Making Tea

Sometimes I have possessions I love because they are beautifully designed. The Alessi teakettle, for instance. Being Italian, the design is impractical....the little bird that sings when the water is boiling must be removed before the water can be poured out, and it is too hot to touch. But a friend of mine, who happened to have the same teakettle agreed with me that it impractical but said it just made a more zen experience out of making tea for her. There is a lot to be said for that way of looking at a lot of things. there's also a lot to be said for potholders.

I love the cups both because they are charming and whimsical, and because they remind me of a place I love, but I especially love them because they remind me of Lady Findhorn and His Lordship who gave them to us. when they came to visit.

When we moved to Santa Rosa, we had two houses to move out of, our Berkeley home of 45 years, and a tiny cottage in Sebastopol where we spent most weekends for several years. We left most of the furniture  and almost all of the contents of the kitchen there, since we had no place to put it, and Kelly and Maureen, landlords (and ultimately good friends) were happy to keep it. 

When we were evacuated from the fires of 2017, Kelly and Maureen offered us their own home (a second one for them as well). 'Our' cottage next door had been rented, and the woman who rented it had her own furniture, so they wound up putting most of it in their own house. I was delighted to find these cups in the kitchen and Kelly was delighted to let us have them back when I explained their sentimental importance. In fact,  if there was anything we wanted we should feel free to take it. "We have two of everything", he said.  

These cups have a lot of memories associated with them and I'm happy to have them back....