Greedy Granny from Goliath Games (game review)

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Stereotypes of grandmas abound, and there's none more stereotypical than the star of Greedy Granny, the new offering from Goliath Games. Granny of the game is pin-curl coiffed, dons granny glasses, a lace-collared dress, and knee-high socks with pink slippers. She's wrinkled about the mouth and forehead and wears dentures that fly from her mouth when startled. She naps in a recliner, arthritic hands clutching the arms.

She's the stereotypical grandma caricature of comics and cartoons and commercials created by folks who apparently haven't seen a real grandma in several decades. A kind of grandma I can't imagine any child born in the past 30 years has ever seen, as grandmas are nothing like the stereotype. Or like Greedy Granny.

That said, it's silly to get one's grandma briefs in a bunch over the depiction, as Greedy Granny — stereotype or not — was surely innocently crafted for nothing but fun. And fun the game definitely is.

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175 Best Multifunction Electric Pressure Cooker Recipes by Marilyn Haugen (cookbook review)

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I have a lot of cookbooks. At last count — which was just before sitting down to write this review — there are 54 cookbooks on my kitchen bookshelf. And that doesn't even include the literally hundreds of cooking magazines I've collected throughout the years.

In addition to learning techniques and tasty treats from all those cookbooks, I've also learned that it's rare to find a cookbook in which every recipe turns out fabulous. 175 Best Multifunction Electric Pressure Cooker Recipes by Marilyn Haugen, which I recently received free for review, just might be one of the rare ones. 

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My week in a 2017 Jeep Compass Trailhawk 4X4: Where I went, what I loved, what I learned

Jeep Compass Trailhawk test drive

The Thursday before Labor Day, Rocky Mountain Redline fleet company provided me a 2017 Jeep Compass Trailhawk 4X4 for a week long test drive. Which meant I had the fun ride for the long holiday weekend... plus some.

In the seven days I had the pleasure of driving the well-appointed, hardy and handsome (Laser Blue Pearl exterior) 4X4, I put it to the test on the road, at a reservoir, and running the everyday errands that make up the grandma lifestyle.

Take a look:

WHERE I WENT (plus a closer look at...

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Retro '90s games your '80s and '90s kids will get a kick out of

retro 90s games from Pressman Toy

Long, long ago, in what now seems an alternate universe, I had three daughters living at home, three daughters attending elementary school. Computers in the classroom were new, our home computer even newer. Games on both were DOS-based. And they. were. awesome. Especially in the pixel-dazzled eyes of my daughters.

At school, my girls and their friends clamored for computer time. Oregon Trail time, in particular. They so enjoyed attempting to survive the oft-deadly challenges of the trail west at school that we purchased the game — on 3.5-inch disk... or perhaps it was a 5.25-inch floppy — to play at home.

My girls (and my husband) spent hours at the screen hunting, scavenging, escaping bears, and crossing rivers as they traversed the seemingly never-ending Oregon Trail. Sometimes successfully, sometimes...

Continue reading the review in Grandma's Back Room...

That time I surprised my birthday girl with a 2017 Lexus GX460 luxury SUV

2017 Lexus GX460 luxury SUV

My youngest daughter turned 32 years old the first part of July. When I asked what she'd like for her birthday, Andrea requested only that my husband and I go to church with her that day, to her church in Denver, which we'd never visited before. And MOANA on DVD, too.

The wishes of my Disney-loving daughter seemed rather small, so I decided to throw in a surprise. A 2017 Lexus GX460 luxury SUV sort of surprise!

Not for the birthday girl to keep, of course — though if my budget allowed, I'd certainly hand her the title without question. But thanks to help from Rocky Mountain Redline and a vehicle courtesy DriveShop, I did manage to surprise Andrea with a special mode of transport on her special day. In the 2017 Lexus GX460, my baby girl was chauffeured in style around Denver, to and from...

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11 last-minute gift ideas for grandmothers and others to give and get

Time's ticking and if you still have a few stockings to fill or a few gifts to give, here are some simple gift ideas to consider. I tested out each — free for review — and give an honest thumbs-up to all.

A few are ideal for grandmas to give, a few more ideal for grandmas to get. Bonus: All can be ordered online, so no need to be out and about in the snow. (Note: There are NO affiliate links in this post.)

RING IT GAME ($14.99, BlueOrangeGames.com)

ring it game

Oh my goodness! My four-year-old grandson loves this game, even though it's designed for...

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'The Grandparent Economy:' Q&A with author Lori K. Bitter

Most of us reading (or writing) Grandma's Briefs are grandparents. Which means most of us here know how much money grandparents spend on their grandchildren, their parents, their children and, when there's a smidgen left, on ourselves.

Interestingly, marketers don't seem to know how much we grandparents spend on ourselves and our loved ones. Or so it seems. Perhaps they do know—some brands clearly do—though they have yet to figure out how to effectively reach us with messages on the services and products we want to see, want to use, want to buy.

grandparent economy bookAuthor Lori K. Bitter lends them a hand in her new book on the topic, The Grandparent Economy: How Baby Boomers Are Bridging the Generation Gap ($34.95, Paramount Market Publishing), which I recently received free for review.

The 138-page primer on engaging the 65 million grandparents in the United States is a must-read for marketers. And, thanks to all the graphs and stats and tidbits Bitter provides on...

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