I experienced my first earthquake last week. That was definitely different. In my post “Red Letter Day” I described those moments, and spoke of the power of nature that we all encounter from time to time.

Now we’re in the midst of yet another humbling experience produced by forces beyond our control. As the earthquake shook our home, the forecast for hurricane “Irene” was threatening not only our area of central Virginia, but the entire east coast. Set to arrive early on Saturday, I had really not given it much thought. That has proven to be an oversight.

It started gently enough Friday evening and began to intensify throughout the morning on Saturday. We had gone out with some friends Friday night and decided we should go home early to prepare for the storm. No rain yet, just some gentle breezes. The smaller plants and bonsai went into the garage. Others were sat down on the ground, and the larger potted plants were laid on their sides. Everything else that was light weight and could become airborne was moved or otherwise secured. We were ready… NOT!

Irene began to intensify Saturday morning. We followed our usual weekend routine, ran some errands, and had breakfast with some friends. Got home around noon, and arrived to my first reality check- no power. No big deal. Actually kind of fun. We’ll manage. All fine and good until the hours started to pass, and nighttime fell.

Saturday night we heard that three in Virginia had died when trees fell on their homes. So we made a pallet downstairs on our new family room carpet and were up for camping out for the night. I challenged Phillip to a little gin rummy by candle and flashlight, and promptly kicked his butt. I was always good at rummy. The hum of the neighbors’ generators did not contributing to the quaintness of our experience, but we  slept well.

Sunday we awoke to the total mess that took hours to clean up. Debris, limbs, etc. were strewn from one end of the yard to the other and the back of the house had shredded leaves stuck all over it. No big deal, just a mess. We were fortunate with no downed trees. Sunday night was another in the dark, but we did move to our bedroom upstairs.

Monday- still no power. The things I had not considered before Irene paid us a visit are now starting to get a bit more problematic. I had not thought to… let’s see- run the dishwasher, wash some clothes, charge my cell phone, take a look in the fridge, confirm my appointments for the week… Not so great. Early am Phillip ran across town to buy some dry ice to hold the fridge and freezer. All was good.

Now it’s  Tuesday evening and yet anther day without power. I’m thinking a generator would be a great choice, and second guessing my c’est la vie attitude about this whole adventure. I can’t access my desktop computer so I’ll resume posts on the beauty and benefits of tropicals and house plants at such time, and post some storm damage photos. Overall, a humbling experience. In the meantime, I hear another hurricane is predicted for next week!