Putting an Expired Credit Card to Good Use!

As we were heading into the big city of Boston for the weekend, I figured it might be time to trade in those mukluks, ski jacket, and ratty jeans for something a bit 'unwoodslike'. I didn't go so far as to pack my spiked heels (which I don't own incidentally) but I did decide to don my wool jacket and somewhat more stylish black boots ... big mistake! The problem was not the actual choice of clothes but rather that I am a total creature of habit. I had prepared dinner for the ride and had everything ready to go. Caroline and I headed out ... she to pack the sled with cooler, duffle bags, and bookbags ... I to manage the snowmobile. This entails not only taking off the cover and managing to get the thing started (which usually takes a mere 20 or 30 pulls ... for me) but also lifting the thing in order to 'unstick' it from the snow and ice. You can imagine how my back has been feeling lately. Mission accomplished, Caroline attached the sled to the hitch, I wedged my purse between my legs, and we were off ... for the first time.

We arrived at the parking lot unscathed. I hopped off the snowmobile, reached for the truck keys, and ... realized that I was not wearing my ski jacket ... the one that not only contained the truck and house keys, but also the cell phone! Not a problem as we are smart enough to have a spare key hooked on a nail under the porch at home. Caroline unhooked the sled from the hitch, I tossed her my purse, and headed back for the house where the ski jacket was hanging on another nail ... this one in the basement. I arrived, jumped off the machine, reached for the key and came up ... empty! You see this is also the key that Garrick uses to get into the house if we are not home after school. Unfortunately, he is not a creature of habit and not only did he not replace the key, he has no idea where he put it. Mind you, it is still -18 F and I am starting to get just a little bit worried.

I jumped back on the snowmobile with one last hope ... that I had absentmindedly put both keys and phone into my purse that morning. As I drove out for the second time, I was beginning to panic. I tried to determine what options I had. Luckily, George and Anne were at home as their trucks were still in the parking lot; so I figured we could always go there if we needed to get warm. Then I figured, I could break a window to get into the house but this would obviously curtail our trip to Boston as I couldn't leave a house with a broken window and below zero temperatures for an entire weekend. When I arrived at the parking lot, I scrambled frantically in my purse and once again came up empty!

Caroline and I rode back in again. She checked the basement windows while I checked those on the first floor. All were locked. While Garrick had not left the key out, he had managed to forget to put the hatchet away ... at least I would have something to break the window with if need be. We were starting to get cold and I figured we had about five minutes before we would have to leave for George and Anne's place. Then I remembered how once when I was about Caroline's age, my father had used a credit card to open a door. I rummaged in my wallet and found the expired LL Bean card that I had yet to cut up and dispose of. I tried the back door first but it wouldn't work as Paul had tightened the striker plate over Thanksgiving to reduce the gap between the door and the frame. My last hope was the lakeside door ... it worked. We were in! And the only reason it worked was because we had opened and closed it so many times while bringing in the wet wood to the basement to dry. Paul had remarked at Christmas time that he needed to fix the gap on that door ... thank goodness he didn't!

I made a quick phone call to the school to make sure Garrick didn't get on the bus and we were on our way ... for the third and final time.

I wish I could say that the rest of the weekend went smoothly...

Boston was cold (no shorts for me) and snowy. Something to be expected in January I guess! On Sunday we left at 12:30 for home as it was snowing quite heavily. We arrived home at 9:30 pm after one of the worst drives of my life. We drove the entire 280 miles at a speed somewhere between 35 and 45 mph. As Paul told someone yesterday when they asked when we would be getting together again, "Karyn said, 'You know where I live if you want to find us.'" And, Caroline has been sick as a dog since we arrived back. So we aren't headed for Boston anytime soon.

While we arrived home to more seasonal temperatures, we have been promised that another Arctic Cold front is approaching this weekend and we can expect temperatures to be in the -20 F to -15 F range. Fire tending is looking awfully promising this weekend!

Karyn