Herb and I are still living at Sunset House, but our roof at home is finished, and so are the walls. I painted the inside myself with a few helpers. We have all of our appliances and furniture but still await our cabinets (and therefore the sinks). The garden is still a mess, but a few birds are back and the butterflies are out in full. After the 6.7 earthquake a few days ago, we are now awaiting the plague of locusts. The quake was a long one–Sparky flew off of Herb’s hand just a few seconds before the rest of us noticed the lamp swaying and the clothes rocking back and forth on the hangers. Kat and Eddy came flying out of the photo centre in the basement as Herb and I headed downstairs from our room on the second floor. The residents of the hotel all met in the middle and said “That was a big earthquake!” It registered 6.7 and lasted over twelve seconds. What next? Fortunately there was little damage (a few things fell off of the TV) and got our minds off of the hurricane for 12 seconds. Every minute is spent trying to get things back together. This poor little island is so overwhelmed–they ordered 100 more trucks just to try to get caught up delivering shipping containers. At the rate of construction before the storm, it would take five years to complete the repairs after the storm. Damage is estimated to be almost US$100,000 per person on the island. I am sorry to say that we are not sending out Christmas cards this year—but we do wish you all a wonderful holiday.
