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What Are Your Favorite Smells from Childhood?

What Are Your Favorite Smells from Childhood?

by MarianBeaman | Aug 20, 2025 | blog, British History, Easter, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized

10 Scents from My Young Life 1. Saffron in Grandma’s pot pie   Grandma used burnt-orange threads of saffron from a white packet. Mine comes in a tiny glass jar from Homegoods, more expensive, of course.     2. Tomatoes on vine in our Bainbridge, Pennsylvania...
Our 58th Anniversary with Advice from Jay Leno

Our 58th Anniversary with Advice from Jay Leno

by MarianBeaman | Aug 6, 2025 | blog, book review, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Quotations, Romance, Tips

August 5, 1967: How I Learned What it Means to Obey The summer Cliff and I got married I served as a secretary in the office of Pastor Deane Ballard at Calvary Presbyterian Church. As our wedding day approached, I got to choose the wording of our marriage vows....
Mother Longenecker: Her Life in Pictures

Mother Longenecker: Her Life in Pictures

by MarianBeaman | Jul 23, 2025 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

Today, July 23rd, is my mother’s birthday. If she were still alive, she’d be 107 years old now. Ruth Landis Metzler grew up in a Mennonite family on a farm near Manheim, Pennsylvania, the first daughter of Abram Hernley Metzler and Sadie Landis Metzler,...
The Tale of the Squirrel and the Bird-feeder

The Tale of the Squirrel and the Bird-feeder

by MarianBeaman | Jul 9, 2025 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, neighborhood, Neighborhood / Environment, Uncategorized

“There he goes!” From his studio window, Cliff observed a squirrel stealing birdseed from our new feeder. Again.   I rushed outside into the lanai, and saw the squirrel scarfing down the contraband, the feeder swinging back and forth from its weight. A squirrel...
The Best Hostess Gift Ever

The Best Hostess Gift Ever

by MarianBeaman | Jun 25, 2025 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Memory, Nostalgia, Paska, Travel, Ukraine, Uncategorized

Flowers, a bottle of wine, a box of candy, even a potted plant—these are the gifts guests often choose to present to a gracious host, responding to an invitation.   My neighbor Mila offers both gifts when she comes to our house for lunch or supper. Mila...
How Nature Heals: The Gift of Spring

How Nature Heals: The Gift of Spring

by MarianBeaman | May 28, 2025 | blog, book review, Family / Nostalgia, Romance, Uncategorized

Once Upon  a  Time . . . . . . in a land far away lived a king and queen in a beautiful palace. They had everything in the whole world to make them happy, but the queen was sick and very sad.     She sat in her chair by the window and thought, “Oh, I wish I...
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