ORNAMENT SWAP GOODIES, CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS AND HAPPY HOLDIDAYS

Finally found time to post. I feel I have been away too long from posting. Here are my  gingerbreads in wood bowl.

Here is the shelf in our family room.

This is the shelf in the living room. I love gingerbreads.

Here is the snowman collector shelf. Snowmen are one of my favorites too.

Here is my prim tree. Some of the ornaments I made and some  I have collected for many years.

Here is another view of the prim tree.

I participated in the Bumble Bee Lane ornament swap. Here are the ornaments that Kat sent me from Primitive Echoes.
Thanks Kat. I love them all.

Here are the two ornaments that Sandi from The Primitive Skate sent me. Thanks Sandi. They are adorable. Thank you to all my caring blog frieinds for all of your great comments for the past year. It has been a whole year since I started blogging. To celebrate I will be doing a giveaway some time in January so keep watching for that. Hope everyone has a joyous holiday season and that the new year brings happyness to everyone. 

CHRISTMAS IN THE CABIN SWAP GOODIES

I recently participated in a Christmas swap put on by Amy of Bumble Bee Lane. My swap partner was Ellie from Ellies Country Accents. She sent lots of adorable goodies. The pillow is scented and smells so good. There was the snowman holding the gingerbread, homespun candycanes , yo yo ornies, hot cocoa, a gingerbread head painted on a strainer and a peppermint candy ornie. The gingerbread ornie on the bottom left was also from Ellie. We were ornament swap partners too. Thanks Amy for putting on the swap. Check out Ellies blog to see what I sent her.

SO BUSY AND SO MANY PROJECTS

Where has the time gone. I've been so busy with projects.

These witches were fun to make.

Here's my favorite stick snowman.

And why not make a stick Santa.

I like the way these prim angel ornies turned out.  Well breaks over. Now it's back to sewing.

GIVEAWAY WINNER AND SURPRISE PACKAGE IN THE MAIL

George has found a home. Carmen at Primcats has won George and the cute little pumpkins. Congrats! I want to thank everyone who signed up and for all of your great comments and to all of my new followers. I will be having more giveaways this year yet so make sure you keep following my blog. When I checked for mail yesterday there was a small package in the mailbox. First I thought that my daughter had ordered something again but my name was on it. I wondered what could this be. I didn't order anything. Then I looked at the return address and it said Linda Parker. I opened it up and here is this cute little pear pillow. There was a note that said just a little something to make you smile. What a nice surprise. Thanks so much Linda.

TWO DAYS LEFT TO SIGN UP FOR MY GIVEAWAY

Good morning in blogland. We are having great weather here this week. Sun, sun, sun and more sun. Makes up for all the gloomy weather we had last week. Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway. George really needs a home, someone who will take real good care of him. You will also get three cute pumpkins. I will be picking the winner on Thurs., Oct 6. Sign up on the post below. Good luck!

GIVEAWAY, GIVEAWAY.WHO WANTS TO WIN GEORGE?

George is looking for a home. He also comes with three pumpkins.
Here are the rules:
1. You must be a follower and leave a comment. New followers welcome. If you don't have a blog just leave your email address so I know how to contact you if you win or send me an email with George giveaway mentioned in the subject so I know its not junk mail.
2. For a second chance post the giveaway on your blog.
3. For a third chance add it to your sidebar.
4. For a fourth chance like Ginger Creme Hollow on my facebook page.

That's it. Let me know everything you do so I know how many chances you get. I will pick the winner in the morning on Oct. 6. Good luck everyone!

CROWS, SUNFLOWERS AND ITS LOOKING LIKE FALL HERE

I've been working on orders. Here are some of the crows  and sunflowers  I have done.

I also made some leaves.

It sure is looking like fall. The Goldenrod has been blooming for awhile.

The Chinese Lanterns are turning orange, so I picked some to dry.

FROZEN PICKLES

If you have some extra cucumbers and don't know what to do with them, heres an easy recipe to try. My mom used to make these years ago. They taste just like fresh cucumbers.

FROZEN PICKLES

2 qrts. cucumbers peeled and sliced

1 med. onion sliced

1 tablesp. canning salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

Mix cucumber, onion and salt. Let

stand 2 hours. Drain. Mix sugar with

vinegar. Pour over cucumbers. Pack

in containers and freeze.

LOOK WHAT I SAW TODAY!

