Mug moods...

(Before I start, happy December! :) )

Yesterday, Cheryl over at A Simple Yarn blogged about her favorite cups and the moods for which they each fit. I had to laugh when I read it because I thought I was the only one who had mugs for every mood. Inspired by her little photo journey, I offer my own:

I'm partial to pottery mugs (and pottery in general), and this was, for a long while, my favorite...sturdy, earthy colors...a good all-purpose mug that I found at a art fair several years ago...


I still use it a lot (using it right now, in fact), but then I found this mug, and it has been my all-time favorite ever since...


I love the shape, how it fits in my hand, and the little nub at the top of the handle, perfect for my thumb. And the colors? They could not be more perfect. (Blue fading into and overlapping a purplish red...the picture doesn't quite capture them right.) Even better, I know the potter who made it, Jamie Vandermolen (though I do not think she has a blog or website). I love having a personal connection to the artists who have made the things I love!

My next favorite pottery mug is this one, which I bought at a shop in Doolin, County Clare, when we were in Ireland in 2004...


It too is large, and I love the colors...and while it had nothing to do with why I bought it, I think the orange blob on it kind of looks like the White Hand of Saruman from Lord of the Rings, LOL (except that it is orange, not white, and it's upside down...um, yeah...). For whatever reason, I tend to gravitate toward this mug in the evening. It just isn't a morning mug.

Moving away from pottery, I have other favorite mugs. I have an odd assortment of Christmas mug, but of them, one is my favorite for this time of year...


I like the wintry scene, and it's nice because it isn't just Christmas-y, so I can use it all winter. (I do actually have a Christmas mug that I love very much, but I forgot to take a picture of it. Oops!) While I use it for coffee sometimes, I find it is the one I want to use when I'm in a peppermint tea kind of mood.

Speaking of Christmas, I got this mug for Christmas last year from my brother-in-law and his family...


I don't know which one of them picked it out for me, but it is undeniably the very best unsolicited Christmas gift I've ever received. I love it when people think about me and what I love and enjoy and then actually get me a gift that is relevant to that. I think that's what gift-giving should be about, but so often it isn't. Anyway, they know my penchant for sheep and for Ireland, so...perfect gift! (It came with a matching pot holder, too.)

Lastly, this is a recent addition to my favorite mugs collection...


My friend Amy bought it for me a few months ago when she had the opportunity to go to Turn the Page Bookstore Cafe in Boonsboro, MD. Why is this bookstore so special? It is owned by none other than Nora Roberts (who also writes as J. D. Robb), an author both Amy and I greatly enjoy (I'm wildly in love with her Irish Trilogy, one of which you see behind the mug.) This smaller, rounder mug fits perfectly in my hands, and it's the one I go for when I'm in a bookish mood.

*Cheryl's doing a contest that you can enter by sending her a photo of your favorite mug. Check it out! :)

Friends...

Being an introvert by nature, I can sometimes be too content to hole up in my house and be, well, somewhat anti-social with just my kids, my computer and my yarn for company. But when I get out with friends, it's so good.

Today was such a good friend day.

First I had coffee with my friend Will. I met Will ten years ago (really? ten years?? wow.) when he was the pastor at our church. He now lives with his family in Virginia and, while he still preaches, he spends much of his time writing. C. S. Lewis is his speciality, and he's currently on a book tour promoting his newest release, The Professor of Narnia. He's in town for a few days for that purpose, and that's how we had the opportunity to get together today for coffee. I love talking to Will, because no matter what topic or whether or not we agree, it's always insightful conversation. And though we only see each other once or twice a year at best, its always easy to pick up with him. That's good friendship.

Coffee this afternoon wasn't part of the original plan, but dinner tonight was. I joined Will and two other mutual friends, Carole and Peggy, for a long dinner full of laughter and craziness and a bottle of Australian pinot noir (which was a very good wine that I will now add to my limited list of wines that I actually enjoy). Our waitress was a good sport and seemed to enjoy how much we were enjoying ourselves (as opposed to wanting to throw the four crazy people out of the restaurant). It's so much fun to be with friends who you can laugh with over the most irreverent things and no one really gets embarrassed or offended. The meal was good, but the company was far more satisfying.

I forgot my camera, but Will had his...hopefully I'll be able to snatch a picture from him of our dinner hilarity. 

Countdown...

Today is Monday. On Thursday, noon-ish, Amy and I will climb into her CR-V, make the obligatory beginning-of-road-trip Starbucks stop and commence heading east by northeast to Gloucester via a stop-over in Hartford. 

Three days and counting.

We've been planning this trip for well over a month now, and it's always seemed off in the distance, as these things usually do. Now it seems imminent. It is imminent! And that's exciting, as I love to travel. I love road trips, especially those Amy and I take together. I've never been to Gloucester, so I'm looking forward to seeing the quaint seaside village that has been described to me, as well as its neighbor, Rockport. I look forward to the possibility of a whale-watching trip, and many, many photo opportunities. I look forward to a few relaxing days with books and knitting and coffee shops and the beach. And while Amy is not a knitter, I hope she will indulge me by facilitating a yarn shop trip or two over the five days we'll be gone, which I undoubtedly will enjoy. 

Furthermore, I look forward to seeing Denise, a friend whom I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person, who readily paints with her words charming visions of the northern coast of Massachusetts. And en route, I look forward to meeting up with a couple of Ravelry friends (also as of yet unmet in person) for an early lunch in Hartford. 

It will all be good. 

But until Thursday, I have a lot to do. Three full days of school (and an abbreviated day on Thursday morning). Balancing the checkbook and paying bills. Going to the grocery store/pharmacy. Rearranging some appointments for when I get back, as I have myself double-booked. Doing laundry. And, of course, packing -- and as any knitter knows, it takes more energy and time to choose and pack your knitting projects for a trip than it does your clothes. :}

I best get busy!