Mexico Orts and a Blurb

A few final observations on last week's experience:

See that girl on the left? She's the one Husband and I have been paired with through the Children's Haven International sponsor match program. Most of the time I'd say this girl got the wrong end of the stick when it came to this sponsorship. I am awful at writing letters, and I have no experience whatsoever with eight-year-old girls whose interests are unlikely to include book discussions and knitting, so she's often left out when the other children are hearing from their sponsors.

The day before we left for Mexico, though, I was in WalMart picking up some extra bug repellent (good idea, by the way) when I saw a stack of clearance kids' purses. On a whim I picked up the shiniest, pinkest one in the stack and stuck it in a gift bag to take to this kid.

Oh, my, gosh. You would have thought this $4 purse was a Cartier watch with diamond-studded hands. Not only did she wear it with her school uniform every day, she was the princess of the world as she shared it with one "sibling" after another. My stony heart grew three sizes watching her break into a smile as she posed with the purse.

Because her name and my name only differ by one letter, I teased her that people were going to think we were twins--we'd be Las Gemelas, I told her. They won't be able to tell us apart, I said.

"Oh, yes, they will know which one is which," she assured me, all brown skin and dimples as she looked solemnly into my red-faced, sweating visage. "I'm the one with the purse." And then she doubled over in giggles.

It may be the best four dollars I've ever spent.

*****

The blurb this week also comes from a new culinary experience that all of  y'all probably know about already. But just in case I'm not the absolute final person to this party, I present lime chile.

I know! How could I never have heard of this before? According to the Colorado guy in our group, it's a big hit out there but it hadn't reached the House on the Corner. There was a bottle of this sprinkle-on seasoning set out with the fresh fruit we had for morning snacks, and may I just say a couple of  dashes of this lime-y red powder on fresh pineapple is amazing. Sweet, spicy, citrusy, delicious.

I brought back two bottles (well, I only intended to bring one but Husband didn't know I'd already gotten one and purchased another) and I plan to try it on everything I eat, from grilled chicken to brownies.

The thumb on the hand with which I'm sprinkling lime chile on everything is pointed way up.