I saw this swan today while visiting some of the relatives near El Dorado. It is so graceful.

SURE DON'T SEE THESE MUCH ANYMORE

On Sunday we took a trip to our daughters and then she took us to see this awesome covered bridge in a little town called Mishicot which is here in Wisconsin. I even got to walk across it. Sure don't see these  kind of bridges much anymore.    

GARDEN TOUR PHOTOS

Here's a pathway that runs along side my roses.

These lilies were so pretty for the tour.

Our chicken coop.

Here's the pathway on the north side of the house.

Here' s our herb garden. The sign was made from goodwill finds.

Here's our wheelbarrow in the front yard.

GETTING READY FOR GARDEN TOUR ON SATURDAY

Yes I'm still around. I've been spending all my free time working in our gardens to get ready for Saturdays tour. Here's a sneak peek. Will show you more later after tour. Hope to get back into crafting soon.

EGGS FOR SALE ON ANOTHER RAINY DAY

It's been raining for days, but I managed to get a few pictures. The chickens are laying eggs.

The critters don't mind the rain.

The foxglove is trying to bloom.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCUT CAKE

Wondering what to do with those strawberries you just picked? Try this recipe. It is so yummy.

1 cup miniature marshmallows
2 cups (2-10 oz. pkgs.)frozen,sliced strawberries
in syrup, completely thawed or use fresh strawberries
1 3 oz. pkg. strawberry flavored gelatin
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 salt1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
Generously grease bottom only of 13 x 9" pan. Sprinkle
marshmallows evenly over bottom of greased pan. Combine
and set aside the following: strawberries and gelatin.
Combine in large mixer bowl: flour, sugar, shortening,
baking powder, salt, milk, vanilla, and eggs. Blend at
low speed until moistened; beat 3 min. at med. speed,
scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Pour batter over
marshmallows in pan. Spoon strawberry mixture evenly
over batter. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45-50 min.
until golden brown, or when toothpick inserted in
center comes out clean. ENJOY!

WHAT'S BLOOMING NOW?

I've been so busy there is no time to post or craft. I've been digging up and potting lots of plants for the City-wide Garage Sale on next Saturday, June 4. I still have lots to do. Every year we get lots of people looking for plants. Thought I would take a little break to show you what's blooming now in our yard.

These are Virginia Bluebells.

I love the color of these primrose.

The Spurge is so bright and smells so good.

There are Violets everywhere.

The Flowering Crab is full of blooms.

MY SPRING FLOWERS

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. It was such a nice day to work in the yard. Here are a few photos of some spring flowers that finally started blooming. It is supposed to rain all week here in northern Wisconsin. The first photo is some yellow primrose.

The second photo is of the yellow daffodils that are just starting to open.

The third photo is my pink Hydrangea. It is so pretty.

The tulips are behind this year.

THE EASTER BUNNY HAS BABIES

It was such a nice day today that after all three daughters left to go back to their homes and college we decided to rake. Well what an Easter surprise we found. When my husband raked away leaves from one of our rose bushes look what he found. There were four of them and they took off running to find their mom. They were so cute.

Hope everyone had a great Easter.

SIGNS OF SPRING AND BIRTHDAY MEMORIES

Once again it is snowing outside, so instead of taking more snow pictures I thought I would take pictures of springy things inside today since it's my birthday.

Although these are fake, they really brighten up the kitchen.

Yes, these are real Hyacinths. My youngest daughter gave them to me for my birthday. They are so pretty and smell so good.

This is a McCall's bunny I made a few years ago and tulips I made many, many years ago.

Here's a shelf with one of my favorite bunnies that I made.

This is a photo of our first cat. His name was Simba. He was so pretty and always liked being in the middle of everything when I worked on my crafts. On my birthday two years ago, we had to make the awful decision of having him put to sleep. His heart was giving out and he couldn't breath good anymore. He lived a good life. We had him for many years. I will always remember him. Twenty-six years ago, also on my birthday, my father passed away. He also had a bad heart. He lived a good life. You could always find in in the garden, either planting, weeding or harvesting vegetables. I helped him from little on. He loved flowers too. I think that's where I get my love of flowers as you can see from all the flower pictures on this blog. I think my best memory of my dad is of him working in the garden.

OLD EASTER POSTCARDS

Here is a couple of old postcards that my mom gave me a few years ago. I think they are from the 1920's.