July 18, 2015

Saturday movie PREview: Grandma

July 18, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

As I've been chasing kids, reading bedtime stories, playing at the park, and all kinds of other fun stuff with Bubby, Mac, and Jak, I've not watched a film to review this week.

So you get this: a preview of an upcoming film that will likely resonate—in one way or another—with most of us here.

It's called GRANDMA and stars Lily Tomlin, among others.

GRANDMA movie

And here's the...

July 16, 2015

Grandparents: Inspire grandchildren to create their own adventures

July 16, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Dear readers: I am away from the computer and in the desert watching my grandsons, so today I'm sharing with you these smart suggestions for summer fun from StatePoint Media.

Getting kids to be more active and motivated for outdoor adventure can be a challenge in today's world of cool technology. With so many compelling reasons to stay indoors—like game systems, smartphones, and streaming video—how do you convince your grandchildren that the great outdoors is, well, great?

kids playing outside

Here are a few ideas to inspire outdoor play—and even to use their love of technology to...

July 15, 2015

Ah, hollyhocks

July 15, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

“I am very busy picking up stems and stamens as the hollyhocks leave their clothes around.”
― Emily Dickinson

My hollyhocks are in bloom, and I'm so thankful it will be several weeks before they begin undressing.

hollyhocks

Perhaps I'll get lucky and it will...

July 14, 2015

Fossil find

July 14, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Colorado has seen unprecedented amounts of rainfall so far this summer.

Which means most Colorado residents are seeing unprecedented numbers of weeds in our yards.

Jim spent several hours pulling weeds in the front yard on Saturday. The yard looked better and better as he pulled and pulled, but it sure seemed a not-so-fun waste of time.

Until he found this...

fossil

Yes sirreee, that is a fossil. Found right...

July 13, 2015

Scramble! Plus, GRAND Social No. 163 link party for grandparents

July 13, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Scramble!

I'm writing this Sunday evening. I just heard from Megan that she and Preston would like me to watch the kids while they move into their new home. Tuesday.

THIS Tuesday. As in, tomorrow.

I said, Sure! (Despite the fact Jim and I will both be visiting them at the end of the month.)

They purchased my ticket to fly to the desert just minutes ago, and I'm now in scramble mode to be ready for a Tuesday departure.

Because of my scrambling, you get this preamble to this week's GRAND Social: a photo of my lovely tabby Abby that I took last week while messing with my camera settings.

tabby cat

No rhyme or reason for sharing Abby with you. Except that I didn't...

July 11, 2015

Saturday movie review: Amira & Sam

July 11, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

I'm not one for mushy, gushy romantic movies, aka "chic flicks." At least not very often. I do, though, enjoy films that have a decent dose of romance—minus the mushy gushy—wrapped up in a good story.

The quirky romantic comedy AMIRA & SAM is my kind of film, with a good balance of sweet and silly amidst some serious social issues.

Amira & Sam DVD