Christmas dinner with Boo

"Hey, I know it's been a while since I saw Barbara, but I'm pretty sure that isn't her in the photo."

You're right, of course.

"Then where's the picture of her to prove she was there with you?"

Well, the thing is, here's the thing: she wouldn't let me take the shot.

"For real???"

I must have trained the camera lens on her for almost a full minute, but she kept being squirrely and moving about with her mouth open. 

"Yeah, I guess you didn't want to make her look bad, so you just had to give up on that quest."

Yep, so I opted for the photograph of my food instead. I had a dish I'd never tasted before, chosen for its chickpeas and spinach, and it was quite good!

"So that must be Chana Saag?"

It is!

"Yeah, I think I've figured out a bit of the Indian language. 'Chana' means chickpeas are a main ingredient. 'Saag' must be the word for spinach."

Indeed! Good for you for sussing that out!

"Thanks! I try to learn a little something however I can!"

Me, too.

"So, y'all had gone to one of the new Indian films at the Royal?"

No, we'd just seen Guillermo Del Toro's latest fairy tale film, "Nightmare Alley". What a star-studded cast!!! As well as Bradley Cooper in the lead, he'd paired up Frances McDormand and David Strathairn, as they had been in "Nomadland" - very nice nod to that 2020 film, I thought. Boo had not seen that, though, so the reference was lost on her.

"But she caught the sameness of spirit to "The Shape Of Water", didn't she?"

Honestly, I don't think she did. She didn't seem to even blink when Richard Jenkins was cast in this one, too. Totally different character he played here - like, quite evil. He was a reluctant good guy in the other movie.

"Yes, I had liked him there. He reminded me of your Rogue, Joe Guy. So, since you weren't in Pooler, what Indian place did y'all visit? Taste Of India?"

No that one is closed. That bar crowd got a bit too busy with guns one night, leading to a shooting and its closure, bar, restaurant, and all. I guess the liquor license was the primary source of revenue and when they lost that, it was all over.

"So, you were at Pakwan?"

 We were, indeed. I had to keep hustling her along with her soup so the poor guys could finish up and go home! It was so funny! She would take a scant spoonful of the soup and then talk for ten minutes, then take another small bit and swallow that down before another round of talking. She finally finished and I stood, having already boxed my leftovers and the Bollywood video having looped back to where it had started when we had entered, ninety minutes earlier.

"Bless her heart! She really needs more adults to talk to, doesn't she? And what has happened to her going to Washington state to see her honorary grandchild?"

That fell through, no surprise. I think she should pay for her own flight, but she believes they should, so they're at an impasse. At least she and her one niece are back on good terms! She should be able to spend Christmas Day with her, I hope. Meanwhile, she and I have two movies slated for next week! Hooray! More time with esta amiga!

(smile!)