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...

Saturday movie briefs: What I watched on my summer vacation

/

Netflix original series

Time's up!

Seems only last week that I started my summer break from movie reviews and movie briefs, but by golly, it's already after Labor Day. Time to get back in the movie groove.

I didn't go to the theater one single time this summer. I did, though, watch a few films on the big screen in my family room. A few fabulous series, too.

Here's the skinny on what I...

Read More

Books, Brightly, and Grandparents of Children's Literature

/

In celebration of Grandparents Day — which is this Sunday, Sept. 10 — I'd like to share with you a grand resource for grandparents that I just recently learned of.

Brightly is a resource for parents, grandparents, and other folks dedicated to raising lifelong readers. The award-winning website, a partnership with Penguin Random House, launched in 2014 and features, as the Brightly site states, "book recommendations from all publishers for every age and stage, reading tips and insights, seasonal inspirations, author essays, contests, gift guides, and more."

Brightly has some pretty great content specifically for grandparents, including the following piece, which I've received permission to share with you in part. Enjoy! And be sure to click for the complete article as well as others, all celebrating grandparents. For Grandparents Day and every day!

AREN'T THEY GRAND? OUR FAVORITE GRANDPARENTS FROM CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
By Tom Burns

Grandparents aren’t just solid sources of extra dollars, hearty hugs, and embarrassing...

Read More

9 things that petrify my pit bull

/

Folks who have never owned a pit bull nor had much experience with the breed often consider the dogs — and any mix that includes the breed — ferocious forces to avoid at all costs.

I own a pit bull. Well, a pointer-pit bull mix. One of my earliest posts here related the story of how/when/why we adopted the injured babe twelve or so years ago.

pit bull puppyMickey, soon after we adopted the fella.My husband and I weren't positive what we were in for at the time, but in the years since, we've learned our Mickey and others of his kind are far from ferocious — unless owners teach the animals to be that way, as is the case with any breed.

In fact, despite his maniacal barking that makes him seem tough and terrifying when he notices bicyclists, motorcycles, dogs, rabbits, and plastic grocery bags caught in the wind scooting down our street, Mickey is anything but ferocious. He's a chicken of the chickenest sort.

Mickey quakes, shakes, and shivers at...

Read More