Welcome to baking month...

...after today, it's going to be mostly all-baking-all-the-time around here.

For Eye Candy Friday, here is this morning's sunrise:

A very confused rose bush...

It didn't get the memo that it is December. There are at least 15 blooms on the bush.

Wen I arrived at the office yesterday, I saw something odd out of the corner of my eye...

This leaf looked like it was floating in mid-air.

When I looked closer, I saw that it was suspended on a single strand of spider silk. The strand was attached at the top and at the bottom so the leaf spun vertically in the breeze.

There were many more leaves on the ground....

...and in the small stream that runs through our courtyard.

I officially start in baking mode December 1. While I don't actually get any baking done the first couple of days, I finish buying most of my ingredients. On Wednesday, I did the Smart & Final run for flour, sugar, and chocolate chips. Last night, I did the Trader Joe's run for nuts, white chocolate chips, dried fruit, and butter. I intended on buying pecan halves from TJ's, but they were 62 cents per ounce. Compare that to walnuts, which were 42 cents per ounce...ouch! The Husband is buying them at Costco for me (much cheaper!). Tonight, I'll make my Safeway run for eggs, cream cheese, and what ever else is left on my list.

Up this weekend: Spin In tomorrow!  I'm making a cranberry cake (AKA Crustless Cranberry Pie, but it's more cake-like than pie-like).

We will get our Christmas tree sometime this weekend, but I'm not sure whether it will be Saturday or Sunday

On Sunday, we're meeting the Daughter for dinner at her place. We haven't seen her apartment in a finished state yet and she wants to show it off.

In between all of these activities, I will bake the fruitcakes and pumpkin bread, and maybe make a few cookie doughs. I'd like to make another kind of bread, but I'm a little tired of gingerbread. We'll see what I can find.
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