I wanted to test my sprained knee on an easy fitness class, so went to a mild cardio at 9:00 this morning.  Afterwards I delivered two orders of fruitcakes, and got home to find the entire kitchen floating in water.  Denis decided to ‘clean the kitchen’ so I decided it was best to say nothing at all.

I thought of the handful of dishes that were on the counter when I left, and marveled at the enormous amount of soap and water in the sink.  The counters were coated in a heavy layer of water.  I felt it best for my nerves to leave the area entirely.

Fortunately, I’m much too busy with orders to concern myself with these small annoyances.  Even the old, broken fridge from the garage, which Denis hauled out days ago, and left standing like a sentry in the yard doesn’t distract me.  And really, besides the broken van covered in a tarp, and an old plastic table heaped in useless crap, the fridge adds a certain je ne sais quois to the yard.

Orders are now coming in daily, and it’s wonderful.  I’m still baking, as I do the daily, “I don’t have enough product” thing.  I’m also very busy with packaging and mailing.  As well, I’m still working on printed materials and am trying to think of free ways to market.

Nonetheless, fate likes to test one during busy times.  My sister-in-law Margaret decided to attend a tourism conference recently held in Kelowna, so she and her son Brendan, plus a work colleague came.  We’ve had Brendan, now 15, here many times since he was a small kid, and that’s actually an entire novella in itself.

I thrilled Brendan with chicken souvlaki, Greek salad and roasted potatoes one night, and curried chicken and rice on another.  Foor Margaret and Tanya I made Julia’s boeuf bourgignone.  I made chocolate mousse for dessert, and they all said that they loved it.

This week I’ll be crazy with preparing for three days of hell in Vancouver.  I’m going to be at Urban Fare on Davie Street for some kind of food event.  I’ll drive down on Friday, straight to the store.  Then I’ll stand there from 3:00 until 7:00 flogging my wares.

I’ll do that again on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5:00, and then drive home on Monday.  If I survive that, I’m going to have a rather large martini when I enter the house on Monday afternoon.  I can hardly wait to see what the house looks like when I get home.

Though grueling, the demo will be a wonderful way for me to personally introduce my product to the chi chi folks who shop at Urban Fare.  The nice bakery manager is going to supply some sharp, artisan cheese and pair me with a winery so that people will have the Full Monty.  I’ll report back next Monday, the 23rd on how it all went.