amy rue in Lumpling Land

January 2012 Lumplings released!

2012-01-09T21:10:00.000-05:00

Release the Lumplings!!

We have a lovely bunch of Lumplings waiting for you in the 'Amy Rue's Lumplings Etsy shop'. They are ever so hopeful that someone will adopt them into loving homes.

I know I always say that my kitty cats don't like to play with the Lumplings, however, my little baby cat, Sookie, decided to make a liar out of me!

During the Lumpling photo shoot this week she wanted to be in the pictures and let us all know that she is so much cuter than any ole stuffed cat.

Sookie & Lumplings

Lumplings are like snowflakes...

2010-12-12T17:55:00.000-05:00

It's snowing great big gorgeous snowflakes here in Georgia today. I've been hanging out next to the cozy fireplace with my rat terrier, Ollie Blue, watching a Lark Rise to Candleford marathon on PBS and listing new Lumplings in my Etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/amyrue

Later on, my husband, Hans, and I will begin baking my Grandma Grace's special holiday cake for the Christmas orders that are coming in from our December Woodbridge Inn Newsletter. We have this recipe in Hans' cookbook & Hans came up with the idea of offering a fully done cake to our customers this year. I hope everyone loves the cake's orangey goodness as much as we do!

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook...There's a link in the sidebar there!

xoxo,

Amy Rue

Gingerbread Lumplings looking for Holiday Homes!

2010-11-30T20:36:00.000-05:00

Goodness...So I know it's been forever & a day since I posted. Sorry about that!
However, we have 6 little GingerLumps looking for forever homes in the Etsy shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop/amyrue

✵You CAN catch me, for I am the GingerLump...
desperate for my own forever home,
Hopefully, it's not a dump!
No more shall I roam!

So, click click click!
As fast as you can...
I'll be there before Old St. Nick,
Cause he's a slow, old man!

Just, uh...keep the foxes away,
Mmm-kay?✵

A note from Amy Rue: GingerLumps are a Holiday tradition in my family. I usually make them for my children for our Winter Solstice & Yule celebrations. Last year, I was so very very proud as my little girl, age 6 at the time, sewed her very first Lumpling: a GingerLump that she calls Gingy. All of her little friends adore Gingy & I thought I should share our GingerLumps with everyone if they can bring more smiles out there!

GingerLumps have a fleece front, crisp cotton back & plastic safety eyes. They have buttons or tiny jingle bells down their bellies. The buttons are a mix of new and vintage.

I post more frequent updates over on Facebook where there is a Lumplings fanpage. I'd love for you to join me there & say Hello! Facebook has been great for posting pictures of Lumplings as I make them so you can have sneak peeks into who will be coming up for adoption soon.

Speaking of soon...We will have a small herd of bunny & kitty Lumplings making their way into the Etsy shop this next week! I'll update here when it happens!

Lumplings up and looking for homes!

2009-09-14T11:39:00.000-04:00

Alrighty then, the Lumplings are in the Etsy shop and looking for good homes.

I've tried emailing the mailing list, but there is some glitch with the server so I'll try again later.

New Lumplings, website redo and Facebook

2009-09-11T01:21:00.000-04:00

There are new Lumplings on my Etsy site! I will be adding a few more on Friday, September 11th.

Also, today I created a facebook fanpage for the Lumplings. You can see the link and how to join on the left side of this blog page.

I will be updating on the facebook page when I'm sewing and whatnot.

Also, if you'd like to ask any questions of me the Facebook page will be perfect for that!

And last, I've been reworking amyrue.com lately. Simplifying it really. The front page will be tweaked some more with some adds and a picture change and then it should be completely done!

Now, when you click on 'shop' at amyrue.com it will bring you straight to my Etsy shop. Etsy has made the Lumpling adoptions much more sane for me and I'll keep it for now!

And now for linkage:

ETSY shop!

Amyrue.com!

small Herd Of Lumplings

2009-08-03T01:27:00.002-04:00

There is a small herd of Lumplings at my etsy shop!

I'll have to post pictures tomorrow, but here is the link:

Amy Rue's Lumpling Land

eh? Wot's wot!

2009-07-01T22:36:00.004-04:00

"And I know 7 months is a long time...but I think that you will find, Lumplings are basically the same..."

-Song from Yom Yom Lumpling, with apologies to Depeche Mode

We have a new herd appearing on etsy:

Amy Rue's Lumpling Land

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=295

I put some up tonight and more will pop up tomorrow (July 2nd)

Very sorry about the length of time that it has taken me to get this herd up for adoption. It's been a helluva a year!

I'm almost terrified of what this second six months will bring with 2009.

Wait, there isn't any "almost" about.

I might need diapers if I think about it too much.

If you follow my husband's blog/story then you know what I'm talkin' about.

If not...well, it's a sordid story of hospitals, brain lesions, cancer, not cancer, bleeding, more blood, children seeing blood, children thinking daddy was gonna die, mama thinking the same, and oh yay, the doctors also thought that...nice to be on the same page and all...ugh... shuffling sick husband on planes, husband doesn't know how old he is, how long have we been married? How did we get here? How old are the children? At least he always knew we had kids, small blessings, fitting for whole brain radiation, dear god the side effects, scans, more scans, living in the hospital again, again, brain biopsy, pain and more pain for him, no I can't effing eat or sleep, how could I? but then a light! A beam of hope in the form of infection (yes), strep?? In the brain??

Did you get all that? Yeah, me either. But it sure has taken up our year.

There has been good though... Hans' book came out and everyone loves it. We are all quite chuffed and proud of him. He is making a nice recovery, still in pain, but better all the time.

We are enjoying our summer with the kids and finding our rhythm in life again.

Holiday Herd

2008-12-09T16:20:00.006-05:00

Here come Lumpling paws! Here come Lumpling Paws!

Right down etsy lane!

Marzipan & Kringle & all their fuzzy friends

are all looking for the same!

Tiny bells ringing, Lumplings singing

Hoping for new homes

Get mouses ready, check your paypal!

Cause Lumplings are on the way!

Heya everyone!

I'm so excited to bring the newest herd to you!

We have a baker's dozen looking for new digs

They are all in my etsy store

I'm slow at getting them all there today....so there are about four that will go up later this evening.

I'll send out the bulk email this evening letting everyone know the Lumps are loose. I always let the blog know first!

Oh, a Lumpling we will go!

2008-10-15T15:32:00.007-04:00

Hey hot stuff, wanna come look at my singles profile?

I like long walks on the beach, champagne and peanut butter.

Yeah.

If you have a look see at my etsy spot you'll see the newest herd of Lumplings.

We have 10 looking for good homes!

I'm adding them right now, so there are only a few up.

The Lumpling stories come as I go along and sometimes they are hard to get information out of.

As always, I give the first heads up to adoption time here on the blog and I'll be emailing the Lumpling email list later. I still have a whole bunch of new names and emails to update it with.

Hop on over and see if a Lumpling looks like 'the one'!

amy rue's etsy shop

sneaking in

2008-09-22T12:12:00.004-04:00

It's been a great long while, but I'm back with offerings of Fuzzy wee Lumplings.

We have ten lonely Lumplings looking for new homes over on my etsy page.

We've been so very busy in the Rue household, that it would be impossible to list it all. But school is back in and I've more time to devote to the lumpling adoptions.

So here we go again!

Giving Etsy a go

2007-12-08T17:30:00.001-05:00

Since I'm still learning to get around on the mac here and I really want to get these Lumplings out there for everyone to adopt, I'm going to give Etsy a try.

So as my test, the Lumpling seen above has just been put up for adoption on Etsy. I'm sure that I forgot to include a million things, but hopefully it will work!

A new Amy Rue shop is up at Etsy

and that should link to it... I hope.

http://www.amyrue.etsy.com

I don't know if this will be how I do all adoptions in the future, or just for now. If it makes life easier here in Lumpling land it might stay! For right now, the regular amyrue.com is stagnant and I need to learn how to update it from this new system very soon.

Gubble & Bum are up right now and I'll probably add several more Lumplings later this evening!

hold your breath & let go....

2007-12-06T22:26:00.000-05:00

Over the highway and through the woods we went to Grandma Grace's.

The one time of the year that I see my paternal side of the family. We've all flocked to Grandma's every year for that one special day of Grandma's cooking.

Grandma doesn't cook anymore. She looks confused and Aunt B told me that she had tumors near her brain.

But I made her famous orange cranberry cake and even though it wasn't as good as Grandma's I was proud to see everyone attack it.

And my kids got to play on the rope swing. I spent hours and hours of my childhood whirling on the rope swing outside of Grandma's.

See those blue stairs with the big E behind Finn? Crumpled now, but still strong when I was a child, we would climb to the top and jump on the swing. A cousin or uncle would grab the hanging rope and pull me high enough to kick branches.... sending spanish moss and acorns into the air.

The kids were so excited and once I was assured that the alligators had vacated Grandma's pond they jumped into the water fully clothed.

Their incredibly smart mama packed clean clothing for just this reason.

I never missed an opportunity to get in that pond, smooshing georgia red clay between my toes and catching minnows with my hands.

Grandma used to beg me not to leave...holding onto our arms and making fake crying noises to make us laugh. But this time she accepted our hugs and didn't really seem to have the strength or clarity to protest.

It was a strange way to leave.

But oh how lucky are my kids that they know their Great Grandmother?

always in motion

2007-11-30T19:18:00.000-05:00

Life has been hectic in Rue land, and I apologize to everyone waiting to adopt a Lumpling that it has taken me so very long to make a new herd!

I have a new herd almost ready...about a dozen of them. I'll get pictures ready of them next week.

I've just switched to a mac and I'm still learning all of the quirks. The amyrue site is about to be overhauled, but maybe not in time for this new herd to launch.

One of the obstacles in my way is that I haven't been able to transfer all of the email addys on the amyrue mailing list to the mac as a separate list! So at this point I really don't know just how I'm going to email the list with the adoption news. I might end up putting all of the names and addys in by hand. Er, there are over 500 names on there!

We are hoping that switching to a mac will end all of my email woes. On my pc I was getting about 800 spam emails a day! It was overwhelming. So if you have emailed me in the past six months and never heard from me...it was probably lost in all that crazy spam.

Oh! We took the kids to see Mr. Magorium's and unfortunately didn't spot the Lumplings. Well, Hans claimed that he saw one, but I didn't! But we waited around to the very very end of the credits and saw a wee thank you to Amy Rue which was pretty neat. I know that we will get the dvd and comb through the shop scenes in slow motion!

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

2007-09-17T13:27:00.001-04:00

The trailer is up for Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium!

Although I looked & looked I didn't see even a hint of the Lumplings in the toy store. But Lumplings are very small and I'll be first in line to see the movie at the theater just so I can strain my eyes there while looking for a familar Lumpling face.

Even if we never see one of the Lumplings... we know they're there!

Lumpling Love & Junkie Mumpin!

2007-09-14T14:59:00.000-04:00

A great big ole thank you to everyone for coming to check out the newest herd of Lumplings today!

We'll get those birth certificates printed up this weekend and get all the Lumps on the road to their shiny new homes! My preschooler was hanging out with me during the adoption, reading her books and singing

"Five little Junkies Mumping on the bed..."

And I'm typing like a crazy person, but came to a screeching halt when I heard her song. Took me a minute to figure out what she was really trying to sing!

Dang, what do they teach in preschool these days?

Junkies mumping on the bed indeed.

Lucky Junkies!

Time to adopt a Lumpling!

2007-09-11T20:27:00.000-04:00

The next Lumpling herd will go up at amyrue.com

this Friday at 2pm eastern!

As always, I will post full instructions on how to adopt a Lumpling when the herd shows up.

hot weather go away, cool weather come to stay!

2007-09-07T19:30:00.000-04:00

Even though the weather here in Georgia is still hot as hell, I'm daydreaming of crisp fall days under a new quilt.

These sweet fabrics from American Jane for Moda are coming together in a disappearing nine patch quilt.

Last week this panda fabric came in from Repro Depot fabrics, and it's so cute I'm scared to cut it. But I'm seeing in my head a dress for my little Ella that will make her the envy of all the other preschoolers...and me!

I look at my cardigans each day and with a sigh promise them that they will be worn every single day very very soon.

Amy Had a little Lamb....

2007-09-05T21:28:00.000-04:00

Amy had a little Lamb, it's fleece was white as snow...

& then that sweet little lamb found out that Amy Rue

turned an absolutely obscene age (eh, we can still say "early thirties" for the next ten years or so) today and that poor little lamb had to go...

Check out my hysterical gift from Hans. I was still rubbing the dreams from my eyes this morning when he gave me the Dead Sheep Head here, and I laughed and laughed!

The lamb is from Cherrybox Studios, where they have all sorts of other wonderful critters like Unicorns and Pink Pony heads on display. Absolutely brilliant job!

Another wonderful sheep painting came in the mail later in the day from our friend Don Bertram in Houston. I'll have to take pictures of it tomorrow!

Feeling oh so lucky and loved today,

and I have new laugh lines to prove it.

pussy cat wussy cat...

2007-08-01T22:35:00.000-04:00

Mama! There are kittens underneath the Woodbridge!

Yeah? That's nice, sweetie.

One followed us here...can we keep her?

Uh, nope. Unless you learn to scoop cat poo.

She's so cute and black, Mama!

A black kitten? Uh oh.

Oh Dear.

Are we suckers?

Please meet little Miss Dibley, the newest member of our family, and our third black cat.

Dibley has a small white patch on her neck, like a Vicar. So we immediately named her after the Vicar of Dibley show that I love so much.

Our oldest cat, Tiggy, doesn't give a rat's ass about the new kitten, but Neko is out of her mind. Neko has been walking around pissed off at the world and growling at all of us.

Dibley is super sweet and just thrilled at having a bowl full of food in front of her. Tomorrow she goes for her first Vet visit and Ella is already worried about that thermometer going up the kitten's hoohaw.

Even though this has interrupted some Lumpling sewing time I still expect to launch a herd in about two weeks!

There are still three of Dibley's siblings living underneath the restaurant if anyone is local and looking for a new fur baby!

time to breathe

2007-07-20T22:20:00.001-04:00

We've just returned from MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, riding on a cloud because my husband, Hans, had clean scans.

Cancer FREE!

For several weeks now I've been going through the motions of life, but not really feeling it. Fear shuts me down.

