Lost in Lost in Austen

Sorry for the lateness of the post Loyal readers but I have spent the most enjoyable morning watching "Lost in Austen", a must see for any fan of Jane Austen or "Pride and Prejudice".

It is the funny, quirky tale of Amanda Price, a modern day Brit who loves to read her Jane Austen novels and day dreams about what life was like in Austen's time. One day she finds the heroine of "Pride and Prejudice", Elizabeth Bennet, in her bathroom and her tub contains a doorway to Lizzy's world. But like Alice in Wonderland, Amanda finds that all that she knows from Jane Austen's book may not be correct after all. And Amanda turns the Bennet world upside down as well. Suddenly Jane is married to Mr. Collins, Charlotte Lucas is off to Africa, Caroline Bingley is a lesbian and Charles Bingley has run off with Lydia. Not to mention that the evil Mr. Wickham is really a good guy at heart. One thing never changes and that is Mr. Darcy. Infuriating, irritating and handsome as ever. Poor Amanda knows she has to make everything right even if it means heart break for herself.

As a fan of the BBC show "Hex", I was glad to see Jemima Rooper (who was the lesbian ghost Thelma on "Hex") playing Amanda. She's a hoot and such an every girl that you can't help but root for her even when you know that "Pride and Prejudice" ends with Darcy and Lizzy living happily ever after. She's not just a fish out of water but a fish out of time. Also from "Hex" is Christina Cole, who plays Caroline Bingley with the haughty aristocraticness we have come to know and hate. She's perfect and I loved the line when Amanda says "I never understood your character". I don't know much about Elliot Cowan, the actor who plays Darcy, and he's no Colin Firth (even Amanda admits that) but he's perfectly arrogant and a great sport, especially when Amanda asks him to get in the water so she can have the live moment when Darcy emerges from the lake. (Too perfect, I would have done the same.)

Apparently, "Lost in Austen" aired in Britain on ITV. It had a showing in America on Ovation, a channel unavailable in Las Vegas. So I watched "Lost in Austen" on YouKu which appears to be a Japanese You Tube. All four episodes (about 45 minutes each) are available on YouKu and don't worry, they are all in English. You'll have to watch it on your computer, but for fans of romance and Austen, this is a necessity to watch. And ITV, bring it on to America please!

I'm HOME!!!!!!

Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home.

I'm home from my New Mexico adventure and it was wonderful to sleep in my own bed. I got home and hugged my dog, my mom and my grandma. (Yes, in that order but only because my Grandma didn't run into the yard to greet me, tail wagging.)

I will miss the guys I was working with, the no crowds on the road and the ice cream. But I'm so glad to be in a place with multiple grocery stores, a Target and my family. And I am so happy to be home and writing again!!!!!! New Mexico was full of twelve hour days and no writing time, ugh. Back to work (the work I love and was meant to do.)

I will really miss Bill. We had a lot of thoughtful and intelligent conversations and I had an awesome time with him (although my calves are still killing me after our zillion mile hike through Carlsbad Caverns on Saturday). It was great to hang out with someone who shared my love of barbecue, ice cream and books. Plus he is always singing and it's cool to hear someone who truly loves music (he also plays guitar and I liked hearing him practice.) And he's such a good guy he let me have sole custody of the remote control and he contained (mostly) his disdain for my watching Big Brother and has decided to not hold my plebeian television viewing habits against me. I love you Bill and I wish for you all the happiness you deserve. Thanks for making my stay infinitely more enjoyable. And not many guys would willingly watch Pride and Prejudice with me, thanks!

Today I have a list of chores a mile long to get my life back to 'normal'. I should be back to blogging daily. Thanks for sticking with me, loyal readers.