there was nothing *else* in my pocket.

More specifically, there were no *keys* in my pocket.

Which made me consider the fact that my new galoshes kind-of sucked without thick socks. And the only window in my house, that had any chance of being unlocked, was on the second floor. And that the only spare key, was thirty minutes away, in good conditions, and that this was the first snowstorm the person with the key, had ever experienced since getting her license...

had just realized, that after removing the camera from my pocket...

So, I whipped out my gPhone, typed in locksmith on the map, and called the one a few blocks away.

Twenty seven minutes, one shoveled walkway, and two chilled feet later, he arrived and began flailing at my lock. I say "flailing" because a few months ago the landlord sent out a locksmith to change the keys. He was talking to me, paying almost no attention to the lock, did some little flick of the fingers in about half a second (literally), and had the tumbler in his hand. This man, however, shoved picks and screwdrivers in, and jiggled and wiggled and shoved, and pried, and generally made me wonder if he had any clue how to pick a lock.

Eventually he gave up, said he'd have to replace the doorknob, literally ripped it out with pliers, let us in, and began to replace it.

I ph33r what he'd have had to have done if i'd locked the deadbolt.

Upon completion he says "cash or card?"

"How much?" I say, fairly confident that my average amount of pocket cash isn't going cover it. $50? nahh... it'll probably be a bit more than that... $70? hmm

"Give me minute" *scribble scribble* "two three three fifty"

My jaw dropped.

"uh... card.... I was not expecting that much...." And of course, that's what he was counting on.

That's $150 for the "lockout service", $70 for the new knob, $10 for bad math (which i missed due to sticker shock) and $3.50 for 5% tax on $230 (more bad math).

150 + 70 = 230?! + (5% of 230) = 233.50?!

There are multiple lessons here.

1) always have a key hidden somewhere, but make them hard to get to because most people put them in the most obvious places.

2) when you *do* find yourself needing a locksmith, call around for the best price. If the cheapest one takes two hours longer, go get coffee, or hang with a neighbor.

3) when someone is screwing you financially, make sure they're screwing you for the "correct" amount.

4) double check your children's math homework. Otherwise they may end up an incompetent locksmith.

5) there's something to be said for being the seller in a "seller's market".

And yes, these pictures do, for the most part, suck, BUT, they cost me $233.50 and I'm going to get my money's worth! ;)

There is one upside to all of this. The new keys don't say "do not duplicate" on them so when i take *this* set to the hardware store I'll actually walk away with copies, unlike my last attempt to make a spare for hiding somewhere safe.

Dachary was getting the most out of her new snow-pants, and celebrating her last day at work.

I however...

And the dogs were happy to join in.

We had our first snow today. A storm that came all the way from Vegas.

Dido loves the snow, and I was all excited to take him out before the light faded, to get photos of him playing in the snow.

I grabbed my phone, and my camera, and shoved them in my pockets, bundled up, checked my pockets, and headed out.