The first weekend of the month is always special because of our first Friday and first Saturday devotions, but this weekend was extra-special because my author copies of Little Thief! Chota Chor! arrived! Until now it didn't feel completely real. But to hold the book, lift the jacket flap, see the darling end-papers and read through the story slowly, savoring the gorgeous illustrations, well, there's nothing like it. My friends, when you have a story from the heart, never, ever give up. 
We also received a great bunch of Ghost peppers and the Carolina Reaper, the hottest peppers in the world, heat level orders of magnitude than the cayenne or jalapenos we eat on a regular basis. Both our pastors are good gardeners but I don't know what possessed them to plant these because they don't eat much spicy food. I used one with some leftover chicken, perhaps 10 oz. at most, sautéed with some garlic and onions to gauge the flavor and heat level and it was HOT! I ate plenty of rice with it and had mango lassi to cool the tongue. But it was delicious. I'm guessing one of these is enough to jazz up a big crockpot of beans. Given that the church potlucks are no longer a thing and I'm cooking small batches, we'll ferment these--make some hot sauce. Michael already made some pickles from the banana peppers--they're the complete opposite of ghosts.
