Sunday, February 28, 2010

Meet Home Sweet Home

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Here's a couple of shots from early October 2009: previews of what is to come over the next couple of posts.

Nelson was just learning about life in central Pennsylvania, but he took it all very nicely. He saw there is a lot of beauty here with just enough room to be a good monkey and at times a bad monkey. Just depends upon his mood...



This is the local school district.
Sock Monkeys do not need to attend classes
but Nelson will be joining in on some
of the events that are open to the community.
More to come...



Even closer to home.
Nelson wants to learn more about these
mills, especially the hosiery one that used to
be pretty active but is now gone.
What could be more interesting to a sock monkey
than a place that used to make socks?



Nelson's new home is pretty rural
but it has progressive ideas.
For instance, people have been recycling
here long before it was "fashionable."
But sometimes I wonder if Nelson
is interested just because the sign
has his favorite colors...



And then there's the whole corn thing.
There sure is a lot of corn in Penns Valley.
While it may be grown for feed or fuel,
a pretty controversial topic here,
Nelson really just seems to be
interested in how he can get through
all of those stalks without getting lost...


Now that Nelson is a bit settled into his new home, he will have some fun events to share with you. But just like people, sock monkeys needed to get his bearings first. Nelson seems pretty cool about what he has found thus far: farm land with interesting people who have a long history, but all the while ones who like to eat and play. And best of all: even though the school (and nearby colleges) boast colors of blue and white, there sure seems to be a lot of signs here in Nelson's favorite colors. Not a bad start...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sock Monkey Invasion at Fort Roberdeau

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Nelson and Metoo had the opportunity to go on a school field trip!

They visited Fort Roberdeau in Altoona, PA, on September 30, 2009. This historic site depicts a fort that was built during the American Revolution, a place to mine lead to manufacture ammunition. The fort also helped stabilize Pennsylvania's frontier.

Here are some of the things that Nelson and Metoo saw and learned:



Shhh! It's time to listen and learn...



So this is the story behind the colors
and design of the American flag!
White for purity, Red for valor ~
Yup! That's us!



Wow! Pottery and glass
from the late 1700's...



This was a really cool model.
Did you know that they had dogs back then, too?



This is how all of the buildings were
built ~ with dovetailed logs, making
them strong and sturdy ~
and perfect seats for sock monkeys!



Nelson: I may be made in China,
but my heart is true American...



People used to sleep on beds made with straw.
They covered it with cotton to keep it from
being so itchy, but you can imagine that
the straw always found a way to poke through...



Dinner time!
Using plates and mugs made from pewter,
a soldier at Roberdeau often enjoyed
oven baked bread and stews and soups.
The meat often came from the game in the woods
and the vegetables from their gardens.
All this, right outside their back door.



Besides writing letters to family
and sending reports to the front lines,
the soldiers of Roberdeau also mapped out
the local area, providing valuable information
for future generations to explore Pennsylvania...



There were no grocery stores in
the wilderness of Penns Woods.
Instead, shipments of meat, packed in salt
and stored in a barrel were delivered
to the fort, their purchases expected to last for months...



What's in here?
The entire fort area was surrounded by a tall fence
to protect the soldiers. Small holes were cut into
the walls for visibility and to be able to
shoot at unwelcome visitors.



We have to go where to get our water?
Why not just turn on the faucet?
No faucets?!?!
Keeping the daily essentials stocked
was a full time job all by itself...



Work, work, work.
Keeping our noses to the grindstone...



Of course the day would not be complete
without Nelson getting into some kind of mischief.
Today he decided that he would try on
some of the clothes that people of
Fort Roberdeau wore. At least he did not
try on the hoop skirts and tight corsets
that were worn by the ladies!



Field trip all done!
Nelson and Metoo really got an education
while having a lot of fun! Not only did they get to see, touch
and hear about many things of the past, but they also
learned how and where the American dream of freedom began...

