Better than average

The Lady Soldier has been reviewed at www.myshelf.com. The review was a good one, with the reviewer saying that she thought it was a better than average Regency and she wished the book was longer. So it was a very pleasant review for me to read.

Donna asked what are courgettes. Courgettes are zucchini.
Aubergine are eggplant btw.
Swede are rutabaga as near as I can figure. As I am not overfondly of either, I have not investigated closely -- although my dh keeps trying to convince that mashed swede is great. You would think after 17 plus years of marriage, he'd have learnt. I do give in on high days and holidays and try to choke down a mouthful.

We watched Sideways last night -- a buddy film about two men wine tasting in California's Santa Inez Valley. It was mainly shot around Bulleton and Solvang. As I visited both when I was growing up -- the locations brought back memoriess. When I lived in California, my dh and I used to go wine tasting -- so some of that brought back memories as well -- the contrast between the small winery and the big winery with its steel vats and overly touristy hype. I rapidly learnt that the small wineries often had wonderful gems. As the main character is an unpublished writer, I had a certain amount of sympathy with his anxiety as he waited to hear about his book. It is a better than average film and will probably appeal to people who liked Withnail and I and films like that. According to the telegraph yesterday, Sideways has made the Santa Inez Valley a popular toursit destination as causing a revival in Pinot Noir. I believe it won an Academy award for best adapted screenplay.