Sounds like you had quite a blow back east; winds high enough to make an entire house shake and groan really are terrifying. I'm just glad that you didn't wind up with damage to the house and worse with those winds. I hope the weather has calmed sufficiently that you actually get some sleep tonight. I also hope that you feel better tomorrow, heavy storms never do good things for achy bones.

Still love that icon! I always pictured that creature as the Balrog when I read The Lord of the Rings, the only thing it's missing is flames.