by MarianBeaman | Nov 6, 2024 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
It’s disgraceful—displaying a perfectly good violin as an ornament, but there it is—on top of my piano propped on a small brass easel! The thing is, it’s not perfectly good: the G string is missing altogether, a black peg has broken off the neck,...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 23, 2024 | blog, neighborhood, Neighborhood / Environment, Reflection, Uncategorized
My iPhone, sleek and neat in its azalea-colored bumper, is the linkage to my past and present worlds. Two weeks ago I published a blog post featuring snaps from my iPhone, one picture about a sago palm tree on our patio. Now I’m musing about another...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 9, 2024 | blog, popular culture, Southern lady friends, Tips, Uncategorized
A picture is worth a 1000 words, so the saying goes. But, sometimes a picture is worth fewer than a thousand words—only a few hundred. The photos below speak for themselves, but most need a little explanation, included with the vignettes below. All of...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 25, 2024 | blog, book review, Uncategorized
Readers & Writers! I’m always on a reading spree, but today I pause to share some of my best finds with YOU! Novelist Alice Hoffman Reading Alice Hoffman’s historical fiction is always a treat for me. Her prose glows as she probes the magic...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 11, 2024 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Waiting in the sitting room for my dad’s truck to arrive for me, I was a spectator, looking through the mahogany-trimmed doorway into the kitchen. Women with prayer caps, Grandma Longenecker and Aunt Ruthie, were sitting at the gray, Formica-topped table facing...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 22, 2024 | blog, book review, Family / Nostalgia, Nostalgia, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized
I am pleased to be part of author Liz Gauffreau’s blog tour, Day 10. To date, I’ve read Distant Flickers to which Liz contributed a short story and reviewed two of her books, Grief Songs and now Simple Pleasures. Liz shows up regularly to comment on my blog posts....
