Most holidays had several things in common when I was a little girl:  lots of company, extra church time, presents, and no school.  We had little holidays like Memorial Day, those were more like snow days for spring time:  just a parade, no company, no special food and no extra cleaning, and no church.  Thanksgiving was different: no church, no presents.  Of course if there was a holiday and company over, that meant lots and lots of extra cleaning and cooking.  I had tons of work to do before the fun began.

First there was all kinds of cleaning.  That’s the way it always was with holidays; that’s the first clue I had that a celebration’s coming.  Clean, clean, clean.  Deep down clean:  mop and wax the linoleum, vacuum under the furniture, starch the curtains with those darned prickly curtain stretchers, iron all the clothes, Continue reading →