And I was completely terrified that the cancer was back, taking hold somewhere in his body. The almost 2 years of remission seemed too good to be true last week. I've read too many stories of people not making it this far with the same cancer.

But enough of that!

Layers of dust are being lifted from my mind. I'm so freaking happy.

The world feels a bit brighter today.

And now I'm taking my coffee here and I'm going to do some actual sewing.

There are Lumplings waiting to be born!

Happy happy little fuzzy Lumplings...just like me.

swim time

2007-06-15T21:42:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you can tell which child is mine in this picture.

Yep, the one that isn't paying any attention to the swim instructors, but instead seems to be saying "wooooo! Where the party at, people?! I got my bikini on and I'm ready to live dangerous!"

And my other child seems to be saying.... um, well, I actually have no idea what that face means. But he was happier than he looks, I swear!

Okie, here my daughter looks sweet and innocent again. I tried to find a picture of my son not looking crazy and that didn't happen; he looks like a cartoon character in every single picture.

Today wrapped up the week of swim lessons for the kids and we are pleased to be done! I'm still terrified that my kids will flip out at the pool. The first year that Finn went he was what we call a "runner & a screamer". The swim instructor had to chase him down and plop him back in the pool.

But here's the rub of the week: Ella lost an earring! Gone! Poof! I tried to put another one in her ear, but it had already closed up even though it could have only been a few hours without the earring.

So tomorrow we make the trip back to the mall to get her ear repierced. And she knows what to expect this time which makes this trip more intimidating.

So I fully expect to be wobbly in the head tomorrow.

Yep, wobbly.

All the little Lumplings wave bye bye!

2007-06-13T22:17:00.000-04:00

All of the Lumps were spoken for in just under 36 minutes today!

15 of them! Usually the herds are just at a dozen, but somehow more snuck in today.

I made a deal with myself that after this herd I would get down to business on revamping amyrue.com because it needs a serious overhaul. So we might have to wait a bit longer before the next herd comes up for adoption!

Thank you so much to everyone for coming to see the newest Lumpling herd today! I'm getting them all packed up and ready for the trip to their new homes!

Adoption time!

2007-06-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

Hopefully this one will go off smoothly!

I'll be sending the email announcement out tomorrow, but blog readers get the early tip.

If you see a Lumpling that you would like to adopt, please email me at amy at amyrue.com and
I will send a Paypal invoice your way or a note letting you know the Lumpling was already snatched up.

Remember to ‘refresh’ the adopt page every few minutes, because I start putting up the ‘adopted’ notices as soon as I can!

Sometimes Lumplings go very fast and I will be typing my little heart out replying to emails, but I do reply to
every email.

If you don’t hear back from me, please check your ‘spam’ folder… sometimes those emails are sneaky.

Adoption fees are Paypal only.
Shipping for one Lumpling $6.00 in North America and $8.00 International.

Please remember that Lumplings should still be considered choking hazards with wee babies under age three.
Or anyone who likes to gnaw on little animals.

Hope we see you there!

Like we need another hole in our heads

2007-06-03T16:28:00.000-04:00

Oh me, oh my, my little Miss has some new holes in her head.

I knew we were in trouble last week when some of the neighborhood girls showed off their sparkly new earrings to Ella. So it was off to the mall for us!

Ella asked me if it hurt to get your ears pierced and I told her that it didn't because I swear it never bothered me! But you see that face up there in the picture? That was the look she gave me right after saying, "but, but Mama, that did hurt!"

Whoops.

I had to beg and plead with my Mother to get my ears pierced when I was eight. Practically had to sacrifice small animals to get her to agree. I remember sitting on the counter at Treasury Drugs in Marietta scared out of my wits and wondering just why I begged for this. But I don't remember crap after that, except for a few years of glorious huge plastic earrings in the 80's.

And in my teens I stuck safety pins through my left ear about 5 more times. Never really bothered with my right ear, it was spared the torture. I also stuck a sharp safety pin in my nose, but that one took forever to get through...not painful, just tedious. But the safety pins never hurt my ears either, I didn't even bother with the ice to numb things. I did heat up the pins and dip them in alcohol first!

So responsible. pfft.

My very first job was at the mall piercing ears. I find it hard to believe now that someone looked at me and agreed that I would be trustworthy enough to put holes in people. For real, I wouldn't even trust me to do it now.

So I felt a little emotional taking my own daughter back to the mall where I pierced ears as a teenager. The mall where I met her Daddy. The mall where I spent hours with my best friend before her death, and when I dream of her, I still dream of her walking beside me, fishnets tattered, through that same mall.

Once the girls did the whole "one two three!!" thing and the earrings where in, I let out a huge sigh and then sucked my breath back in when I saw Ella's little lip tremble. She didn't cry, and neither did I after a few tense moments.

Finn looked on and rolled his eyes.

I was so nervous after everything that somehow I agreed to purchase 8 dollar Hello Kitty Lip glosses.

But now Ella is very proud of her sparkles, and feels all grown up. I always promised myself that I would take my daughter to get her ears pierced as soon as she asked, and I fulfilled that personal promise.

But now, what will I do when she gets a bit older and wants me to drop her off at the mall?

Maybe I'll show her how to put the right amount of tatters in her fishnets, and how to lace her boots the correct way.

I hope so. I hope that I will continue to fulfill my dreams of being the right sort of mom for my children.

While the sewing machine is away....

2007-05-24T21:35:00.000-04:00

....the Lumplings don't play!

I broke my beautiful new sewing machine.

Something about screwing up the timing. So she is off at the repair place to get her inside bits tickled.

The lady at the sewing machine store was so sympathetic, she didn't even accuse me of machine abuse once! She even petted the sewing machine and told me how sorry she was that it wasn't working.

This lady obviously understands the bond between a girl and her machine.

I do have some Lumplings done, just not too many of them have baby Lumps. I will still launch a new herd for adoption sometime in the next couple of weeks.

One more day of school left!

Today was award day at Finn's school. He came home with awards in Computer, Language Arts, & Music.

We are awfully proud of him!

Happy Mama Day!

2007-05-13T13:36:00.000-04:00

Hans & Finn surprised me with breakfast in bed.

Complete with fresh roses and mint from our garden.

I've never been so coddled!

Finn made this tile for me at school. The green lady is me...maybe with a perm? Check out my giant flowers!

Ella went into panic mode this morning when she saw Finn hand me a gift and wrapped up a shiny marble in Hello Kitty paper for me. She also drew this picture of wild sheep and their kitty. Um, I think the kitty is the one about to fly into the sun.

Tea Towels & rosy woes

2007-05-10T13:45:00.000-04:00

I'm a bad blog mama, that's for sure.

I think about making a post daily...but then I get distracted by pretty things, like my roses here!

Unfortunately, that Easter Freeze wiped out the blooms from my large rose bed in the front. Usually we would have hundreds of hot pink blooms right now, and I really mean hundreds, cars slow down in front of the house during the first bloom, people come to a sudden stop when walking by and ask about the type of rose bush.

A portion of the rose bed from last year in the first blush

But now, there are only a few little blooms. The bushes are not dead, and for that I am grateful, but oh how I miss the blooms.

When I'm not cursing Jack Frost, a whole lotta needle threading has been going on.

I adore travel tea towels, but I need something more absorbent in the kitchen for drying hands after washing. So I took these mint vintage towels, then I cut up some of my older terry cloth bath towels that had a few worn spots and smacked them together.

Well, maybe I didn't actually "smack" them, but I sewed them together like a pillow case and then did an extra stitch around the edge after turning them right side out so they won't warp in the wash.

So now I have pretty towels for drying my hands than I have been obsessively washing.

It's all about the pretty. And maybe the washing.

All of my efforts to give love to my kitchen didn't prevent me from dropping one of my favorite bowls last weekend. Later that same day I dropped one of my Smurf glasses too, but luckily that one didn't break.

Oh, the horrors if a Smurf glass breaks.

You understand, right? Right?

Smurfs!

small pleasures mine

2007-04-24T20:42:00.000-04:00

Tallulah Bankhead: "Why, it's as easy as ducking for apples."

Dorothy Parker: "Hah, change one letter in that sentence and you've got the story of my life."

Our new little fat belly tea pot has a brilliant strainer hiding in the spout, keeping the pesky leaves out of the cups.

Hans and I have been so thrilled with watching the tea leaves dance about that our eyeballs are floating from drinking so many cups.

Now I need a good source for loose leaf tea that we can afford given our million cups a day habit!

More small pleasures this week include sending off all of the Lumplings, making a new flower bed and moving my heucheras to a more friendly spot in the garden, walking the Renn Fest, Rocky Road ice cream, installing a new ceiling fan (can never have enough in Georgia!), leaving the windows open to enjoy the breeze and planting my rear end on the sofa sewing more Lumplings while watching _How Clean is Your House?_ on bbc america.

All in all, a near perfect week for me!

Do you remember the first time you realized that you lift another human?

The knowledge has gone to Finn's head and Ella is never safe these days! I'm waiting for day that she turns around and picks him up too.

Dover with love

2007-04-18T21:25:00.000-04:00

Did you know that if you sign up at dover publications they will send you free clip art every week?

Everything from vintage luggage labels to holiday art from their famous clip art books.

Dover has been a constant in my life, and I love how they still sell the same coloring books that I had as a child. I'm looking forward to getting new copies of my old favorites for my munchkins.

oh my goodness

2007-04-17T13:45:00.000-04:00

Hobo here was the love of the adoption and I had the most requests for her. She went super fast! I love her frilly ruff; it's a bit of trim that I've been holding onto for a long time, waiting for the perfect time to cut it. I think Hobo wears it well.

Finally got the website up and running about thirty minutes past when I needed it to work!

But new Lumpling parents were determined and adopted the Lumplings that could be seen, all of the other pictures had that lovely little red x.

I'm so sorry for any troubles that this caused anyone trying to get into the site for adoption today. After today, I'm having a stern talk with the ole website, and put the fear of Lump into it!

website woes

2007-04-17T12:38:00.002-04:00

I just found out that the "shop" page on the amy rue website isn't working!

I'll try to fix it...not sure what is happening!

I'm still working on this. Trying to get the website published.

So sorry for all of the trouble!

*update* I'm republishing the entire site, and I think that it's working...toes crossed... The lumplings are going to be tardy today.

sigh.

The Lumplings are coming!

2007-04-14T13:00:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, April 17th

1pm eastern standard
at amyrue.com

The Lumpling herd is finally coming to town!

I sent out an email to the mailing list last night and got a bunch of returned spam blocked notices! So if you didn't get the email, it's because you have a nice tight spam block that didn't like my mass email!

2007-04-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

Did you think that I had forgotten about you?

I'm surprised I remember my own name!

Since my last post I went on holiday to Germany with my husband, his parents and my two munchkins. We met up with all of Hans' Uncles, Aunts, Cousins and more Cousins, and basically took over a hotel in Celle for a couple of days.

I fell in love with Hameln, Germany, where the Pied Piper fairy tale is based. All of the cobblestone streets, crooked old buildings and lace fluttering from windows spoke to my desperate for history soul.

It's hard to find charm like that here in America. I go to Savannah whenever possible to feel something close.

We got home just in time to hunt for Easter eggs and get our baskets in place for the bunny to come calling.

And that Bunny had a frozen cotton tail! Winter returned to North Georgia, turning all of our beautiful blooms to mush. Hans and I garden somewhat obsessively, but luckily we hadn't planted anything new yet!

And now....I'm catching my breath. Giving my home some cleaning love and attention, and just enjoying being here.

I'm looking at next Tuesday, April 17th being the adoption day for Lumplings.

The website is finally back up and seems to be working (fingers crossed!), so I can finally give these guys new homes!

I will post the official day and time tomorrow, as well as email the information to the mailing list.

2007-03-27T22:00:00.000-04:00

Oh me, oh my, amyrue.com is still down and out!

Which means that any emails coming to amyrue.com are lost lost lost!

If amyrue.com comes back up before Easter, and you place an order, it will not ship until after Easter.

I just gotta hope that anyone placing an order feels curious enough to check the blog here!

I usually put a note up on the website when there will be an order delay, but with the site down like it is, I can't do that.

But, fingers crossed, everything should be back online and on track after Easter for the Lumplings to come up for adoption! I have about twelve of them...although a couple might end up in the Easter baskets of two very special wee rug rats.

Fuzzy Lumpling hugs & kisses to everyone until then!

Lumpling Launch on hold

2007-03-23T21:10:00.000-04:00

I really wanted to launch the newest herd this week, but we've been bogged down with email problems. I can imagine the nightmare it would cause if I didn't get emails during adoption time, and I don't want to live that nightmare!

two tiny lumps who really wanted to be adopted this week!

So we are switching providers for the amyrue site, which is the reason amyrue.com is down right now, and hopefully when I get back from Germany everything will be straightened out!

Ack, well, I hope. Computer stuff. Shiver.

Speaking of emails not getting through... if you sent an email to amyrue or luna7, and we did not reply, that means we didn't receive it because of these glitches!

Please write back...we like you, we really do, and we want to reply to you!

Pillows...finally!

2007-03-19T10:46:00.000-04:00

Three new pillows are finally up at amyrue.com.

It hasn't taken me forever or anything to get them here. Pfft.

Next we will have a Lumpling herd! I have to get this done by this week,

or it will have to wait until we get back from Germany.

So...I'm thinking maybe this Thursday?

I will see how far I get with sewing tonight, and if I can get everything done in time, I'll send out an update to the mailing list!

I have all of the big Lumplings finished, but now some of them need a baby Lump to hold. I have these cute as can be tiny baskets that I'm thinking of stuffing the bitty Lumps in for the Large Lumps to hold.

But sometimes these things don't work the same way that my mind sees it...so I'll just have to see how that goes!

And now we are...

2007-03-13T13:55:00.000-04:00

And now we are.... seven, four and ready for spring!

I brought in forsythia branches a couple of weeks ago so that they could force bloom inside.

Here, in North Georgia, the forsythia is the first to shout "Spring!", and she isn't shy about it.

This is a picture of my smallest branches, poking out of an old silver mint julep cup, tarnished just the way I like all of my silver. It's much easier to say that you enjoy the tarnished look to avoid having to polish the silver every month.

The forsythia blooms have helped fuel our spring fever. Hans and I are already making our plans for the garden this year. I love this time when we dream up our next projects and almost itch with excitement to get back to our gardens.

And here we have the seven & four part of my life!

