Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Home Again, Home Again, Bloggity Blog

I've returned from the Far West, and most things were in good order when I left. My Dad is home from the hospital and recovering slowly, but steadily, from his triple bypass. As well, Mum is adjusting to playing nurse-maid and hardly ever talks about sending him back.

The home-front didn't fare nearly so well in my absence. Ian broke a tooth in a scuffle with a door at school, and the laundry basket was being slowly crushed under a mountain of clothes. The dentist came to the rescue of Ian's tooth and I came to the rescue of the laundry basket. All's well.

The weather on the coast was stunning. Usually January brings nothing but drizzle to Victoria, but in the week I was there the sun shone, the air was crisp and snowdrops were in bloom. It's really too bad that I forgot my camera every time I stepped out the door. So, I've no photos to show you, not one.

All is not lost though, Penny has tagged me for the "7 Weird Facts MEME", so I'll entertain you with this instead.

The Rules:

1. Make a link to the person who tagged you. Done.
2. List seven weird or interesting facts about yourself. Hmm...
3. Tag seven others to do the same.

I was having some trouble believing there was anything weird about me, but my lovely wee Ian has assured me that there's lots. LOTS.

Well, regardless, I'm going to share two weird place facts and five weird name facts. Enjoy.

1. While growing up, my family moved often. My first move was at six weeks old, and between grades one to twelve I was in eight different schools. I'm a master of burning bridges.

2. Nigel had a very similar upbringing. In fact our fathers worked for the same company, and we lived in some of the same places at the same time, though we didn't meet until we were in our late twenties. Now please, that's pretty weird.

3. I use to take guitar lessons from Chet Breau, son of Lenny Breau. (That's me name-dropping.)

4. One of my great-great-grandfathers was named Flavius Orlando Gamsby (1846-1903). I love a good name. My sister and I have been doing a genealogy search and have found loads of other fascinating facts.

5. Another great name, Forester Wood, belongs to one of my great-great-great-great-grandmothers. She would have been born in the 1780's, though I've been having a little trouble pinning down the date. The name appears later in the tree too, Forester had a granddaughter named Forester Crawford, who would be my great-great-aunt, and she also had a grandson named Mescander Crawford, a great-great-uncle to me.

6. I'm related to both Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. More name-dropping. Shameless.

7. Few people know that I go by my middle name, Anne or Annie. My first name is Harriett. This name also belongs to my mother, my great-grandmother and my great-great-great-grandmother. My mother wanted to name me Victoria Anne, but my father insisted (I'm not sure why) that I be named after her. She relented on the condition that I go by Annie which is probably for the best. Harriett is a German name meaning "ruler of the household", I don't think you'd want more than one of those under one roof.

Now, I can't tag seven more people for this MEME, because I don't know that many people who blog. In fact, most people I know don't own or even use computers (hey, I think that's a bit weird maybe I should have MEMEntioned it on the list). I will tag one, though.

Jane, consider yourself tagged.

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