Last week was a strange week. We had both an earthquake and a hurricane. Mother Nature can be quite entertaining. The earthquake was a surprise because it is rather an unusual occurrence on the East Coast, especially one of that magnitude, 5.8. I was sitting on the couch, minding my own business, when the couch and I began swaying side to side. Then the blinds were swaying back and forth and the light over the kitchen table was swinging merrily. Hmmm….I said to myself; we’re having an earthquake (I’m a quick study). I immediately (well, after the room stopped rocking) turned the TV on and, sure enough, the earthquake was all over the news, on every channel. Maybe not on HGTV. Nothing pre-empts HGTV.
Friday afternoon my husband came home early from work so we could finish stocking up on water and other essentials before Hurricane Irene hit. We went down to the Oceanfront to see if the waves were picking up, which they were. Businesses were boarded up and the news truck was out.
Early Saturday morning, around 3 A.M. we were awoken by torrential rain. We managed to get a few more hours of sleep and finally arose at 6:00 and went downstairs to make some coffee and listen to the wind howl. We kept our power until sometime in the afternoon. 
We sat by the window in what little light it afforded and played Chinese checkers and drank wine. The worst of the storm hit us about 8 P.M. When it became obvious that we had escaped any major problems, we went to bed, lulled by the still fierce winds.
Sunday morning, with all the churches closed, we went down to the Oceanfront again, early, to survey the damage. The fishing pier was damaged and the beach was littered with debris, but the beach was in much better shape than it had been two years ago when we were hit with a devastating Nor’easter. Though the angry sea was no longer angry, it still yielded some beautiful waves, and the surfers were out in force.
Early Sunday evening we went back to the Oceanfront for my usual Sunday night Dairy Queen routine, and afterwards we drove through a few noisy neighborhoods humming with the sound of generators. Since our house is on the same circuit as the hospital two blocks away, we were lucky and got our power back quickly. Other neighborhoods were not so fortunate.
Now it is Monday morning. Many of the schools are closed today but will open tomorrow and we will be back to normal, at least until the next time Mother Nature decides to play with us.
Coming East 
I can almost hear the waves in that last photo. I echo everyone’s sentiments: very glad you’re okay. And that’s the nicest Chinese Checker board I’ve ever seen.
Thanks, MBI. We got that checkerboard at Bombay Company when it was still in business. It is a beauty, I agree.
I’m not such a quick study. lol! I couldn’t figure out what the swaying was, it was so subtle here in Ohio. I thought I’d either imagined it or had a brief dizzy spell. It was slightly disorienting.
I’m glad all is well there with you. Your photos are great, especially the surfers. 🙂
Thanks, Robin. I don’t blame you for being confused. It’s not a normal occurrence, is it! It was much more pronounced here, so it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out (though even some people here were clueless!).
Well I’m certainly glad you did not suffer from the storm. I thought of all my bloggy friends on the East Coast the last few days. Isn’t Mother Nature strange? The earthquake of all things — so strange! Again, glad you are well. And I love the photos you included in this post!
Thanks, Leah. The storm wasn’t as bad as we anticipated here, but I feel so bad for the people in Vermont. Their situation is unbelievable!
So glad all is fine, CE. I thought about you over the weekend! My little brother lives in Virginia Beach, too, and texted that he was ‘hunkering down’ in his house for the duration. My daughter in DC never lost power. Chinese checker/wine–a win, win combo in my book!
I didn’t know you have a brother here! Do you ever come and visit him? If you do, we need to meet, even if it’s just for a cup of tea.
I thought of you right away! (As you know because of my concerned e-mail). So glad you averted any major damage. Hope you had a lovely lock-in with your hubby.
Aarrrggghhhh! J to E. Did you send me an email? Drat! I missed it. I am so bad about checking my blog e-mail account. When I finally do, there are a zillion there and nearly every one says “Please moderate…” which are just duplicates of the comments I get on the blog, so I delete them. If you sent me one, I am so sorry. Thanks for thinking of me, though, my friend. My brother and his wife are still without power!
So happy to see you weathered Irene. Loved the pictures!
Thanks, Mama. Sister-in-law just called from Chester (near Richmond). They STILL don’t have power. And they wanted us to stay with them before the storm hit because they were worried about us. Glad we didn’t take them up on it!