Ella's party was very exciting on Sunday. We had about 14 kids and their parents here to celebrate. Ella donned her party dress and showed true southern roots when she refused to wear shoes as well....just like her mama! We love to admire and buy shoes, just not really wear them so much!

There is a matching dress for her favorite baby doll, Coco. Coco also refused foot wear.

In a couple of weeks our crazy family will be heading to Germany. Finn & Ella will get to meet all of their Uncles and cousins, and we will somewhat follow the Grimm Brother's fairytale way as we visit some of the smaller towns.

Hans and I haven't been to Germany since 1995, when he asked me to marry him in Berlin.

He thought this through and waited until we were in a country where I couldn't speak the language so that I couldn't run very far!

Smart boy.

This trip will obviously be very different! We haven't taken a plane ride this long with the children before and I really hope we all handle it well!

I hope to have a Lumpling herd come up for adoption before we leave. Be sure to keep an eye on your email for the next amyrue.com announcement!

Celebrate!

2007-03-05T14:18:00.000-05:00

If you read my husband, Hans' blog, then you already know that his PET/CT scans came out clean....NO CANCER! We don't have those biopsy results back yet, but the doctor said that he didn't see any cancer down there.

How fabulous is that?

We were both nervous, but putting on brave attitudes for each other. His surgeon, Dr. Hofstetter, was the first to tell us that the scans looked good and he just breezed by with that information. I had to interrupt him (goes against my southern girl training in manners!), and ask him to repeat it.

We were on a total high as we went to the airport to begin our journey home, but due to the storms across the SouthEast ended up waiting for 7 hours for the plane to take us home!

But that was ok... no cancer!

Now, this little girl here is too little to know just how important this past week was to her life.

All she knows is that this week she turns FOUR!

My baby, my little possum girl is going to be 4!

We are going to have a great big party with a Winnie The Pooh cake and balloons.

Ella is talking about her party non stop, I have no idea what she will talk about after this!

Ella at a party last weekend giving the blowy thing a go. What are those things called? I've always called it the blowy thing, I'm sure that's pretty wrong.

For the rest of this week I'll be cleaning the house and getting everything organized for the big day. Hell, we'll call this Spring Cleaning! Two birds with one stone type of thing.

solace in pillows, & comfort in my clutter

2007-02-20T14:30:00.000-05:00

New Lumpling pillows are in the works! I hope to finish them in the next couple of days.

Not very sure when they'll go in the store because Hans and I travel to Texas for his cancer checkup early next week.

I usually get a bit paralyzed before Hans has a checkup, and it keeps me from sewing and other hobbies. But I'm really trying to overcome that this time by forcing myself to keep working.

This will be his year and a half tests. For the first year he went every three months, and at a year he "graduated" to tests every six months. So this is the longest that he has gone without a CT, PET scan, or biopsies since being diagnosed in July 2005.

Now me? I'd be content with scanning him every damn week.

It's like we have been holding our breath for the past 18 months. Gastro-esophageal cancer has the highest chance of recurring in the first two years. Five years, of course, still being the "cure" goal, but these first two years are the scariest.

We are so close! It's so hard not to live in cowering fear every day, but we have to live our lives as normal as possible for our children and our sanity.

A really nice lady emailed me a few days ago after stumbling across the Amy Rue site and our story. Ten years ago her young husband, and father of their two young kids had Cancer. Here is an excerpt from her email:

~~It is a roller coaster, but almost 10 years later, I see that somehow we survived the ride. Our daughters are teenagers now. My husband and I stay active in their lives and our life is "normal". Those early days now seem very far away. A couple of the important things I learned are, keep your life as normal as possible, for yourselves and your kids. And remember to take one day at a time. Don't worry about tomorrow. Trust me it will take care of itself.~~

I love when people reach out like this. When they take the time to offer solace to a stranger.

I try to do the same for people now, and I hope that in ten years Hans and I will be a bit of strength for others in this fight.

Here's my wall of clutter and comfort above my desk. When I'm feeling stumped or blue, I can look up and see the small things that mean something to me: Pictures that Finn, Ella, and Hans have drawn, my marriage receipt ($26.00!!), family photos, old postcards, a card that Richard Kirk painted for my birthday, buttons, metal bits, and more!

I should also mention that I'm sick sick sick right now, and dosed up on cold medicine which makes me a bit introspective.

Crass goofiness should return by tomorrow!

I'm late I'm late!

2007-02-15T11:46:00.000-05:00

Our local magazine featured a photo that I took of my daughter, Ella, for the Valentine cover.

Ella was pretty thrilled because she's still been a bit sore that Hans had Finn on his cooking show, and not her. But now they both have a tiny bit of local fame.

I've been remiss in posting on the blog since the last Lumpling adoption. After I had all of the Lumps packed up and sent off, I attacked the study/studio where Hans and I work.

It might not be spring yet, but I feel it coming and I had to get all of this organized.

Hans even helped me put up new shelves in my fabric closet, and now I'm just incredibly happy with it.

I've also created havoc on the rest of my house...ripped up carpet from the stairs and started painting them white. Made new curtains. Took apart the dining room table because it doesn't work and I'm annoyed with it. Hopefully, I'll be able to afford a new dining room table one day, but right now the room has no table, much to the confusion of our guests.

It's hard to explain that if something annoys me that bad it just has to go. I have to keep the table because it does mean something to me. My Granny used this table in her photography studio in Montgomery Alabama, then it was my Mom's dining room table while I was growing up.

When my stepfather died, I was five, and I crawled up on the table and carved his name into the top. I didn't want any of us to forget him.

But now the table is not a comfortable fit for us as a family. Maybe one day I'll open that shop that we dream about and I can use it in there.

Poof go the Lumplings

2007-02-05T20:17:00.000-05:00

Two dollar roses

Many Thanks to everyone for coming and seeing the new Lumpling herd today!

Everyone was adopted and I'm getting Lumpling boxes all fluffed and ready for take off!

One last group shot

Lumpling Update!

2007-02-02T11:25:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone!

Do you hear the pitter patter of little Lumpling feet?

Here comes a new Lumpling herd!

http://www.amyrue.com

They will all go online on:

Monday, February 5th, 2007

At 1pm Eastern Standard

If you see a Lumpling that you would like to adopt,
please email me at amy@amyrue.com

and I will send a Paypal invoice your way or

a note letting you know the Lumpling was already snatched up.

Remember to ‘refresh’ the adopt page every few minutes, because I start putting up the ‘adopted’ notices as soon as I can!

I have more than just Lumplings in the shop now; there are little carryalls, pillows, soaps and other fun items. If there is something that you would like to add to your invoice, just let me know!

Sometimes Lumplings go very fast and I will be typing my little heart out replying to emails, but I do reply to every email.

If you don’t hear back from me, please check your ‘spam’ folder…

sometimes those emails are sneaky.

Adoption fees are Paypal only.

Shipping for one Lumpling $6.00 in North America and $8.00 International.

Please remember that Lumplings should still be considered choking hazards with wee babies under age three.or anyone who likes to gnaw on little animals. You know who you are.

Whew! I hope to see you all there!

A Decade Today

2007-02-01T14:37:00.000-05:00

For Ten years I've worn the same ring on my finger. It's gathered some scratches, and gets dusty from time to time, but it's a good ring...a solid ring.

A ring that said "I do" on the Square in Marietta, Georgia, shook off the dirt after that first garden was planted, had hundreds of paint colors cover it from time to time, sparkled when my children were born, and comforted me when the word "cancer" was dropped into our laps.

Newly engaged in Germany

This little ring is ready for more. More scratches, more dirt and more love.

Because Ten years of marriage isn't enough...not nearly enough.

It's a damn good start!

I'm greedy and I'm proud of who we are, and what we dream together.

P.S. - Hans gave me this aquamarine ring for our 10th anniversary. I hope that in ten years this ring will also have a happy story to tell.

Distract me...please?

2007-01-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

My silver penguin struggling to hold up his collection of vintage pins.

I'm avoiding scooping the cat's litter box.

I spend a good deal of my life avoiding that.

Hans calls it "Turd Burgling".

He'll call out to the children, "Look at Mama! Turd Burglar!"

I think we can file this under 'things you never wanted to know about'.

thank goodness Lumplings don't crap.

And thank goodness my munchkins like using the potty. On the day that Ella turned One she asked to sit on the potty. Love that kid!

Miss Ella turned her wee self over to me and my scissors yesterday for a haircut, and now she is sporting the sweetest, shortest bob.

Sheesh, I think the cats are drawing up signs for litter box protest.

okay okay! Duty (dooky?) calls!

7 x the baby boy love

2007-01-16T11:13:00.000-05:00

My little boy is 7...SEVEN years old.

Geez louise...Did I blink or something?

We took Finn to his favorite Japanese restaurant where he had the choo choo train onions and his favorite sushi. The Chef discovered that Finn would try any sort of fish and kept stealing sashimi off of Opa's (Hans' Dad) plate to give to Finn.

The whole staff came out to sing to Finn and gave him a pineapple boat, complete with a candle.

Finn squirmed during the singing, but was thrilled with all of the special treatment.

We've been non stop celebrating his birthday since Saturday when we took all of the kids to the movies. The movie party was great and all of the kids had a wonderful time. On Sunday, we took Finn & Ella to the Build a Bear place at the mall where Ella got a Hello Kitty and Finn came home with a fuzzy frog. Monday was the Japanese dinner and today, Finn brought cupcakes for his entire class at school!

See, here is where I blinked... I'm pretty sure that I took this picture of cute little drooling baby boy just the other day.

But no, here is the picture I took the other day...complete with cupcake crumbs.

At this time, seven years ago today, the doctors were just deciding that I should have a c-section. They had been trying to induce labor for three days and my body wouldn't budge. I was at the point where my blood pressure was too high and it was dangerous for both me and Finn.

I'll never forget the nurse getting me ready for the epidural. She told me to sit on the edge of the bed and touch my toes.

Do what?!?

Touch my toes?!?

Are you freaking kidding me, lady? I haven't seen my toes in months! I don't even know if they are still there!!

That nurse ran away.

Everything went so quickly from there, and I was in an operating room with chatty doctors and Hans by my side. The Doctors stopped chatting suddenly and everyone was super quiet. We were told that Finn was breach, or head up, and the cord was wrapped around his neck.

If I would have gone into labor, Finn would have most likely been strangled by the cord.

There are so many times in our lives where we are just on the edge of something huge and awful happening to us. Sometimes we fall in and it is Cancer, but sometimes we turn away suddenly and are holding a beautiful pink baby.

So here's to all the times that we either turn away suddenly, or crawl out of that huge and awful hole by our teeth.

Because, Hell, Hans and I have done both now.

And here's to everyday being as special as a baby boy's birthday!

The Lumplings and the Shoe Lover

2007-01-12T14:42:00.000-05:00

Lots of little Lumplings coming into being! I'll be working on them tonight, as I fear what tomorrow will bring me. Somehow, Hans and I agreed to take Finn, Ella and TEN other little kids to the movie theatre for Finn's birthday.

Wait. Pause here. My little boy will turn seven next week.

Holy Crap.

Ok...back to our crazy outing. I think Hans must have agreed to this; I don't think that I'm quite that insane. Maybe? Ok, maybe I am, but I obviously need to be medicated.

Finn is really happy about going and I'm sure I'll have a good time once we get popcorn and drinks for everyone and get them all seated and quiet. Did I say Quiet? Pfft.

Luckily, all of his friends are really good and sweet kids. No popcorn throwing hellions in the bunch.

Except for me, of course.

A quilted pillow that will soon go up on amyrue.com. Just a few bits left to finish.

The cotton has a beautiful feel to it and the quilting only enhanced that. So we are left with a soft, but sturdy, pillow.

mmmm....mustard....mmmhmmm.

New shoes make me pretty happy. Mustard colored shoes make me even happier.

So tomorrow, I'll wear my lovely new yellow shoes and herd small children in public.

Yeah, I feel the envy.

Pfft.

But it is really great, in a strange sort of way, that Hans and I are able to do what we do after this past year and a half.

Mama shakes the dreamland tree

2007-01-10T15:13:00.000-05:00

Pillows & blankets are a big deal in the Rue household. One big snuggery around here!

I end up making lots of special pillows and blankies for the kids from things we recycle.

Ella's kitty pillow above is a vintage handmade bib on top of matelasse remnants I had from making her bedroom curtains. I found the old queen size matelasse at a local antique store for $5.00...priced so low because it had large rust stains running across it. An overnight soak in Oxyclean took care of that, I use Oxyclean on all of my delicate vintage linens.

The bib was found on Ebay for a couple of dollars with storage stains as well. Ella loves to look at Ebay and picked it out herself, at the time I had no idea what we would actually do with it! I cut off the bib ties and treated it like one large applique with little bitty, hard to see stitches to hold it in place.

A very back-lit photo of Ella's curtains from this morning, the sun says Hello to her room first. Love love love that ball fringe.

Our old pram is there, stuffed with all of her softies. That pram has been used for every baby in our family. I have a picture of my older brother looking like a little peanut in it from 36 years ago. When my son Finn was born, I relined it with a black & white toile. The last time it had been lined was in blue checks when my little brother was born in the early Eighties. It has a top...hiding somewhere in my messy house.

Now Finn wants more modern pillows. When he out grows a favorite t-shirt and is sad to see it go, I'll make a pillow out of it instead, just like the Spiderman one there. These make great soft, bonk someone on the head without guilt, pillows

Not that I usually feel too much guilt when I bonk someone on the head.

Cause, you know, sometimes you just have to.

His skull pillow is super simple all fleece. Fleece can make you feel good again about sewing when you've been frustrated by other fabrics. So soft...so freaking easy to work with. I just cut out the skull and appliqued it on the black background.

My next recycle the munchkin stuff will be a quilt, and maybe a pillow, of Ella's old dresses. She has had so many precious dresses that I just didn't want to give away, but I don't really have the storage room for them, so I've been cutting them up into tiny squares for a simple patchwork quilt.

I need to take a picture of the growing pile of dress squares...this might be a big quilt!

2007-01-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

The new sewing machine and I are making progress...maybe even a truce has happened.

I've probably just jinxed myself.

Above is a close up of the pocket on a dress that I just made for Ella. I'm in love with that fancy little scallop stitch.

It's a sweet little dirndl, but still a bit too big for her. The floral corduroy is soft, and I lined it in cotton brown with cream polka dots.

