• Book Reviews
  • Mennonite Memoir: A Sampling
  • Privacy Policy
Plain and Fancy Girl
  • Welcome!
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Get My Books
Select Page
Oh My Gosh, the Wash!

Oh My Gosh, the Wash!

by MarianBeaman | Feb 5, 2025 | blog, Literature, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Tips

How well I remember the sensation of the twin rubber rollers on the wringer of Mom’s white enamel washing machine pressing down hard on my young flesh from hand to lower arm—my screams—then Mom’s quick thrust, disengaging my arm from the wringer.     When I...
Stitching Memories: Fabric Art

Stitching Memories: Fabric Art

by MarianBeaman | Jan 22, 2025 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Romance, Uncategorized

From January to June 1967, creating my wedding gown kept me in stitches. Before my August  wedding date, I was thrilled to first find a pattern, purchase fabric, and then fashion a white peau de soie dress on a budget. My roommates in the little bungalow on Middleton...
Breakthrough: Broken and Healing

Breakthrough: Broken and Healing

by MarianBeaman | Jan 8, 2025 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, meditation, Tips, Uncategorized

Breakthrough “What a gorgeous day to take a walk,” I exclaimed to Barbara, my walking partner for years as we ambled down the streets of our neighborhood. “Yes, and isn’t it great: 65 degrees in December, and we don’t have to wear jackets” was her reply. We both pride...
Rebecca Chats with Marian on Tea, Toast, and Trivia

Rebecca Chats with Marian on Tea, Toast, and Trivia

by MarianBeaman | Dec 11, 2024 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized

Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia   Soon you’ll hear Rebecca’ s voice: “I’m your host, Rebecca Budd. I am a Blogger, Photographer, Traveler.  Above all, I’m a life-long learner.” But first, an introduction.   Rebecca and her husband...
Holiday Special 2024

Holiday Special 2024

by MarianBeaman | Nov 27, 2024 | blog, Christmas, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized

My Gift to You! Click Here for Holiday Special! Thank you!
Two Points of Light

Two Points of Light

by MarianBeaman | Nov 20, 2024 | blog, Gratitude, meditation, popular culture, Uncategorized

  Kindness and Gratitude: a November Meditation May I be grateful And express through kindly deeds My paéon of praise.
The Riddle of Mellow Music

The Riddle of Mellow Music

by MarianBeaman | Nov 6, 2024 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized

  It’s disgraceful—displaying a perfectly good violin as an ornament, but there it is—on top of my piano propped on a small brass easel! The thing is, it’s not perfectly good: the G string is missing altogether, a black peg has broken off the neck,...
Sex and the Sago Palms in our Back Yard

Sex and the Sago Palms in our Back Yard

by MarianBeaman | Oct 23, 2024 | blog, neighborhood, Neighborhood / Environment, Reflection, Uncategorized

My iPhone, sleek and neat in its azalea-colored bumper, is the linkage to my past and present worlds. Two weeks ago I published a blog post featuring snaps from my iPhone, one picture about a sago palm tree on our patio.   Now I’m musing about another...
7 Mini-Stories from Random Photos

7 Mini-Stories from Random Photos

by MarianBeaman | Oct 9, 2024 | blog, popular culture, Southern lady friends, Tips, Uncategorized

  A picture is worth a 1000 words, so the saying goes. But, sometimes a picture is worth fewer than a thousand words—only a few hundred. The photos below speak for themselves, but most need a little explanation, included with the vignettes below. All of...
Two Novelists and an Author with her Grandson

Two Novelists and an Author with her Grandson

by MarianBeaman | Sep 25, 2024 | blog, book review, Uncategorized

Readers & Writers!    I’m always on a reading spree, but today I pause to share some of my best finds with YOU!   Novelist Alice Hoffman Reading Alice Hoffman’s historical fiction is always a treat for me. Her prose glows as she probes the magic...
« Older Entries
Next Entries »

Translate Page

Read the Latest

  • Too Hot to Handle
  • My Can of Soup Goes Missing–How Did That Happen?
  • Armchair Anthropology – Cheap Travel

Search By Category

  • Amish (8)
  • Amish fiction (4)
  • Award (6)
  • blog (440)
  • book review (87)
  • British History (3)
  • chalk drawing (4)
  • Christmas (8)
  • Cliff Beaman artist (94)
  • Coming of Age (143)
  • Conflict (94)
  • Easter (13)
  • Education (120)
  • Family / Nostalgia (487)
  • Folk Songs of the South (3)
  • Gratitude (61)
  • Kiev Ukraine (5)
  • Lists (40)
  • Literature (126)
  • meditation (158)
  • Memory (232)
  • Mennonite History (196)
  • Mennonite Lore (321)
  • neighborhood (32)
  • Neighborhood / Environment (33)
  • Nostalgia (250)
  • Novel writing (3)
  • Novel writing (3)
  • Paska (5)
  • popular culture (82)
  • Purple Passage (25)
  • Quilt (12)
  • Quotations (275)
  • Recipes (52)
  • Reflection (122)
  • Romance (34)
  • Southern lady friends (15)
  • Tips (125)
  • Travel (64)
  • Tree surgery (4)
  • Ukraine (6)
  • Uncategorized (631)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • RSS
© Marian Beaman - Just a Plain & Fancy Girl - Contact us regarding problems with site.