I Like My Disney World Turquoise All-Purpose Mug

Katherine here.

I want to talk about why I like my new DisneyWorld Mickey Mouse all-purpose mug and why I love my yellow pottery Snooze mug. I want to talk about the two eco-lodges we've stayed at this year with the Chaa Creek water bottle battle and the two-bottle system used at Jenny Lake Lodge. I want to talk about several glasses too. Time and task commitment permitting.

In the previous post Jim makes fun of my new Disney World Mickey Mouse all-purpose mug. I have been his easiest target for over 35 years now so it was not a surprise when he started making smart remarks about my mug when I actually used it out of the confines of Disney properties and outside the privacy of our home. I wanted him to take it to the Jenny Lake Lodge lobby area and bring back coffee thus saving the use of paper cup (it is an eco-lodge after all) and I would have HOT coffee for a considerable amount of time because the mug works so well. It was clear right away that he didn't want to be seen with my turquoise and Mickey Mouse mug--it didn't really fit in with the whole elk antler and wildflower motif typical of the place. He's right, but I still love this mug.

I can always find this mug because very few people at our resort went for the turquoise one (black is, of course, the classic choice). I left my mug behind in the dining room at Jenny one morning and a bellman promptly delivered it to me at our cabin. I'm sure it was the turquoise color that linked the mug to me.

I also love how the lid works. I usually like to sip coffee left-handed. On rare occasions during full moons, I prefer my right hand. I like how simple it is to switch sides. The open-close sipping mechanism is superb. Disney really got the cup right. Jim is a closet user of his BLACK Disney World all-purpose mug. I thought the world should know that somebody who can get so all fired excited about non-fiction books tracing the history of greed (see previous post) also uses a Disney World Mickey Mouse all-purpose mug when folks aren't looking. It makes me smile.

My other favorite mug is my yellow clay one from Snooze. We had two and Jim broke one. It was, of course, mine that he broke. I hadn't been able to see any difference in the two mugs, but his keen eye had figured it out. I quickly bought a new Snooze mug so there would be two and one of us wouldn't have to drink from a different kind of mug (icky). I think the new one is a bit shinier. I'm trying to keep an eye on it.

The yellow Snooze mug is handmade. It's big on the bottom, but narrow at the top so the heat stays in. It has a nice heft. The Snooze owner told me about The Wheel where they are made near San Diego and I looked the place up. It makes tableware for restaurants only, but really cool stuff. I like knowing the source of my mug.

I have water bottles I like and water bottles I don't like. They've all come from eco-lodges. Good eco-lodges have water bottles greeting you as gifts when you check in to help you stay away from plastic water systems.

We stayed with Bud and Janet at Chaa Creek in Belize. It's a top-rated eco-lodge and my second favorite resort. Four of us checked in and there were only two water bottles. The water bottles looked cool, I must admit. Greenish-clayey color with the logo in cream stamped on. We asked for two more bottles. They were six or twelve dollars. Bud and Janet told us to keep them (they have armies of bottles from their various trips) and we did. They asked about the water bottles numbers of times while we were there. We offered to give them to them and they said no. We offered to buy two more. They said no. They asked about the bottles when we returned. We sadly explained that one broke inside a suitcase on the way home, but we'd be happy to give them the bottles. They said no. I have decided that the Chaa Creek water bottles are bad bottles. I may not be done with Chaa Creek in my life, but I am done with their water bottles. I will make sure Bud and Janet get the bottles if we go there together again.

Jenny Lake Lodge is an eco-lodge too. Water there is wonderful. It has to be given all the fracking concerns (see "Gasland") connected with Wyoming water. They offer NO plastic water bottles. Period. They have a purifier in the lobby and you take your Camelpak over and fill it up and head off on your hike. They give each guest a really cool silver water bottle with appropriate swivels and things to hook it to your pack and you can fill it from the purifier or you can fill it with the purified water they bring to your cabin twice a day. They have heavy, beautiful tall glass bottles with screw-tops filled with purified water and then left with you in your cabin. They trade out the used bottles when ice is delivered. It's a really cool system. I love both the silver bottles and the glass bottles and I'm using them at home now too.

I can't stop this rambling without talking about my favorite glasses a bit too. It won't take long. Promise.

We have three pairs of wine glasses from the Napa Valley acquired in two trips. We have white wine glasses from the Cakebread winery. I loved that place. I love their white wines. The second are two red wine glasses from the Opus One winery. Opus One is my favorite red wine even though a lot of folks give me a hard time about it. It explodes in my mouth. Most wines, I guess, are about finishes. Opus One is about the beginning and how it combines with food. Anyway, we once bought half a case of bottles at the Opus One winery and managed to wait a year until we drank the last one. The last pair is a set of of champagne flutes from the Korbel winery near Santa Rosa where we visited Franny and her in-laws last fall. I love the dark red champagne they have there. They have some incredible wines that you can only buy there at the winery. There's a lovely deli attached. We had a really nice time there. Nice memories all the way around.

I also like our Sundance glassware. I like Robert Redford's Utah resort and I buy stuff from his Sundance catalogue when it hits the "Outlet" stage. We have little juice/wine glasses in beer bottle colors. We have tumblers in three sizes--clear glasses with either red, blue, or turquoise rims depending on the size of the tumbler. All are made of recycled glass. They have a nice heft. They replaced the used jar approach we'd had for years much to my mother's relief.

I'm done. I like to revel in simple pleasures like my mugs. Franny is home for a bit before heading onto California to see her husband's family and to Hawaii with Ken. She's earned a good long rest. We had dinner in the backyard last night. We had a good Italian wine and I used my Opus One glass. It was really nice. Things are always better with the right mug--even if it is a turquoise Disney World all-purpose mug.