In my home if something stands still long enough I will paint it. It just happens... I get what my Mama calls "a crazy hair up my butt" (wow...when you type that it looks kind of crude, but it never fails to make me laugh!) and I have to paint. Hans has expressed the fear that he will one day wake up to find himself in the perfect shade of chartreuse.

Gads, I love chartreuse. The color...not the liqueur.

The lighting in this picture bites. Our weather is still gorgeous here in Georgia... my windows are open today, but the light is still dim enough that pictures suffer.

This is our dining room that I had made the mistake of painting in a flat sheen. At the time I had no idea that every child who enters this home would find it too hard to resist fondling these walls. What is that? What are they looking for?

But this time they will be thwarted! I'm putting up a fabulous semi gloss in the prettiest blue shade. I actually took in a bag from Restoration Hardware to the home improvement's paint department for a color match. The girl only looked at me like I was crazy for a few seconds.

Then she tried to tell me that if I did it in a flat sheen it would be washable. I looked at her like she was crazy for more than a few seconds and asked nicely if she had any children? No? Then do it in a semi gloss like I asked and I'll stop laughing at you.

Dang! Update this thing already!

2007-01-03T10:22:00.000-05:00

A rare egg cup Lumpling.

Odd pudgy Lumplings that do not seem to have any legs...they prefer to be snuggled into an egg cup.

Just don't try to crack his head!

2007

We've been so busy around here with holiday stuff. But the tree is down, the candy canes have been put away and a new year is at hand. Hans went back to work yesterday, Finn will go back to school tomorrow, while Ella and I will hopefully fall back into our daily routine.

Routines are nice. Boring is lovely.

My xmas gift from Hans was a fancy sewing machine! Right now the machine and I are getting to know each other and it has involved much cussing on both parts, but I've almost tamed it!

The Stockings were hung...

2006-12-24T21:04:00.000-05:00

by the chimney with care.

The Nutcrackers are standing guard, on the look out for Santa and his reindeer!

While two little kids toss & turn in bed, hoping that visions of sugar plums will soon be theirs... but all of this excitement keeps sleep away.

I feel like Christmas just snuck up on me from outta nowhere!

We've been so busy and the weather here has been very warm.

But oh, tomorrow morning should be fantastic! I know the kids will be hopping happy when they see their gifts and actually get to open them.

And later my Mom and brothers will come over! We haven't seen my older brother in several years now and the kids are so curious about him. I'm really hoping to sneak a picture of him. He's never been the type to let me take a picture, but now I'm older and sneakier.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I truly hope you all feel as blessed as I do this season.

A beautiful sight...we're happy tonight

2006-12-23T13:58:00.000-05:00

Hans brought an entire bunch of these gorgeous Thistle blooms home,

and I'm so in love with them.

Such a darling man to bring flowers to me...and to know me so well that he brings thistles instead of something too sweet and fluffy.

Also loving my mail lady this week! A huge new batch of baker's twine for Lumpling tags and a vintage crafting book make life a wee bit kinder this holiday season.

Today I've been making bunches of Snickerdoodle cookies to give to our neighbors so the house smells just like a home should; cinnamon and sugar!

Tonight, we will go door to door with cookies and the handmade scarves for the neighborhood children. When we get back home there will be a gingerbread house to decorate and hot chocolate for all.

And after all of that wonderful, almost too perfect, holiday love I will lock myself in a room and get frantic with wrapping paper and gifts. Hans has wrapped my gifts and nestled them under the tree which has caused Ella to cry and look pitiful because she wants her gifts under the tree too.

She doesn't quite understand that Mama is lazy and hasn't wrapped them yet. One day I'm sure she will understand, but at age three it doesn't click.

We Want Some Figgy Pudding

2006-12-21T20:44:00.000-05:00

Our new German gummy bear ornament:

In Lumpling news:

I've been working down the line of people who emailed regarding the extra Lumplings. There is just one Lumpling left! I'm waiting to hear back from someone about it and if they don't want her I'll keep on moving down that list.

I will, of course, email the rest of the people on the list with my apologies if this Lumpling gets adopted before her picture gets sent to all.

I was so surprised at how many emails I received regarding these extra Lumplings! I had no idea there were so many of you out there reading this blog!

I feel slightly paranoid now. In a good way!

Last night I taught the children how to make paper snowflakes. We made several each and taped them in the front window.

While we were cutting away our snowflakes the doorbell rang and I almost didn't answer it because it was dark and I couldn't imagine who would be here that late, but then I could see the glow of what looked like a lot of candles and I opened the door to a group of people singing christmas carols!

I've never had that happen before and I wasn't sure what to do really... so I stood there holding Finn and Ella next to me like the people do in commercials. I couldn't help thinking that maybe I was supposed to tip them or something.

At the end of the song the loudest singer barely finished the last line before saying "That's enough", and they all took off.

It was a slice of suburbia that I've never had before. I grew up in a nice suburb of Atlanta and people there would never dare come to our house to sing. We had a reputation as a party house and the neighbors hated us!

My mom had a soft spot for kids whose parents had tossed them out...for some reason that happened to a lot of kids I knew growing up. But mom took them all in and they would sleep in our basement. You could walk down there at any point in the day and see at least five guys sprawled out asleep. We had pot heads, skin heads, skaters, hippies, punks, death rock kids and everything in between living with us. And my mom was known as the coolest lady around. Here she was a single mom to three kids and she took everyone in and fed them without complaining. I seriously don't remember her ever bitching about it.

Oh, and we had five dogs and about thirteen cats... so the neighbors really hated us!

Usually my communication with our closest neighbors involved my middle finger and turning up Siouxsie & the Banshees a bit louder.

Heh. Yeah. Good times.

But our neighbors here are so nice that they sing to us!

And tomorrow we've been invited to a neighborhood Christmas party!

As Mama would say: Hot Damn!

about those extra Lumplings...

2006-12-16T18:35:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to let everyone

know that I've gotten all of the emails asking about those extra Lumplings!

I will reply to everyone tonight!

I've had more requests than I have Lumplings, so when those Lumplings are all done and ready to be adopted I will start down the line of people and email with a Lumpling picture and a chance to adopt it. If rejected, then I move to the next person.

Is this Lumpling Pimping?

Should I wear a fancy fur coat while doing this?

~~~~~

In other news!

All of the Lumplings that were paid for last night went out this morning and will be coming to everyone via UPS. I like UPS this time of year because we can track those little suckers.

And really, the ladies at the post office start to look a wee bit psycho with Christmas cheer. I'm afraid of them at Christmas. Hell, I'm a little afraid of everyone around Christmas.

But it doesn't feel like Christmas around here... over 70 degrees people!! Jeez Louise!

all my babies leave me....

2006-12-15T13:29:00.000-05:00

A successful adoption has just taken place! I know because my hands are still shaking from typing so much!

Mistle & Toto here were by far the most requested and they were snatched up at once.

I kept back a few Lumplings that I wanted to dress and make tiny Lumps for, so they will go up in the next few days.

If you are super interested in adopting one of these extra Lumplings, drop me a line and I'll send you a picture first before putting them on the site!

So now things really start to hop here in Lumpling land!

Invoices must be made and sent out to everyone. All of the adopted Lumplings will get name tags and a small birth certificate that my sweet husband, Hans, prints out for me using canvas on his big professional printer. Everyone gets wrapped up in spotted tissue paper and tucked in a sturdy box.

Meanwhile, my children and kitten look on wide eyed and somewhat distressed that I'm sending Lumplings away. They all do their best to sneak away with Lumplings before I've put them up for adoption.

Many many thanks to everyone for coming to see the Lumplings today. I'm so proud and humbled by the interest in them and all of the Lump Love!

Lumpling Update!

2006-12-13T21:28:00.000-05:00

**((While I sent this notice out to everyone that has signed up on my mailing list, I've received lots of "blocked for Spam" responses! especially from Comcast and AOL email addresses. I don't know a way around that happening, so hopefully everyone will see the notice here!))**

Hello Everyone!

Do you hear the pitter patter of little Lumpling feet?
Here comes a new Lumpling herd!
http://www.amyrue.com/

They will all go online on:
Friday, December 15th
At 1pm Eastern Standard

If you see a Lumpling that you would like to adopt, please email me at amy@amyrue.com and
I will send a Paypal invoice your way or a note letting you know the Lumpling was already snatched up.

Remember to ‘refresh’ the adopt page every few minutes, because I start putting up the ‘adopted’ notices as soon as I can!

I have more than just Lumplings in the shop now; there are little carryalls, pillows, soaps and other fun items. If there is something that you would like to add to your invoice, just let me know!

Sometimes Lumplings go very fast and I will be typing my little heart out replying to emails, but I do reply to
every email. If you don’t hear back from me, please check your ‘spam’ folder… sometimes those emails are sneaky.

Adoption fees are Paypal only.
Shipping for one Lumpling $6.00 in North America and $8.00 International.

Please remember that Lumplings should still be considered choking hazards with wee babies under age three.
or anyone who likes to gnaw on little animals. You know who you are.

2006-12-07T13:18:00.000-05:00

~~~

This week my mind has been focused on the Kim Family.

