Though my friends from California described it as minor, they noticed it too. Apparently, an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale struck (not sure of that term) in the middle of southern Illinois at about 5:40 EST this morning. Here’s a map:

And here’s a link to zip codes who report feeling the quake:

http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/STORE/X2008qza6/ciim_stats_1.html

Fun stuff!

-j. 

Over at The White Hall Craigs, “Deam” explains that the recent blizzard makes her feel “like a little kid, giddy with the excitement and the beauty and the expectation that snow brings with it.”

I do not love snow. I do not love cold. I don’t like “layering” and the interminable chill that settles into the Michiana area just makes me angry. Last year, it was too cold to snow at times, which I thought was a blessing in disguise, but when I figured out that this meant -30 degrees fahrenheit, I reconsidered. That blasted chill eventually resulted in everything freezing so solidly that the ice didn’t leave the end of our driveway until March, and then had to be hacked out - no “deicer” was getting into that glacier. If I hadn’t physically removed it, I am sure it would have been there for me to slip on during the Fourth of July, mocking me.

My parents, God bless them, told me that the Outer Banks (in N.C.), where I grew up, didn’t get “above 60″ during a week when we did not get “above 60″ as well. Of course, we didn’t get above 50, 40, and maybe 30, either.

Old man winter has a nasty bite here. Truly, the most positive thing about winter is its end, sometime in March (or April, or if God truly does have a bad sense of humor and I am in need of penance, May).

–Jonathan

So as Jonathan blogged, last night he experienced his first tornado warning where we actually took shelter in the basement. Growing up in a place where tornadoes are somewhat common, it was not scary or alarming to me in the least. I am so well trained from my elementary school tornado drill days to know what to do. When I lived in Kansas, I sat on my apartment balcony with a margarita and watched a tornado that was miles and miles away (perhaps that wasn’t the smartest thing to do…) The contrast is amusing — when we lived in Arlington and Hurricane Isabel was somewhat close, I was glued to the TV set with amazement, wondering if we should do something about the entire wall of glass on the porch of our apartment. I was SHOCKED that the Watsons didn’t evacuate the Outer Banks after seeing the sunken cars on the Beach Road and the tide rising at Virginia Beach.

I do have to say that despite the storm, our evening in the basement was really peaceful and very cozy…Claire snoozing on the couch with Jonathan on the floor next to her in case she rolled off and Madeline asleep on my shoulder in the dim candlelight.

Last night, I had my first experience with true “tornado weather.” Anne and I were watching the news (alerted to a tornado warning situation by Anne’s mother), and watching the storm outside.

It was quite eerie, really. For those who haven’t seen tornado conditions, the outside was incredibly still and the air was throbbing. Lightning flashed and thunder roared constantly, and some rain fell, but there was no wind - almost akin to being in the eye of a hurricane.

After a few minutes, and warnings from the TV to seek shelter, Anne and I grabbed the kids and headed to the basement. We lit some candles and had a flashlight. Claire looked at me and asked if we were going to play with her castle, to which I replied in the negative and told her to go to sleep, which she did, grabbing “kitty” and rolling over to snooze on the couch.

About an hour later, the worst was past, and we put the kids back in bed. Although it seemed very late at that point, it was only 10:40. Nonetheless, we were wiped out, and similarly went to bed.

-j.