No More Pencils, No More Books...

I haven't been in school for decades. In fact, my daughter just flew eastwards with her family to have fun at her 20th high school reunion. I only mention that to emphasize just how far away I am, year-wise, from even having children in school. And thus, I am completely baffled by my attitude towards bloggy diligence in the summer. Oh, I'm interested in reading what the rest of you lot are up to, but me, I'm on summer vacation. I'm not exactly running around the house shrieking, "No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks," but I still want to just hang around the pool eating popsicles all day and, if we had street lights in my Canyon, I assure you I'd stay outside until they came on.

I have been enjoying the rhythm of summer. Drippy, soft and sweet summer fruits, a perfect temperature in the pool and shared cooking. Too hot to cook inside, Himself fires up the grill most nights, perfecting skewers of veggies, corn on the cob and wonderfully marinated meats.

I felt like I was flying under the radar screen and that my few regular readers would most likely even forget my first name by the time September rolled around. And then Miz Gwendomama tapped me on the shoulder and oh, if you knew her or her beautiful children, you couldn't ignore her summons, either. A meme. Not a long one, but a meme.

Summer's not exactly over, but friends afar have been sending me emails that share a theme... What are you doing, you lazy cow?

I understand the rules of the meme (see below), but I can't tag anyone again (I've done it before and once is it), BUT, any reader who wants to play the game, yay!

THE RULES…- We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.- Players start with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.- People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.- At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people who get tagged and list their names- Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they are tagged.

Rules, shmools, drools.

1. I have an accent that can be charitably described as 'Mid-Atlantic.' Mid-atlantic ocean, not mid-atlantic seaboard. My mother lives in England, my husband is English, and one of my children was born in England. When I speak to my mother, my husband and English friends, I tend to sound more English than American. Apparently, this has been my speech pattern since I first spoke.
2. I am a native Washingtonian. Besides me, how many others do you know?
   
3. I am one-eighth Cherokee Indian.
   
4. Until the mid 1990s, I had absolutely no desire to live in California, but then...BOOM, I changed my mind...big time.
   
5. My first granddaughter, Charlotte, has three middle names. Charlotte is my daughter's middle name, Helen is my middle name and Grace is my mum's middle name. Charlotte Helen Grace. Awww. My second granddaughter, Sophie, has a Welsh middle name (as a nod to my husband's Welsh roots) and her third name was given to her by her sister. Sophie Bronwen Rose. Awwww.
   
6. I only knew my husband three weeks when we married. I dropped out of university, moved from Washington, DC to London and made my parents VERY angry. I had just turned 20. I am an only child.
   
7. In November of 2008, Roger and I will celebrate our (gulp) 40th wedding anniversary.
8. If another Republican president is elected in 2008, we will most likely leave this country.
   

And so, if anyone else feels like it, You're It!