by Marlene Bumgarner | Jan 1, 2020 | Family
A New Year. A Fresh Start. A short note today, just to wish everyone a Happy January. Slow and Steady The messages I’ve received today tell me that many people are off to a slow start this year. If that’s you, it’s ok. Give yourself permission to go...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Dec 22, 2019 | Aging, Child development, Community, Family, Grandparenting, Writing
The Christmas Cards Cometh As I sit in my cozy chair and open my mail this morning I am grateful to those of my friends who still send annual Christmas cards and letters. I look forward to connecting with old friends, being introduced to new members of the family,...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Dec 15, 2019 | Child development, Cooking and Eating, Family, Grandparenting
Keeping Traditions Alive Two weeks ago I flew to Los Angeles to spend Thanksgiving with my son’s family and to keep a family tradition. I packed my English tart tins and a rolling pin in order to introduce my youngest grandchild to making mince tarts. My son has...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Oct 24, 2019 | Child development, Community, Family, Grandparenting
It Takes An Aunty My granddaughter’s Aunt K.K. came over to help with pumpkin carving this week. She hefted the extra-large pumpkin Bean had selected at the pumpkin patch on to our dining room/craft table and turned it around several times, looking for the best...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Oct 13, 2019 | Aging, Child development, Cooking and Eating, Family, Grandparenting, Nature
The Pumpkin Patch Adventure This was the week Bean and I made our annual pilgrimage to her favorite pumpkin patch. We’ve been doing this together since she was three years old and now she’s eight and knows the routine quite well. “I’ll start...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Oct 6, 2019 | Aging, Family, Travel
What Scares You? After I posted the blog last week showing off my new set of wheels, I received some interesting emails from friends. Some were positive, but others, mostly from readers close to my age, were some variation on these two statements: “How can you...