by MarianBeaman | Feb 5, 2025 | blog, Literature, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Tips
How well I remember the sensation of the twin rubber rollers on the wringer of Mom’s white enamel washing machine pressing down hard on my young flesh from hand to lower arm—my screams—then Mom’s quick thrust, disengaging my arm from the wringer. When I...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 17, 2021 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, neighborhood, Recipes, Uncategorized
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Even if you’re not Irish, you may feel an impulse to wear GREEN today or maybe even sport a derby hat. Our family is mostly of German-Swiss ancestry, but once we lived in the Killarney Shores neighborhood of our city with streets named Emerald...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 12, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Reflection, Uncategorized
We have to try it again. Here’s another shirt,” Jane said as she plucked one of Dad’s blue work shirts out of a plastic bag full of shirts—clean, sprinkled and rolled—all ready to iron. “Start with the yoke,” she directed. I grabbed the damp shirt out of her hand...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 3, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
My sheets are pinned to the backyard clothes line now, flipping in the breeze. Today I’m celebrating the end of our torrid Florida summer by hanging our sheets outside in the fresh fall air. Very old-fashioned and very retro. I guess I’m an Urban Mama! We...
