The Husbands paintings-in-progress fell behind the mantel.
We have earthquakes in Virginia from time to time, but they are usually the type that tickle your feet, sway the chandelier, and provide a moment of, "Was that an earthquake?" The one we experienced yesterday was unmistakable, and historic.
Plaster chips on the floor ... a tell-tale sign that the crack between the old part of our house and the addition had moved a bit.
The folks on the news said that this is the strongest earthquake that we have had in Virginia since 1897, 114 years ago. This means that our old manor (built in 1848) has been through this at least once before ... and she appears to have come through it again with minimal damage.
This crack is on the north wall of my sewing room.
We have a few new cracks in our walls. My sewing room, on the upper northwest corner of the house, seems to have the worst ones ... and they aren't all that bad. Some of our existing cracks (all old houses have cracks) are a bit longer than they were before the quake. Cupboard doors rattled open, and some of the contents hit the floor ... nothing significant. Our daughter was shopping at Marshall's when the quake hit, and she said that the contents of the shelves in their back room fell onto the floor.
Some mortar shook loose from the eaves of the back of our house ... the lower window is the sewing room, and the upper window is in the attic ... and the chunks landed on the deck below.
... along with what looks like ancient bat droppings. Eewww!
All things considered, we came through a scary situation very successfully. From what I saw on the news last night, there are people who aren't as lucky as we are. No injuries that I know of, so that's a blessing. School was supposed to start for our grandson today, but it's been delayed till tomorrow so officials can inspect the school buildings.
Now we can all ask each other ... Where were YOU during the East Coast Earthquake of 2011?