by MarianBeaman | Oct 5, 2016 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Reflection, Uncategorized
Yesterday, Tuesday, October 4, my Aunt Ruthie celebrated her 98th birthday. Born in 1918, she is a towering figure in my life and, and along with Mother and Grandma Longenecker, my strongest mentor. And she has been mother/teacher to many. * * * See the determination...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 14, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Recipes, Uncategorized
September is the month of late harvest. Those who preserve garden fruits and vegetables have proudly counted Ball jars and bags of frozen goodies before storing them to enjoy this winter. My Canadian blogger friend, Linda Hoye, finds joy in the process and has made an...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 29, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Tips, Uncategorized
Would you pass up an invitation to a lawn soirée on a holiday weekend? This week more than 100 years ago my grandma, Miss Fanny Martin, then a single woman, received a penny postcard invitation to such a gathering on July 3, 1909. Mary Elizabeth Kob writes in...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 8, 2016 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Memory, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
“Listen to this” I said to Cliff as I began reading the page on sorting papers: “Rule of Thumb – Discard Everything. ” As I continued reading the chapter on sorting papers in Marie Kondo’s New York Times best seller, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I saw my...
by MarianBeaman | May 11, 2016 | Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
Every week, The New Yorker magazine features a Cartoon Caption Contest, inviting readers to submit a caption for consideration. After three finalists are chosen, readers vote for the winning caption. You can view my first attempt at a similiar contest here on this...
by MarianBeaman | May 4, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
I played with pastel-colored beads and wooden blocks with ridges, babyhood toys. Mother kept these oblong & round beads and animal-themed alphabet blocks for her grandchildren and great-grands. These sturdy toys entertained children of mothers they nurtured in...