Shine, Shine, Shine

An important part of having guests, and preparing for holidays, is cleaning the house.

Old habits are hard to break. One of my clearest childhood memories is of my maternal grandmother washing all her windows before Easter! Nothing could be baked or cooked until the house was spotless.

While it would be so wonderful to hire someone to clean, that's out of the realm of possibility right now. Cleaning day came one day last week . Beds had to be stripped, sheets washed, and replaced.

Down on the knees in the living room, polishing the wood floors, was not the way I particularly wanted to spend my time but I liked the way the floors came out.

Vacuuming, polishing, washing, shining, and on and on continued throughout the day.

Looking at the dusty, tarnished brass candleholders, I knew they had to be polished so I covered the kitchen table with newspapers. Using paper towels, I poured the new brass cleaner purchased at the supermarket and got to scrubbing.

The towels (and my hands) turned black and the candle holders started to gleam. Their newly shining surfaces reflected the light. The polish worked perfectly and the effort put into rubbing them was well worth it.

Now, ready for Tom Turkey by candlelight!