Well, Happy Dappy New Year to me

I can’t believe how this new year started out! If I were at all superstitious it would not bode well. Sunday is the day I drive out to see my Mom, so Sunday morning I was loading up the car with the laundry basket of empty water bottles to fill with her well water. Another laundry basket, of, um laundry also was carried to the back seat of the jeep. Yes, I know that I’m a bit too old to be bringing laundry home to my mother, but it’s lots handier for me to do it when I’m out there. Since my son was still off with his friends, I also loaded up the dog basket and food, water, leash and toys for my little dog so I could take her out there to see her “Grandma Chihuahua” which they both enjoy.

All of this took much going in and out of the house. I had just brought my dog out and settled her carefully into the dog basket, and thrown my purse into the front seat, when I reached into my pockets for the keys to start up the jeep. You guessed it, they weren’t there! I searched my jacket pockets, my jeans pockets and my sweater pockets several times, I looked on the car seat to see if I’d thrown the keys in while carrying out all of the stuff. Nothing. They weren’t there. I went back to the house, praying the door was unlocked. It wasn’t.

Now, I have only locked myself out of the house three times in the five years I’ve lived up here, which is pretty good considering the lock is installed upsidedown and the door locks and unlocks the opposite of a normal door. Confusing. My son used to lock himself out quite often and still does once in awhile. But the big difference this time than the previous two times was that I had put the house up for sale. Guess who had the extra key that we usually hide in an obscure place on the property? And guess who had procrastinated about having an extra key made, and in fact, hadn’t had an extra key made yet? Oh yes, the only extra key was with the real estate agent and my son was not at home. In fact I had no idea where he was at and the real estate agent was out of town for his daughter’s wedding. And I had not had an extra house key made yet.

I have a pocket knife with lots of attachments, so tried to pick the door lock. It didn’t work. I tried to pry loose the storm windows on the two windows that open. No luck. The good news is that my house is really hard to break into. The bad news was I was outside in the cold, not really dressed that warmly, with my now shivering little short-haired dog. Not a great way to start the new year.

I went to sit in the jeep and keep the dog cuddled up and warm while I tried not to panic. It was cold in there, too and my toes hurt with the cold already. I’m out in the country and my two closest neighbors are gone for the holidays. The little gas station convenience store (which would have been a walk, especially carrying the dog) was closed for New Year’s Day. Luckily I had thrown my purse into the jeep, and also lucky was the fact I had my work cell phone. I don’t use that phone for personal reasons, but figured this was sort of an emergency. I just was hoping that it was still charged enough to make some calls. I hadn't used it since my last travels for work--in October.

My first call was to a friend of my son’s, I was hoping he’d be there but nobody answered the phone so I left a message. The second call was to the 411 directory to get the number of a locksmith, the call went through (I wrote down the number) and I had to leave a message there too. Then I remembered that my son had taken his cell phone with him. He normally doesn't when he's working because they can't use them there, and he's always working. So I almost never call him on that number, we use the home phone number. I even had to look up what his cell number was, and left a message there, too.

Then I sat with the dog and got colder and colder. The cell phone rang, and it was my son, I never was so happy to hear someone! He had gotten called in to work and was at a fast food place with his friends to grab a quick bite first. He said it would be 20 minutes or so before he could get home. I called the locksmith back and cancelled my first call. Then I waited. It did seem a bit warmer once I knew the dog and I were going to be rescued.

So he came home, opened the door and there were my keys on the table. I normally put them into my pocket right after showering and getting dressed every day. And normally we have an extra key for emergencies. It was not a normal day. I had to call my Mom and tell her I would be arriving late, for I had been locked out 45-minutes (it seemed like much much longer than that!). Also had to warm up my feet, my socks were wet, probably from wading around in the deep snow by the windows when I was trying to break into the house. Hopefully the rest of this year is not going to go like this! Hope the first day of this year went MUCH better for you!

OK, the holidays are over now, but I found this quizzy thing in an E-mail link:
PBS, your holiday theme song is Let It Snow

Maybe you enjoy all of the year's holidays, but there's just something about this time of year… Even if Mother Nature cheats you out of a White Christmas, you know how to make the most of the season — whether with loved ones or strangers you meet along the way.

As much as you might like to bundle up and romp outdoors, you also enjoy kicking back to bask in the glow of the season — or maybe the glow of a dozen strings of lights in your living room. You, more than others, really know how to feel cozy. And for someone who enjoys curling up by a fire, warming a cup of cocoa, or snuggling down with a classic Christmas movie, there's no better theme song. So just remember: If the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and if you've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
What’s Your Holiday Theme Song?

I think my holiday, or daily theme song should be, “Remember the Keys”! And you can bet that I've already fulfilled my first New Year's Resolution, get an extra house key made! Went to my son's work (only place open yesterday) and had one of his work friends make a couple of extra keys for me. Whew!