Looks like I have a new skill

I got a call from my neighbor this morning. Sara, my neighbor from outback called me and told me about a small crisis they accidentally created. She's taking care of the pets for my neighbor around the corner and across the street (Sara's across the street neighbor) while they're on their cruise. This morning when Sara was taking care of the dog and cat she accidentally locked the key to the house inside the house. She was hoping that I had the neighbor's cell phone number since that was also locked in the house. I had the cell phone number, but I had to explain to her that you generally can't get a cell signal when you're out on the open sea. My step father-in-law works on a tug boat, so this is one of those factoids that I have picked up along the way.

The neighbors were concerned that a locksmith wouldn't open the doors for them since they don't own the house and they have nothing from the neighbor stating that they are taking care of the house while they're away. That could be a problem since getting in touch with the neighbors will likely be impossible. I know they make port in two more days but that's a long time for a dog and a cat to wait for their next meal.

I decided that I'd take a stab at getting into the neighbor's house. Yes, I decided to see if I could break into someone else's house. Nice, huh? I practiced on my own house first. I found that I could open a locked door with a credit card. I think I saw that on a show before. It worked on one door in my house but not on another door. I figured it was worth a shot. It didn't work at the neighbor's. Then I decided that we should take a look at the windows. If the windows were unlocked I figured we could easily get in and cause the least amount of damage. Shockingly, all of the ground floor windows were unlocked. So I picked a screen to rip (while the pool guy was there taking care of the filter timers) and got into the neighbor's house. It took me less than two minutes to break in since my neighbors had handy tools on the deck that were perfect for ripping the screen open. So now I can add breaking into a house to my list of valuable skills that I have to offer to my neighbors. My neighbors out back are getting a second key made to leave at my house, and I'll be replacing the neighbor's screen once the other neighbor gets the spline I need to secure the screening in the frame. I guess it's a good thing for the neighbors that I know how to repair a screen, too.

So the crisis for the day is adverted. My neighbor will get a disturbing text followed by a reassuring one once she gets into port. It amazes me how I never have a dull moment around here.

I did learn that children are not discreet in the least. While Joe and I were trying to figure out what we should do to get in the house, my girls and his kids were chanting "Break-in!" over and over. Yes, I took my kids along with me to demonstrate how to break into someone's house. I'm sure that's a valuable lesson that will stick with the four impressionable children I had watching me. I can hear it now. The kids out back are probably going to tell their mom that they watched Miss Karen break into Miss Joann's house. They made sure they told me I was really good at it. Gee, thanks. If this honest living thing doesn't work out for me I guess I could turn to a life of crime. I clearly have the aptitude for it.

So I guess I'm the hero for the small dog and cat that live at the neighbor's house. And, I helped my other neighbors out so they didn't have to stress out anymore about locking the keys in the house. If you are going away and someone is taking care of your house for you, give them two sets of instructions (one for your house and one for them to keep at their home) and two keys. It will save people like me the trouble of having to break into your home.

On a more upbeat note, I'm still alive. I'm still not feeling well, but I'm hanging in there.