• Book Reviews
  • Mennonite Memoir: A Sampling
  • Privacy Policy
Plain and Fancy Girl
  • Welcome!
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Get My Books
Select Page
Aunt Ruthie Longenecker: Her Life in Pictures

Aunt Ruthie Longenecker: Her Life in Pictures

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...

Fannie Martin Longenecker: A Grandma Who Knew How to Make Love Edible

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...
A Glorious Fourth, 1909 Style and a Memoir Tip

A Glorious Fourth, 1909 Style and a Memoir Tip

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...

Paring Down, Tidying Up – Some Tips

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...

Help! Vintage Photo Needs Caption, II

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...

Baby Beads and Wooden Blocks: Happy Mother’s Day

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...
« Older Entries
Next Entries »

Translate Page

Read the Latest

  • How My Dad’s Knife Sharpening Lessons Became a Tool in my Life Kit
  • Christmas Caroling from the Bed of an Open Truck, 1950s
  • Family Gathers for a Florida Christmas in 1998

Search By Category

  • Amish (8)
  • Amish fiction (4)
  • Award (6)
  • blog (444)
  • book review (87)
  • British History (3)
  • chalk drawing (4)
  • Christmas (9)
  • Cliff Beaman artist (95)
  • Coming of Age (143)
  • Conflict (94)
  • Easter (13)
  • Education (120)
  • Family / Nostalgia (491)
  • Folk Songs of the South (3)
  • Gratitude (61)
  • Kiev Ukraine (5)
  • Lists (40)
  • Literature (126)
  • meditation (159)
  • Memory (235)
  • Mennonite History (199)
  • Mennonite Lore (324)
  • neighborhood (32)
  • Neighborhood / Environment (33)
  • Nostalgia (252)
  • Novel writing (3)
  • Novel writing (3)
  • Paska (5)
  • popular culture (83)
  • Purple Passage (25)
  • Quilt (12)
  • Quotations (276)
  • Recipes (52)
  • Reflection (123)
  • Romance (34)
  • Southern lady friends (15)
  • Tips (126)
  • Travel (64)
  • Tree surgery (4)
  • Ukraine (6)
  • Uncategorized (635)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • RSS
© Marian Beaman - Just a Plain & Fancy Girl - Contact us regarding problems with site.