My heart and my prayers go out to brave brave Kati Kim and her beautiful little girls. I hope that in this time of sadness that she can feel all of the warm thoughts being sent her way from people all over the world.

~~~

Wee felt trees came together for our Holiday village last night. Lucky for me this is sturdy wool felt because I'm too lazy too add a bottom and stuffing. Maybe I should pink the bottom edge?

I found a wooden village to put together for super cheap on Ebay and I've been wrestling with hot glue and small wood bits since yesterday.

The village will probably just get painted white until I feel all more holiday crafting urges next year... I might already be tapped out this year!

We had such a nice time at Disney World. They even had a Santa there for my kids to attack.

Thank goodness this was the first year that Ella didn't scream and claw her way over my head to get away from the evil Santa. She always remains calm until that last crucial moment when Santa beckons and you start that slow walk to him... all Hell breaks loose!

But this Santa at Disney was a smart Santa. He came through the line and introduced himself to Finn & Ella before they came into his area. Good Santa.

Last night I also worked on the next herd of Lumplings. I really hope to have a decent amount of them for the next adoption...complete with babies and tiny ornaments. I started making the wee felt trees to go with the Lumplings, but it didn't quite work out the way I was thinking...so it was off to the village for them!

Bippity Boppity Boo!

2006-11-25T19:39:00.000-05:00

Freshly Hand made Minnie dress for the daughter? check.

Crazy magician hat with Mouse ears for the son? check.

Glow sticks for waving about at parades? check.

Xanax for the nutso Mama? Double check.

Heh.

Watch out, Mouse, We's a comin'!

red & green find a way

2006-11-19T14:46:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone for your sweet thoughts and comments on Friday.

You can't feel too very alone in blogland, I'm finding!

teensy red & green lady apples that Ella went ga-ga for at the market.

Finn polished one off in four bites.

Love those fuzzy little stems.

Ella and I made two of these button trees today while Hans was actually baking. Hans Baking?

I stayed very quiet about it and didn't question him. I can't remember the last time he decided to make cakes and muffins. Sure, sure, he's a famous chef in these parts, but won't usually bake unless he has to. Baking requires measuring...he hates that!

But the blueberry corn muffins? To die for.

When Hans went to the market today a man came up to tell Hans how much he loves his cooking show and how he followed him on the Food Network. This happens every day, so not too alarming, except then the man wanted to look in Hans' shopping buggy to see what he was buying. Wouldn't you know this was the day that I sent Hans out to buy a huge supply of Toilet paper?!?

Jeez louise.

Our car still isn't ready. Hopefully it will be by Thanksgiving so we can make a trip to my Grandma's several hours away.

But living in a small town has friendly perks. The body shop manager called me on Friday to give a progress report and was worried that the car won't be ready by Thanksgiving. He has offered that we take his brand new suv on our trip!

How nice is that? Super freaking nice!

I told him no, of course...jeez, we might smack another deer on the road!

pretty girls make graves

2006-11-17T14:20:00.000-05:00

He was just a social drinker, but social every night.

He enjoyed a pint or two or three or four.

She was just a silent thinker,

silent every night.

He'd enjoyed the thought of killing her before.

~The Beautiful South

When we were 16 I played that Beautiful South song for my best friend, Tracey.

I remember telling her that it made me think of her and her boyfriend, Dave.

Tracey smiled at those first lines and nodded, but when it reached that last line, "he'd enjoyed the thought of killing her before..." Tracey frowned and said, "No. David would never hurt me."

"No..yeah...of course," I stumbled "I didn't mean that line. Of course he wouldn't really hurt you...just the other lines" I finished lamely.

But by the time we were 20, in 1994, Tracey was pregnant with Dave's baby. Dave didn't want a baby and she told him to Fuck off...she was having that baby girl with or without him.

I was so proud of her.

But David became erratic and he was popping drugs by the handful. He started claiming that he was God of all things. Tracey tried to get him help. One place prescribed something...I think an antidepressant.

On November 17th, 1994 David came to Roffler School of Hair where Tracey was learning to be a hair stylist. He asked to see Tracey and they left together. The other students later said that Tracey was even more quiet than normal that day.

He murdered my best friend and their baby girl still in Tracey's womb on Allgood road in Marietta, Georgia.

He took her car, with her little body still in it, and drove to Alabama where a police officer began pursuit of the speeding blue Honda. David finally stopped at the large bridge in Mobile, Alabama. I remember being told that he jumped off the bridge and that a cop jumped after him, but I don't know if that's really true.

But they got him and then they found Tracey in the car.

And then suddenly, you are expected to go on living as if part of you wasn't just ripped out violently.

Tracey was my first real friend. She loved pigs, wisteria, tea, and Morrissey. Tracey was tiny, barely five feet and under a hundred pounds. Her hair was the most beautiful shade of red that I've ever seen. She didn't walk, she would glide. Tracey had a lovely little throaty laugh that I still hear in my dreams. She was intelligent and quiet. We stayed up late just to watch The Young Ones, 120 minutes and silly old horror movies and would wake up early to catch Pee Wee's Playhouse. She didn't do drugs, but loved a bottle of Boone's farm.

I was six days older than her. She hated it when I told people that.

One of our last conversations was about who would come to our funerals. We were just morbid like that, I guess. Tracey felt that her funeral would be poorly attended. But it was freaking packed.

I go to the grave yard as much as possible. Especially holidays and today. Ella and I brought some tiny white pumpkins and holly bush cuttings today. Tracey was so very good about going to a dear friend's grave and bringing flowers... and she mentioned more than once how important that was to her to honor our friends.

So I carry on.

Not a day goes by that I don't still think of her and miss her. What would she think about now? About the internet, blogs, ipods, me married to Hans and our children? Her daughter would be eleven, almost twelve. She would have been a kick ass mom.

David got off on Insanity. The last that I heard of him, he was working at a restaurant in Atlanta.

During High school, I would pick her up in my beat up old Volvo early in the morning. We would both have a cup of tea and I would bum a Camel light cigarette from her. Tra and I would sit in the parking lot at school, crank up The Smiths, and linger over one more cigarette while we made faces at the cheer leaders bopping by. Christ, how could they be that peppy that early?

In Tracey, I had a soul connection. I was so lucky to know that.

tick tock tick tock

2006-11-15T21:27:00.000-05:00

I think that we have about twenty different kids in the neighborhood that we try to give a little something to for Christmas. Yeah, yikes. This year I'm pretty pleased with what we've come up with for most of them; fleece scarves! I found some great striped fleece and got serious with my rotary cutter last night.

Ella and Finn are thrilled with them and now have a couple of new scarves each. It's nice how something so simple to do can impress the munchkins. Hopefully, it will impress the neighborhood munchkins too. If I have time, I'm going to make some clothes pin dolls to tuck into the scarf roll with a note on how to work a 'Worry Doll'.

Going crazy stuck at home with no car.... day three.

Yesterday, I stuck myself in the kitchen and made a cake, snickerdoodles, and a casserole.

I also made a dress and bloomers for Ella, more fleece scarves and more Lumplings.

Hans thinks that it's good for me to be stuck at home with all that I'm getting done.

Oh no...it's not.

There's no telling what will happen next... I might organize my desk. God forbid!

mmm...snickerdoodle!

Like a Deer In The Headlight

2006-11-13T10:20:00.000-05:00

We hit a deer...or the deer hit us, really. But if this would have happened a second earlier, the results would have been a lot more severe. The deer could have hit the windshield, and the airbags would have gone off and we would have probably gone off the road. Yeah, that's how I try to make myself feel better, by going over how it could be worse. We weren't speeding, and the deer came out of someone's yard at such an amazing pace that we didn't see her until she collided with the car.

I'm so so glad that my children weren't in the car to see and hear that.

As it was, when we finally came to a stop, and I looked up, there was a large white cross and drying flowers there. A man had just died at that spot recently, and his name, as it was written in marker on the cross, was Tommy.

Do they do that all over the country, or is it just in the South? When someone dies in a car accident, a cross and flowers are left there.

Places to hold your breath as you drive by.

Our nearest neighbors both work at the body shop in town where my poor scooter pooter car is now. They told us that our car is the seventh car to come in since last week that was involved in hitting a deer. It's rutting season, they explained, and the girl deers are trying to get away from the boy deers and running all willy nilly.

Our deer ran off, even after flipping several times when the car hit her. I hope that she's alright, but I honestly don't see how she could be.

pin, little doggy, pin!

2006-11-10T22:10:00.000-05:00

Have I introduced my little pin dog? I have a habit of adopting old planters from antique/junk stores, and for years they've just been sitting around looking cute. But once I started to sew and realized that I must have a pin cushion for every room in the house, my planters gained a new life! I've also attacked vintage egg cups and small tea cups with my pin cushion making frenzy, but this little pink dog with his blank stare and cracked body is my favorite.

If you would like to make your own little pin pal:

First, weight the bottom with either pea gravel or sand.

Next, cut a circle of fabric and run a loose stitch around the edges with sturdy upholstery thread.

Pull the thread ends a bit to form a pouch, and stuff it firmly with poly fill or wool.

Now pull the threads tight and knot them.

You can now tuck this little poof into the planter. If it doesn't feel sturdy enough, you can run a bead of hot glue around the edges before putting the poof in, but I usually just lodge it in there tightly in case I ever want to change the fabric.

I've been making a little dress for Ella this week, and that has required a lot of ironing. Hans gets a bit giddy when I'm on an ironing spree and unloads all of his shirts on my ironing table. He says that he likes the way the house smells when I iron, and I have to agree that it has almost as much of a welcome home smell as cookies in the oven. But I think that he's really just playing on my domestic side so that I keep ironing and he keeps smooth shirts.

I keep a silver creamer filled with water and a drop of lavender water next to the iron for frequent refills, and that Dritz ezy-hem? It's a handy gadget for the hemming impaired like me.

If anyone makes a pin pal, send pictures! I'd love to see them!

Empty House, Warm Egg

2006-11-09T20:28:00.000-05:00

Our son, Finn, has taken to eating soft boiled eggs in the morning before school. It's not a very common for children in the states and when I went looking for fun egg cups online they were all in England. Except for this little guy, the Egg Robot! He keeps the egg warm and holds the spoon for Finn when not in use.

Finn's eyes bugged out of his head when I surprised him with it this week. I love those eye popping happy kid moments.

From the same seller on Ebay I also ordered a toast press that was supposed to leave the impression of the Virgin Mary on my toast. I was really looking forward to toast with pictures(obviously, I am easily amused), but sadly, you have to squint really hard to see Mary.

We found this old farmhouse last weekend while driving some backroads. The people living here would have had a fantastic view of pasture and mountains beyond. But it was obviously left empty years ago, and it feels forlorn now.

Lumplings are coming right along and I hope to have an update soon. One of the Lumpling adoptions fell through with that last batch, so I'll be putting that Lump back on the site tomorrow probably.

Gettin' an itch and scratchin' it twice.

2006-11-03T14:11:00.000-05:00

The Halloween decorations are down and I'm feeling that Christmas itch. The past couple of nights I've been ordering vintage ribbons and fabrics for the Holiday Lumplings. Where would Lumplings be without late night Ebaying and online fabric stores? We live rather far out from decent fabric and thrift stores, and the internet is a blessing for supplies.

~Single layer pink dress on a green minky Lump~

I've been working on the Lumpling dresses again. The newest style is just like a child's pillowcase dress...a tube of fabric with armholes cut out and ribbon threaded through the top.

I made a darling one for Ella out of a vintage embroidered pillowcase and she refuses to wear it, so we'll see if the Lumplings prove easier to please!

I dunno though...they do kind of look like maternity dresses. Roly poly waddling pregnant Lumplings? Noo...lumplings don't do that!

~Double layer pillowcase dress on a velveteen Lumpling~

My favorite book lately is this fantastic guide of Japanese children's fabrics. Full of adorable and inspiring images like the bunnies below.

Making Halloween!

2006-10-30T13:15:00.000-05:00

We've been busy little Halloween bees around here. Last week, Hans and I took the children to see Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D, and it was wonderful. We watch that movie every single year, and it was special to see it in a new way this year.
Saturday was party day here and we invited our friends and neighbors over for cupcakes and general mayhem. All of the kids dressed up and most of the parents too! We had faeries, genies, princesses, scarecrows, skeletons, puppies and kitties too.

I was a pirate wench...but Ella did not approve because I was lacking a proper hat.

The house was shiny clean before the party and decked out in all of it's Halloween finery.

"What do you do with all of this Halloween stuff the rest of the year?!" was heard more than once.

I never have any structure to our parties. It's just a general invite to come into our home, eat snacks and drink. One little girl came up to me early in the evening, looking concerned, and asked "so uh...what are we supposed to be doing here? I mean, what's the point?".

Cracked me up.

Obviously, she's used to more planned parties, with games and contests. But the thought of rounding up 15 children ranging in ages from 2 to 8 and trying to organize something other than complete chaos intimidates me too much. So it's cupcakes and freedom to run wild for me!

Is he about to bonk the princess on the head?

We are excited about going trick or treat tomorrow night! Last year, Hans had just begun Chemo/Radiation and didn't feel well enough to walk the neighborhood, but this year he is so much better and I look forward to walking as a family again.

three, two,one...

2006-10-19T13:14:00.000-04:00

Here we go!

The newest herd will be at amyrue.com in a minute or so.

If you see a Lumpling you would like to adopt,

email me at amy@amyrue.com

I will either send a Paypal invoice or a note letting you know that the Lumpling was already adopted. I will update the page frequently with the adoption updates.

Adoption fees are paypal only.

Shipping is $6.00 in the United States and $8.00 International.

Shh...sneaky sneaky now

2006-10-18T22:26:00.000-04:00

My lamp lady can keep a secret...can you?

A new herd of Lumplings will be sneaking on the amyrue.com website tomorrow.

Sneaking because I'm not announcing them in a mass email yet.

I want the loyal blog readers to have first dibs. It's a small herd with some Halloween ones.

I'll announce it here on the blog when they go up and give all of the purchase info then too.

Yeah, I know it's overkill

2006-10-13T13:47:00.000-04:00

And that's okay with me. Halloween overkill is just what I do.

A close up with some of our Halloween guys.

And that is my favorite little vintage glass lamp ever, but the lampshade needs help. I'm thinking Polka dots. I'm usually thinking Polka Dots...or stripes....stripes are nice.

Halloween clutter around the fireplace in full. The painting is one of my Mother's landscapes, it's hard to see the true colors and textures of it through this picture. My Mom is a fantastic fine artist, as is my Grandmother, but did I get any of that talent? Noooope. I can make cutesy left and right and upside down, but never could I just pick some oil paints and whip up something like this. That's okay though... I wouldn't have the Lumplings if I didn't do cute.
We took the kids to the most popular pumpkin patch around North Georgia, Burt's Pumpkin Farm.

We always let them pick out a special pumpkin or squash to bring home and Finn picked out this knobbly little green thing. Look how freaking excited he is about that weird ass little green thing! It has a place of honor on top of his dresser with all of his other treasures.

Weird kid. Where in the world does he get that from?

ahem.

Hans got to pick out his own special wheelbarrow. Aw.

This weekend I'm working on several Lumplings and Pillows, so hopefully next week I'll have some things to put up in the shop.

I Squish Your Head!

2006-10-07T23:14:00.000-04:00

We had a perfect Fall morning making Halloween Cupcakes

They were going to be complete little skeletons on each cupcake, but we got lazy so they are just little skelly heads.

I squish your head!

The children and I poked holes in mini marshmallows with skewers, and then filled the holes with sprinkles to make a face. Some marshmallows ended up as cyclops or they had tiny devil horns.

Aww...now we eat you!

~~~

Later we hit the annual Georgia Marble Festival in Jasper, Georgia. This is only the second year in something like 13 years that Hans and I haven't been working a booth there selling his Father's marble sculptures and planters. Our area is full of marble, in the yard of our previous home there were huge chunks of white and pink marble all over the yard and supporting the house itself. Heavy crap to move around.

~~~

Hans is printing our Halloween Party invites for all of the kids in the 'hood right now.

Lots and lots of fun with munchkins running all over the house in their costumes! Gotta make more cupcakes!

Whistle while you work

2006-10-05T13:13:00.000-04:00

Here is the recipe for our all purpose cleaning powder.

I keep small shakers of this next to sinks and a larger jar for carpet sprinkles.

The nice thing about this is that you not only save bunches of money by not buying so many different cleaning supplies, but you know exactly what's in this and that it's safe for your family.

It works like a charm and your house never has that synthetic cleaning product smell!

Please be careful with rosemary oil when pregnant; it's strong stuff!

Lavender oil is perfect for cleaning bedrooms and children's bathrooms...it's a natural disinfectant. Lemon or Peppermint oil give the kitchen a crisp clean feel.

~~~

I'm in cleaning mode still, even though I feel pretty icky run down with a cold.

I really want to have another batch of Halloween Lumplings up this month, but I avoid working on them when I have a cold. See, I have enough paranoia for us all!

Instead I've been cleaning our studio space and doing tons of laundry. My laundry must be related to rabbits because I swear it breeds more laundry in those baskets when I'm not looking.

While it still looks a cluttered mess, it's actually clean to me!

Is it safe to come out?

2006-09-27T14:22:00.000-04:00

Whew! All of the Lumplings were adopted after only being up a few minutes!

I've replied to everyone and sent out the invoices... err, if you haven't heard from me, or didn't get an invoice please let me know!

I'm pretty sure I'll need botox to get rid of this crease between my eyebrows and little finger splints. As I'm typing to people and updating the site with which Lumplings are adopted, I found myself with my face all squinched up and typing like a maniac.

Neko the crazy kitten gets very concerned whenever she spots us packing up Lumplings.

Neko is very much into comfort plushies. She doesn't play with the Lumplings that will be on the site, but the kid's Lumplings are attacked and snuggled daily.

Our kitten carries around a tiny fleece dragon finger puppet. She flings it into the air and runs all willy nilly around the house with it between her teeth. Sometimes she'll hide it from herself and act all surprised when she uncovers it later.

A close up of Treat. I freaking love Treat, he kind of has a glum expression. It was Hans' idea that I make a little candy corn buddy...and this from a man that doesn't even like candy corn!

Here's the gang, all together for the last time!

Now they are being boxed up and sent all over the world.

I hope that they bring some Halloween love to all of their new homes!

2006-09-25T13:27:00.000-04:00

Do you hear the pitter patter of little Lumpling feet?
Here comes a new Lumpling herd!
http://www.amyrue.com

They will all go online on:
Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
At 1pm Eastern Standard

If you see a Lumpling that you would like to adopt, please email me at amy@amyrue.com and
I will send a Paypal invoice your way or a note letting you know the Lumpling was already snatched up.

Remember to ‘refresh’ the adopt page every few minutes, because I start putting up the ‘adopted’ notices as soon as I can!

I have more than just Lumplings in the shop now; there are little carryalls, pillows, soaps and other fun items. If there is something that you would like to add to your invoice, just let me know!

Sometimes Lumplings go very fast and I will be typing my little heart out replying to emails, but I do reply to
every email. If you don’t hear back from me, please check your ‘spam’ folder… sometimes those emails are sneaky.

Adoption fees are Paypal only.
Shipping for one Lumpling $6.00 in North America and $8.00 International.

Please remember that Lumplings should still be considered choking hazards with wee babies under age three.
Or anyone who likes to gnaw on little animals. You know who you are.

Autumn Equinox

2006-09-23T21:21:00.000-04:00

We celebrated the first day of Fall with a trip to Japan Festival at Stone Mountain Park today.

It was a crush, full of people, so we didn't get any decent pictures except for the origami treats that we came away with.

We stopped at the Buford Highway Farmer's Market on the way home. It's an International market and they have lots of strange and fun things to goggle at.

