Earthquakes and Hurricanes, Oh My!

"Seriously, Mom.
You're acting a little clingy."

Hello, hello, hello. Is this thing on? It's been a while. I know. Life in Banjo and Millie world has been a little unusual lately. I quit my job. I know, I've been told in the past that I shouldn't quit my day job, but that's exactly what I did. You would think that it would open up lots of free time to focus on blogging, but in reality I've found myself a little lost with what to do next. So please forgive my blogging irregularity as I figure out my next move. And though I haven't been blogging, Banjo and Millie and I have been up to lots of good / interesting stuff that we can't wait to share with you all!

Millie the morning of the earthquake.
It makes me wonder if she knew what was coming...

For starters, Banjo and Millie and I just experienced our very first earthquake! I'm sure you all are very familiar with the one that occurred last week in Virginia. Well, that earthquake's epicenter was about 40 miles from our house, so we definitely felt the Earth move. Banjo was at work, but Millie and I were laying on the couch watching television (Jobless, remember. Don't judge.) when all of the sudden the house began to shake and things began to crash all around us. As it turns out, I'm not the one you want in case of emergencies, because I totally freaked out, grabbed Millie and crouched down in a door way. She looked at me as if I'd lost my mind, but to be fair, I have no idea what you're supposed to do in case of an earthquake. I'm a life-long East coaster! So Millie handled it beautifully. Me, not so much.

A house down the street from us.

Then, I'm sure you are all aware of Hurricane Irene as well. Well, yep, she came right at us just a few days after the quake and ripped down trees and power lines all over Virginia. So we are now on Day 5 with no power. I have a few choice words for Irene, but I will refrain. So for the second natural disaster of the week, Millie once again kept her cool, and I totally panicked as wind and rain pelted the house and trees began crashing all around. Banjo was a little worked up thanks to my storm anxiety, but all in all, he remained much better composed than I. We were lucky - a tree fell in our yard and only took out our fence - but a lot of Richmonders were not nearly as lucky. Neighbors all around us lost their cars and several houses were made into duplexes thanks to the beautiful old trees in our neighborhood. It's a sight. Hopefully we've had our share of natural disasters for now. Fingers crossed!

Navigating our neighborhood was nearly
impossible for a few days before trees were
cleared from the road.

Another impassable road.