For Maggie, Mama's house is home. Is it a place of safety, where she doesn't have to hide or feel badly about herself (until Dee comes). Mama describes the way she and Maggie cleaned up their home and yard yesterday to prepare for Dee; she says, "A yard like this is more comfortable than most people know. It is not just a yard. It is like an extended living room." This is the perception that Mama and Maggie have. They are comfortable in their home when it is just the two of them, so after Dee leaves, we see this again. Mama says that "the two of us sat there just enjoying, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed."
Dee, however, doesn't see this place as her home. She has not been back in so long that Mama imagines a talk-show style reunion where she and Dee see each other once again. As a child, Dee was only made happy when Mama raised the money to send her away from home to go to school. When Dee first arrives, even before she kisses her mother and sister, she pulls out her camera to take pictures of them, with the house, with the house and the cow, etc. She seems to see their home as more of a tourist spot -- taking pictures, claiming souvenirs to take home with her (the butter churn top, the dasher, etc.). This is the way Dee sees the world, as full of things that are hers for the taking; no one ever really says "no" to her.
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