GRAND greeting! Plus GRAND Social No. 161 link party for grandparents

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GRAND greeting

Saturday was my birthday, and I received many kind and happy greetings from family, friends and loved ones. (You Facebook friends? Sheesh...! You guys are awesome! And appreciated!)

I must say, though, that of all the birthday greetings I received, this was the most grand of all:

 

Megan told me that video was the...

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Saturday movie review: Runoff

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What might a loving wife and mother do in hopes of pulling her family from the brink of financial disaster? It's that question that creates the intrigue and suspense in the beautifully filmed, understatedly acted RUNOFF, an independent film written and directed by Kimberly Levin in her narrative film directorial debut.

runoff movie 

Betty (Joanne Kelly) loves her husband, her two sons, her farmland community...

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GRAND guest post: 6 tips to keep grandchildren reading all summer

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Dear readers: This article originally appeared on the GRAND Magazine website, one of my partners in providing grandparents with quality information and inspiration. I publish it here with their permission.

grandma and grandson reading together

Parents and grandparents are the child’s first and foremost teachers. They play an important role in teaching children to read and—maybe just as importantly—to love reading. Now that summer...

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Eclairs, anyone? Plus GRAND Social No. 160 link party for grandparents

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Eclairs, anyone?

What is today? It's National Chocolate Eclair Day. Yes, there is such a day. And a sweet one it is.

Have you ever made chocolate eclairs? Hankering to try your hand at the puffy, chocolate confections now? Here's how:

 

Quite a chore, if you...

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Saturday movie review: Alive Inside

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I shared a video a few years ago here on Grandma's Briefs of an elderly nursing home resident who amazingly comes out of the fog of dementia when headphones connected to an iPod are placed on his head. ALIVE INSIDE is the full documentary of that magical moment as well as others experienced by several dementia and Alzheimer's patients when given the opportunity to once again hear beloved tunes from days long gone. Joyous moments that prove music is far more powerful than pharmaceuticals.

Alive Inside documentary

In ALIVE INSIDE—winner of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award (Documentary)—filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett follows social worker and founder of Music & Memory, Dan Cohen, as he brings music to nursing home residents, via iPods and headphones. The results...

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