grannyhogg.com

Good news for grandparents from a study in Australia.

A few years ago,photographer Sacha Goldberger discovered that his 91-year-old “mamika” (Hungarian for “grandmother”) named Frederika was feeling lonely and down. To put a smile back on her face,Goldberger suggested that they shoot a series of silly portraits featuring Frederika dressed up as a superhero. Frederika agreed,and Goldberger’s project Mamika was born. The photographs took the web by storm back in 2010,and the viral views gave Frederika a huge boost in cheer as people from all over the world sent encouraging messages to her.

from http://petapixel.com/2012/11/02/humorous-portraits-of-a-90-year-old-grandmother/

When I was a child,I loved this cup and ball game.  It was so addictive and today while I was thinking about it, I decided that I wanted to see if I could buy one (for ME).    Apparently this game was around during Elizabethan times and was known to be played in the court.   And …it seems that this simple little game has been found all over the world.    Bet you want to play it again.

I found this photo on a site about a Welsh Museum which includes some other traditional games

Just looked up Grandmother in the Only Etymology Dictionary.   It says:

early 15c.,from grand (adj.) + mother (n.1),probably on analogy of French grand-mère. Replaced earlier grandame (c.1200) and Old English ealdemodor.

and under Granny:

1660s,according to OED,most likely a diminutive and contraction of grannam,shortened form of grandame,rather than from grandmother.

and under Grandfather,it says:

early 15c.,from grand (adj.) + father (n.),probably on analogy of French grand-père. Replaced grandsire and Old English ealdefæder.