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Too Hot to Handle

Too Hot to Handle

by MarianBeaman | Nov 12, 2025 | blog, book review, Conflict, Memory, popular culture, Quotations, Uncategorized

What’s Too Hot to Handle? The horror of books ablaze in a library. That’s what!   Susan Orleans’ The Library Book (2018) is a portmanteau of story, true crime, and riveting journalism     Before the Great Fire of April 1986, the Central Library of Los...
My Can of Soup Goes Missing–How Did That Happen?

My Can of Soup Goes Missing–How Did That Happen?

by MarianBeaman | Oct 29, 2025 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Nostalgia, popular culture, Recipes, Tips, Uncategorized

HOW I  BEGAN     Along with the recipe, I set the can of lentil soup can on the counter. It was certainly visible! I’d be sure to see it and use it as a starter for making a quick batch of stomach-warming soup as the weather turned cooler in October. Right?...
Armchair Anthropology – Cheap Travel

Armchair Anthropology – Cheap Travel

by MarianBeaman | Oct 15, 2025 | blog, book review, Literature, Novel writing, Novel writing, Quotations, Travel, Uncategorized

How Do You Travel? I wonder how you enjoy traveling these days. Maybe you travel by car, boat, or plane. But you can also open books, a simple and inexpensive way to experience other times and places. Ipso-presto you are there! During October, I’ve traveled to...
What Help Looks Like

What Help Looks Like

by MarianBeaman | Oct 1, 2025 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, neighborhood, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized

What Help Looks like   What Sparked the Inspiration for this Blog Post? Apparently out of nowhere, this rectangular item from the “olden days” appeared in one of my bedroom dresser drawers. It has probably been there for a long time, but I haven’t noticed it . ....
Little Girl and a Coffin in the House

Little Girl and a Coffin in the House

by MarianBeaman | Sep 17, 2025 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations

What I Saw I sit on a green stuffed chair in my Grandma Longenecker’s parlor. The top of my back legs feel a little itchy. My mother has starched my Sunday dress to make the skirt stand out nice and pretty. Because I am little, I can see the tips of my high-top shoes,...

Sign Post

by MarianBeaman | Aug 27, 2025 | blog, Tips, Uncategorized

Be Back Soon!
What Are Your Favorite Smells from Childhood?

What Are Your Favorite Smells from Childhood?

by MarianBeaman | Aug 20, 2025 | blog, British History, Easter, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized

10 Scents from My Young Life 1. Saffron in Grandma’s pot pie   Grandma used burnt-orange threads of saffron from a white packet. Mine comes in a tiny glass jar from Homegoods, more expensive, of course.     2. Tomatoes on vine in our Bainbridge, Pennsylvania...
Our 58th Anniversary with Advice from Jay Leno

Our 58th Anniversary with Advice from Jay Leno

by MarianBeaman | Aug 6, 2025 | blog, book review, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Quotations, Romance, Tips

August 5, 1967: How I Learned What it Means to Obey The summer Cliff and I got married I served as a secretary in the office of Pastor Deane Ballard at Calvary Presbyterian Church. As our wedding day approached, I got to choose the wording of our marriage vows....
Mother Longenecker: Her Life in Pictures

Mother Longenecker: Her Life in Pictures

by MarianBeaman | Jul 23, 2025 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

Today, July 23rd, is my mother’s birthday. If she were still alive, she’d be 107 years old now. Ruth Landis Metzler grew up in a Mennonite family on a farm near Manheim, Pennsylvania, the first daughter of Abram Hernley Metzler and Sadie Landis Metzler,...
The Tale of the Squirrel and the Bird-feeder

The Tale of the Squirrel and the Bird-feeder

by MarianBeaman | Jul 9, 2025 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, neighborhood, Neighborhood / Environment, Uncategorized

“There he goes!” From his studio window, Cliff observed a squirrel stealing birdseed from our new feeder. Again.   I rushed outside into the lanai, and saw the squirrel scarfing down the contraband, the feeder swinging back and forth from its weight. A squirrel...
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