I wondered when I last wrote a blog, and was shocked by my own laziness. It’s been three weeks, so that has to be a record. However, I blame the fruitcake business which overlaps with the busiest season of the year. I never thought of that when I started it.

This year I sold every last fruitcake, and a handful of people were disappointed. They’ll know to order earlier next year, as I decided having leftover stock has to be stopped. It’s never as good after a few months, despite the reputation of an aged fruitcake.

This was Jan’s first Christmas in Canada, so I wanted to be sure she had a nice one. I think she did, as she had both the 24th and 25th off work, so was able to partake in the German tradition as well as the English one the following day.

Margaret and Brendan arrived by plane on the afternoon of the 24th, and Luke had gone to Osoyoos to pick mom up, so we were all ready to go when the balloon went up at 5:00 PM. We had the usual carols around the piano, then opened gifts. I made a brisket which was terrible, so that was a bit of a disappointment.

On Christmas Day we lounged around eating, and Luke brought over his roulette wheel and so we gambled for a couple of hours. Mom won. We then had a large turkey dinner following by warm peach pie, and continued eating chocolate and cookies until we fell into bed, bloated.

Luke drove mom home on Boxing Day, and Margaret and I did nothing whatsoever. It snowed like mad, so I didn’t even walk my poor dog. On the 27th we drove to Luke and Jan’s new condo so Margaret could see it, and had a really nice visit there.

Margaret and Brendan left yesterday, so today is Day 1 of normal eating. I felt so nauseated when I went to bed last night I really thought I would puke. As much fun as it is to eat chocolate and cookies by the pound, the old pancreas and liver take a terrible beating for it.

2015 was quite a decent year, in that I went to Hawaii and Virginia, and Jan arrived. Nicky met Haruka, and plans to visit her in Japan in a couple of weeks and propose. Mom turned 90, listed the orchard, and then took it off the market again. All in all, an interesting year.

My fruitcake business grew in a complimentary way. I noticed repeat customers ordered a tiny bit more each, so that sales per customer were a lot better. Not that I mind mailing or delivering one fruitcake, but some people who had ordered two, ordered four, and so on. One nice customer in Alberta ordered 10.

I went on a diet in May, and managed to keep the blubber off, and celebrated my 14th year at the women’s gym. I need that place, as I have yoga and Pilates mats, weights, a band, and a bike at a home, all in pristine condition.

On New Year’s Day I’m invited to Petra’s for dinner, and that’ll be a fantastic way to kick off 2016. I have a feeling something absolutely wonderful awaits. I don’t know why but maybe because Freddie is turning 70, and Luke 30, that I feel some sort of wild anticipation.