Getting real

Getting real

Getting real

My mom is struggling to survive stage 3 lung cancer. My firstborn will soon deliver her firstborn any day now. Somewhere in between my utter despair regarding the one end of life’s spectrum and my sheer delight related to the other is the space where I, a writer and blogger, should be writing and blogging.

But I don’t feel like…

Read More

Grandma gets a facelift

Grandma gets a facelift

The time has come, my friends, for a facelift. Not for me personally, but for Grandma's Briefs.

For myriad reasons, I must move my site to a new platform. Still Squarespace, but a new and improved version of Squarespace. Still Grandma's Briefs, but a new and improved version of Grandma's Briefs — featuring pins that pin, the ability to reply directly to one another's comments, a more appetizing Recipe Box and so much more.

I've been working diligently in the background for a couple weeks now but am officially at the point I must put a pause on the posts published right here so nothing will be lost in the migration to the new spot.

Which means I won't be adding new content until I reveal the transformed Grandma's Briefs. No Saturday movie reviews, no GRAND Social, no new recipes, no blither and blather 'bout my grandboys. That said, you can still...

Read More

Watching the solar eclipse?

Watching the solar eclipse?

Watching the solar eclipse?

1921 solar eclipse in Paris
Three Parisian women watching the solar eclipse of 8 April 1921 on the Cour du Havre, next to the gare Saint-Lazare. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Are you watching today's solar eclipse? How are you watching? From where and with whom? Depending on when you read this it may all be past tense, but either way, I'd love to hear your view on the phenomenon.

I will be watching... from my backyard with only my dog, Mickey, as my companion to ooh and aah over the event. And I'll be sporting my mandatory eclipse spectacles for a direct view of the show.

My eclipse glasses became nearly a no-go for me (and mine) at the last minute, despite my having ordered several pair for my entire family a month or so ago. The glasses...

Read More

Teach kids Morse code, plus GRAND Social No. 153 link party for grandparents

Teach kids Morse code

Hard to believe but it's once again Morse Code Day! Yes, today is the beloved annual celebration of the birth of Samuel Morse (April 27, 1791–April 2, 1872), American painter, inventor, and co-developer of the international code bearing his name.

Do you remember learning Morse code in school? I do. A refresher: Morse code (according to Wikipedia) "is a method of transmitting text information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...Each character (letter or numeral) is represented by a unique sequence of dots and dashes."

international morse code

And it's a fun, off-the-wall thing to share with the grandkids! Try...

Read More