How do you Like Yours?

This post takes its inspiration from a comment made by Jeanette on my piece on World Book Day about me, an English Woman, drinking tea from a mug. I do have a favourite mug and I have to have my first drink of the day from it. I love to sit in bed. first thing in the morning sipping my tea and gradually waking up, with the cat curled beside me - usually with her paws over her eyes - in her determined oh, no, don't wake me up yet pose.

We do have cups but as I'm the only tea drinker in the house and Paul prefers mugs to cups they tend to only come out of the cupboard if we have company. We have pretty cups from Spode:-

Cups from the 50s, 70s and 80s:-

Cute cat mugs from Emma Bridgewater:-

Mugs with all sorts of designs like vintage, retro and modern.

But I do love my favourite mug.

I love its colour, its shape, its texture and the feel of it . I can hold it in both hands and contemplate the start of the day, think through what I have to do, mull over problems, it offers me both comfort and security. How weird is that? Does anyone else have a favourite mug that they always reach for from the cupboard before any other?

Now coffee is another matter. I love coffee at 11a.m. and have a ritual which involves warming the cafetiere, adding the coffee, stirring the requisite number of times with a long spoon and then leaving it to stand for the right amount of time before finally lowering the plunger and pouring the coffee into a mug to drink and I never, ever use my favourite tea mug for coffee.

Edit - I've just noticed that I've been blogging for four years. My first post was on 14th March 2005. That calls for a cup of coffee to celebrate I think!