Sunday, December 20, 2015

The rest of the story.....


I finished the two-page sketch of some of my holiday cups, so here it is! One of the things I love in life is sitting down with a cup of coffee or tea, and a book or a journal or a magazine or a friend or my sweet husband (especially if he has brought me the cup, unexpectedly.) And I especially enjoy these hot drinks in the 'bleak mid-winter.' So, over the years, I have collected and accumulated a number of holiday cups; so many, in fact, that when the time comes to use them, I have to clear out my cupboard of everyday cups to make room for them.

A number of my cups come with 'stories,' as is the case with a lot of our possessions. They are reminders of times and places and people, and I love that about them! The cup on the top right (tree) is one of a set of four. They were given to me by my brother many years ago. He is no longer with us, but this gift from him is.  

The cup at the bottom right of the first page (red and white) is one of two given to me last Christmas by a friend I frequently share coffee or tea with. They are vintage Fire King cups, from a 'Tom and Jerry' punch set. I love the fact that they have 'history.'

The cup on the top left of the second page is also a vintage cup. It is heavy 'restaurant china' and was given out by Arby's in 1987. In fact, it says 'Arby's 1987 Christmas Collection' on it.  

The china cup and saucer beside it was given to me one Christmas from my Mother. Then, the next Christmas, she gave me another just like it, having forgotten she'd already given me one. So I have two, and she and I drank tea from them together for the last time last Christmas. 

The mug with socks on it I bought for myself one year when I had been knitting a great number of socks. The one below it, with sledding children, is also a set of four - or it was, but one has been broken. They are very large, and are perfect for filling about 2/3s of the way with hot chocolate, leaving the top third for little marshmallows or whipped cream.

The milk glass Auld Lang Syne cup is another small 'Tom and Jerry' cup from a punch set from the 1930's. I just have the one cup. It is the perfect size for french chocolate chaud!

I truly enjoyed sketching these cups and thinking of all the drinks that I, and others (some of whom I don't even know) have sipped from them; of all the conversations, all the plans made, all the joys and sorrows that have taken place in their presence, and especially of the comfort of the hot coffee or tea or chocolate that filled them, and then filled me, warming my body and soul.


No comments:

Challenge accepted!

This is Ringo T he American Tapestry Alliance hosts an unjuried exhibition every two years, in conjunction with the Handweavers Convergence ...