I snatched up this little pink box of cookies. Finn asked me what was in the box, and I had to admit that I had no earthly idea. Finn sighed, "Mama, you only got this because it has a Puffy headed character on it, didn't you? You always want things with Puffy Poofy heads"

Yup.

We picked up this old tin dollhouse from a junk dealer on the side of the road some weeks back.

I've given one coat of white paint, and it needs more, but I couldn't wait any longer to put it in the dining room as our Holiday House. I have grand plans to deck it out for each holiday...but check with me next year to see if I hold true. I'm famous for coming up with things and never keeping it up.

It sits on a huge antique mirror backed sidebar that belonged to my Great Grandmother Ella Catherine. The sidebar is a pretty dark wood with elaborate carvings throughout and lately I've been dreaming about painting it white. I just found out from my mom that it was painted white when she was a little girl, but when it passed down to my Grandfather he had it stripped and stained.

Maybe one day when I feel like taking on a huge project, this sidebar is massive.

This evening we had roast chicken, mashed sweet potatoes and green beans before taking what is becoming our nightly neighborhood walk. Later, we played with glow in the dark sticks in the back yard and looked for stars peeking out from behind the clouds.

It was, quite simply, a wonderful way to begin my favorite season.

Now, I'm going to go fall on my face.

2006-09-22T20:51:00.000-04:00

The night is still

and the frost it bites my face

I wear my silence like a mask

and murmur like a ghost

"Trick or Treat"

The bitter and the sweet

~Siouxsie & The Banshees

I'm almost done with the newest herd of Lumplings.

Almost...barely...not quite yet!

But I'm thinking that they will launch early next week. Maybe Tuesday?

I'll be sure to update here and send out an email to the list when I know for sure.

The days and nights have been cooler here in North Georgia, and I'm revelling in it. I've been so ready for cardigan weather again. I've been on a cleaning streak around the house; windows and bathrooms positively sparkle!

Hans says that most people might get Spring Cleaning Fever, but I've always had Fall Cleaning Fever.

Hans and I are very proud that our son, Finn, tested so high that his school enrolled him in the 'Gifted Program'. I don't like that they call it "Gifted"... it just seems like an exalted label that might give some kids a big ego. Not saying that my kid will get a big ego...but, you know.

Hans said that for a while our school system called the class 'Discovery', and I like that... because it is a class where they are discovering new things.

Finn is a bit miffed that he still won't be learning science in school. He'll have to keep learning that on his own at home. My darling little nerd.

I was explaining to my daughter that women are born with eggs in their belly, and that maybe one day when she's married (!), one of her eggs will become a baby.

Trying to keep it simple, but honest.

Ella tells me, "Um, Mama, I don't have a baby in my eggs."

"You don't?" I ask

"nope, I got broccoli in my eggs"

Merry Fall Equinox everyone!

Lumpling left behind...

2006-09-20T14:15:00.000-04:00

Update! Piffle Lumpling has a new home!

There will probably be a new Lumpling herd early next week!

There is one little Lumpling Lurking at amyrue.com.

It's poor Piffle from the last adoption... his adoption fees were never paid!

So I hope that there is a home out there ready to love him, because we both feel bummed about his being dropped.

Blogger isn't letting me post pictures today or I'd show Piffle's cute little mug!

Halloween fever strikes

2006-09-12T12:32:00.000-04:00

well i live with snakes and lizards

and other things that go bump in the night

cos to me everyday is halloween

~Ministry

I'm all sorts of eager itchy for Halloween. This is my favorite time of the year to shop and make things... Boo for my wallet, but yay for anyone that likes to adopt Lumplings!

The new Lumpling herd is coming right along! All of the Lumps are lovely fall and Halloween colors... a cute little batch of Halloweenies that I'm having a great time making.

Yesterday, I pulled out two great big tubs full of our Halloween decorations. The kids were jumping all around and chattering with excitement over each and every treasure.

I will restrain myself from decorating outside until October first, but inside the house is fair game!

Three new pillows just went up at amyrue.com!
We also have a couple of jars of Hans' new honey spice rub left. Ms Sarah over at Out of the Blue sold out in two days and I'm almost out at amyrue too! Hans is going to find himself back in that kitchen mixing if this keeps up!

The Drama of 'Little Guy'

Last year, while shopping at TJ Maxx Ella found this dusty little plushy for 99cents and fell in love. She named him Little Guy and has to have him every night to sleep. The Lumplings are understandably bitter about this, but Ella has no sympathy for them.

Little Guy's soft satin ears are falling off and he somehow has a slash across his face. We keep telling Ella not to play with knives, but you know how preschoolers are.

I knew that I would never be able to sew Little Guy's face and ears back without him looking like Little Frankenstein, so I began the search for a replacement.

After cursing people on Ebay a bit I finally won a new Little Guy and he arrived safely this week. I was biting my lip when I gave him to Ella, because you know this is kind of like an organ transplant...will it take or be rejected?

Sigh of relief that he has been accepted! and the old Little Guy is staying around to show the new Guy the ropes (and knives).

Little Guy is a Cozy Cradle doll from Manhattan Toy He's just the right size for little arms to cuddle and safe for even the smallest babes. I had to hunt a new one down Ebay style, but I highly recommend getting this toy to anyone with small kids!

Giving Thanks

2006-09-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

I am so grateful that Hans' PET scan came out clear. These words seem too small for how I feel... hardly eloquent enough for the true force of my emotions.

No Cancer. My birthday is next week and this is the best gift ever.

Now MD Anderson recommends that we come every six months, instead of every three as we did this past year. I feel pretty mixed about that; on one hand I want Hans to still be looked after closely, but on the other, we will have longer to act like a normal family again.

The doctors were alarmed at Hans' weight, so a feeding tube will probably go back in. We have experience with this, so at least it won't be foreign territory. I yanked the old one out of Hans' belly after he finished radiation last winter which his doctor had told me that I could do, but I guess he didn't really expect me to because he cracked up laughing when Hans told him. He said that he didn't expect any less from me. Which I think is another way of telling Hans that he's married to a weirdo.

The day before we left for Houston, we took the children up to Chattanooga to visit the aquarium and water park. It was a hot day, and there were entire families playing in the fountains, but Finn & Ella managed to eke out a spot to frolic.

Ella wore her Koi dress that I made for her a couple of years ago and we played 'camouflage the Ella' at the koi tank.

In Lumpling land we are in the beginning stages of a new herd. I like this part where I rummage through the fabric closet and find what will soon be a new Lumpling. Mohair, cashmere and minky, oh my! I have three pillows that are almost done and they will go online soon.

New products are being ordered for the Amy Rue store... things that I hope everyone likes as much as we do. The whole family is thrilled with how well the paper hold alls are doing; Ella gets excited everytime we ship them out. She carries her little pink ones around the house, full of play jewelry and princess lip gloss.

2006-08-24T13:33:00.000-04:00

I've been making these Lumpling applique pictures the past few days. I'm so nervous about Hans' tests next week that I haven't been able to concentrate on starting a new herd of Lumps, but these appliques have kept my hands busy.

Hans isn't feeling well... he's caught the same icks that I had a few days ago. He's home from work today and trying to sleep through this. He's desperate to catch a break; the shingles just stopped itching like mad a few days ago and now this awful cold.

I know Hans mentioned Robin on his journal the other day. We've been following Robin's story through his girlfriend's livejournal since last fall. I was blown away when I checked Melisa's livejournal on the 21st to learn that Robin had passed away. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer last August...the day after Hans' surgery. They had just found out that the cancer had returned at the end of July... it just all seems so sudden to me...so fast.

One time, Sonja's (Hans' sister) doctors told her parents that her time had come, to gather the family to say our final goodbye. I was pregnant with Ella at the time and Finn was two. We flew up to Chicago immediately; sad and scared. When we walked into that hospital room, Sonja looked gorgeous. Sonja stayed strong for about a year and a half after that, before we lost her.

So maybe I thought it would be longer for Robin... I'm just so sad for his family. Even though I don't really know them. I'm thinking of them.

Hans brought these beautiful roses to me the other day, and I'm so in love with them (him too!).

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with those Lumpling appliques. Should I frame them, or make them into little pillows?

2006-08-19T21:22:00.000-04:00

It's been a big week around here. Yesterday, August 18th, marks the one year anniversary of Hans' first surgery to remove the stomach cancer. I can't even begin to say how much it means to me to reach this. Hans has been through so much this past year... so much pain. Days where we just hold our breath to get through it and hope that when we wake up in the morning that life will be better for him, and then realize that we are just grateful to wake up at all.

On a lighter...and crazier...note; yesterday Hans came home from work and handed a UPS box to me, claiming that the UPS man had delivered to our side door instead of the front. I was confused and told him that the UPS guy had delivered some mohair to me earlier and he definitely came to the front door. Hans shrugged and told me that he was pretty sure that this was something that he had ordered for my birthday, but that I had to open it now because it might spoil.

Oh crap, I thought, he's bought a fish for me. Or food...maybe I was lucky and it was chocolate. Anyway, I cut into the box and right there, nestled in bubble wrap, is a set of shiny keys. Shiny Keys. Shiny. Keys. My mind was totally blank. And then I started crying as it dawned on me that these shiny keys must belong to a shiny car.

Somehow he had managed to buy a new minivan for us. I really should have been suspicious when he said that he had made an appointment for the old car to get an oil change that morning. I always have to nag for weeks before that happens.

We've never had a new car. And seriously, I don't know how he managed to get this one. When I asked if we could afford this, he told me to hush and not worry about it. Worry is so my middle name. Amy Worry Rue. But I'm trying not to worry.

I do love this shiny mini. And it loves me too. The kids are so happy they can't see straight.

Ella in her beautiful dress that I found on Ebay. It's handmade with embroidery on the collar and puff sleeves. The best part is that it came with an organdy pinafore, just like my mom wore as a child. Ella looks like an angel in it. She was so proud, she sighed and said that when people tell her how pretty her dress is, because of course they will, she would tell them that it came straight out of the mail box.

When Finn was just a tiny boy we lived in a small community called Tate. We had a little white cottage with a picket fence and a riot of flowers. Our house was sweet, but very small, and we had to move on to a bigger shell. Our neighbor was an extra sweet widow, Mrs. Forrester, and she would come over to admire Finn on pleasant days. One day, Mrs. Forrester looked at Finn and said, "lord, when that little boy gets older you're going to have to beat the girls away from the door with a broom handle."

when Finn looks like this, I start polishing my broom handle.

The Lumpling adoption went well and everyone was adopted in about thirty minutes.

I was surprised at how popular Goober here was! I didn't know how he would be received, but he had the most requests and I think we'll have more Goober Lumps in the future.

A couple of people wrote and told me that they couldn't get the new page to load, even when refreshing. I really wish that I was more computer savvy to know what to tell them, but I'm not. All I can say is that the new guys were definitely there!

I'm looking into getting shopping cart software for the amy rue site. Where I could state that the quantity is just 1 and it would put a sold notice up as soon as someone purchased the Lumpling. Right now it's an email frenzy where people write to me asking if a Lumpling is still available and I'm writing back to everyone as fast as possible, while updating the site with adopted notices, and getting paypal invoices ready. I really hate telling someone that a Lumpling is already adopted. If there is a way to do this with the Paypal shopping cart, then I haven't figured it out yet!

2006-08-16T08:03:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone!

Do you hear the pitter patter of little Lumpling feet?

Here comes a new Lumpling herd!

http://www.amyrue.com

They will all go online on:Thursday, August 17th at 1pm Eastern Standard

If you see a Lumpling that you would like to adopt, please email me at amy@amyrue.com andI will send a Paypal invoice your way or a note letting you know the Lumpling was already snatched up.

Remember to ‘refresh’ the adopt page every few minutes, because I start putting up the ‘adopted’ notices as soon as I can!

I have more than just Lumplings in the shop now; there are little carryalls, pillows, soaps and other fun items. If there is something that you would like to add to your invoice, just let me know!

Sometimes Lumplings go very fast and I will be typing my little heart out replying to emails, but I do reply to every email. If you don’t hear back from me, please check your ‘spam’ folder… sometimes those emails are sneaky.

Adoption fees are Paypal only.

Shipping for one Lumpling $6.00 in North America and $8.00 International.

Please remember that Lumplings should be considered choking hazards with wee babies under age three.Or anyone who likes to gnaw on little animals. You know who you are.

Thank you!

Amy

New Pillows!

2006-08-12T10:40:00.000-04:00

Hola!

There are four new pillows at amyrue.com!

If you see a pillow that you would like to adopt, email amy@amyrue.com

Shipping is $6.00 for one pillow in the US and usually a couple of dollars more for international.

Payments are through Paypal and I will send an invoice to you. Please let me know if there are other items in the shop that you would like for me to add to the invoice.

If the pillow has already been adopted, I will email you and explain. I update frequently, so hopefully that can be avoided!

xoxo

Amy

2006-08-11T21:40:00.000-04:00

Here is a wee peek at some pillows that will go up at amyrue.com tomorrow morning!

No set time... It's the weekend and I have this ongoing fantasy that the children will let us sleep in. They never do. Too many important things for them to be doing; like tormenting each other and watching cartoons. One day they will realize just how great sleep is... and I will be there to laugh at them.

I've also got a pretty decent sized herd (good thing that didn't read 'turd') of Lumplings getting ready to launch next week. I will be emailing the Lumpling List with that update, so competition will be fierce! I'll update the blog with the date and time too.

Finn just finished his first full week of 1st grade! We are trying to find our rhythm with our new schedule... it always takes us a few weeks. My mind moves at sloth like speed and change screws it up every time. Finn's very excited about school, but a little let down that they won't be teaching chemistry to him this year. Eh? Finn is a fountain of strange knowledge and thirsty for more.

Ella spotted a bottle of wine on the counter and demanded to know just what that bottle is. I told her that it was wine, but not the kind of whine that she has perfected, but the kind of wine that her mama thinks of when she hears an Ella whine. By this time we were both confused, but Ella really wanted to try some. She was fed up with me when I told her that she had to wait until she grew up to have wine and stomped off muttering, "when I grow up, I'm gonna say bad words, drive and drink red wine!". I'll save the lecture about drinking and driving while swearing for when she gets her license. She's all impatient to grow up and I'm eager for her to stay tiny.

We will be heading to MD Anderson for Hans' one year checkup at the end of this month. this will be a big one with lots of scary tests for him to go through to make sure that the cancer is still gone.

