Magical Memoir Moments
A Good Man is Hard to Find: Flannery O’Connor
Having just returned from Savannah, I am taking life at a slower pace. One visit from the trip stands out: Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home. I met one of my favorite authors again for the first time. Here, she is! She taught her chickens how to walk backward and became news reel famous in her youth. She’s…
The Shadow Side of Birthdays: The Side We Can’t See
I grew up listening to “Keep On the Sunny Side” as I helped to milk cows morning and night. It was the intro to the local radio station’s country and gospel music program. I never saw the Carter Family in person, but here is Mother Maybelle and her famous guitar and famous daughters. Look at…
Eves-dropping: A Good Way to End 2014
I created a new word today: “eves-dropping.” Meaning? To prepare a blog post on the eve of a holiday and then drop it on your readers. Since Christmas and New Years this year fall on Thursdays, and this blog goes live regularly on Wednesdays, you get eves-drops. As a way of celebrating the year-end of…
Do You Say, "Have a Nice Day"? If Not, Why Not?
When you part from someone, do you have a favorite farewell blessing to utter? Other languages, French, German, and Spanish, for example, have much more graceful words than the English “Good-Bye” or “So long!” Witness this song written for English speakers about a famous multi-lingual Austrian family: In America, in the decade that followed The…
A Modern Farm Girl Bookworm Evaluates Blush and the Value of a Tobacco Worm Today
Meet Clara, my grand niece. Like all my “grands,” she’s amazing. Clara loves to read. She estimates she read fifty books in 2013. She’s eleven years old and attends Ephrata (Pennsylvania) Intermediate School. She bubbles with enthusiasm when asked about what she likes in books. But I was also warned by her Grandma Sue (my…
The Longhouse Project at the Hans Herr House: A Good Beginning
Like many Mennonites whose roots go back to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I am a descendent of Hans Herr. The 1719 Hans Herr House, built in that year by Christian and Anna Herr, is the oldest surviving house in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and the oldest original Mennonite meeting house still standing in the Western Hemisphere. I…
Getting Ready for Half Time: Taking a Time Out in the 100 Day Challenge
I can’t believe that we are almost fifty days away from the launch of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World You’ve been wondering whether I would keep blogging daily for 100 Days, haven’t you? Me too. I want to give you a break and myself a break. And I want to prepare to…
Happy Independence Day: Memoir Photo, Report, and Check-In
Every memoir includes some things and leaves some things out. The picture above didn’t make it into Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets the Glittering World, so I’m sharing it now. My family will be gathering tonight with my sister Doris on top of the hill of what used to be called The Home Place to…
Saying Good-bye to My Memoir: The Final Proofreading
This will be short, folks! I have a very important job to do today. This is the deadline for returning my manuscript to the Herald Press editor so that he can implement the print schedule. So many stages in the production of a book! And it’s scary to find corrections even at the end when…