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Diary Secrets at the Push of a Button

Diary Secrets at the Push of a Button

by MarianBeaman | Dec 15, 2021 | blog, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations

I wasn’t sure it would open. So my husband Cliff gathered assorted tools in case the clasp on Aunt Ruthie’s Diary had clamped shut with rust.   A faux-leather, brown diary with an attached key has lain on my desk for years now. Ever since we cleared out Aunt...
Mary: Face to Face with a Memoir Character

Mary: Face to Face with a Memoir Character

by MarianBeaman | Aug 25, 2021 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized

When I was a plain, ten-year-old girl, I wanted to looked like Mary. My big brown eyes turned green with envy when Mary Martin and her sister Evelyn walked through the door at Grandma Fannie’s house for holiday dinners. Both were elegantly turned out, resplendent in...
Housing Highs and the Hans Longenecker House

Housing Highs and the Hans Longenecker House

by MarianBeaman | Aug 11, 2021 | blog, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

Have you noticed? Housing prices have gone through the roof! All-cash offers, bidding wars, homes selling for thousands over asking prices—these describe the US housing market in spring-summer of 2021. The boom may continue indefinitely. It’s hard to predict....
The Marriage Box: Have a Look Inside!

The Marriage Box: Have a Look Inside!

by MarianBeaman | Aug 4, 2021 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Memory, Nostalgia, Quotations, Romance, Tips, Uncategorized

An Anniversary Meditation Under a colorful collage created by Artist Cliff, I’ve stored 3 hatboxes. They sit on the rattan coffee table in our lanai.  One is floral, another has a repeating Tuscan scene and the third is transparent, the contents held taut by...
Who’s in the Mirror?

Who’s in the Mirror?

by MarianBeaman | Jun 23, 2021 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

When you pass a mirror, do you deliberately walk on by, or do you make a point to look into it? The Evil Queen in the tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” stared with vengeful intent into a mirror and chanted, “Mirror, mirror on the wall/Who is the fairest of them...
Nostalgia and Aunt Ruthie’s Diary

Nostalgia and Aunt Ruthie’s Diary

by MarianBeaman | Jun 2, 2021 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized

Did you know that, Boomers and Gen-Xers are looking back to their youth, collecting . . . Cassette tapes Vinyl LPs Polaroid cameras Manual typewriters . . . even decades old video games   So says, Jeff Nilsson in “Nostalgia is Good For You,” an article from The...
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