Earthquake Sunday

I woke up this morning at 5:50 am. The bed was rattling and bouncing around. It took me a minute to figure out that we were having an earthquake. It was 4.0 on the Richter scale, and about 19 miles south east of Anchorage. The thing about these earthquakes is that they last about half a second at the most. By the time you realize what is happening, it's all over. At first, I thought Redoubt had blown her top, but this was not the case. I suppose it's more interesting than waking up to the alarm clock, only this is Sunday, and I didn't set the alarm. Oh, well. Sleep is over-rated anyway.

We have had a productive weekend here in the great state of Alaska. I had a successful garage sale yesterday, so that means less to pack, ship and store. Jess (my lovely sales assistant) and I had a busy morning, and all that's really left to sell are the stud tires. Each day brings us one step closer to our move. There is still a lot to take care of, and I am beginning to doubt the wisdom of my list making. For every item I cross off, I add two or three more. We have taken care of a lot of things, though. Thanks to a very kind new friend, we already have a furnished apartment and rental car reserved for our use at our new home. It's nice to know that the basics are taken care of. I also found out that you can not ship a moose with your household goods. OK, I admit that I had suspected this all along, but it never hurts to ask. I'm afraid that Bob will have to wait this one out. If I could find a kennel large enough, I'd put him on a truck and ship him to Grandma and Grandpa. He could hang out with Ashley and Tink. I suspect that they would have to get a bigger litter box.

Did Anyone Else Feel That?

Either we just had an earthquake, or someone spiked my lunch. I suspect the cat. They say that animals can sense these things just before they happen. Tink was oblivious. I was just sitting at the computer desk, trying to see the screen. Tink was, of course, between me and the screen, trying to keep me from seeing it. Then I heard a creaking sound from upstairs and the whole chair jerked around. And the desk. And the room. Just one big motion, and then...nothing. I, for one, do not want to be trapped in the basement with all of those exposed pipes if the Big One is coming, so I headed upstairs. Tink decided to risk it and wait it out on the desk. Nothing else. Nada. Zip. Very exciting, and better for waking me up than a cup of coffee, I must say. I wonder if Redoubt could be to blame. They aren't showing anything major on the website right now. Just the regular stuff. She still has an ash and steam plume, extending 10-15 miles south east of the crater. They have noted that a lava dome is forming again at the summit crater. She could blow again, without warning. Could this be her way of making sure I stay home and clean closets? OK. I'm going.....I'm going.

Ice Fishing on Jewel Lake

In case you were wondering, the earthquake yesterday was a magnitude of 5.73 ML. What do you do after an earthquake in Alaska? Why walk out on a frozen lake and going ice fishing, of course! We went out to Jewel Lake yesterday so Brandon could try ice fishing. We tried to do it last year, but the weather and timing just never agreed. Jewel Lake is a pretty lake south of Anchorage, just west of the Dimond Mall. They have a man made beach there, and it's a hot spot during the summer months. The city decided to host free ice fishing this weekend to get the crowds out and about. They did a great job. They pre-drilled fishing holes for everyone, had people walking around offering bait and assistance, and provided all of the gear. It was well below freezing and windy out on the lake, so Russ did the tough part like baiting the hook and anything else that required taking gloves off. The hardest part was getting the bait to go down into the icy water. Think of trying to get a piece of shrimp to sink down to the bottom of a cup of half melted slushy (or icee). It's no easy feat.

It was a very interesting experience. You could tell where the schools of fish were traveling under the ice by where the excited cries of the kids were heard. It wasn't too long before Brandon caught a fish. I'm sure he is smiling under there somewhere. They provided bags, too, so you could take your fish home to eat, but we passed and donated our fish to a neighboring angler. We still have a lot of salmon in the freezer, and the thought of filleting a bunch of little fish wasn't that appealing.

On to more fishing.

Not only did the city provide free fishing, but they also held drawings the whole afternoon, and gave out great prizes. They had a big warming tent set up as well, and provided the frozen fishermen/women with hot chocolate, coffee, popcorn and donuts. Anchorage is definitely a family friendly city, and does a great job of providing year round entertainment. It started snowing again, and we were ready to head home and warm up.

Back to base and a warm couch and funny movie. Hope you enjoyed your Saturday as well.

Earthquake

We had an earthquake this morning. 9:09 am, to be exact. They don't know the magnitude right now. The center of it was in Cook Inlet, 158 miles Southwest of Anchorage. We've had quite a few earthquakes since we've lived up here, but this is only the second one that I've felt. I was sitting in a chair upstairs, and suddenly the house started swaying. Then I could hear the faint rattling of things on the dresser. I could feel myself moving slightly back and forth. It's kind of a strange feeling. I was wondering what someone was doing to make the house shake so much (probably my kids), and then I realized that it was an earthquake. The whole thing lasted less than a minute. Very cool. Russ says earthquakes are not cool, because they can do so much damage, but this one was minor, and that makes it cool. When the kids are older, they will not remember that they have been through hurricanes, tornadoes, water spouts, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. I guess that's a good thing. It means none of them has had a damaging effect on our family. If you asked the kids what they remember of the hurricanes we experienced in Florida, and they will tell you we had a great weekend in Disney World. (If you have to evacuate, why not make a vacation out of it.) Such is life. Hope your day is disaster free.