The perfect cup

Fans know that I am a tea-drinker and shun the java stuff, thus saving thousands of dollars that most folks throw at Starbucks. I consume vast quantities of black tea - usually Earl Grey - over the course of a day. A little habit I picked up during my stint in England during the crazy 1970s.

To a tea-drinker, little things matter. The pot. The tea (loose or bag?). The add-ins (sugar? milk?). And, most definitely, the cup. When I'm feeling prissy I have lovely china cups that fit the bill. Usually, however, I need a solid mug that holds a goodly portion of the lovely liquid. But no ordinary clunky mug will do. It needs to have the right balance, the right thickness, the right glaze.

My perfect cup right now is a mug hand-crafted by a dear childhood friend with whom I recently reconnected via Facebook. Susie and I spent nine formative years together at Henry L. Barger Elementary School and Brainerd Jr. High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before going to separate high schools. You lose touch. That's to be expected.

But what a joy to find each other again and catch up on our lives! Then all those slumber parties, school projects, and choir concerts flood right back into the brain. Let's just say that I'm sure Susie gets Shorty PJs' references to spoolies and Noxema.

OK. Back to the perfect cup. Susie is a potter and creates her own usable art at Waterwheel Studio on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. Naturally, when I learned this and saw her lovely work on etsy.com, well, I just had to have me some of that action. Two fabulous mugs (one for work, one for home) and a fabulous casserole dish. Beautiful and useful. And made by my friend Susie. The one who knew me when. What's not to love?

The perfect cup? You bet. And now, for one more cuppa tea. Cheers!