There's a trashy novel calling my name... I'll post the pillow update in the morning!

Crayons are fine art.

2006-08-03T16:20:00.000-04:00

The kids and I had a great time making these crayon cakes. We found the idea over at Kiddley.

We used the mini muffin tins so that the final product fits in my three year old's hand better.

Shop Update!

The small pressed paper holdalls are now in the amyrue.com shop!

And as many of you have already discovered, we have some wonderful giclees available too.

There are pieces from Brook Slane and Gus Fink right now and I really hope that I'll have more of their work to choose from soon. If I catch time off from making the Lumplings and Pillows, I'll be able to offer some of my little paintings again...they all sold out last summer!

I have two pillows that are about to go up and several more on the way, be sure to check back!

2006-07-31T20:30:00.000-04:00

Our wee cardboard valises have arrived!

My daughter, Ella, almost passed out when she saw the pink ones.

There are three sizes and we have them in cherry red, baby blue (holy crap..I typed baby Glue!)and girly pink.

They'll be going up at amyrue.com very soon!

Finn & Ella are so vain that it makes me laugh. When they see the camera in my hands, the posing and preening starts, and if I don't take the hint immediately, they'll soon demand a picture. Now that they are getting older, I see myself in their faces... silly expressions, serious ones and definitely the mad looks. Ella has my pissed off face down pat...watch out world, you thought that I was scary? Pfft... Ella will have everyone on their knees.

Can't help but be proud.

Funny little Neko is getting bigger. Her fur is so strange.. it used to be solid black, but now her body is going grey with stripes, while her face and paws stay black. I've never seen a cat marked this way. I saw her brother yesterday and he is three times bigger than her! Neko is the runt, but I didn't realize just how much smaller she is.

Hans is in New York right now, he and his coworkers are going on tv studio tours and in the morning Hans is going to be a guest on Dan & Steve's show . He's very excited to see Dan & Steve and everyone else at Food Network. When Hans was in the hospital, everyone at Food Network sent the most beautiful flowers to him...huge arrangements! Hans' room looked like a jungle.

You'd think that I would be getting a ton of sewing done while I'm all lonely...but no, I've been looking online for the kid's halloween costumes ( and mine!). We start getting excited about Halloween early around here. Finn is going to be a glow in the dark skeleton, Ella will be Cinderella and I will be a Pirate lady. Had to order a new corset as my old one that I used to wear clubbing is a bit too...well, revealing. Don't want to scare the neighbors that way!

I'm ready for Fall!

blueberries & bunnies

2006-07-28T15:02:00.000-04:00

Hans brought home a gallon of local blueberries the other day...so we've been a bit blueberry mad around here. I'm ready for summer to be over, but I will miss the fresh blueberries!

More Lumpling pillows are popping up around here. The top one has a pocket with a funny little Lumpling hiding inside. The lower picture shows the sketches that I start with before making them into fabric appliques. Last night I began some more patchwork pillows, so we'll have more of those soon!

Some really lovely fabric came in today that I'm itching to get into, but we are off to a sweet little girl's birthday party! So everything will have to wait! Finn and Ella get positively buzzed when there is a birthday party to attend and they've been bouncing off the walls today. I distracted them by making crayon cupcakes today (thanks to Kiddley for the idea!). I'll post pictures of our success tomorrow. My thumbs hurt from peeling crayon paper.

2006-07-25T11:14:00.000-04:00

thanks go out to everyone for adopting pillows and lumplings last week. I love taking huge stacks of boxes to the post office. I either get a nice post lady who chuckles when she sees it coming, or a grumpy one that sighs and slams things around. Last year I had one make me cry and she's been reeeaaal nice to me ever since. The whole 'don't upset the crazy ones' thing. Hans and I have been known to go to the little village of Tate, where we used to live, for their post office; the ladies there are the nicest ever. When we aren't in a hurry, it's worth the extra drive.

Last Saturday the kids got these cute little squirt cars from their Dairy Queen happy meals.

Finn turned it upside down and decided that it looked like an even cuter toy...with headlight eyes, nubby arms and a square belly. So that night, I made a plushie for him...of course, I added funny little ears and longer legs. I used felted wool for his body and belly pocket. He's a bit primitive, but my first ones usually are. I gave him to Finn as a going back to school gift and he was pretty tickled.

I have more pillows in the works, but blogger is being stubborn about letting me upload more pictures today... I'll have to add the pillow pictures later. There are more Lumplings in the works too, so hopefully I will have an update soon. I have also ordered a new product for the amyrue shop that I'm pretty excited about; little euro cases of pressed paper that will be the perfect size for Lumplings, doll clothes, tiny quilts and other small treasures. I can't wait to see Ella's face when she spots them...they are perfect for small children. We'll have pink, baby blue and red.

Isn't is too early?

2006-07-21T08:25:00.000-04:00

Just a sneak peek of the tiny herd that will be showing up on amyrue.com at

Noon (eastern) today.

How many Lumplings does it take to make a herd?

I woke up early today just to get them ready. But then I realized that it isn't very fair

to everyone on the west coast if I put them up for adoption this early!

It was overcast yesterday so the pictures really aren't the best and I was a flibbertigibbet and forgot to put on the name tags. They have tags now!

Once the pictures go up, email me at amy@amyrue.com if you see one that you'd like to adopt.

Sometimes they go faster than I can type or update the site, so if the Lumpling has already been spoken for I will email with an apology! If it hasn't, I'll send a Paypal invoice to you!

Oh! With such a tiny herd, it will be one Lumpling per person! Thank you!

Updating!

2006-07-20T11:18:00.000-04:00

If you are trying to get on the amy rue website and things seem a bit wonky, it's because I'm updating it today!

Four new pillows were added this morning, and two are already sold.

I've added a gorgeous french violet perfume.

And either tonight, or in the morning, we'll have four Lumplings looking for new homes!

I'm still trying to get my stuff together regarding the lavender sachets...soon, I promise!

The 'Forget Me Not' vases are all sold out. They were lovely and a big hit with everyone, for that I'm very thankful.

Back to updating!

Kitty drama halts Lumpling production!

2006-07-17T22:31:00.000-04:00

Hans on his birthday. His day started out with being in charge of the kids while I had some tests on my foot at the hospital. And then the poor sucker had to go into work.

I did manage to send him a large sunflower arrangement to his work with an obnoxious birthday balloon. That evening we went to see Pirates and we all had a great time there.

Ella told me "You and Dada are pirates. Yeah, and I'm gonna kill you". Isn't she a sweet little thing?

That afternoon the newest and smallest member of our family came to stay.

Please meet little Neko, our kitten:

Only a few hours later, my 14 year old cat, Tiggy was sunning herself on the back deck when a strange dog came and attacked her. I chased him off, but I knew that he had gotten her because her fur was covered in dog saliva. I got her in and she seemed to be in shock, but I couldn't find any blood or wounds. At this point she was able to run and hide under a bed.
Tiggy stayed under the bed the next day, but she would play with a string and purr every time that I came to check on her. I kept telling myself that she was hiding because of the new kitten or the loud work as our kitchen was being redone.

Finally, at four o'clock, I lifted up the mattress and got her out of there. She could hardly walk! Her hips didn't seem to move the right way.

Cursing myself for not getting her out earlier, I called her vet and the receptionist said that they wouldn't see her!! What? She's injured! Grr. Never going back to Wayside Animal Clinic in Jasper again!

I took her to a new place farther away and everyone there was the best! From the receptionist to the nurses, they all cooed and fawned over Tiggy.

If you want to get on my good side...kiss my cat's butt.

Yeah, I'm totally ok with being the crazy cat lady on a hill some day. I'm halfway there with the crazy part down pat.

They took xrays, expecting to find her bladder popped, because she tinkled blood on the counter. The xrays came out fine! But they did find three or four deep puncture wounds on her body. How did I miss those!?

Tiggy now has shaved spots and staples for the larger wounds. I have to give her pain killers and antibiotics every day. Today, four days after her attack is the first day that she's gotten up to actually walk around the house.

So please forgive me for not updating the amy rue shop! I have to find a good way to sew with a kitten about. Neko sat on my head while I tried to sew, but then she launched off to attack the sewing machine! Not good!

I promise that we'll have new items up soon!

There are a few Lumplings, pillows and a Violet perfume from France that are all just waiting to be snatched up!

Shakin' it all off

2006-07-12T13:33:00.000-04:00

First, I want to thank everyone for the sweet words and thoughts that were sent our way after my last post. It really does truly make a difference when you are going through something difficult to have that support.

Here is a sneak peek of some Lumplings and a pillow that will be going up in the shop soon.

I have three more pillows just waiting to be finished at my side. I'll attack them in just a minute!

I think that I've finally figured out Lumpling dresses. For the most part anyway. And this little gal in the picture is wearing the newest Lumpling design. She's awfully snotty about it too. Total Lump attitude.

I've also been selfishly working on a quilt for me. Ella is so offended that I would dare make something with pink fabric and not give it to her.

I'm in the middle of quilting it and then I have to figure out the binding. The binding is always the hardest part for me.

I started by just pulling out all of the fabrics that I'm loving right now. I have some sort of problem when it comes to cutting into a lovely piece of new fabric; it seems bad somehow.

I spend a lot of time with the fabric after I find it; it's washed and then pressed, with lavender water, no less! I fold it and squirrel it away in my fabric closet. And then when I go to start a new project, I fret about cutting it!

Tomorrow is Hans' birthday! 34! Hopefully this year will be much better to him!

2006-07-08T07:32:00.000-04:00

this is the day your life will surely change

-the the

July 2005

One year ago today our life took a major turn.

Hans was feeling unwell; he was weak and dizzy. I had been poking at him to see a doctor and on July 8th, 2005 he finally agreed. His friend, Karen, at work knew someone at a local Dr's office who could get him in that day.

Hans went to work like normal, the kids were spending the day with their grandparents and I went shopping.

After lunch time, Hans was driving south on the highway towards the Dr. I was driving on the same highway, north, to meet him there. He called me and said that he was feeling so weak... it was hard for him to stay awake even. As we were talking his left side went numb and his voice started to fade.

At this point, I'm screaming at him to please pull over... please keep talking to me... no, please call 911. Please don't die. Please don't have a heart attack. Because you have to be having a heart attack.

We hang up and I call 911. The girl says that they have Hans on another line and an ambulance is on the way. I'm still so far from the hospital, screaming and sobbing at how helpless I feel.

Please tell me he's talking? Yes, he's talking.

I've called his parents and his dad is already in his ancient mercedes that can still haul ass...he's on his way to find Hans on the side of the highway somewhere.

Finally, we are in the emergency room. Hans can talk and smile. The paramedics have been teasing him about losing the Food Network show. They tell him that he's not having a heart attack; he's just in shock from what happened on that show, because Hans was the best one there.

Almost everyone and their mama around here watched Hans on that show.

His blood shows a hemoglobin level of 8. The nurse says that a man of Hans size..6'4" and over 200 lbs should be at least a level of 12 to 14.

The first doctor comes in and actually lectures Hans about eating more red meat. Idiot.

Another doctor comes and says that Hans must be bleeding internally.

They give him two bags of blood that night and schedule an upper endoscopy for the morning.

After the endoscopy a doctor comes in armed with pictures. I ask brightly "Hey! How'd it go?".

He shakes his head and looks serious "I don't like what I see", he says.

I start to feel pins and needles across my face.

He shows me pictures of a tumor in Hans' stomach. A bleeding tumor.

We are sitting in front of the window, our knees almost touching. Hans is asleep on the bed. I want Hans to wake up... I want theis doctor to go away... I want us to go home and pretend like none of this happened.

The doctor is saying everything but what I know he's really saying. I finally ask, "Are you saying that this could be cancer?"

"yes"

We are in a room just down the hall from where Hans' sister died the year before. Sonja was 34 years old and her little body couldn't fight the breast cancer anymore.

My mom comes to the hospital. She's hugging me and saying, "honey, it's not the same. It's not like your step daddy. It's not the same"

But it is the same. I know that it's cancer. I don't need to wait a week for the stupid test.

My step father was 29 when they found cancer in his esophagus. He died from the surgeries. The same surgeries that Hans would have a month later.

On July 12th, 2005, the day before Hans' 33rd birthday, the doctor calls to say that it is cancer.

Here we are a year later. 65 lbs lighter.

In remission.

fairytale of new york

2006-07-04T10:36:00.000-04:00

'You were handsome,

You were pretty,

Queen of New York City,

When the band finished playing

They howled out for more.

Sinatra was swinging,

All the drunks they were singing

We kissed on a corner,Then danced through the night '

-Pogues with Kirsty MacColl

New York was big and hot. We had a fun time showing the sites to the munchkins. Avoiding the major tourist attractions, we stuck to walking the streets and taking in the local flavors.

But we did hit the big toy stores! As much for us as for the kids. The toy stores are complete sensory overload and Ella was near tears most of the time because she was just frantic to hold and have something to call her own. And with kids grabbing things left and right, running and yelling...it was a bit much for her! Finn is quiet and goes straight for his intended toy prey, none of that running and yelling from him, he's serious about his toy needs.

Ella adopted the sweetest baby doll, but that afternoon she managed to swipe a ballpoint pen across the baby's face! And it won't come off! I've written to the company asking if they have any secrets to cleaning and there are several sites online that suggest putting oxy zit cream to remove ink from vinyl baby dolls.

I found The City Quilter shop right down the street from our hotel and splurged on a few fabrics. Things that I wouldn't likely find in Atlanta. You had to ring a bell to be buzzed into the shop, and that nearly kept me from going in. I like to shop without the entire place knowing I'm there. So ringing that bell and looking like a desperate fabric dork on the sidewalk took all of my courage in tapping down my anxiety. And then, when you ring it and they all look at you, are you supposed to smile? make a goofy face? Look serious? Or just wide eyed and scared? I think I had the wide eyed look. But they buzzed me in, so I guess I didn't look armed and dangerous.

I got to see the Cath Kidston store! It felt just like I knew that it would and they were playing The Smiths! I loved it in there. I could have just cozied right down and stayed.

FAO Schwartz toy store had marbles!

The toy store also had guys dressed up like toy soldiers to open the front doors. The kids were so impressed with this until one of the guys saw a customer's shirt that he liked and yelled out, "AW! HOLY CRAP!". That totally blew the fairy tale image there, bubba.

But inside there were Steiff toys and beautiful dolls. Not enough action figures to keep Finn all that interested.

