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Happy New Year: a card and some flowers

Happy New Year: a card and some flowers

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...

Purple Passages, Time and Tiny Tim, December 2014

by MarianBeaman | Dec 27, 2014 | Education, Gratitude, meditation, Purple Passage, Quotations, Uncategorized

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

by MarianBeaman | Dec 24, 2014 | Uncategorized

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?

by MarianBeaman | Dec 17, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Lists, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Recipes, Uncategorized

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...

Downton Abbey Gala Redux: Season 5

by MarianBeaman | Dec 13, 2014 | Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

When I registered online for the 5th season premiere of Downton Abbey, there were fifty-nine (yes, 59!) salutations to choose from on the drop-down menu. These included Father, Monsignor, Cantor, Rabbi, Lieutenant Commander, Dean, Major, Mayor, and the humbler Mr. or...
Visions of the Little Match Girl: 1846 and 2014

Visions of the Little Match Girl: 1846 and 2014

by MarianBeaman | Dec 10, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized

What do Trayvon Williams, Michael Brown and the Little Match Girl have in common? Read on! The Little Match Girl – Hans Christian Andersen, 1846 On a cold winter’s eve, a poor girl shivering on the street tries to sell matches afraid to return home to her father...

Moment of Extreme Emotion: 200th Post Mark with Julie & Julia

by MarianBeaman | Dec 6, 2014 | Education, Gratitude, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized

Welcome to my 200th blog post! It’s here because you have visited this blog, a time or two, or maybe way more often. Writers write for many reasons, most importantly to express themselves. But most writers don’t like to write in a void. Writing is...

Accepting the Red Heart: One Lovely Blog Award

by MarianBeaman | Dec 3, 2014 | Award, Education, Gratitude, Uncategorized

Remember getting a gold or silver star on your homework papers in grade school? Well, writers who read each other’s blog posts do something similar – they nominate those they admire for the One Lovely Blog Award. It’s not a gold star. It’s a...

Signs and Wonders: Manheim and Elizabethtown, PA Style

by MarianBeaman | Nov 29, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Travel, Uncategorized

The Brick House Cafe along Main Street in Manheim, Pennsylvania, is getting free advertising from me today. In a sister city named for its counterpart in Mannheim, Germany, The Brick House serves freshly prepared soups, salads, and sandwiches. It also serves up...

7 Things I’m Thankful For

by MarianBeaman | Nov 26, 2014 | book review, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Lists, meditation, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

My secret joys (and struggles) show up in my gratitude books. You can see some of them here. But my list this week has sprung from my 9-day trip to Pennsylvania to visit family and take care of Mother’s house in mid-November 2014. In her devotional book One Thousand...
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