Ruby Saturday?

Goodness Gracious, Duckies!

So, I went into the woods to live deliberately, and I thought I was prepared ... I had purchased a lovely pink laptop (with WiFi, of course) and had even decoupaged a picture or two to its surface in the very best Altered Art tradition. HOWEVER, I had neglected to research yet another "Book That Should Have Been" -- Staying Connected in a Wireless World with a Pencil-and-Notebook Brain.

I am sure all of you will not be surprised in the slightest to find that I could not send in this week's column. Apparently the internet is not magic after all, and requires all manner of bits and pieces that I did not have at my disposal ... I was most disappointed to learn that a "Hot Spot" is not a patch of sand at the side of lake where I had set up shop with a travelling rug and a thermos of tea (with a china cup to decant it into, of course!).

Note to Bessie and Bea: some of the loveliest sparklies are the the dapples of sun on a lake in the afternoon. After emptying my thermos of tea, I brought you back some of the lake water, but I am afraid it has rather lost its effect...

Well, time groweth short, so I can only share with you one selection from my week away: Marie Antoinette's Gluten Free Baking Book. It turns out she was not the heartless wretch she has been portrayed as by hasty historians and the scandal-mongering media, but in fact a learned lass far ahead of her century's healthy eating trends. The poor darling was misquoted: in fact, what she said was, "The peasants are rioting because they have no bread? Let them eat my Flourless Chocolate Cake!"

While the directions are somewhat difficult (they include such instructions as "Add one very large cup of sugar", "Bake as long as it takes", and "While your servants are gathering hazelnuts"), her gentle wit sparkles throughout, deliciously illuminating a somewhat darker chapter of history. Of course, her habit of referring to "short crust" as "headless", and cutting butter with a miniature guillotine is perhaps a trifle tasteless...

Well, gentle readers, I must fly. I'll be with you on Wednesday!

Love,
Ruby ~ happily munching a piece of Revolutionary Raisin Toast