The earthquake was quite epic. I was in my car, and pulled over because I was certain that the engine was falling out and I was about to irately and self-righteously piss-dial my mechanic and give him a "piece of my mind"...how else to explain the sudden shaking sensation of the vehicle???? Then a dude pulled up beside me in a pickup truck and informed me that the earth had moved....(for all of us, actually) and, well, the whole thing was a little embarrassing. I sped home - while futilely trying to call and text on my now completely USELESS cell phone (all the cell towers immediately jammed in the area). Grace, the au pair, was standing in the doorway of the house looking more than a little freaked out....I had assured her, over a year ago, BEFORE SHE CAME TO VIRGINIA, that we NEVER EVER had silly things like tornadoes or earthquakes in THIS part of the world....I am now batting two for two....let's see, there was that tornado a few months ago that swept past the house and now....THIS.
She was in the farmhouse and when the whole place started shaking, she wisely exited the building and stood outside while listening to the sound of things smashing in the house. Good call on her part. My au pair proves yet again that she keeps her wits about her when the rest of us are busy, erm, inspecting their undercarriage...
Damage to the house was mostly annoying and cosmetic, I think. Our well water is coming up funky brown, which is a little disturbing.....all of the bookshelves in the rooms upstairs were emptied of their contents, as was the medicine cabinet shelf in my bathroom, and some of the shelves in the pantry. When the glass containers hit the ground they made a nice mess of shattered glass and sticky/liquidy contents, so there was plenty of clean up to do. We have some Very Impressive Cracks in the plaster walls and ceilings in the old part of the house. All the pictures on the walls look like they were hung by a bunch of one-armed drunks....and things in the cabinets crept perilously close to the edge, so we're sort of wandering around adjusting stuff as we go....note to self : post earthquake, open all cabinet doors SLOWLY AND CAUTIOUSLY!!!
The urchins were at school and were completely traumatized. They had an emergency evacuation and were sent home on the buses with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Today, in lieu of a "snow day" we have a "post earthquake day", while all schools are inspected and deemed safe for - hopefully - return tomorrow. Shall write more about THAT, later!!
Just when I think life cannot possibly get any nuttier, well, it does. I clearly need to STOP having thoughts like "can this get any *&^%$# Nuttier?" because it displays a massive lack of imagination on my part. The simple answer is, yes, yes it CAN get nuttier, sweetheart. Just WAIT AND SEE.
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