Grandma’s Briefs is back! Yep, the summer break I announced at the start of June is officially over.

While I was away from the site, a few changes took place. Some big, some small. Here’s a (relatively) quick update:

For starters, one blog change is that Grandma’s Briefs hit the 10-year mark in July! Hard to believe but true, as you can see from my very first post, published a decade ago.

Another blog change is that you’ll see a few new faces in the Meet the Family section of the sidebar, those being of Andrea’s new husband and his son. Our youngest remarried in April but our all-consuming downsizing was, well, all consuming so I’m just now adding Allen and Ty to the blog lineup. I’m delighted to have them here and in the family.

Changes related to my grandsons include that Benjamin now eats like a big boy…

has become a happy camper, loving mountain outings with his fam…

and, at nine months, has officially become a crawler, too!

Other changes include that dark-haired James became a blond…

Brayden became a Jr. Suns League MVP…

And all my grandsons — except Benjamin, of course — have returned to school…

BTS 2019! Declan’s first day of Pre-K, Brayden sixth grade and Camden second grade

(James went back to school today — sixth grade — so I don’t yet have a photo of his first day.)

The biggest change of all while I was gone, though, is the very reason I was gone: the downsizing Jim and I did by selling our 3,700 square-foot home in June and moving into one less than half that size (1,829 square feet to be exact).

What a change! It’s taken some getting used to — and getting rid of full-size couches and replacing with love seats as space is at a premium in our new place. And, sad but true, giving away more than half of my books … about 500 or so, according to my itemized donations to Goodwill.

A few pics of the BEFORE space in our old house with the AFTER space in our new. (Note: Clicking on pics enlarges them. Also, the BEFORE pics are from the real estate listing so much personalization has been removed, rendering those pics feeling more spacious and sterile to begin with. Still…)

ENTRYWAY

LIVING ROOM

KITCHEN

MASTER BEDROOM

GRANDKIDS’ ROOM

FAMILY ROOM

MY STUDY

BACK YARD

Yes, it’s tight. I mean, it’s cozy. But we’ve pretty much adjusted to the smaller spaces and are finally feeling fully settled in … despite some work left to do. (One biggie: converting my bathtub to a walk-in shower next weekend to accommodate the tricky times my MS makes lifting a leg over the tub side wonky… and dangerous).

Downsizing has been a big change, yet we absolutely have not even the tiniest regret. We truly love our new home, and we are so very glad we made the change. (Especially in light of us finally having A/C, without which I’m pretty sure the sweltering summer would have left my MS-muddled brain fully fried and non-functioning.)

That’s pretty much the wrap-up of changes in my world while I was away.

Now it’s your turn: What changed in your world over the summer?