March 27, 2014

You oughta be in pictures, kid

March 27, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

I take a lot of photos. Such a statement surely is no surprise to regular readers of Grandma's Briefs as I've shared thousands of them here since starting this site in July of 2009.

photo storage closet

Those are the photos on my blog. Then there are those I have saved on my computer, a collection that's at least ten times what I've shared...

March 20, 2014

Wherein six years seems a lifetime

March 20, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Six years ago — March of 2008 — there was so much that was so very different. Perusing pictures from one weekend back then highlights several of the changes.

For instance, my first grandchild had not yet been born (but soon would be)...

expectant belly

Mickey was our...

March 13, 2014

Mosh-pit Mom, or, How Grandma's career got its start

March 13, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

My writing career and where it's headed have been on my mind a lot lately.

So, too, has been where my writing career began.

mosh-pit mom

I've written and fantasized about being a writer for as long as I can remember. It wasn't until nearly 20 years ago, though, that I became...

March 06, 2014

My husband's mistress, then and now

March 06, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

When my husband and I first started dating, he had a mistress. Their relationship continued even once Jim and I were married. He simply could not give her up, and he definitely could not keep his hands off her.

child with guitar

She had no name — even way back then Jim and I felt the same regarding...

February 20, 2014

Our first family computer, 1994

February 20, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

Throw Back Thursday

It was 1994 — nearly 20 years ago — that Jim managed to land a used computer from work, one to bring home for the family to marvel over and use on a daily basis.

Andrea plays solitaire like a modern girl, Sept. 1994We felt so modern, so plugged in — literally plugged in, with a dial-up modem and all. And oh, the options! We had not only the ability to use 5-1/4-inch floppy disks, our high-tech hand-me-down featured the more up-to-date drive for the not-quite-as-floppy 3-1/2-inch disks, too.

At the start we could access only the public library. Even then, though — months before we signed up for Prodigy — the FTP access to more information than I ever imagined possible absolutely blew. my. mind.

No more Smith Corona word processor for me. I had a computer!

Today's question:

When did you get your first computer and what was your first Internet service?

February 13, 2014

Crafts with kids, 1986 and 2014

February 13, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

Throwback Thursday

October 1986 —
Craft time with my two-year-old daughter, Megan:

child doing crafts

February 2014 —
Craft time with Megan's two- and five-year-old sons, Mac and Bubby:

boys doing crafts

Today's question:

What do you do with your grandchildren that you fondly recall doing with their parent(s)?

January 23, 2014

Grandpa Jerry, 1986

January 23, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

My stepdad, Jerry, would have been 76 years old today if he hadn't passed away May 29, 1995.

I love this photo of him and my mom — whom many of you know here as Ann — from a December 1986 holiday celebration.

my stepdad 1986

He was a good man.

Happy birthday, Grandpa Jerry — as he was (and still is) known to my girls.

Today's fill-in-the-blank:

The thing I loved most about 1986 was _____________.

January 16, 2014

Disneyland 1994

January 16, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

Dear readers: "Throwback Thursday" (#TBT) is a popular Internet meme. This is my first time participating... and I just might continue (#TBD).

I recently shared with you photos of my grandsons' visit to Disneyland and the beach with their mom and dad just after Christmas.

The throwback part: Twenty years ago this week, our three daughters made the very same visit with Jim and me, as you can see here (along with my big hair and mom jeans and Jim's...