15 September 2009

Disaster strikes

Yesterday evening I was busy pottering around upstairs. Grant was harvesting potatoes. Daniel was at the kids' computer in the studio and Noah was also downstairs.

Suddenly we heard the most horrifying almighty CRASH and both kids were screaming hysterically. Luckily I heard Noah coming up the stairs shouting and screaming and crying for me so I knew he was okay and not trapped under something, and I could also hear Daniel shouting downstairs (he was okay too).

I have never run down the stairs so fast in my life. I reached the studio at the same time as Grant and we were greeted by the sight of the entire row of wall cabinets from above the computer desk, lying on the ground where they had ended up after falling off the wall and crashing over the desk. (My camera didn't fall there, I rested it on the cabinet after checking it over.)

















I feel so physically sick in my stomach when I think of what might have been ... if one of our precious children had been sitting at the computer on that side of the room ... if Grant or I had been on the computer ... it doesn't even bear thinking about. I am so beyond grateful that none of us was hurt, not even a scratch.

It seems that the 115 year old walls were just too soft and crumbly to bear the weight. When I brought a bunch of very heavy photo albums down from upstairs and stored them in the cabinets this weekend the extra weight just proved to be too much. The screws ripped out of the wall, bringing chunks of mortar with them.





The mouse was obliterated:



The cheap monitor suffered minor damage:



But my beautiful big £600 Apple display, less than two years old, was destroyed:







But thankfully both of my cameras and lenses, which had been in one of the cabinets, were undamaged. And you know what? As completely gutted as I am about losing my beautiful Apple display, I'd gladly sacrifice it a thousand times over rather than have one of my children or husband hurt. When I think of what could have happened ... it puts it in perspective.

The professionally framed picture above my printer was damaged at the top and bottom:



But the printer only suffered minor damage and works fine:





Look at how the cabinets wrenched apart and broke:





Both chairs were totally crushed like matchsticks. We sit there so often ... can't think about it. I feel like I could throw up:









A candle that was crushed:



So today I've been sorting through everything, trying to shuffle things around the storage in our home and find places for things. Because not a damn am I hanging anything else (besides pictures) on that wall ever again.

I have some plans to make the room look good - so watch out for the big reveal in a week or two.

And while I work, you can bet I'll be uttering fervent prayers of gratitude for God's protection.

P.S. Here's a reminder of how the cabinets looked before they fell:



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