Morning coffee...Afternoon tea...

How do you keep memories alive? Photo’s always help, telling our stories to someone seems to freshen details, keeping a journal has always helped me but one of my favorite “things” to use are mugs. I have a large mug collection and many of the mugs represent special times and special people.

The Cornstalk Hotel mug pictured above is one such mug. Interestingly, I don’t remember the actual purchase but on any morning that I choose this mug over all the others, it brings a flood of memories, some very disconnected that may seem like stream of consciousness to you.

One evening we sat out on the hotel front balcony with our bottle of wine, enjoying the evening and each other’s company. We listened to the horse drawn carriages stop in front of the hotel and the guide tell the story of a man bringing his young bride from the corn growing midwest to New Orleans, building a beautiful house (now the hotel) and finally putting a cornstalk iron fence around the house to ease his bride’s homesickness for the corn fields she’d grown-up with.

I remember the several days we spent in New Orleans walking the streets day and night. One afternoon when it looked like rain, we choose to have lunch on a covered terrace watching people on the street. When the rain came we enjoyed a lovely lunch and all the hurry of the side walk people running for cover. One afternoon we found a man playing water glasses, making terrific music running his finger around the rims. Our breakfast on the street eating the wonderful Beignets hot from the fat! Our breakfast at Brennan’s and the Two Sisters.

We spent three glorious nights and four days in New Orleans and then drove into the Bayou Teche. We spent nights in the small parishes of Lafayette, St. Martin and Iberia. At lunch in a road side sea food house one afternoon, Gorn suddenly left the table. When he came back he had reservations for a night on a house boat in the middle of the Atchafalaya! It took me so long to learn to pronounce that. What a beautiful night that was. We could have taken our dingy into the shore and had dinner but we grilled hot dogs and stayed in listening to all those night sounds. We had just gotten a cell phone and we used it to call both boys. For a long time Jason had a picture Gorn had taken of me that night on his refrigerator door.

Isn’t he ugly? But, isn’t he just so very neat! Gorn & I were visiting my Mom & Dad in Morro Bay California and took a drive up the coast to tour part of the Hearst Castle. On the way back we saw a sign for an off road pottery place and took the detour. I couldn’t bring myself to spend so much. When we got back and I was telling mom about it she was very attentive. She sent me this several weeks later. Ugly as he is, he’s full of good times and beautiful memories of a mom & dad who went on a search to bring this one to me.

A few years ago, I made several trips to New Mexico to visit with my aunt Eunie when my cousin Kathy was helping her sort out moving. We cooked together, shopped, laughed a lot, went out to eat some, played a bit, basically just had good times. On one occasion, we took Eunie and her life long friend Berta to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant. The food was great, the wine even better and the music even better still. The music was so good Eunie danced.

Every place we went Kathy had a story. This was the street Gene (her husband now) carried her books for her. This was where their house was. This was the high school she and Gene attended. This was the street Gene delivered newspapers. On my last trip before Eunie moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to Kathy, Kathy and I were at the airport together and I found this mug with the lizard and blue sky. Tea in this mug brings all those New Mexico memories with each sip.

When I was growing up and my dad was in the Air Force, he flew in and out of the Azores repeatedly. It always seemed exotic and far away to a little girl, some place I’d never get to. Horta, on Faial was our first land fall from St Marrten in the Caribbean when we sailed across the Atlantic in 2000. We spent five days on the island. We painted the sea wall with Valkyrie’s name and the crew names like most boat crews do passing through. We rented a car and drove past miles and miles of hydrangea hedges, all a vivid blue from the acid volcanic ash soil. We climbed all over the lighthouse that had been buried in volcanic ash. We ate wonderful Portuguese meals that cost next to nothing. We ate ice cream outside a little mom & pop grocery. We walked all over the town of Horta.

So, on any morning, afternoon or evening that I choose one mug over all the others, I relive all those sweet memories. Bringing them back with a sip of coffee or tea keeps them fresh and vivid.

If you ever visit and are here for coffee or tea be prepared to make a choice. I usually ask folks “How do you feel today? Pick a mug that sets your day. Pick a mug that fits your mood.”

Can I offer you a cup of coffee or tea? It’s sometimes a very difficult choice. There are a lot of stories. Some of my cups are waiting for stories. Can I offer you a cup of coffee or tea? You might be their story. Let’s have coffee and tea soon.

I wish you many stories.