sabato 9 aprile 2011

Book Marathon...again!

oh...it’s lovely to sit in the garden and read your favourite book!
In reality, the time spent on the monkey businness has been squeezed in between two amazing novels.

I loved The 1000 autumns of Jakob de Zoet because...it sounds SO familiar. After all, you are reading about a dutch clerk stuck on Dejima Island, Nagasaki Bay, A.D. 1799.


I’ve got my own reverse Dejima island at home: there’s a japanese and a half stuck in holland here!
I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the landscapes...it all fits beautifully. There’s almost a sense of plot dejavu’...but that’s why this is such a beautiful historical novel.
MFJ gave it to me as a present, and patiently waited for me to re-emerge from those pages (560 of them) to ask “how is it?”...I guess I’ll be kind enough and lend it to him...

And the other novel?


The Help
, by Kathryn Sockett: her debut novel...let’s just say I can’t wait to read her NEXT one. The story is set in Jackson, Mississipi, in 1962. It’s riveting. it’s un-put-downable. Loved every word of it. you read what it feels like to be a black maid, working for a white family in those eventful years. If you have children, you’ll want a nanny like Aibileen...if you love good food, you’ll adore Minny (she’s sassy and big mouthed...but still! Her culinary skills are known in all of Jackson...just stay away from her chocolate cake, just in case). And you’ll like Skeeter too: 24, white, back from Uni, wants to be a writer and cannot explain why her black maid Constantine left so suddenly and cannot be traced: where is she?
I was sorry when I finished it, and all those characters are still walking beside me. I might read it again before monday, when I’ll return it to the proud owner...
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Monkey Businness

I’ve been busy last weekend...creating mokeys out of socks. The tutorial is great, you find it here.
Lo scorso fine settimana sono stata proprio impegnata...a riciclar calzini per farne scimmiette! Le istruzioni online sono qui, dalle foto si capisce tutto, altrimenti chiedete a qualcuno di tradurle.



The first cutie was christened Smussy, but we think it might once have been “smoothie”: MFSJ does get confused.
La prima bellezza e’ stata battezzata Smussy, ma forse e’ una traslitterazione dall’inglese “smoothie”: la MSGP ogni tanto si confonde.


Smussy is really a little queen, loved and cherished by our family.
Smussy e’ proprio la reginetta di casa, amata e adorata da tutta la famiglia.


In a few hours, the monkey family grew...here you see Smussy together with Pinky, the Brain and ...I don’t know what we called the pale pink one.
In poche ore, la famiglia di scimmiette si e’ allargata...qui c’e’ Smussy insieme a Mignolo e Prof e...non so piu’ come abbiamo chiamato quella rosa pallido.


The Brain got adopted by BroInLaw, replaced now by Naughty (to stitch it was a nightmare: tail and arms kept getting in the way while I was finishing muzzle and eyes!)
Il Prof e’ stato adottato dal cognato, ma l’abbiamo gia’ rimpiazzato con Naughty (“Birichino”: mentre finivo musetto e occhi c’era sempre una zampetta o la coda attorcigliate sul filo!)



A few suggestions: look for children socks size 26-30, possibly knee-long socks, avoid argyle at all costs (Pinky and the brain were a nightmare to stuff, got ripped multiple times too!), buy different patterns of the same size and then mix and match.
I’ve got 5 more coming up, and it’s not that all these monkeys will be monkeying around in our new lovenest: they are going to be shipped to friends and family...
What can I say? Fancy a sock monkey? Send me a pair of socks, I’ll work my magic :-)


Un paio di suggerimenti: le calze migliori sono quelle da bambino, taglia 26-30, di quelle alte fino al ginocchio. Da evitare assolutamente i ROMBI (imbottire Mignolo e Prof e’ stato allucinante, e si sono pure strappati un paio di volte!), provate a mettere insieme calze di diversi colori e fantasie.
Ho altre 5 scimmiette in fase di produzione, e non e’ che rimarranno tutte a casa nostra: sono da spedire ad amici e parenti...
Che posso dirvi...volete anche voi una scimmietta? mandatemi un paio di calzini, e faro’ la magia per voi.


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