Saturday, October 24, 2009

Cooking and Christmas

It was a quiet day at our house in the holler. A niece has begun corresponding with me because of my blog. She has a small son, and is interested in recipes for soft vegetables that she can prepare for him in the short time between her college studies and her mommy responsibilities. A favorite food of my toddlers was beef and barley soup, which I still make by the vat and freeze. Then again, I cook vats of everything. I grew up cooking for my mother’s brood of nine children, so I don’t know how to cook small amounts. Sharing the results of my kitchen capers has helped me earn a reputation as the Cookin’ Cajun of Coker Creek.

I made mashed potatoes last night using potatoes from Richard and Mamie’s garden. It may be my imagination, but the flesh seemed to be creamier than that of most potatoes that we purchase. Richard wanted them the old-fashioned way, but I’m anxious to try them whipped with some of our home-grown carrots – maybe with a bit of my mountain of dill thrown in for gourmet flair.

While Richard took my van in for brake repairs, I caught up on my reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. It was time to figures out where Jack and I stand on income versus outgo on Jack’s book – my least favorite part of the publishing process. Jack and I agreed that we’d square up once we got the October festival book signings done, hoping that we’d be in the black.

Well, this was before we bought hundreds of books in anticipation of four thousand attendees at the Buzz Fest which was, for all intents and purposes, rained out. We have two more signings scheduled before Christmas; then I have to get serious about the school fundraisers. Richard keeps reminding me that our inventory of books is an asset, but I worry that Jack is going to get discouraged.

Jack has consistently maintained that his greatest joy is simply seeing his work in print, but with all his hard work to market his manuscript, it would be nice if it provided some Christmas cash. All his friends have already bought his book, so he can’t fill their Christmas stockings with The Book That Jack Built. A bit of black ink on our profit and loss statements would sure be a nice holiday surprise for him.

Meanwhile, the weather is supposed to be glorious for the first-ever Leaf Turning Festival in Tellico Plains. We’ll meet dozens of new people who travel here from all parts of the country. Even if we don’t make a lot of money, we sure have the opportunity to make a lot of friends. My hope is that, one day, a big-time publisher will discover Jack and turn his book into a series of children’s picture books. While we’re dreaming, we might as well dream big.

I never come out of these festivals in the black. The arts and crafts make perfect stocking stuffers for our family and friends, so I always spend more than we make – at least until after Christmas.