by Marlene Bumgarner | May 14, 2026 | Child development, Community, COVID19, Family, Grandparenting
A Covid Baby Walks into a Supermarket. . . My youngest grandchild is a Covid baby. That’s what one of the parents sitting near me during a recent musical performance called her son. Singing and clapping a la Kodàli, the children standing on risers in front of...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Dec 15, 2025 | Community, Family
Christmas Cards – A Dying Tradition? This month I’m reprising an essay I posted in 2019. I’m writing my Christmas cards this week, and this essay tells you why. The Greeting Cards Cometh As I sit in my cozy chair and open my mail this...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Oct 17, 2025 | Community, England, Travel, Writing
Welcome Aboard the QM2! The Queen Mary 2 doesn’t like to be called a cruise ship. Rather, she is an ocean liner, the world’s only such vessel offering transatlantic crossings. She is known for her high-quality materials, using 40% more steel than a...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Aug 8, 2025 | Community, Family, Gardening, Health, Nature
The Slough of Despond Following certain actions of the U.S. government around the beginning of July that I will not detail here, having a policy of no politics in my newsletter, I found myself wallowing in negative thoughts and being unable, or unwilling, to...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Jan 23, 2025 | Community, England, Family, Travel
A New Year – Traditions The idea of celebrating the beginning of a new year is ancient and transcends culture and geography. And the traditions followed during those First Day celebrations vary widely. I like the Scottish tradition of cleaning the house from top...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Nov 15, 2024 | Community, Family
Saving the Planet One Step at a time For those of us who have been active in grassroots election-related activities for many months, this last week has felt empty, perhaps even pointless. No matter whether your candidate won or lost, the high level of intensity has...