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

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Get ready for a barrage of pictures to come. These sock monkeys have been busy and just have not had enough time to stop by here to say hello. Sometimes you get so far behind and just don't know where to start.

Today the best place to start is at the end. On September 29, 2009, Sarah and Sir Shamokin left Pennsylvania to go home to Vancouver, BC. We met as strangers, parted as friends. The Sock Monkeys bound us together during the visit and ever since then.

Here is our time at the Harrisburg Airport...



Nelson and MeToo behaving themselves
(for once!) while we waited for VEG to check in.
Just two weeks before Sarah and Cyndy had met
for the first time at this exact place...



Koko is ready to go!
Sorry, Koko, you have to stay here
to share the Pennsylvania story...



Koko was consoled by the prospect of
a happy meal, complete with
french fries and a toy!



The Sock Monkey Crew:
Cyndy on left holding Nelson and Metoo;
Sarah on the right holding Koko and Shamokin...



Nelson thinking,
"That's Shamokin's plane. If I could just
slip down these slides at the right speed I bet I could
get on that plane. It has my colors, after all..."



Three peas in a pod.
Sitting still and behaving
while waiting for the plane to take off...



Koko could not sit still very long, though.
These structural beams looked like
one big set of monkey bars to him!



Awww...
Goodbye Sarah and Shamokin!



Nelson! Do not touch that button!



Okay, Nelson. Yes, you can push this button.



This sign just cracked Nelson up.
You can tell that he has a very warped sense of humor.



Koko likes this sign!
Koko and Chocolate go hand in hand...



Koko loved the moving floor and
the shiny windows and beams!



Nelson liked them, too, but he was looking
for the button on how to make the floor stop moving.

It was definitely time to go...


Saturday, February 6, 2010

Meet Our Newest Member Reilly

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Reilly is a sweet little girl who simply loves Christmas, so she is sure to wear her Christmas hat every day! She arrived at her sock-Mom VEG`s house from the wilds of Calgary and has made herself at home getting to know her sock-brother Shamokin. And, as luck would have it, yesterday was Take-Your-Reilly-To-Work-Day!

OK MOM! We`re ready to go!
Shamokin wanted to make sure his little sister got off to work OK!





Reilly was a little shy at first.




But then she was excited to see her Mom`s office.




She even got to help with the filing.






OH goody! Lunch time! Any bananas for me?



OK! Back to work!





OH Mom! You have such pretty shoes!





Is it time to go already?
OK, goodbye everyone!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Let's Play a Game...

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WE ARE going to play a little game. Can you guess where WE ARE? We will give you TEN BIG (ELEVEN) clues...

(psst...you can click on the pictures for bigger details)


Nelson and MeToo first stopped for lunch.
You can MEET US AT THE CORNER anytime!
People here have been doing it since 1855...



Look who decided to tag along! Silly Koko!
This is Nelson and Metoo's game,
but you can have the backpack
like lots of STUDENTS here do...



Metoo and Nelson horsing around...
(Of course they know they are pigs!)
These BRONZE PIGS were put here in 1996
as reminders of how the town was 100 years before



No, Nelson, this is NOT IVY LEAGUE!



Nelson just realized something really embarrassing!
He is sharing it with Metoo...



Our colors are definitely NOT red!
Our blood only runs BLUE AND WHITE here!
Whew! Good thing there were lots of stores
to help us fix this right away!



We're not LION, it is true,
This is the most popular place
to take a picture since 1942!



Can we go to the game with you, JOEPA?
No one will even see us!



No visit is complete without a stop at THE CREAMERY.
Mmmm...pumpkin ice cream (complete with pie crust bits)!



And to finish the day, a latté
made with fresh steamed cream,
milked from the cows just down the street!



If you didn't guess, Nelson is spelling it out for you.
That's right! We are at Penn State's
University Park campus in
State College, Pennsylvania!

We were here in September 2009, but you can visit anytime!

(and be sure to check out Shamokin's PSU pictures ~ coming soon!)