"We have never used it"

is something most people have probably said of something - and perhaps said more than once. How many people regret buying something because they have never used it - or rarely used it.

Going through things in this house I have not come across much which has not been used . There are one or two things that have not had as much use as they might have had but, for the most part, the Senior Cat and I used what we bought.

"Even the bread machine?" I was asked recently. It is apparently something many people regret buying. We had the first bread machine given to us by a friend...and we used it. When it failed I bought a second one because the Senior Cat loved to have the sort of bread he called "real bread" - full grain with added seeds of various sorts. I used the machine about once every four days - the time it took us to eat the loaf. I have not used it quite so much since then but I have used it often enough to justify having bought it in the first place. 

I have come across things my mother bought and did not use. I am aware of when she bought some of those things and I suspect that it was around about that time she began to feel very unwell. Perhaps, given her beliefs, she thought she was going to be fine and would get on with the baking and sewing and gardening she had planned. 

Yesterday Middle Cat and I tackled part of the dining area cupboard and the mugs in it. I rather suspect many people have a collection of mugs. Some they may have bought because they simply liked the look of them. Others will have been given to them. There might be others they have "rescued" when other people have thrown them away. All this is true of us. I have a "cat" mug I bought in the local charity shop. The cat reminds me of one we once had. I have another one, a large one. It is my breakfast mug, given to me by Middle Cat. The cat on that is called "the Mouser" and is holding a computer mouse in his mouth. There are other cat related mugs including the one given to the Senior Cat which says, "real men like cats".

Among all this there was a box of four mugs. They have never been used. We think our mother must have bought them for some reason. It has puzzled us because it was not the sort of thing she usually bought. Was it intended for a raffle prize at her church guild? It is the only thing for which we can think it might have been intended. What to do with it? Give it to charity?

A friend is coming to lunch today, the friend who comes on a regular basis. She has been heavily involved in the Lions for many years. I know they have a regular Christmas raffle. It is a substantial one where a trailer (not the American sort) is donated and filled with a variety of household goods. I sent W... a message. Would Lions perhaps like the mugs? Yes, they would.

I am glad they are going to be put to a good purpose...but I do rather wonder whether the winner of the raffle will need any more mugs.