Our database had reported an error reading a file, which caused it to shut down automatically. As a precaution, we saved all of our data (pets, posts, trades, etc) out of the database and loaded it back in, which took a loooong time. Sorry about all the downtime recently!
The database didn't report any damage or lost data during that process, so it looks like everything is fine now!
While the recovery was going, I took the opportunity to set up a backup of Chicken Smoothie on the West coast of the US (far away from our main server). This means that if there is ever a huge storm again like the one in Northern Virginia, we won't end up losing a day worth of activity like we did on Friday! If that happened again we would lose probably 1 minute of data at the most.