Tea Time: Forgotten treasure

This teacup has a bit of a funny story behind it, but in order for you to find the humor I must explain something. My mother is one of those people you cannot just buy a gift for. Despite something she might like (such as fabric for a quilt or a cute goat item because that is what they raise on their farm.) You have to wait for her to tell you what to get or else take trip with her when she returns it. She is also a woman who believes if it did not come from WalMart, then she does not need it. With that in mind ...

About a year ago my husband and I were in Houston visiting our families when my mom said," Hey! Maybe when you come to visit you can help me go through all of the kitchen cabinets and get rid of stuff." (That is the sort of thing my mom plans when we visit, but it is better than helping worm nearly 100 goats!)

"Um ... o.k.!" I replied without much enthusiasm.

So the day came and there we were in our stocking feet in the kitchen (no shoes allowed on her hardwood floor!) with boxes spread out and my stepfather safely hidden upstairs as not to be asked to assist. One cabinet at a time, I climb up on the ladder and hand down all of the containers, cups, bowls and other items she miraculously crammed into those wooden hideaways.

When cleaning out one of the top shelves, I pulled down this hummingbird tea cup and saucer.

"This is pretty," I said handing it to her.

"Then you can have it," she said.

"Where'd you get it," I asked absently, as I placed in aside on the counter.

"I don't know," she replied. "It couldn't have been important if I don't remember."

"I guess not," I mumbled as I climbed off the ladder. "I think it look familiar because I have that cross stitch pattern."

"I think it's kind of ugly," she replied absently, but then again she like country styles versus the delicate birds and Victorian elegance that adorns my house.

I moved the ladder and started on the next cabinet, forgetting about the pretty little bird in flight.

After a few hours of working we had cleared all of the counters and boxed up the donations for a local charity or something, I boxed up the few things that she thought I could use in our house and headed back to my father-in-law's.

Days later I unpacked the cup and saucer with the other items and put it on a shelf in the kitchen, making a mental note to put it on display later with the others in my small collection.

Fast forward, a few months later, my husband was deployed and I was looking for some bowl that had disappeared as they often do and I came across this set. Suddenly, it clicked. I knew where I had seen the set at. I finished what I was doing and opened up the laptop. Going to one of the flower pages visit for special occasions, I searched and quickly saw it ...

Yep! Plain as day. It was part of the floral arrangement I had sent my mother the previous Mother's Day. I guess once the flowers had died, she put the cup and saucer in the back of the cabinet and forgot about it. So there it was, a cup and saucer that I thought was so beautiful eventually made its way back to me ... maybe I should have told her to put some flowers in it before she gave it back ...