“Life is just chair of bowlies,” a rather amusing adaptation of “life is just a bowl of cherries.” It’s also the title of one of Mary Engelbreit’s many children’s books that she illustrates. As it turns out she’s also put out calendars, greeting cards, and apparently a coffee mug, in fact, a coffee mug that is adorned with cherries. I think this is an overly decorative mug ringed by a checker pattern, followed by vines, and then raised cherries. Now I admit the texturing of these ring is a nice tactile sensation but it all seems a bit much, especially the ornate cherry and leaf that sits atop the handle. However, this is all true to form for her illustrations that have a grandmotherly feel. There’s also a clear glaze over the entire mug that’s beginning to crack forming its own unique patterns, much like the cracks that cover our glass cell phone screens. They don’t stop the screen from working, but they are there and if we take a moment to look at them, we can see some interesting patterns.