What the heck?!

That was my first thought when I woke up. The floor was gritty, my pillow felt gritty, my computer felt gritty... there was this super fine dust all over everything.

One of my first thoughts was that a volcano had blown somewhere, and I was at least partially right! The volcano on Monsterrat (a tiny island two islands north of us) blew ash 9 miles into the air last night. This is the same island that had a big explosion in 1997, after which half the island's population moved away. Here's a link to a news story about it:

Montserrat Volcano


The ash is pretty gross. It's all over my clean (well, formerly clean) dishes, my toothbrush, our bed, our clothes, us, the floor... I tried to sweep, and got a lot, but the cloud of ash is still here so it didn't do much. I'll sweep and dust again later. For now everything is gritty and icky. Everyone is coughing and sneezing, but don't worry, it isn't dangerous. Volcanic ash can cause irritation if you already have a condition like emphysema or asthma, and it is VERY dangerous for planes, as it clogs engines. It can cause irritation to eyes, and contact users are encouraged to be cautious- don't worry, I'll be careful!

Here are some photos a geologist took of the ash cloud moving in over Portsmouth:








And here are some photos that I took of the ash that is coating our apartment. Again, YUCK!



I hope everyone is having a great day and that it is less exciting than ours... a snowstorm sounds like much more fun than an ash cloud. I just feel gritty and dirty! Dominica always has a surprise up its sleeve!