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What’s Red at Christmastime?

by MarianBeaman | Dec 17, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Lists, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Recipes, Uncategorized

Color psychologists say red represents energy, passion, and motivation to act. Red is everywhere this season: Santa’s costume, cranberry dishes, poinsettias. I’m seeing red too. In Ian’s Santa cap at the Orchestra Zoo . . . In Mother’s...

Signs and Wonders: Manheim and Elizabethtown, PA Style

by MarianBeaman | Nov 29, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Travel, Uncategorized

The Brick House Cafe along Main Street in Manheim, Pennsylvania, is getting free advertising from me today. In a sister city named for its counterpart in Mannheim, Germany, The Brick House serves freshly prepared soups, salads, and sandwiches. It also serves up...

7 Things I’m Thankful For

by MarianBeaman | Nov 26, 2014 | book review, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Lists, meditation, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

My secret joys (and struggles) show up in my gratitude books. You can see some of them here. But my list this week has sprung from my 9-day trip to Pennsylvania to visit family and take care of Mother’s house in mid-November 2014. In her devotional book One Thousand...

Moments of Discovery # 3: Two Butter Stories and an Autograph Book

by MarianBeaman | Nov 19, 2014 | Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized

In June Mother Longenecker and her daughters Marian and Janice created butter-shaking memories in a two-quart jar, making butter using three easy steps: Pour cream into 2-quart jar. Shake until you rattle and roll. Remove the congealed mass from the jar. Add a pinch...

Purple Passages and Fine China

by MarianBeaman | Nov 12, 2014 | Education, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Mennonite Lore, Purple Passage, Quotations, Uncategorized

READING La Lectura es el viaje de los que no pueden tomar el tren.        – F. Croisset (Reading is the journey of those who cannot take the train.) Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested . . . .          – Sir...

How to Tell Your Children What’s What

by MarianBeaman | Nov 8, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Tips, Uncategorized

Unlike Hansel and Gretel, whose mother tried to starve them and then lock them out of the house, Mother Longenecker provided well for her children and left behind, not white pebbles or bread crumbs, but hand-written notes tucked away to tag her heirlooms. Each note...
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