I’ve now baked about 1,000 fruitcakes, and need to bake 2,000 more within the next 80 days.  That would be manageable, but on top of the baking, there’s the purchasing of inventory, putting labels on boxes, vacuum-sealing, mailing, etc.  Right now I’m thinking if I eliminate sleeping every other night I can do it.

Last year in December when I was ready for a long rest in a mental asylum I begged my readers to remind me of this.  However, you did not, and I purposely ignored the need to bake a little bit all year long.  I refused to do it, and now I’m up to my elbows in dough from morning until late afternoon.  Sigh.

I did receive three excellent bits of news, though.  First of all, I got a wonderful response from Jennifer Schell, a columnist for the local newspaper, The Capital News.  She also writes columns in BC Wine Trails and EAT magazines.  Upon sampling my fruitcakes, she wrote, “OMG!  I’m a believer!”

She kindly said she’s going to mention my fruitcakes in all three publications!  I get all hysterical and dizzy thinking about the number of potential customers I might get if that does indeed happen.

Then, I had e mailed Monika, the owner of Okanagan Grocery and creator of that insane Callebaut-filled rye bread for which I could kill.  I’d dropped in to pick up a loaf and found her store closed.  I thought she’d gone out of business so sent her a panicked e mail.  She replied that she was in San Francisco taking a bread course to make things even better.

She carries my fruitcakes at Christmas, so I was doubly worried when I thought her store was closed.  But as with the nice reply from Jennifer Schell, one must not allow one’s mind to leap to negative conclusions.  If you read my blog last week, I was all “waa waa waa, nothing’s working out” and yet this week everything’s great.

The third bit of good news was that the owner of Quality Greens, my biggest customer, said they’ll want to have my fruitcakes at their four locations starting the first week of October.  I also contacted another regular customer, Edible BC on Granville Island, but no reply yet.  And no, I’m not going to get all negative and crazy about that.

The other excellent thing about having to work like a lawyer at a victim’s assistance convention, is that I can’t shop.  I’m dreaming about those adorable new shoe/boot combo’s and yet I can’t get anywhere near a store to try them on.  It’s kind of a wonderful feeling of anticipation.  Because as you know, whenever I’ve curbed shopping for any extended period of time, the blow-out is huge.

But that’s what January sales are for.  People such as me who will be browsing the racks, looking for that perfect 30th pair of pants.  Circling the shoe racks like a scruffy lion surrounding a herd of gnus, ready to pounce on the weakest one.  With the goal of the January sales in my mind, I believe I can make it.