Earthquake!!!

Just when I try to sneak in an afternoon nap, I get woken up by an earthquake!

I had a bit of a headache this afternoon and didn't really have anything pressing on my agenda so when I put Wesley down for a nap I decided to have a little rest myself. Around 1:45 I started to hear some loud rumbling noises and the house started to shake. Our house is under the Ottawa airport flight path so we get several loud planes going overhead every day. A neighbour told me that there are sometimes some really big planes that shake the houses, especially when there are visiting dignitaries here. There had been a big deal on the news this morning about the Chinese president coming to Ottawa today so I thought it was his plane. I went to Darcy's room to look out the window and see what I could see. This whole time the noise and shaking is getting louder and stronger. I can hear dishes rattling in the cupboards.

There were no planes in sight and the house was still shaking. I looked into the backyard and the kiddie pool I had just filled had waves in it. This is when the word, "earthquake" first crossed my mind. But that seemed ridiculous. I thought they would only happen on the west coast. I went out the front door to see what was going on. Many of the neighbours were outside and everyone was saying the same thing. "Earthquake". I couldn't believe it. People were definitely shaken up (pun not intended). A woman a few doors down noticed a crack in her window that hadn't been there before.

I tried calling Nick at his office but got no answer. As soon as I hung up the phone rang and it was him on his cell phone. All of the buildings in downtown Ottawa were being evacuated and he was out on the street. He had first thought there was a bomb downtown but soon learned the real story. They ended up sending everyone home. He's actually just gone back downtown now because his bike lock key was left in his office so he couldn't ride his bike home. He got a ride with a friend and has gone to get his bike now.

I was worried about Darcy at school. I thought she would be scared. When the time came to get her off the school bus I asked her what she thought about the earthquake and she said she didn't feel a thing. I don't know how that is possible. The other kids all said they felt it, but Darcy felt nothing. Sometimes that girl really is in her own little world!

Wesley slept through the whole thing. He has talked about his bed shaking but I'm not sure if he really felt that or has just heard all of us talking.

Darcy had two friends from up the street come over to play this afternoon. I was talking to their Mom when she came to get them. She's from Haiti and has a brother whose body was pulled from the rubble and a sister she hasn't heard from since February. I'll admit I was pretty scared this afternoon, but after talking to her I just felt so grateful. There is no major damage here. I haven't heard of any major injuries. It could have been a lot worse.

Settling In

Well here we are in our new home, all of our stuff is here and we are slowly but surely getting it all organized again.

Nick's parents came on Saturday to help us do some painting and preparing the house for the arrival of our stuff. It was a great help and we got the horrible blue bathroom and the burgundy bedroom painted. Our bathroom is now a nice, neutral beige and Wesley's bedroom has gone from burgundy to a bright, light blue. He loves it. Thanks Papa and Grandmaman for all of your hard work.

On Monday the truck arrived early in the morning and started unloading our stuff. They were done shortly after lunch. Our house was full of boxes and it was suggested that we not do any unpacking so the movers could do the unpacking on Tuesday and check to see if there was any damage. So we still lived in a bit of chaos on Monday evening. My parents also arrived on Monday to help us out. That proved invaluable during the unpacking on Tuesday. They provided two workers and Nick and I each had to partner with one. The mover unpacked the items and we had to put them away. It was fast, crazy work. Mom and Dad kept the kids busy and entertained while we worked. We got everything unpacked before lunch, which blew me away. We still don't have a spot for everything and I'm not entirely convinced that the things that are put away will stay where they are. We'll work that out over the next few weeks.

I still don't feel like I'm "home". It feels like we're living in someone else's house. We now have TV, phone and internet which at least helps us feel like we're connected to the outside world again. For example, we woke up on Monday morning and smelled smoke everywhere. We thought a neighbour had been using their woodburning stove, we had no idea that we were smelling the smoke of forest fires in Quebec.

We will also be getting our new appliances today. We figured out once we got into the house that our enormous plates don't fit into the dishwasher that was left here. It has a sprayer suspended from the top shelf that hits our plates. The new tall tub dishwasher should prevent that. Once we get the new fridge set up then I can do some real grocery shopping and be ready to cook in our house again!

Thanks for all your kind wishes and to those who have come over to help. If you're in the area, pop by any time. We'd love to see you!