So glad you posted about the storm, I hoped you would, and glad you survived without major problems. Our west-coast earthquakes don’t seem as scary as your eadt-coast hurricanes but I guess it’s what you are used to. The ocean pictures are breath-taking!
oops…little typo there…east-coast hurricanes
Ha! I didn’t even see that until you pointed it out, LDC.
Thanks, LDC. You’re right; it must be what you get used to. I would be terrified to be in one of your West Coast earthquakes!
Glad to know you and your family are safe. Awesome pictures!
Thank you, S of S. I hear there might be another hurricane developing…
Isn’t mother nature wonderful. The fury of the storm followed by the peace and quiet of a beautiful morning.
Glad you are both safe.
It’s amazing how quickly the storm moves out and the calm returns. Thank you, Judith.
Glad to hear most were not too terribly scathed by either the earthquake or the hurricane. With wine and games and chocolate and dairy queen and visits to the beach, things sound okay! But getting back to “normal”? That could take some time. As one of my friends says, “Normal is just a setting on the washer.”
Your so right, Patti. Don’t know what normal really is. Love your friend’s quote.
Don’t know how people can endure flood, mud, power outage… Glad Irene was not as brutal as they predicted. Really happy to hear CT is fine and you are well and safe.
I live in Virginia Beach, Amy, but we have a ton of family and friends in CT where I grew up, and they made it through just fine. We’re thankful, too.
Sorry, Susan… there is a distance between CT and Virginia Beach.
I probably confused you, Amy, because I talk about Connecticut so much since I will always consider it my home.
How is Rudy’s? Those swinging tables better be waiting for us when we come again. (Although, eating in the rain wouldn’t be high on my list this time.) I am obviously thankful that you and dad were okay and weren’t without power for too long.
Oh, no, Daughter. I haven’t thought about the tables at Rudy’s. I sure hope they survived! Dad and I will have to take a look this weekend.
Wow, I love the 4th pic. Absolutely breathtaking! By the way, I’d like to quote the last line of your reply to Ms. Dor in my Fb with your permission.:)
Absolutely, Yen. And if you’re thinking that we always seem to get “Son-shine” after a storm, you are so right!
Thanks, Susan!:) Love that – Son-shine.
That’s sweet of you to want to use any of my writing, Yen. Thank you.
Thank God you all are safe and getting back to normal. (((hugs)))
Thank you, E.C. I think the places they didn’t think were going to get hit hard, like Vermont, got hit the worst. My husband said he read that at one point every road in Vermont was closed because of flooding.
Nothing calms the nerves better than a glass of good wine – you did break out the good stuff, yes? It is always good to support the local economy during times of disruption, which is why the Dairy Queen routine was also vital. You did order something with chocolate, yes?
I think you have a very good protocol for riding out a storm!
Of course there was chocolate! The wine would have tasted sweeter had I been the victor in the checkers game, but it was still good.
Ohhhh yes,…the sound of generators; I remember. Do hope things do get back to normal. PattiJ at “A New Day Dawns” posted a picture of a locust and declared something like “Locusts, bring ’em on.” After the week you all have had, I imagine you could respond in kind…please know I am in no way wishing for them for you, for us or anybody.
We, too, live just blocks from a hospital so our electricity usually doesn’t go out. However, after Ike we were 9 days without power.
Yes, Ike was really a bad one! Irene wasn’t nearly so bad, but it’s still the start of the hurricane season, so we’ll see what else it brings.
Glad you’re safe and sound! My corner of Maine was fairly unscathed–with mostly high winds and little rain. A tree near our corner fell on our neighbor’s barn and two big branches off a big maple in our yard, but thankfully no serious damages and no injuries. As with you, we prepared for the worst and hoped for the best, and I also feel like we dodged a bullet judging from some areas that were so heavily hit!
Glad your safe, too, Julia. It was surprising how Irene kept up her intensity nearly all the way up the coast.
So glad everyone is safe there. I love the pictures and of course your descriptions are, as always, almost the same as being there with you.
Thanks, Dor. We prepared for the worst and hoped for the best, and I think we actually dodged a bullet. Love how after a terrible storm, the day dawns beautifully.