Sometimes A Thing Is Just Perfect

You know those things in your house that are, very simply and for no especially good reason, your favorites? Your favorite blanket, your favorite mug, your favorite pair of underwear for when no one but you is going to see it (just me?). 

I would venture that each and every one of us has a favorite bowl. The one that, should it be clean, we would automatically choose for anything from ice cream to cereal to pasta. Francesca, for example, has a favorite bowl. It happens to be one I gave he...