Breaking and Entering . . .

City Mouse Now Country Mouse
No. 10

I have been looking forward to today for more than a week. As I have remarked, we are living in the boonies. While I am getting to know people every day (I had a great story I was going to tell for this installment), getting together with old friends and family trumps everything and anything new.

I had made arrangements to have brunch with Martha, long time and dear family friend of my parents who has been more like an Aunt to me. She offered to meet me in Shepherdstown, a mere 45 minutes from the cabin, and I had developed a schedule for the morning so that I could meet her on time. Well, as with so much of life, Plan A rapidly turned into Plan B.

My alarm went off at 8 am as set and I promptly got up, even though the house was chilly after the overnight cooling. I put on my "dog walking" clothes, got my Antarctica vest loaded with poop bags and my phone and I headed out the door. The dogs were excited and they took advantage of my eagerness to "get the business done." The morning air was fresh and the sun was twinkling through the leaves. I was excited and pleased with myself that everything was progressing as planned. That was until I got to the front door again, at the end of the walk, and realized that I did not have my keys in my pocket.

Bolix! I yelled out loud. Honestly, I could have cursed a blue streak but no one would hear me so I kept it simple. How was I going to get into the house--without my keys, without the spare keys that are supposed to stay at the association office but were on the microwave, and without Aaron's keys since he was in Michigan this weekend. Argh! I realized that I was going to have to break into my own house.

I made a quick walk around the house to size up which of the windows would be my best option. Given that I had both dogs on their leashes, I found a toppled tree that I could tie them to with the hope that they would be "good" while I figured out what to do. I had hoped that I could pry open the front window that would lead to the bathroom. No dice; this window as square and while I could get the screen off, I could not get the sliding glass window to budge.

This meant that my next option was the window by the fireplace. The catch with this option was that the window is 10 feet off the ground. Our ladder was on the deck, but I didn't realize that until 10 minutes after it was too late. But I"m getting ahead of myself. So, I wheeled the wheelbarrow underneath the window, steadying it so that it would not tip, and climbed in. It was way too short for me to reach the window. I was going to need something else taller to stand on.

There were chairs on the deck and the screen porch, neither of which would be easy to climb up to get and then I spied the deer feeder at the edge of the yard. The previous owners bought it and we had never used it. Until now--and I wasn't even using it properly! In sizing up my options, the feeder was 3 ft or so tall and my best, easiest option.. So, I dragged the canister across the yard and positioned it under the window.

At this point, I noticed that Zinc, our grey American Terrier/Pit Bull mix, was somehow running around the yard. Crap! I realized that he had chewed through his leash. Gwyn, our Lab/Boxer mix, was patiently waiting on her leash by the tree stump and wondering how Zinc was roaming free when she was not. Crap! I yelled again. I went over to check on Gwyn as she is the more likely of the two to actually run away. I found Zinc trying to chew her leash. Crap! I yelled even louder and I swatted him away. That was all I needed--two dogs running crazy while I was attempting to climb a precariously adapted ladder.

I needed to focus. I  placed the wheelbarrow in front of it so I could step up a foot or so before trying to climb on top of feeder. I did it but I was still considerably below my target. I managed to pry the screen off the window using tree branch and then was able to jerk the window open ( it has never latched well).

The moment of truth had come. I was going to have to hoist myself up and through the window. I imagined Gabby Douglas on the uneven bars, I took a deep breath and I leapt. OK, so I am no Olympic gymnast and I would score my attempt at 6.5--but I was hanging off the window at my waist. Partial success. I tried not to panic or chastise myself for not doing more weightlifting with my running/washing/drying routine. I just had to keep focused on getting into the house. So, I pulled myself forward and managed slither and flop onto the carpet. I made it! Success; I broke into my own house.

The rest of my morning went as planned: shower, makeup, dressing, walking the dogs (leaving the front door UNlocked) and heading off for brunch. Here's a picture of Martha and me at the Press Room in Shepherdstown. When I asked the waitress to take the photo, the woman at the table next to us asked if we were mother and daughter. "I wish," Martha quickly replied. I blushed, pleased. "She's my Aunt," I said. The woman persisted--a blood Aunt or just a friend? "Oh, she's my Aunt in Love," I replied. "And I am so lucky to have her." After all, I broke into my own house so I could get properly dressed.and get to brunch on time. It was TOTALLY worth it!