"The Secret Garden"

We went downtown this afternoon to meet our friends K and B for a matinee performance of "The Secret Garden." It has been at least twenty-five years since I read that classic story, and this version was more abstract (to use my husband's word) than I remember the original to be. I want to find that book and read it again, without the embellishments and interpretation of the person who wrote today's play.

One of the children in this play looked very familiar.... I could swear that we've seen that little boy in "The Nutcracker" last Christmas. He has a very impish face and a strong voice, and his Dutch-boy haircut is even the same, so I'm betting that he's the same child from the Christmas play.

We went to an Indian restaurant (also downtown) for dinner afterwards. K had her granddaughter visiting, so it was the five of us for both the play and dinner. I've only been to one Indian restaurant, and there were only two items on the menu that I liked, so today's meal was an adventure. We ordered two large dishes that we all could share.... shrimp with an assortment of vegetable dishes, and a chicken and lamb dish with still more vegetables, plus rice. K's granddaughter hadn't ever eaten Indian food before, but she found a grilled chicken dish on the menu and said that it tasted "just like real chicken."

I tasted the shrimp (delicioius), didn't try the chicken and lamb, and really enjoyed the lentils and spinach dishes. Their bread (called naan, I believe) is served soft and warm, and it's very good, especially with the spinach. They served a soft rice pudding for dessert.... not ever one of my favorites, so I just tasted a tiny bit of that.

We told K and B about Mayberry Cottage, and they can't wait for their first drive up there to see it all. They have a big RV for their trips.... they have two miniature poodles and with their RV, they can take their dogs with them wherever they go. And B, who isn't really a party person but always comes to our Charades parties anyway, said that Mayberry would be a great place to have a party. Maybe underneath her serious exterior, a party-girl is lurking.