Fruitcake finally got made yesterday.

The Kitchenaid stand mixer came out for the occasion, but was not actually as helpful as I thought it should be. This recipe produces the stiffest, heaviest batter in my entire culinary repertoire, and I find it more challenging every year since Edmund died — he used to do the grunt work. For people who genuinely like fruitcake, however, the results are worth the effort.

I do not give fruitcake to anyone who has not said that fruitcake is eagerly anticipated. That would be stupid.

I’ll wrap it for travel this morning.

At noon, I have to be on deck for the Stratford Festival’s community Christmas concert. The soloists are all members of the acting company, backed by the amateur rabble of the Stratford Concert Choir. When it’s done, I’m off the musical hook until Christmas Eve.