Progress report.

I've been shaking my head over the last six weeks, trying to figure out what's going on.

Business is booming. In fact, this month as gotten even better than last month.

It's inexplicable.

It's a mystery.

People always fool me.

I don't expect the last 8 business days levels to continue. That would be crazy. We're talking summer 2006 levels, here. That's just nuts.

Here's the kicker. Even if sales keep at this level through the rest of the month, the best I'll do is break even. Proof once more that it isn't how much I make, but how much I spend.

I'm feeling comfortable enough with the trends to take some chances on my purchases, which will help the store immensely in the long run. It's a constant balancing act of ordering, then not ordering, then ordering...and I don't know how to explain it except by instinct, and intuition.

My feeling is that by having the store stocked to the gills, that I'm benefiting from increased sales. It's a bit like fattening up for the winter. Magic, of course, has been my biggest gamble, but so far it seems to be paying off. Sales are high. It isn't a home run, but it's at least a single or maybe even a double. I've been given chances to buy even more magic, even though I've already purchased more than I've ever purchased, and so far I've said yes to every offer.

Like I said, the worst that can happen is that it would take six months or a year to sell out; the best is that I sell out in about a month, just as a new wave of product arrives.

So I went a little crazy with the ordering in October. In reaction, I'm tightening the budget again in November and December. November ordering starts next week. The store is completely stocked -- I don't really need much but the essentials, so a smaller budget shouldn't really affect things.

But I have to say.

I don't understand people.