2nd November, 2006
Oriental Lilies
by
Some people absolutely loathe the smell of lilies, but I adore them. Every winter I buy bouquets of either Star Gazer or Casablanca lilies, and the house becomes filled with their beautiful, sweet fragrance. A lovely tradition that Denis instituted is that every December 24th the local nursery delivers a huge bouquet of flowers, and there are always lilies in the mix.
Now that I smell the lilies, I associate them with the heart-stopping closeness of Christmas. I am in my High Season, and have to work 24/7 to make this fruitcake business a success. A local newsletter called Okanagan Woman carried a lovely article of me, as well, my mom said there was a great article in the Okanagan Sun newspaper. These will all help a lot.
Denis drove Nicky to his second driving test yesterday, and we were both hoping that he’d fail again. No such luck. He is one of the worst drivers I’ve ever seen, so I’m starting to take an emotional leave from my Nissan van as I’m sure it’s not going to last a lot longer. The day before the test he made Denis take him out for a 'driving lesson.’ When they returned, Denis described being pressed against the seat, Nicky’s foot flat on the gas as he raced someone home. He just said, “I think that kid is mentally ill.” He then grabbed a beer, and headed to the computer for some on-line gaming to calm his nerves.
There’s not much that can calm my nerves at this time, however. On Saturday I’m off to demo the fruitcakes at Edible BC and then Stong’s, both in Vancouver. Next weekend is the two-day Christmas craft/food extravaganza at Prospera Place here in Kelowna. After that there are fruitcake demo’s at Quality Greens and Sunshine Market, as well as a Women in Wine Event at Cedar Creek Wines.
Now the weather has turned bad, so on top of everything else I’ll be taking my life in my hands to drive through the snow and ice to Vancouver. Yesterday I said to Denis, “This snow is going to be terrible to drive in.“ To which he calmly replied, “Drive slowly.“ Then this morning on CBC radio they said there could be freezing rain in Abbotsford tomorrow. I told Denis. He said, “Leave early, and drive slowly.“ I simply cannot believe the laziness of this man in not driving me to Vancouver!
What I find particularly interesting these days is the rapid cycling of “I must market“ and “I don’t have enough product.“ It is the most curious internal fight I have ever experienced.
Well, the lilies call. It’s time to schlep downstairs for a handful of vacuum-sealed fruitcakes and a bunch of boxes. Then I package and label and put them into larger boxes, and keep this up until I’m dizzy. Oh the glamour of it all!