Grandma’s Favourite Teacup (97/365)

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April 7, 2015 – When I was little I loved having tea with my Grandma.

Grandma had the best collection of cups and saucers, but this was my favourite, because it had a story.

My Grandma and Grandpa had a fruit orchard outside of Salmon Arm, above the community of Canoe. They also had alfalfa fields and a massive vegetable garden. That vegetable garden alone was larger than my entire yard.

When I was very little, Grandma used to tell me that when they had fruit pickers, she would make tea for them, but that none of them wanted to use this cup and saucer set.

I was so surprised the first time she told me. Why wouldn’t anyone want to use this beautiful set? It was my favourite because it was so elegant!

“Because” (she said)! The pickers didn’t want to waste time waiting for hot tea to cool, so they would pour the tea into the saucer where it would cool faster, and then they’d drink it from the saucer.

Clearly that wouldn’t work with this saucer, it was “a dribble saucer” she said.

I will never forget that story. I don’t know if it was true, or if she was pulling my leg, or maybe I remember it wrong and it wasn’t pickers on their orchard, but about pickers in general….I was a little girl and that was a very long time ago.

But I do know that when I was culling my crates of items from my Grandmothers, although many things had to be let go of…this was not one of them. This was an item that I will keep and cherish.