by MarianBeaman | Jan 17, 2015 | Lists, Purple Passage, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
On December 29, author/blogger Joan Rough published a post declaring her optimistic intentions for 2015 and pondering a single word to characterize this new year while contemplating words of wisdom used other years. Some choices she suggested: Believe, Dare, Trust,...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 10, 2015 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, neighborhood, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
Every single memory of snow in my childhood is pleasant. Sparkling flakes in luminous free-fall as I look out the kitchen window. Snow festooning evergreen boughs. Then bundling up in snowsuits, knitted caps, mittens. Getting out the sleds. After more than one...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 3, 2015 | Education, Quilt, Reflection, Uncategorized
How do you see yourself – Kitchen Goddess, Diva of Design, Mom’s Taxi, Writer Extraordinaire, Care-Taker? Artist Haley Hasler paints herself as a strong woman in super-abundant settings usually with children and often with food. Currently displayed at the...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 10, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
What do Trayvon Williams, Michael Brown and the Little Match Girl have in common? Read on! The Little Match Girl – Hans Christian Andersen, 1846 On a cold winter’s eve, a poor girl shivering on the street tries to sell matches afraid to return home to her father...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 6, 2014 | Education, Gratitude, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
Welcome to my 200th blog post! It’s here because you have visited this blog, a time or two, or maybe way more often. Writers write for many reasons, most importantly to express themselves. But most writers don’t like to write in a void. Writing is...
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...