Morning Brew in a Fancy Cup

I did something different this last year during the month of December. It was not planned. It just sort of happened. I created a different way to countdown to Christmas for myself. My own, unique, adult version of an advent calender, in a way.

It started right after Thanksgiving. I hosted my family’s Thanksgiving dinner at my home. I was excited because I would get to use my “fancy” dishes. The previous year for Christmas, I had added a LOT of new items to my vintage dishes that I had inherited from my Farmer’s grandmother. When she gave me the few pieces she had, she told me that they were her mother-in-law’s dishes. She said they were nothing fancy and she was gifting them to me because they were blue and blue was my color. They were not a real “fine china” set, but I didn’t care. I loved them and felt special that she gave them to me. The set consisted of 4 dinner dishes, some cups and saucers, and a few small, ice cream type bowls. I added a few pieces here and there, but not many. I had never used them. They just sat pretty in my china cupboard.

Then last year, I hit the jackpot. A lady in town was selling a whole set of the dishes. I told everyone that was what I wanted for Christmas. I told my Farmer he didn’t even have to go shopping! I went and picked them up myself. I was so excited! Silly excited! I had so much fun fitting the whole set into my china cupboard, wondering if and when I would use them.

Since I was hosting Thanksgiving, it was my chance to use all my “newly acquired” dishes. I was so flipping excited!! My Farmer did ask me what would happen if one got broke. I told him it would be just fine. I would not be using the original 4 plates of his great grandmother’s.

The day after Thanksgiving, as I was putting my dishes away, I realized I had not used the cups and saucers. I had gotten them out, but hadn’t used them. I was sad about that. SO I decided to have my morning coffee in one of the cups, with the saucer of course. I figured it’d be a fun thing to do. And it was. I really enjoyed using that cup and saucer that morning. Silly, but it created a special moment. Imagining that maybe my Farmer’s great-grandmother or grandfather had used that very cup, made it special. That’s when I decided to start “my morning brew in a “fancy” cup” christmas countdown.

I have a small collection of “fancy” cups in my china cupboard. Not a lot, but enough. Some of them have a special meaning. Some of them are just cups and saucers that I picked up at a thrift store, intending to give to my sister-in-law as a gift (because she actually collects tea cups) but ended up keeping them for myself ‘cuz I liked them.

Everyday I picked a different cup and saucer and enjoyed my morning brew in it. I took a picture and posted it everyday on my social media accounts. Doing that kept me accountable. I had no idea how much fun I would have doing this little morning ritual! I am not a morning person, AT ALL!!, but this really gave me something to look forward to every morning as I counted down to Christmas. It definitely helped with any winter blues that may have been looming in my mind.

Some mornings I imagined myself having coffee with my mom when I used cups that she had given me. One morning I recalled memories of an old neighbor that had recently passed away, when I used a cup of hers that I had bought from her estate sale. I thought of my dad many times because he preferred drinking his coffee from a daintier cup. I recalled fond memories of having tea parties with “fancy cups” as a child and as an adult with my kids, my great-nieces, and my grandsons. I found that some of the “fancy” cups were not as pleasant to drink from as others. Some cups had that “special feeling” when I drank from them and other’s were awkward to drink from. I found that my morning brew did cool down faster if I fiddled around and didn’t drink it right away. Yet most of the time, the amount in the cup was perfect to drink up before it cooled down.

I did like using the saucers. I could not carry the cup full of my morning brew on the saucer across the room, I think that takes a special balancing talent that I do not possess. I do feel the saucer did add to the “fanciness” of the experience. Plus it caught any spills when I’d bump it or the table. Huge plus!

I had so much fun with this “countdown” that I will be doing it again next year. I’m not sure I will do the “fancy” cups again. I’m not one that always likes the “same ole, same ole”. But I have all year to figure out what it’ll be. I do have a rather large collection of miniature tea sets. I would love to get them all out and use. However, drinking my morning brew from them could be quite interesting!

One added “plus” that came out of “my morning brew in a fancy cup”, besides my mental happiness which is HUGE, is that now all my “fancy” cups and saucers in my china cupboard are all sparkling clean!! Cleaning that was fun and not a chore! HUGE plus!

For any of you that are wondering if my Farmer par-taked in my “fancy” cup fun by having his morning brew in a “fancy” cup….No he did not. He just sat and watched me. Maybe rolled his eyes, not sure. However, he did buy me a new cup for Christmas. Nope, it is not a “fancy” cup. It is definitely a mug.

So as you can see, it really is the simple things in life that make me happy. That, my friends, is how and why I am still here, Livin’ the Life, the Farm Life that is.