Today is Saturday

Today is Saturday. Saturday's of long ago meant a great dinner -- because Sunday was a non-cook day for mom and we had leftovers. Saturday's dinner was usually some sort of roast -- beef, lamb, veal, pork, and the roast was large enough and mom made enough mashed potatoes and veggies so that she could just put it all in one pot and pop it in the oven on low while we were at church.

Saturday night was also bath night. It was also the night we got the Sunday comics. Part of the Sunday paper came on Saturday night -- only the daily news and sports parts came on Sunday, so we could read the comics on Saturday night -- this was also known as the "Saturday night fights". Who was going to get the comics first? Who was not going to get them before bath and bedtime and who was going to have to wait until Monday? THERE WAS NO READING OF THE COMICS ON SUNDAYS!!!!!!

Anyway, that's what I remember from my pre-teen years. After I hit 15 things sort of went the way of the world and we did more "worldly" things on Sundays like read the comics, drink soda, maybe even play tennis. There were still no stores open on Sundays. That didn't happen until I was in my early 20s.

So, what's different between those Saturdays and this Saturday? Well, for one thing I'm retired, so I don't have to get up early. We have two bathrooms, so I don't have to wait for dad to finish in the bathroom. I don't take baths anymore, let alone weekly. I shower daily. As for the Sunday paper? I cut that out after I found out that my husband wouldn't throw away any papers until he had read them, and there was a five-year stretch there when he wasn't reading, but rather saving newspapers. Enough was enough and I cancelled the subscription.

Today is Saturday and it snowed, and I wrapped a few Christmas presents. Oh, the mess! I don't recall such a mess in my mother's home when she was in the process of wrapping gifts. Maybe I was asleep. But since I'm not finished wrapping the grandchildren's gifts, the mess is still very prominent in the library and my office -- get it? The mess is so large it takes up two rooms. Also, I couldn't believe that I only wrapped six gifts in two hours this afternoon. After that I fizzled out in the gift wrapping department, and went on to do other things -- cooking dinner, moving the piles of trash, cleaning the kitchen AGAIN.

Why is it that the kitchen has to be cleaned so often? It seems I no sooner get it cleared up, and bang, it needs to be cleaned and cleared again (or is it cleared and cleaned?). One of today's tasks was to put away Christmas dishes that I got out a couple of weeks ago and which I now know I will not be using this season. This required me getting on the step stool (fearfully) and putting them back in the cabinet on the top shelf, of course.

I'm still looking at snow, even though it rained most of the day, and they say we'll get more snow tomorrow. I hope so. It does look pretty. See? I included a picture -- not of Runnemede but of today's snow in northern Kentucky.