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 | Jun 16, 2023 | England, Family, Father's Day
Our Silly Half Hour When I was six years old, my parents and I lived in a rented Victorian in the Richmond District of San Francisco, and my favorite time of day was the Silly Half-Hour. There was no set time when this event would occur, and it didn’t happen every...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Sep 16, 2022 | Aging, Australia, Child development, England, Family
God Save the Queen Standing by the railway tracks in 1954, waving an Australian flag, I began a fascination with the Queen that would last my entire life. My schoolmates and I had been let off school to greet Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip as they embarked on a...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Dec 28, 2016 | Aging, Christmas in Yorkshire, Cooking and Eating, England, Family, Grandparenting
Our Tree is Down I’m quietly celebrating the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Because I will soon be driving south, I have already taken down my decorations, and today I will put them in boxes and back in the garage until next year. I love this...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Dec 21, 2015 | Christmas in Yorkshire, England, Family
Winter Night It snowed and snowed, the whole world over, Snow swept the world from end to end. A candle burned on the table; A candle burned. As during summer midges swarm To beat their wings against a flame Out in the yard the snowflakes swarmed To beat against the...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Nov 9, 2015 | Community, England, Family, Grandparenting
“Grandma, tell me something sad from when you were a little girl.” Four (“and a half”) year old Bean is sitting behind me in the car, eating her snack and looking at the ocean beside the highway. I made a decision when I began driving her...