by MarianBeaman | Jan 28, 2015 | book review, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
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...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 24, 2015 | popular culture, Quotations, Uncategorized
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!...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 21, 2015 | meditation, Mennonite Lore, Travel, Uncategorized
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...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 17, 2015 | Lists, Purple Passage, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
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,...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 14, 2015 | Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quilt, Uncategorized
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...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 10, 2015 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, neighborhood, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
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...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 7, 2015 | book review, Coming of Age, Conflict, Education, Literature, Quilt, Uncategorized
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...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 3, 2015 | Education, Quilt, Reflection, Uncategorized
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...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 30, 2014 | Gratitude, meditation, Uncategorized
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...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 30, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
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...
