2024 has been a bear of a year already
This morning, we had a 4.8 magnitude earthquake in New Jersey. The epicenter was about 10 miles from our house. The house shook pretty good and it was loud. It sounded like we were in the middle of a construction site with machines banging all around us. The doggie was a bit freaked out. Cassie had been running around looking out windows all morning, which she does when there are squirrels in the yard. She stopped doing that after the earthquake, so I wonder if she could sense something before we did. My husband said it lasted maybe 45 seconds, but I think it was at least a minute. It felt like even longer than that. We felt some aftershocks as well. I read there were some buildings in Newark that were deemed structurally unsafe. Luckily, we didn't have any damage.
There's been a lot happening in my personal life. There have been multiple family deaths, hospitalizations, PT rehab centers, medical treatments, doggie sickness and a couple trips to Chicago thrown in. One of the hospital stays, rehab stays and death was my Grandpa, which is hard. However, I am grateful to have had three of my grandparents still with me into my 40s. I know it's not something many people can say.
In the studio I have been organizing, getting inventory counted and making sure all my spreadsheets are up-to-date for the end of the year. I've been uploading my art to a portfolio website, so I can start pitching my work for art licensing. I'm also uploading my greeting card designs to Card Isle, which is utilized by many florists and gift companies, such as 1-800-FLOWERS and Godiva. I'm looking forward to creating some new art this month.
We just had another decent aftershock as I'm typing this blog post. Hopefully, we don't get too many more!
