From Russians with love

This afternoon, out of the blue, a patient of mine from Russia appeared at the front desk of our office with some large packages, two for me, and one for my doctor. Though they speak even less English than I speak Russian (read: nil) nevertheless the message was clear: thank you. And then the man crossed his hands over his chest and said "I love you."   The colors and shapes of the tea set and table are rich, and like Proust's memory provoked by the swelling of a crumb from a madeleine dipped into his cup of tea, I hope inspiration for color and shape will develop from my teacup, merely by having them steep for a while.