Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO
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Dear Reader,
It's light blue. The Crayola color I'd choose if I were drawing a picture of the sky filled with puffy clouds. The soft color is what first attracted me and then I fell in love with the shape; a round, curved surface that conformed to my hand the minute I picked it up.
My right hand gently grasping the handle, my left cradling the opposite side of the mug, sipping my favorite morning blend of coffee (Starbucks Verona) and I was in heaven. I loved this mug, so why did I find it tucked out-of-reach, way in the back of my kitchen cupboard? Thrilled to reacquaint myself with a long, lost friend, I filled the mug up with my morning coffee and sat down in my reading chair, but as soon as I took my first sip, I remembered why I abandoned this mug.
It dribbles.
It didn't matter how careful I was, after every sip, drips of coffee ran down the side of the mug, eventually landing on my nightgown. I also remembered trying to return the mug to Starbucks. It doesn't bother me to return things, normally I'm a confident woman. But waiting in line at Starbucks, surrounded by customers ordering ostentatious drinks like a Grande Caramel Macchiato, a Cinnamon Dolce Latte, and a Triple Venti Soy White Mocha, when it came my turn, no way was I going to announce to the barista, "I'm returning this mug because it dribbles."
Thinking about it now, I suppose I could have taken the approach (when in Rome...) and delivered this "uptown" explanation instead, "I need to return this mug because when I take the first morning sip of my Verona Starbucks coffee, with the dark cocoa texture and roasty sweetness, like a fire-roasted marshmallow after you pull off the darkened cap, it gently weeps down the exterior of my light blue vessel." (Yes, that's the actual coffee description on the package of Verona coffee beans in my cupboard.)
But instead of telling it like the hometown girl I am, "This mug dribbles coffee onto my nightgown and I want a refund. Don't you guys test these coffee mugs?" When it came my turn to order, I handed the barista my light blue vessel and placed my order, "Tall, black, please. I brought my own cup."
Dribble, dribble...
*Yes, there's a photo AND I'm giving away my light blue coffee cup (I'll even sign it). Perhaps it will work better for you. To enter the giveaway drawing and to see the photo, go to: http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/node/6249
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com
* This month's Penguin Classics book is TEVYE THE DAIRYMAN AND MOTL THE CANTOR'S SON by Sholem Aleichem. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/September10Classics
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