And... then it was December. Whew!

Is anyone else out there as surprised by the speedy arrival of December as I am?  Sheesh... I am way behind in everything.  And we just had a holiday!  But, as a friend pointed out, days off are not "days off" if you're out and about and madly doing things, which was certainly true of my Thanksgiving holiday.  Luckily, some of us got a cold, windy and hilly 5k in on Thanksgiving morning to enjoy the outdoors and offset some of the looming calories.  Good thing, because a new recruit joined the ranks of our traditional dessert arsenal, and was an instant hit.  I recently picked up a new bundt pan with a fall/harvest theme, and tried it out by making a pumpkin cake with chocolate swirl.  Absolutely amazing!

It turned out so beautifully that I decided to forgo the frosting, and no complaints were heard!

I also subjected the family to a cheese pumpkin.  Yep, just like it sounds - a delicious pie pumpkin roasted in the oven filled with cheese, toasted bread cubes and a few other tasty additions.  There are a variety of recipes out there for the cheese pumpkin - some harkening towards fondue, others resembling more of a thick, spreadable dip.  I went for the latter, and my efforts did not disappoint.

And, because I used a true pie pumpkin, I've got a whole dish of cooked pumpkin in my refrigerator to make tasty dishes from during the holidays!  A win-win, I'd say.

Well, now that Thanksgiving is in the books, it's time to gear up and tackle some of the many projects I have in varying states of "unfinished-ness" around my house.  I'm working on quilting a baby quilt for a friend who is due in January.  I pieced together a rather whimsical top of brightly colored kites fluttering in the sky, with embroidered ribbons for tails and a lovely pieced border.

The photo above is of the pieced top, just before I layered and basted it.  I'm working on machine quilting it now, and hope to have it bound and finished before Christmas.  I've had this pattern for years, and it was certainly a doozy.  I don't remember ever picking out as many seams as I've done in this one.  I'm happy with the final product, though, and I'm hoping it will be well-loved, and therefore well worth the effort.

A holiday table topper, a wall hanging, some felt tree ornaments and a lot of basting and quilting are on the docket for the next few weeks... stay tuned!