I’m now in full production, baking-mode, and it’s hell.  I’ve now set a goal of baking 6,000 fruitcakes this year.  So, anyone being number 6001 wanting a fruitcake is going to be out of luck.  Then, if I meet that goal in sales, I can take some time next January to figure out if that’s going to be my maximum.  I plan on doing this thinking on a sandy tropical beach.

In the meantime, the Okanagan is beautifully hot and sunny.  The peppers and tomatoes are prolific, and I have the most adorable baby eggplant!  I also have a couple of tiny watermelons and so much broccoli I don’t what to do with it.  Does anyone out there need about fifty pounds of Swiss chard??  It’s really quite amazing the amount of stuff even a small garden produces.

Denis’ sister Margaret, and her son Brendan, are currently here so I’m able to make meals from all the local produce.  Last night we had wild Coho salmon with a brown sugar and butter glaze, accompanied by roasted new potatoes and local corn.  For dessert I made an apricot crisp that was juicy due to the large amount of butter.  Nonetheless, a further dollop of whipping cream was required for the top.

Margaret wondered if I minded that she needed to go to Winner’s to look for shorts.  I replied that I had no difficulty whatsoever with that, and so we spent a pleasant couple of hours browsing about and getting just the absolute necessities.  I got some dear yoga pants, so comfy for lounge-wear, and Margaret got a pair of shoes and a short, dressy jacket.

Instead of being filled with impotent rage over the proposed development next door, I’ve been able to join a committee formed in our neighbourhood opposed to this.  The people who organized this have done a fabulous job of presenting the reasons why this ecologically sensitive area should not be developed.  Sadly, however, I don’t think the city council gives a damn about stuff like that.

There are all manner of creeks and ponds along Hall Road, as we’re so close to Mission Creek.  You would think that there would be some rudimentary understanding of the importance of protecting this, but apparently not.  The developer proposed putting 32 lots in right beside us, and I guess the city said, “Go ahead.  If no-one objects, you can do it.”

Thankfully, however, we appear to have joined the ranks of Canadians who’ve said they are as mad as hell, and they’re not gonna take it anymore.  It’s kind of refreshing, really, to think if a person sees something insane, that they might actually be able to at least try and do something about it.  I can’t stop the pine beetles, but maybe I can help stop the degradation of the precious marshlands around us.  Betty Krawczyk #2 is here!