A Box of Choc’lates
Actor Tom Hanks in the movie Forrest Gump tries to strike up a conversation with a tired nurse seated beside him on a park bench. Holding a box of chocolates in his hand, Forrest offers her a treat, "My mother always said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never...
Valentines: Scissors, Glue, a Bottle Cap or Two
Remember punching out valentine cards that came 8-10 to a page and addressing them to send to your classmates? Back then the do-it-yourself craze hadn't caught on in the Valentine's Day department. A least, not at Rheems Elementary School. Though we may have made a...
What’s in a Name?
My high school yearbook The Elizabethan sports such 3-syllable last names as Aschendorf, Biesecker, Espenshade, Hippensteel, Oxenrider, and Zimmerman. In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania any roster of names would be heavily represented by families of German-Swiss...
Teaser or Cuppa Coffee?
What is your favorite warm beverage? It's February, and by now you have tweaked the art of finding comfort in a cup. Is it tea, coffee or a hot toddy? Maybe it's hot chocolate! In promoting the Fifth Season of Downton Abbey, PBS used tea to tantalize. Twitter was...
Ice is Nice but Snow Glows
Do you have winter fun - sledding, tobogganing, ice skating, even skiing? Maybe now it's a vicarious experience with kids or grandkids. I wrote about it last year in another post. Since then, I've paged through albums to find photos of our Floridian family having fun...
Acquainted with Grief: Author Elaine Mansfield Speaks
January 28, 2014 - It is six months to the day since Mother passed away. I feel melancholy now. Maybe the cold weather has something to do with it, but more and more I miss the warmth of our Saturday morning long-distance phone calls and sitting around her dining room...
Mad, Sad, Glad: Emoticons Show It All
Remember the days when kisses and hugs displayed affection at the end of hand-written letters? XXX OOO Then came smiley faces with a circle, two dots for eyes, and curvy mouth, maybe even a dot for the nose. Hugs were shown as parentheses: (((( )))) They still are!...
Signs and a Wonder: St. Simons Island
Nestled in the marshes east of Brunswick, Georgia, is charming St. Simons Island. Golfers, bicyclers, and fishermen revel in its delights. Fresh Atlantic shrimp were available at the Mullet Bay Cafe during our week-end getaway. Tourists, like us, strolled along the...
Purple Passages: Rich Word$
On December 29, author/blogger Joan Rough published a post declaring her optimistic intentions for 2015 and pondering a single word to characterize this new year while contemplating words of wisdom used other years. Some choices she suggested: Believe, Dare, Trust,...
Moments of Discovery # 4: A Flash Bulb and a Doll
A snapshot of a baby boy dressed as a girl and an old flash bulb. Those are some of the items we find clearing out Mother's house. Last October my sisters and I began the arduous task of sorting, saving, or recycling the accumulated store of her possessions having...
Snow Falling on Anchor Road
Every single memory of snow in my childhood is pleasant. Sparkling flakes in luminous free-fall as I look out the kitchen window. Snow festooning evergreen boughs. Then bundling up in snowsuits, knitted caps, mittens. Getting out the sleds. After more than one...
Sue, Sarah, and Handful: Reviewing The Invention of Wings
Sue Monk Kidd, best known for her debut novel, The Secret Life of Bees, has published her third novel, the acclaimed The Invention of Wings (2014). My Review A full-page spread advertising Sue Monk Kidd's latest work of historical fiction recently appeared in the New...
Who’s Coming to Dinner? Food with Art
How do you see yourself - Kitchen Goddess, Diva of Design, Mom's Taxi, Writer Extraordinaire, Care-Taker? Artist Haley Hasler paints herself as a strong woman in super-abundant settings usually with children and often with food. Currently displayed at the Museum of...
2014 in review: Plain and Fancy Girl
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Readers and commenters like you fuel my inspiration. Thank you for your part in a successful year of blogging. Here's an excerpt: The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700...
Happy New Year: a card and some flowers
Happy New Year! My wish for you in 2015 and beyond is expressed in a card sent to Grandma Fannie Longenecker in 1913. And some fresh camellias too! Happy New Year ~~ Happy New Year ~~ Happy New Year Next post in January 2015: Who's Coming for...
Purple Passages, Time and Tiny Tim, December 2014
Christmas: Time to Feel the Spirit Christmas is not [just] a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. – President Calvin Coolidge I will honor Christmas in my heart, and...
The Longenecker Christmas Tree & Charlie Brown
This post first appeared Christmas 2013. The trees are similar, the presents are different, but the message never changes. Blessings to all my readers and commenters this past year!
What’s Red at Christmastime?
Color psychologists say red represents energy, passion, and motivation to act. Red is everywhere this season: Santa's costume, cranberry dishes, poinsettias. I'm seeing red too. In Ian's Santa cap at the Orchestra Zoo . . . In Mother's cranberry fruit salad recipe...