By this time in our trip, our friend Kasra had joined us and he got to experience trying to keep the munchkins herding in the right direction. But he was so good with the kids, even if he probably needed a strong drink afterwards. The kids adore him and really wanted to please him. And because they are Hans' children, they tried to please him by giving him food from their plates. They get that from Hans... the world moves about better if you make people happy by stuffing their faces.

Finally, we are back home and I have a ton of laundry now and general cleaning. Plus all of our orders that came in this weekend have to be packed up!

This picture is for my Dad.

Lumplings take on the Big Apple

2006-06-29T15:03:00.000-04:00

Tonight will be a packing frenzy as the Amy Rue clan gets ready to hop on a plane going north to New York. Finn has been absolutely New York mad, so Hans and I promised to take them this summer. And here we are, in a newborn summer, going where there's lots of hot pavement. Yikes. But we are all excited; the children are desperate to hit the toy stores and I'm getting itchy just thinking about seeing the Cath Kidston store.

I still need to post on the amy rue website that any orders placed will be fulfilled next week.

lavender & flax pillow with frayed applique and vintage buttons

For years and years I've made lavender sachets for friends and our family. The kids both sleep with one; sometimes they'll reach over and squeeze it for an extra lavender oomph before falling asleep. One year, I made up a bunch of them for the goody bags at Finn's birthday party and all of the kids loved them (well, except one..and obviously she had a sniffer problem!) I put them in the drawers and linens, where they stay sweet forever.

My whole point is that it just now came into my tiny brain to offer them at amyrue.com. So I'm sewing up a batch and they'll be available in the next couple of weeks.
Some Lumplings halfway done. for some reason I have not found the perfect way to make Lumpling dresses. This was my newest attempt and something about it just looks like Austin Powers to me. So back to the pattern board as I draw and scheme new ideas. I want something very simple and Lumpling-like. It's bound to click one day.
More of the patchwork pillows underway. I'm still in love with fabric squares and I just don't see an end in site with that! Over at Posie Gets Cozy blog today she had a great post about inspiration and mentions how lovely a simple patchwork is and I was happy to see that I'm not alone. I'm sure that an experienced quilter would laugh at the quilts that I made for the children or the Lumpling pillows, but just seeing the fabric sewn together makes me happy.

RIP crazy kitty

2006-06-27T07:34:00.000-04:00

Last night, Hans and I found our kitty, Yin Yang under the bed. She had passed away in her sleep. Poor Yin Yang was never the healthiest of cats; she always had a runny nose and her fur never had that high pro glow. The vets that I took her to could never figure out what was wrong with her and since she never seemed to be in pain, I never asked for more invasive tests. But still, this week I did notice that her fur seemed a bit more dry and she tinkled on the kitchen floor. I told Hans that if she peed on the floor again that I was going to take her to the vet to see if she had a urinary infection. I really didn't expect to find her dead.

She lived a long life for a kitty, eight of her years with us. Hans found her outside the restaurant one day and fell in love with her. He called and left a message on our house phone saying how he had found the cutest cat and I'll never forget that he slowed down once during that message to say, "And YESSS, I'm saying we can have another cat!". This from the man that told me when we got engaged that we would not own any cats, I put my foot down because I had my kitty Tiggy and there was no way that I'd leave her forever, so then Hans said, Well, then the cat won't live inside... eventually that became "alright, but the damn cat will not sleep in our bed!". Tiggy will only sleep on top of Hans at night.

I hated telling the kids this morning that Yin Yang had passed. Ella is too little to really grasp it, but Finn was upset and very concerned about how and where we would bury her.

I'm sick as can be with a fever, chills and cough. And just miserable. I took dayquil even though I hate that fuzzy brain feeling that it gives me... I'm desperate for relief.

No sewing for me when I'm sick. The new Lumplings will have to be born next week.

slap me on the patio

2006-06-26T15:24:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of the little peewee kitten that might be coming to live with us. She's a little bit bigger now, but still being bottle fed. Hopefully she'll come live with us soon.

I've never been able to leave well enough alone. So every six months, or so, I attack the amy rue site and redo the banner. Today was the day for it, and I also chucked the link to the 'news' page. I figure any real updating that I do will be here, on the blog, or to the email list. People will still be able to sign up on the email list from the 'about' page.

I do this to certain rooms in the house too. There are just some rooms that I feel an urge to move about every once in a while and then I feel much better...a huge sigh of relief. Maybe this is what they mean when someone says that they are 'sensitive to their surroundings'

Growing up, my bedroom was in a constant state of change. I'd move my huge old wrought iron bed around and my walls were always a collage of pictures torn from magazines and prints. The collage crept onto every wall and I would change them every few weeks.

The first house that Hans and I bought after we married was an abused guinea pig and Hans always joked that he would never know what color the walls would be when he got home from work every night.

snub nosed baby elepant

I came home yesterday to a message on the machine from my Father saying that my Uncle C.D. has passed away. And I know that I'm an awful person, because I sat there trying to work up some sort of sad feeling about it...and I just couldn't. Uncle CD was the worst sort of pervert; always trying to touch any female foolish enough to get near him. He was married to my Aunt Cooter (yes, when you live in the south...someone in your family will be called Cooter), and luckily they never had any children. I say Luckily because he would have molested them. He tried to get me alone so many times when I was little, but my brother and cousins were wise to Uncle CD's ways and would stick on me like glue. And my dad threatened his life once and my dad can be kind of scary when he wants, so that worked to keep CD away for years. Until I was old enough to tell him to back the hell up myself. He was a small man, in mind as well as stature.

A boy that I dated a long time ago came with me to meet my family one year. This guy was slender and had long hair...so I guess from the back he might have looked female. Or, if you were an old perv, he looked female. Because Uncle CD came up from behind and grabbed my boyfriend's butt with a "hey, pretty young thang" line, and almost died when he realized that he had just grabbed a man. It was a sweet moment for me and every other girl in my family.

Rest in Peace, you old perv and I sure hope you aren't buried within grabbing distance of a lady.

Mama love and kitchen goes boom

2006-06-24T22:19:00.000-04:00

Lumpling pillows in progress!
Yesterday, I received a package from our dear friend Don.

He's a sneaky one...that Don. He somehow managed to have my children put their tiny fingerprints all over this mat, and Finn wrote "we love you mommy" across the bottom.

Don put the mat around one of his very own wonderful paintings for me. He managed to do this all the way from Texas! I know that my mother-in-law was involved in this sneaky love attack, but I still can't get a straight answer from the kids as they say that they are sworn to secrecy still.

But I'm hanging it above my desk, so that I can see it often.

Don's story of how and why he paints is a very special one... if you click on his name it will take you to our Luna7 art pages with his full story.

These are some of the newest items over at the amy rue site!

I'm only adding things that are special to me and my family. Things that we actually use.

Often, when we have visitors, they will ask us where do we get the items in our house. And it's always way too complicated to answer properly! But now we'll be able to offer at least some of what makes our house a home.

I managed to find some more of the tiny vintage glass knobs for the Lumpling cupboards. I'm working on the cupboards and will soon have some available on the site with Lumplings

Speaking of knobs...when Hans and I get a hair up our butts, we usually jump first and groan later. Such is the case with our kitchen. Hans had to have this new fangled induction cooktop, so we ripped out the hulking stove, put in a new cabinet, countertops and a beadboard backsplash.

All of this was with the help of our wonderful handyman, Kirk. Hans and Kirk worked a hard morning in here the other day, and the results are worth it. On Monday, an electrician will come hook up the power for the cooktop. So Hans hasn't actually gotten to use his fancy cooktop yet.

But you know that my foodie boy has to have a fancy spot to cook, because I sure as hell won't be! It's weird to see that picture on that Food Network link, because Hans was 65 pounds heavier then..and that was taken this time last year.

We still have some trim to put up and I need to caulk around the beadboard. Later on, we'll be adding a wall oven on the other side of the kitchen and putting in the new countertop there as well.

Right now it's so lovely to have clutter free countertop. I know that I won't be able to keep it this way. We are a family that makes piles. Magazines, books, toys and anything else that we can stack ends up on any flat surface in the house.

Beware the Lumpling egos

2006-06-21T15:07:00.000-04:00

Several months ago I received an email asking for some Lumplings for a movie set.

The movie is Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, and it stars Natalie Portman and Dustin Hoffman. There's not a lot of information out on it yet. I think that it just wrapped up shooting.

The lady that wrote to me was super super nice and they needed the Lumplings like the week before. So I sat up until 3 am sewing, fell asleep with needle in my hand and woke back up at 6am to keep sewing, so that I could get this first batch of Lumplings in the above picture to Canada on time.

They said that the director liked "Fuzzy, with big ears". Which cracked me up to no end, because of my warped sense of humor.

I wasn't going to mention the movie on my website or the blog until I actually went to see it and checked out whether or not Lumplings made the cut.

But the Fedex man drove up about ten minutes ago...

And dropped off a box, marked LEGOS...

But it's a box with six worn little Lumplings. Lumplings that look like they've been to a plushie war.

There's one striped cat and her baby completely missing, the other cat has a hole in her cashmere leg, everyone else has heavy duty stitches in their backs where they were sewn to something and all of the tags, save one, are missing.

So, wow, what the hell happens on a movie set!?

I feel like a bad Lumpling mother, sending my newborns off to unknown lands where something..something bad happened to them. I'm worried about that one missing cat!

the kids are going to be excited that there's a fresh supply of Lumplings for them. I can't put these guys up for adoption because of the obvious wear and tear on them.

Now we wait until the movie comes out to see if the Lumplings even get shown. They are so small that it would be hard to pick them out of a crowd of neat toys.

Is it really so....

2006-06-18T15:04:00.000-04:00

Hullo!

Small herd lurking on the amy rue site. Such a small herd that a mass mail out just didn't seem like the thing to do.

The two new pillows are there too.

*Update!* The herd is already moving on to new homes across the land!

Happy Father's Day!

Swimming pillows and ports

2006-06-17T18:26:00.000-04:00

We've been busy little bees this week. I've got several more pillows in the works. One pillow is just waiting for a glamour shot, along with Lumplings that need photos!

Yesterday I made the cutest pajama pants for Finn. They are black with wee ghosties flying around. Luckily, he's totally my kid and loves everything Halloween; so he's very pleased with them.

Sneak peek below of new pillows and Lumplings!

Every morning last week the children had swim lessons. Finn has taken lessons from Miss Katie for the past four years and this was Ella's second year with her. Miss Katie has a heart of gold and nerves of steel...how she can stand an entire group of kids screaming bloody murder in her face is beyond me. Beyond me without valium or vodka anyway.
Finn is an excellent little fish and doesn't get upset about swim lessons at all now. But his first year, he was a runner...one of the kids shrieking and running away from the pool. Miss Katie would just calmly get out, pick him up and plop him back in the water.

Those are the parenting moments that make you just want to sink into a hole.

Finn is now the first one to jump off into the deep end and swim the entire length of the pool.

His best friend, Jackson, jumped in right behind him and they were the only two that could swim the entire way across.

Hans and I look smug and tell people that we didn't name him Finn for nothin'.

Now Ella... well, you know that it couldn't just be totally easy at first. She screamed like a banshee the first day. Ella would hold her hand out, palm flat in Miss Katie's face and scream "NO! I don't want to!" Miss Katie would, of course, just pick Ella up and plop her in the water.

I did the best that I could to hide behind my hands.

But then I got sneaky. I told Ella that if she didn't have any more hissy fits at swim lessons that I would take her to Target and she could get Hello Kitty Nail Polish. You could see it click in her baby blues. "oh! Okay, mama...no more hissy fits" and she waltzed through the gate and sat down on the stairs in the shallow end all calm and sophisticated even. Miss Katie looked nervous as she greeted Ella, but Ella smiled and said "HI, Miss Katie, I'm gonna get NAIL POLISH". And from that moment Ella had a great time and would beg for her turn as she looked smugly at the little girls who were still shrieking. Ella definitely has the smug look down pat.

I am so not above bribing. It has saved my parenting ass many a time.

Yesterday, I took my munchkins to Target and Ella got her Hello Kitty polish and Finn got a new x-men toy. Both kids haven't let go of their prizes for more than five minutes.

Hans missed yesterday's grand finale of Swim Week because he was down in Atlanta getting the port for his chemotherapy removed. His oncologist, Dr. Ajani, in Texas wanted him to keep it in for two years, but it's really been getting on Hans' nerves. It pained him and I think that everytime he looked in the mirror he had to be reminded of the cancer. His surgeon, Dr. Hofstetter, said to just remove the damn thing and if Hans ever needs chemo again, they can put it back in. Hofstetter knows Hans very well now and knows what will upset him. We are lucky to have a doctor that views Hans as a person, not a number.

So now the port is gone and we have a new bandage to check and change. I'm very good at changing bandages and cleaning wounds now. Most of the time in the hospital the nurses would just hand the supplies to me and let me go at it. They must be trained to recognize control freaks like me.

2006-06-10T09:33:00.000-04:00

There are some changes over at the Amy Rue site. I've added a 'home' section where we have Lumpling pillows and some of our favorite things that we want to share. Hans, the kids and I are in love with these little bonbons, so they are on there and I've added our favorite soaps.

This section will grow with some new products that will hopefully come in soon. I'll be adding pillows as I finish them...one little Lumpling pillow is already on it's way to a new home!

Hans and I really want to open a small shop with stuff for the Home & Garden, so we decided to go ahead and get some of the items and put them on the websites.

Back in April, Amy at Inspire Company posted on her blog about Fairy doors popping up in Michigan.

And so I started obsessing about wanting a little door out in the garden.

I finally have my little door, but really what it has turned into is a Lumpling Cupboard, which is a perfect spot for Lumplings, who are rather like magpies, to stash and glue all of their treasures.

Here are pictures of Lumpling Cupboard No. 1.

This Lumpling has glued a few of his favorites in here; buttons, mirrors, a spoon, bottle cap, shiny glass and a wrapper from the best chocolate that he ever did snarf down.

I'm very happy with how the cupboard has turned out and maybe we will have more of them soon. I might put them on the amy rue site for sale with the Lumplings.

Speaking of Lumplings... here are three baby Lumps that are sitting and waiting in my button dish for finishing touches. And below is the next Lumpling Pillow top.

I really like to fix up little lamps, and this geisha is my newest victim. She has to be cleaned, rewired, and a perfect shade has to be found. But I already love her.