Sometimes their visits were requested when someone was ill, had died, or was gettting married, while at other times they simply showed up, but were never turned away.
any idea of the profusion displayed in the entertainment of two visitors and their young children. Besides venison, pork, chicken, ducks, and fish of several kinds, cooked in a variety of ways, there was a number of pumpkin, raspberry, cherry, and currant pies, with fresh butter and green cheese (as the new cream-cheese is called), maple molasses, preserves, and pickled cucumbers, besides tea and coffee -the latter be it known, I had watched the American woman boiling in the frying-pan. It was a black-looking compound and I did not attempt to discuss its merits".
Although visiting was usually spontaneous, some notice was preferred so that the hostess could make preparations ahead of time, which was referred to as "going to trouble". For their part, the guests would do justice to the food and it was considered poor taste to push your chair away from the table before everyone was through, or you hadn't eaten as much as was expected.
