Yesterday morning I slept in. Instead of getting up  at 4:00 a.m. I slept in an hour and a half. Fog had settled on the Willamette Valley and it was really cold. I didn’t want to face the cold without at least one cup of coffee.  I started my coffee and then sat down in my chair.

Since Mike’s departure, I started a silly game with Kota. I baby talk to him, telling him over and over: “I wuv you. ” as he hears this repeated he will start to crawl on my lap. He’s gotten way too big to get all the way in my lap anymore, so we have settled for halfway. Then he gets his morning hugs and I allow him to wash my face.

Yesterday morning, I started the routine with him, and he began to crawl on my lap. It was 5:30 in the morning. All of a sudden, Kota, stiffened, he cocked his head and pressed against me so hard that I could barely breathe. I was trying to get him off of me, but he wouldn’t budge. He simply pressed harder  and that’s when I heard it. A sound. I will never forget being that. I have lived through two big earthquakes. I heard the earthquake coming and then I felt the ground roll twice beneath me.

Kota started whimpering and pushing on me harder against the chair. I gave up and just wrapped my arms around him and held on. In the background, I could hear crashes as items fell off of walls and shelves to the floor. All of a sudden, Ashley and Magoo bolted into the room and slid under my chair. Then it was over.

Kota released me and laid down on the floor at my feet  I could see that he was quivering, so I slid down out of my chair and sat on the floor. He put his big beautiful head in my lap and we just hugged each other. I turned on TV to find out that the earthquake hit 14 miles from my home in Lacombe. They said that reports were coming in and people were feeling it from the Willamette Valley clear to the coast, and even as far as into Washington state.
it certainly got my attention.

When I finally went outside, I found that we lost several large limbs off our trees. The concrete poured the day before had cracked. When the guys got here, they had to figure out how to fix it because it had shifted. A picture of Michael fell off my wall onto the floor several other items fell off my wall. And off my shelf one of my Garfield collectibles shattered. A basket of flashlights I keep for emergency sake on top of the refrigerator also slid to the floor  there have only been minor reports of damages. No one was injured or killed with this quake  it was only a 4.4 magnitude but it was the first time since moving here that I actually felt an earthquake  It’s not that Oregon doesn’t have earthquakes. It’s just that they’re so small you hardly feel them.

I really do “wuv ” this dog,  thankfully, I believe the feeling is mutual.