Strangeness

So I'm flying solo for a few days while J is in Florida.  B has been sick so we haven't really gotten out very much this weekend.  On the plus side, I did manage to finish painting the dining room - pictures to come soon.  But by yesterday afternoon, we were all starting to climb the (freshly painted) walls, so the kiddos and I decided to get out of the house and go the park.  On the way to the park, we went by Sonic for some yummy goodness.  I made a slight misstep and got a drink with caffeine in it.  Not smart, but I didn't think about it at the time. 

Last night, we were supposed to get some rough weather.  I am a complete and utter weather nerd - I love watching storms roll through, I like to keep up with what is going on, and the weather simply fascinates me.  Always has.

So last night after the kiddos were in bed, I checked into my weather sites while sort of watching the Oscars on mute.  Turns out there are quite a few weather nerds out there, so I followed the chat room at one of the local news stations, watched the radars, and listened to the wind blow through the screen door.  It was a really nice night out. 

Around 11, the Oscars over and the weather portion of the regular news done, I took my laptop and sat on the back porch to enjoy the breeze and nice weather.  I got settled outside, and resumed my weather watching ('cause that's just what I do).  I hadn't been out there more than a minute or two when I felt the deck sway back and forth a few times. 

"Huh," I thought.  "That's a bit strange - wonder if we need to get the deck checked?  I mean, it is windy, but I've never felt the wind blow the deck back and forth." 

I then turned back to the laptop screen and immediately started seeing people in the chat room saying "Earthquake!",  "Big one!", and  "Just felt a big earthquake!" 

Um, maybe it wasn't the wind that made the deck sway after all...  Almost immediately I saw lights come on in other houses nearby, and figure maybe other folks felt it too.  I just had the good fortune to be sitting outside ... on a deck that swayed ... several feet above ground.

Thus ended my mostly pleasant night on the deck as I beat a hasty retreat to the house.  The earthquake was a 4.7 about 30 miles away, and I'm fairly certain that's what I felt.  Between the adrenaline that little adventure prompted, the caffeine I'd gotten in the afternoon, and the impending storms?  Yeah, sleep did not come easy or plentiful last night.  Great way to start the week.

On the plus side, I can now say I've felt an earthquake.  I'm not sure that was on  my bucket list, but whatever.  I've got cred now.  Or something like that.