Gunfire or Fireworks? has been a common game around here this summer.

That's my neighborhood's motto. (It's usually gunfire. Sad but true.)

That's my neighborhood's motto. (It's usually gunfire. Sad but true.)

I am Steph, but subbing city for neighborhood.

I slept through the Running of the Bulls and Doggies and Donuts, and now it's storming on and off liek woah. I need to get myself going and hit the market (which is inside).

I get a migraine google alert, and the past couple of days it's been all Excedrin, all the time. Apparently it's off the market, and Excedrin Extra Strength is going for $144 and Excedrin Migraine for $245. As opposed to $10.

Man, I wish it worked so well for me I'd be desperate to buy it. I still can't work out when IV compazine is going to come back on the market. It's been months since I've had an effective anti-emetic. It's horrible horrible horrible.

weeded about half the yard. dad either came yesterday or before 10am and mowed, so any weeds that had seeded got mulch. gah. Still have about 25 gallons that I puled, so not bad for an hour and 15 min.

Do you have a favourite mug/coffee/tea cup? What makes it your favourite? Is it something sentimental? About its provenance? Design? Or is it something about how it sits in your hand? Size? Shape? Colour?

I've just discovered that the company mugs they gave out a few months ago are really...handy. It's a similar shape to my cafeteria teacup set of four, but a couple of ounces bigger, so more tea. It took over from a Cafepress mug that had previously been my favourite because the stupid text (keep calm and have a profound bond) amused me, and I liked the black inside. I feel a bit guilty for cheating on it with a corporate mug, to be honest...

Do you have a favourite? I prefer four of mine, pretty much. Third up is my b.org mug. If all three of those are dirty, next up is the girls kick ass one from DX, and then they're all equal after that.

My favorite mugs change. There's a lot of hand made pottery in NC, so sometimes I'll be in the mood for one of the ones I've bought. There's a nicely shaped green one with a tree on it that holds about 1.5 mug's worth of coffe that I've been using a lot lately. Other times I'll be in the mood for one of the Liberty print mugs from Target.

My favorite mug ever was big and purple, and the handle finally broke. That was a blow, I hate to say. I used that mug every day for years.

Now I alternate between my "Keep Calm and Carry Salt Rounds" mug, a mug with an A on it from Pier One or something, and a hand-painted mug I got from B&N years ago, with a cozy chair and a book and a table with a mug on it.

Speaking of mugs, it's time for tea refill. With the big 'un, it's two go rounds to finish the 750ml of tea I brew at a time. First cup is with the muffin/bread/cereal, second is just for savouring.

I think oversize has been the most consistent feature I enjoyed. The first set of dishes I bought for myself was jewel tone stuff from Pier 1--I really loved that stuff--each setting was a different colour, four settings, and the mugs were nice wide latte mugs. I've never had dishes I've liked as much since--in fact my current dishes are diametrically boring. They're white cafeteria style blah. I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought them. I hate them, but they work, so I haven't been able to justify replacing them with something I enjoy.

We use these square melamine plates most of the time, but the dishes we have that I love are from a discontinued line called ... I forget, American something. They're all black and white, and the salad plates are either the Statue of Liberty or the Chrysler Building. The dinner plates are either Metropolis (you have to click the link to it on that page), or a 1959 Cadillac or Amelia Earhart's plate. I love them. The mugs are Victorian brownstones.

Favorite mug is a Star Trek mug from Pfaltzgraf. It was from a pattern they designed for one of the movies. Aside from just being cool, it's a lovely design and it's big enough to make a two-bag cup of tea.