometimes I'd hop around and find a colorful place

to sit, where I could eat, 

and eat,

and eat!!!  If it wasn't ice cream

it was trying to decide which pie to eat.  This

probably added to my not so trim waistline.

Who ever heard of a Monk with a waistline anyway.

But I decided I'd try so I went

Geocaching with Dad to get some exercise while

he searched.for the 1st cache placed in the Sacramento 

area.  Granite Beek was placed in 2001 near Folsom Lake.

I got tired of walking around so I patiently waited for him

in a field of Monkey Flowers, which were

non-edible... boo hoo!

Since most Monks like trees, I thought I'd try it out

and see if I could catch a breeze with a couple of my friends.

You're right, this isn't a tree, but it's made of wood

and it was pretty fun to sit on the distaff of Mom's spinning 

wheel.   In case you don't know what a distaff is, it is

a stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound 

in preparation for spinning.

One day recently, I was watching Mom do her knitting,

and when she set her glasses down to leave the room,

I thought I try them out.  They made everything very blurry,

but that wasn't the worst problem, I got a spanking!!!

Mom wears her glasses when she's working on her

quilting and 

even when she uses her sewing machine,

and even when we have wine.  Yes it's o.k. for me

to drink, after all I am 37 years old!!!

Best of all I like hanging out in the trees, even

Fountain Palms, but you have to be careful

where you sit because they have stickers.

Have you ever ridden a lady bug,

or sat beside a rainbow colored frog with

bulging eyeballs, or

given one a phenuddy?  Don't bother looking up that

word, it's not in the dictionary.  I learned it from Mama Monk

who learned it from her Dad... it is the act of rubbing noses together.

Hey maybe the Eskimos did it!!!

As you may know, most monkeys have tails except for a couple

of species the Tarsier and Lorises don't have tails

That's the end of my

story and I'm sticking to it!!! 

Celebrate... July 4th 2022

 

Residents of Lakeview Village (where we live) started the activity

with a parade, which went right past our front door.  Yes

we had ring side seats, but I stood so I could frame up

each photo.

This was Don's favorite vehicle... a  shiny GMC

70' ish half-ton pickup decorated with glitter ribbon.

(Remember to click on any photo for a closer view.)

This couple decided to to go tandem,

as did another couple a few "vehicles" back.

This parade reminded us of when we lived in AZ, as

the participants tossed us candy as they passed by

during the Fourth of July parade!!!

Another  creative individual  used "ole glory" as a festive

hood ornament, 

while one lady simply looked calm and beautiful decked

out in RED,  WHITE & BLUE on the back of a red motorcycle.

Don cleaned the BBQ and cooked the "Ball Park" bun

length hot dogs

while my 37 year old "stuffed monkey"

decided to take a ride on our wooden whirly gig Buzzard,

but forgot to hang on and got the ride of his life, 

 and ended up on the ground.

His name is Monk and you'll learn more about him

in an upcoming blog... "Once Upon a Monk"

Time to eat those    

yummy Chili Hot Dogs!!!

After we ate all that we needed a walk.

And, we noticed we weren't alone... as we followed

footsteps in the sand,

as we walked around the pond in an effort to work off

some of those CHILI DOGS!!!

Xmas Bear - Too Cute

Last Christmas, about 8 weeks after we moved into our

home here in Citrus Heights, whenever we entered the park

we saw this cute bear at one of the neighbor's home.  I would

always wave back!!!  I finally stopped one day and took his picture.

About 10 days ago after I finished my Thanksgiving "Turkey Applique" 

I thought about this cute bear again.  So I created a black/white 

reverse image enlargement on my computer to use for my

pattern pieces.  (When doing applique with a non-symmetrical 

image, your pattern pieces have to be a reverse image.

At the fabric store I selected this mottled Christmas green fabric

for the background and some other Christmas colors

to complete the project.

When appliquéing all the red, pink, red, black

and candy cane patterned fabrics I stitched each with a

different color thread: pink for the ears,

red for his scarf and hat, and

grey for the bear's body which was 

created with a delicate white and grey floral print.

The candy cane's were the easy part because I just

happened to have some fabric (above) that I purchased

as part of a grab bag at a quilt show, that I thought would

look great.   So I designed 3 different sizes and shapes,

and let the fabric do all the work.

As you might imagine, the hardest parts were the tiny black  

eyes, paw and nose.   (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

 I designed this happy bear to hang on the wall where 

I hang a rotating display.  This little guy will occupy

 the space for the Christmas Season.

And last but not least,  I used a wild black fabric with colorful

little polka dots for the backing of the piece.   I selected

this fabric because it looked like  Christmas lights to me!!! 

(I've folded the corner up so you can see more of the fabric.)

From the front you only see a 1/2" width as it wraps

from back to front to create a bound edge.