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I am glad I found my writer’s voice. When I was a little girl , I enjoyed listening to stories. But I was not old enough to appreciate the author’s literary skills. In high school [...]

I am glad I was raised in a small town. Ames, New York is still the smallest incorporated village in New York State. When I lived there in the ’50’s and ’60’s, about 200 [...]

I am glad I have three sisters in my family. I am number two of 4 girls born in a five-year time span. Mom and Dad provided the main course of my DNA. Good genes and strong moral values sustained [...]

I am glad to perpetuate my mother’s tradition of organization and dedication to a well-set table. In the upcoming days, and sometimes weeks, of a large family gathering, mom polished [...]

One Christmas I decided that I needed to really get into the spirit and play Santa. I cobbled together the best costume possible with the meager resources at hand. Then I made my sisters play [...]

As a child, we ate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts in our dining room. Mom loved to keep the tradition alive of serving a flaming fruit cake on Christmas Eve. I personally did not like the [...]

Two special treats appeared at Christmastime when I was a child. One was clementines.  Today the smell of that little citrus gem immediately takes me back to the one that was always in the toe of [...]

My parents bought our home in Ames, New York in 1951. A year later, I arrived and joined my sister. By 1955, we were a family of six. I have called it my home ever since. At Christmastime my [...]

My mother’s brother and his family lived in Germany. Every Christmas we waited for a big wooden crate to arrive from Europe packed with beautiful gifts and German treats. One year, he sent [...]

I purchased our Christmas Pickle in the late 80’s and with it added a pickle hunt  to my family’s traditions. On Christmas Eve, I hid the pickle deep within the multitude of ornaments [...]