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Our Battle with Backyard Bandits

Our Battle with Backyard Bandits

by MarianBeaman | Sep 30, 2026 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Education, neighborhood, Neighborhood / Environment, popular culture, Uncategorized

  Battle #1: Birds and Squirrels by Day   A Look Back “There he goes!” From his studio window, Cliff observed a squirrel stealing birdseed from our new feeder. Again.     I rushed outside into the lanai, and saw the squirrel scarfing down the...
Illness To Wellness: Cliff’s Story

Illness To Wellness: Cliff’s Story

by MarianBeaman | Sep 9, 2026 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Nostalgia, popular culture, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized

Two Kingdoms, One Preferred “Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each...
See and Hear: Weddings in 1950s Pennsylvania

See and Hear: Weddings in 1950s Pennsylvania

by MarianBeaman | Aug 5, 2026 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, popular culture, Uncategorized

My first memory of a fancy wedding is drawn from the  Zion Lutheran Church in Hummelstown, PA, a lovely edifice with stained glass windows, a pipe organ, and a bell tower. I was nine years old when I attended Mary and Howard Landis’ wedding there.    ...
Family Gathers for a Florida Christmas in 1998

Family Gathers for a Florida Christmas in 1998

by MarianBeaman | Dec 10, 2025 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, popular culture, Uncategorized

Three generations of family gathered at our house in 1998 for a Florida Christmas. Two Daltons came from Chicago, Illinois; two Longeneckers from Pennsylvania, and a bunch of Jacksonville aunts, uncles and cousins joined the group at our house in Killarney Shores...
Too Hot to Handle

Too Hot to Handle

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...
My Can of Soup Goes Missing–How Did That Happen?

My Can of Soup Goes Missing–How Did That Happen?

by MarianBeaman | Oct 29, 2025 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Nostalgia, popular culture, Recipes, Tips, Uncategorized

HOW I  BEGAN     Along with the recipe, I set the can of lentil soup can on the counter. It was certainly visible! I’d be sure to see it and use it as a starter for making a quick batch of stomach-warming soup as the weather turned cooler in October. Right?...
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