My year in pictures … briefly

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My year in pictures … briefly

The end of 2023 has arrived, so time for an abundance of year in review pieces and posts all around the blogosphere and beyond.

Naturally, I have mine to add.

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Scenes from Summer 2022

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Scenes from Summer 2022

Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed their summer, making memories and more with loved ones.

I was blessed with memorable moments with many a loved one since pressing pause on Grandma’s Briefs for the season.

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Rockin' PawDad's party

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Rockin' PawDad's party

The recent weekend in which my family was all together—a relatively uncommon occurrence even in the best of times—featured not only Robert’s baptism, as I previously shared, but a milestone birthday celebration, too. That milestone being Jim’s sixtieth birthday.

The birthday festivities, organized primarily by Megan, revolved around a rockin’ theme as …

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Ideal backdrop

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Ideal backdrop

Ideal backdrop

Last week I shared with you some of the reasons I love the look of fall right outside my back door.

Over the weekend, I discovered another reason: It’s the ideal autumn backdrop for my goofy daughter Andrea and her equally goofy hubby, Allen, to pose for silly shots during a special birthday celebration (more on that to come).

Their attitude inspires me to approach the new week in a similarly carefree way. I hope sharing the shots does the same for you.

Plus … GRAND Social No. 411 link party for grandparents

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Summer 2020: What I didn't tell you

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Summer 2020: What I didn't tell you

July 25, 2020, marked the eleven year anniversary of Grandma’s Briefs. During many summers, I’ve taken a break from blogging from Memorial Day through Labor Day, to allow me time to enjoy summer fun without being obligated to publish anything.

This past summer, I chose not to take a break. I figured that with Covid restrictions and all, I’d have little to do and lots of time to write about the little I might do and see and ponder.

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Some grand news amidst all the bad news

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Some grand news amidst all the bad news

So much bad news surrounds us lately. Most of it beyond bad, in fact. Bad news about the pandemic, about politics, about inexplicable injustices and more batters our brains and hurts our hearts pretty much every single day beyond anything we might have imagined mere months ago.

Yet amidst all that bad news, I have some good news.

Some grand news.

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Those I like!

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Those I like!

Those I like!

At the start of a new year, I — perhaps we — spend a lot of time and energy considering and planning ways to improve ourselves. This week I’m going to do the opposite: I’m going to remind myself it’s okay to not stress out about doing more, being more; that spending time with those who matter is what matters most.

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School papers and similarly sentimental stuff

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School papers and similarly sentimental stuff

During my daughters’ school years, I kept all the papers and projects they brought home from school. Everything. Spelling tests, stories, handwriting practice (they did that back then), certificates earned for field day and perfect attendance, report cards for each quarter of each year.

I kept it all. Times three. All in cardboard boxes in a storage space beneath the house we lived in for the duration of the girls’ school years. Lots of …

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In other news: On Botox, Thailand, and ALS

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In other news: On Botox, Thailand, and ALS

In the first post I published here after returning from summer break, I shared a recap of some of the bigger changes that took place while I was away from the blog.

I didn’t tell you everything, though. A couple happenings just didn’t seem to fit in the bits I previously passed along. Those being the following…

BOTOX

I got Botox shots in June! In my …

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Summer break ends: What changed while I was away

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Summer break ends: What changed while I was away

Grandma’s Briefs is back! Yep, the summer break I announced at the start of June is officially over.

While I was away from the site, a few changes took place. Some big, some small. Here’s a (relatively) quick update:

For starters, one blog change is that Grandma’s Briefs hit the 10-year mark in July! Hard to believe but true, as you can see from my very first post, published a decade ago.

Another blog change is that you’ll see a few new faces in the Meet the Family section of the sidebar, those being of Andrea’s new …

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