The Story of Jacques and Shorey
A few weeks ago, I took another trip to Fernandina Beach, Florida. This time with my friend and walking partner, Barbara. The historic district was dressed for fall, the temps cooler. A calm ambiance prevailed on Centre Street until we approached The Book Loft where...
Who is Heman? Thanksgiving 2021
Have you heard of Heman the Ezrahite? There’s a good chance you haven’t because he’s a rather obscure Old Testament character. I just learned about him recently. In the choirs of David, musicians Heman and Jeduthun were appointed to give thanks. It was literally their...
Ducks Splash Down, Inspire Haiku and More
https://youtu.be/AER6lJXg_XQ Saturday Morning Ducks land hard on lake A chorus of feathered brown White bubbles remain ~ October 8, 2021 Stalky chalk-white bird Balancing on two brown legs Constantly startled ...
Wordless Wednesday: Boy and Red Truck
Sleeping in a Schoolhouse and Snooping into Bookstores
Located in historic downtown Fernandina Beach, the Amelia Schoolhouse Inn was built in 1886 as the local school for Amelia Island. Completely renovated in 2018, the 17-room boutique hotel has been certified as a National Historic structure and combines...
Luci’s Turtle Heart with a Book Giveaway
Lucinda and Her Books I’ve featured Mennonite author Lucinda J. on my blog a few years ago. When her first book came out in 2017, the memoir Anything but Simple, her name was Lucinda J. Miller. You can read that post here. A few years ago, she married Ivan and changed...
Coming Down the Pipeline: My New Book
You’ve heard many metaphors for life, images that suggest how daily happenings can throw us into a tailspin: Life is like a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs Life is like a washing machine, churning round and round Life is like bumper cars, hitting one...
Autumn Hanging on a Tree
The poet Maren Tirabassi reflects on the life of Christ, depicting autumn leaves showing their beauty, their brilliance, and their fragility--and then falling. Observe her weaving the seasonal into the scriptural, spanning His birth and, eventually, His crucifixion....
The Boy with a Dream and a Cure
The Boy with a Dream and a Cure True Story In the nineteenth century, a Member of Parliament went to Scotland to make an important speech. He travelled to Edinburgh by train, then took a horse-drawn carriage southward to his destination. But the roads were bad...
Crying: Trying to Make Connection
Crying: Trying to Make Connection “Her throat felt thick inside; it was the lump that forms when it might help to cry but tears don’t come.” Amy Kenyon, author of Ford Road I’ve been wanting to cry for days now. Not because of anything specific, just...
What I Learned from Chef Molly Yeh
Molly Yeh, a Chinese-Jewish American chef, cooks tasty dishes on the Food Network. In a show titled Girl Meets Farm, Molly is equally at home with baking challah as using chopsticks. "Molly Yeh attended the Juilliard School in New York City to study...
Wordless Wednesday: Glass Sculpture
Your thoughts on the photo? Reply below to enter a drawing to win an e-copy of Mennonite Daughter, photos and artwork in full color. Contest winner will be chosen via random.org and announced next Wednesday. Thank you! Indicate if you want to be entered...
Dorian Delivers Mennonite Daughter
The National Weather Service blurted out: “Get ready for a hurricane, Jacksonville, a Category 5 storm named Dorian, is creeping up the coast." It was September 2, 2019, and any day now I was awaiting the delivery of 16 cartons of books, my memoir. The skies looked...
Mary: Face to Face with a Memoir Character
When I was a plain, ten-year-old girl, I wanted to looked like Mary. My big brown eyes turned green with envy when Mary Martin and her sister Evelyn walked through the door at Grandma Fannie’s house for holiday dinners. Both were elegantly turned out, resplendent in...
Howard and Faythe: Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and More
Howard and Faythe Landis don't operate a bed and breakfast, but they are hospitality hosts extraordinaire nonetheless. We discovered their great hearts and open arms on our recent trip to Springfield, Missouri in mid-July. Before we ever boarded the plane,...
Housing Highs and the Hans Longenecker House
Have you noticed? Housing prices have gone through the roof! All-cash offers, bidding wars, homes selling for thousands over asking prices—these describe the US housing market in spring-summer of 2021. The boom may continue indefinitely. It's hard to predict....
An Invitation: Rave Reviews Writers Conference and Book Expo
Hello, followers and friends! Drop by and visit me and many other talented writers. There are door prizes and free ebooks, something for everyone! Listen to me tell 2 truths and a lie + hear a short reading from Mennonite Daughter. Monday, August 9th, is the start...
The Marriage Box: Have a Look Inside!
An Anniversary Meditation Under a colorful collage created by Artist Cliff, I've stored 3 hatboxes. They sit on the rattan coffee table in our lanai. One is floral, another has a repeating Tuscan scene and the third is transparent, the contents held taut by pale blue...