Earthquake!

We interrupt the regularly scheduled London recap (which is like 3 weeks ago now, but whatever) to bring you news of our EARTHQUAKE! I know compared to the West Coast, our 5.8 or 5.9 - I've seen both - it wasn't a big deal, especially compared to Haiti or Japan, but it was a big deal for us. Especially since for many of us, living in DC, our first reaction is BOMB! rather than earthquake. Many people also lived through 9/11 and the attack on the Pentagon, so that's in the back of their minds. Not me, of course, since I was safe in Atlanta back then. It was really scary for that 30-45 seconds, and then the crazy began. People evacuated, some places closed but others didn't, Metro stayed open but slowed trains to 15 mph which resulted in delays, some traffic lights were out, which combined with everyone fleeing (I'm not sure if the Federal government actually closed, or just told people they could leave) there was massive gridlock. Fortunately there wasn't extensive damage. DC and some other area schools closed today so the buildings could be scrutinized for damage, but it sounds like most infrastructure is ok. I had play tickets, so I stayed at my office, which was a ghost town by 5:30. I actually was really hyped up and shaky - I guess all that adrenaline - so I just kept knitting to try to calm down. We went out for dinner and then on to the Shakespeare Theatre and Julius Caesar. This is part of the Free For All, a series of free performances. We have a subscription, so we have reserved seats, but non-subscribers enter a lottery for tickets. We were nearly to intermission, just after Caesar was killed, when alarms broke out. We weren't sure what was going on. Was it part of the show (Rome freaks out?) Was it earthquake related? The alarm said it was a "fire emergency," but I didn't see fire trucks outside, at least not on the front side of the building. We did see actors in bloody togas, including Caesar, who had gotten up off the ground! They let us back in, restarted the play for about 30 seconds, and then broke for intermission. The rest of the play went just fine, and we took a bus home since the Metro was still running slow trains. Home by 11pm to assess the earthquake damage. Not too bad in my apartment. Picture frames, books, and other small stuff knocked to the ground, and everything hanging on the wall a little askew. One frame broke and an angel lost her head, and I discovered this morning that a very full pitcher of sweet tea had splashed the inside of my refrigerator, which will be fun to clean up. But not too bad overall.
Here are two before and after pictures I happened to have.

BEFORE

I took this of the doll I had just finished for Mary Grace's birthday. Obviously I had to include MG with the doll. This is what I found when I got home.

AFTERThe glass is broken, if you couldn't tell. Also, I don't know why it is insisting on being sideways, but hopefully you get the gist. And now, coming up, a hurricane mixed with a planned vacation to Chincoteague Island. Will the trip go on? Will we be hurricaned out? Who knows.