Italian Proverb

Everyone gives bread, but not like a mother

Everyday there’s a different saying written on the chalkboard at La Prima Espresso Company in the Strip District. I stopped in to get a coffee on my way to Ohio last week. Their coffee is so good. I took a bag of beans and a bag of ground to my Ohio families.

Mug Shots

The title of today’s post was created by my friend Joanne in Florida . We were talking on the phone about the different types of mugs people have in their homes. Think about the clunky white mugs in a diner, sometime decorated with a single stripe near the rim. What do your mugs say about you?

One afternoon my friend Vincie made a cup of tea. She asked me “ Do you prefer a thick lipped mug or a thin lipped mug?” Hmmmmmmm. I can tell you I had to think about it. Here’s what I learned about my preferences.

When I make a cup of coffee with a paper filter in a cone, I’m choosing a thick lipped mug. When I make a cup of tea I find I’m reaching for a think lipped China mug. I’d never really thought about my preferences before she asked me. I usually choose a family picture mug in the morning.

So I asked a few friends and family, who follow the blog, to send me some photos of their mugs. Mug racks snd mug trees seem out of style although there are hundreds of stock photos of them available .

What kind of mug do you choose? Do you have matching mugs or a hodge podge, mismatched collection? thin lipped, thick lipped, white interior, or whatever is on hand?

Joanne’s six white mugs, all matching.
Joanne can’t abide a dark interior to drink from.
Joanne’s other mug with the Canadian flag
My mugs are a hodge podge mismatched collection on this shelf. There were more in the dishwasher Anna’s second grade drawing on the left, Steve’s Edvard Munch Scream, family photo mugs created by Marlene and sent as presents. There are two gifts from former students.


(Don’t put photo mugs in the dishwasher!)
My friend Vincie has used each of these mugs for a period of time. The one on the right is in use now.
Afternoon tea with a thick lipped on the left and a thin lipped on the right thanks V and G
A gift from a woolswapper representing common interest- Knitting
Special Occasion Gift mug
A thin lipped mug called a beaker.
Perfect for a hot cup of tea
Amy’s mugs with Polish Pottery, Best Grandma and her Yarn Store mug
Colleen says- Loved all the mugs on your blog Ruth. After a lot of downsizing and a little editing this is what happens here. Joanne and Katherine prefer the yellow mugs for tea and I like the Union Jack unless I’m having tomato soup and then it’s the yellow. And, you’ll never see dark in my mugs either.
I think I need a cup of tea.
Perhaps you’ll join me….
Colleen

Blue Bottle Tree

Keeping evil spirits out of the garden and home- bottle trees were created to catch those evil spirits. Here’s an article about the American Bottle Tree on Smithsonian Gardens blog.

I photographed this blue bottle tree in Lenox CT as we went for early morning coffee in November. The bottle tree has African origins and has now spread across the country but was primarily evident in the South. Now you can order a bottle trees online from you know where.

Blue Bottle Tree

Coffee, Earl Grey Tea Bread and a Remembered Poem

After our walk, my friends Jen snd I Went to have a coffee. There was a slice of of Earl Grey Tea Bread in the case and she’d had it before. Encouraged me to order snd try it . It was brought to the table with a generous amount butter and lemon zest on top.

We were at de Fer Coffee in the Strip District. And she was right. It was delicious. The butter slathered on top reminded me of the A.A, Milne poem the King’s Breakfast when the Dairymaid asks the Alderney “Don’t forget the butter for
The Royal slice of bread.” I’d say the cow did the butter spreading royally!

Remembering how my mother read aloud to me, this is a poem I can hear her voice recite the verses. Another she’d read with great expression was Milne’s poem Disobedience. I’d not thought of either in years.

Until the slice of bread arrived at the table in the coffee shop.

Funny how a slice of bread with lots of butter sparks a childhood memory of a poem being read aloud and the cadence and tone of a mother’s voice can come alive in your head, decades later.

Once my cousin John B wrote that my mother’s voice was mellifluous. I had to look it up!

La Prima Espresso in the Strip District

Pandemic adjustments for serving La Prima Espresso customers delicious coffee.

I had my first cup since the beginning of 2020. You can’t go inside now but they’ve found a way to offer safe service.

The coffee as wonderful as ever!

Carrie, you would LOVE it!

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