VA Earthquake

My house, August 23, 2011 at 1:51 p.m.

I was in the right place--upstairs, kneeling beside my bed.  I wasn't really doing the right thing-- I was retrieving a bottle of acrylic medium from under the bed (yes, a few art supplies are stashed there).

As I got up, I noticed the bed shaking and thought some huge animal had gotten inside and was jumping around; then I noticed the ceiling fans swaying.  I stared at a vase moving on top of a pile of books and realized what was happening.  I headed downstairs where my husband, in the computer room, was staring at a picture that had fallen onto the floor, and Willie, our dog, was on alert.  We just waited; we never thought of going outside.

Across-the-street neighbors called and my up-the-street brother called; he said he moved here from California to get away from such things.  About 120 miles south of the epicenter--we felt it.