by MarianBeaman | Nov 12, 2025 | blog, book review, Conflict, Memory, popular culture, Quotations, Uncategorized
What’s Too Hot to Handle? The horror of books ablaze in a library. That’s what! Susan Orleans’ The Library Book (2018) is a portmanteau of story, true crime, and riveting journalism Before the Great Fire of April 1986, the Central Library of Los...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 17, 2025 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations
What I Saw I sit on a green stuffed chair in my Grandma Longenecker’s parlor. The top of my back legs feel a little itchy. My mother has starched my Sunday dress to make the skirt stand out nice and pretty. Because I am little, I can see the tips of my high-top shoes,...
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...
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....
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...
by MarianBeaman | May 14, 2025 | Award, blog, book review, British History, Conflict, Memory, Quotations, Travel, Uncategorized
What if you lost your home? lost your livelihood? had a dire diagnosis? With triple trauma, Raynor Winn, armed with Paddy Dillon’s guidebook and husband Moth with a copy of Beowulf, embark on a 630-mile walk on the sea-swept South West Coast Path. From Somerset...