This and also that

First, thanks for the happy wishes. What nice friends you are!

Second, I've been reading. Just finished MR. DIXON DISAPPEARS by Ian Sansom. It was a mystery, natch. The sleuth is a Jewish vegetarian Englishman who drives a bookmobile in northern Ireland. Gimmicky yes. And the mystery itself was pretty lazy. But there was enough humor of the WAKING NED DEVINE sort to please me. Just picked up the first book of the DRESDEN FILES about a Chicago-based PI who's also a wizard because dude. Why not?

Third. Um. Yeah. I'm pretty sure there was a third thing I wanted to say. Once upon a time. Maybe it had something to do with the fact I ate 2 hot cross buns and also a raisin filled cookie yesterday.

But I doubt it.

Sampling for comparison purposes

I stopped at the venerable Backer's bakery on South Temple to sample their hot cross buns because apparently (thanks to nervous Protestants) I can't get them after tomorrow.

They were okay. Elizabeth's buns are better.

Thanks for listening.

One a penny, two a penny

Seeing as it's Good Friday, I sent one of the strapping lads who lives here on over to Elizabeth's Tea Room and Bakery to buy me some hot cross buns. For the record, Elizabeth's makes a very pleasing bun--soft and loaded with currants with a lovely little glaze on top.

While the boy was gone, I went to Wikipedia and read up on hot cross buns. To wit: "According to cookery writer Elizabeth David, Protestant English monarchs saw the buns as a dangerous hold-over of Catholic belief in England, being baked from the dough used in making the communion wafer. Protestant England attempted to ban the sale of the buns by bakers but they were too popular, and instead Elizabeth I passed a law permitting bakeries to sell them, but only at Easter and Christmas."

I thought this was an enjoyable bit of 411--am having a FANTASTIC happy time imagining Protestants running around London feeling threatened by buns and so forth. And of course if there were Frenchmen hanging about, they would have been sneering and going we fart in your general direction.

Bien temps all around!