In my house they’re busy with the sewing machine. Bobbins are flying about as witches’ capes are readied. I’m dodging sewing needles and thread shooting from the machine like spider’s webs. It’s a homemade Halloween hootenanny.

And I love it.
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I went to dinner the other night with my mother and daughter. As most of these occasions turn out, I was the babysitter. Telling them both to keep their voices down. Not to color on the table. Asking if they had gone to the bathroom since lunch, or if they needed to wash their hands. Generally playing the peacemaker.

“Mom, I’ve told you, do not argue with a 5-year-old … especially when you’re wrong.”
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Here’s what I know about the datil pepper …

They can be nasty little buggers — the Tazmanian devil of the pepper family.

They will singe your teeth and make hair grow on your ears like Spanish moss.

As far as I can tell, they are mainly grown in St. Augustine and are a favorite of Minorcans — a daredevil group who switched to the spicy pepper when consuming food that was still on fire grew boring.
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