by MarianBeaman | Jun 29, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Tips, Uncategorized
Would you pass up an invitation to a lawn soirée on a holiday weekend? This week more than 100 years ago my grandma, Miss Fannie Martin, then a single woman, received a penny postcard invitation to such a gathering on July 3, 1909. Mary Elizabeth Kob writes in...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 15, 2016 | blog, book review, Education, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
In last week’s post Paring Down and Tidying Up, I referred to Marie Kondo’s New York Times best-selling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up. Her book has sold over 5 million copies and is being translated into 40 languages. I promised you a review...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 8, 2016 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Memory, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
“Listen to this” I said to Cliff as I began reading the page on sorting papers: “Rule of Thumb – Discard Everything. ” As I continued reading the chapter on sorting papers in Marie Kondo’s New York Times best seller, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I saw my...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 1, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, popular culture, Uncategorized
Did you wear a madras dress? Did it bleed? Popular in the USA in the 1960s this cool summer fabric originated in Madras, India. Loosely woven cotton threads created a plaid patchwork of soft fabric that didn’t cling to the body during sweltering summer days. Some...
by MarianBeaman | May 25, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Nostalgia, Quotations, Tree surgery, Uncategorized
We are planning to move. It’s not a long-distance move to another country or across our own land. Not even to another state. And we are not retiring to Florida. Why, we’re already there. And we’re not moving to another city. Our re-location involves a move just 9...
by MarianBeaman | May 18, 2016 | Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, popular culture, Uncategorized
The photo of a pair of transitions eye glasses attached to a scarlet lanyard is still posted on my Facebook page dated April 14, 2016. “Hubby makes a lanyard for my glasses today. He is not being kind. He just doesn’t want to look for my glasses anymore! . . . well,...
by MarianBeaman | May 11, 2016 | Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
Every week, The New Yorker magazine features a Cartoon Caption Contest, inviting readers to submit a caption for consideration. After three finalists are chosen, readers vote for the winning caption. You can view my first attempt at a similiar contest here on this...
by MarianBeaman | May 4, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
I played with pastel-colored beads and wooden blocks with ridges, babyhood toys. Mother kept these oblong & round beads and animal-themed alphabet blocks for her grandchildren and great-grands. These sturdy toys entertained children of mothers they nurtured in...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 27, 2016 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
I missed National Pet Day on April 11 by a few weeks. But if you own a dog like Scotty or a kitty cat named Sophie, every day of the year is pet day. In 4th grade, I drew a cat and colored it charcoal gray. It appears I was as interested in making the wallpaper pretty...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 23, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Recipes, Uncategorized
“It’s a spring cleaning ritual – but for your body,” touts reporter Jennifer Sheehan, extolling the merits of eating dandelion. “It cleans your blood and you get a lot of good vitamins from it,” another endorsement I read in Sheehan’s article from Lehigh Valley’s The...
