Keys - Don't Leave Home Without Them

Keys - don't leave home without them. Seriously. Once you've locked and closed that door behind you, you're not getting back in without them. Maybe you've got a way around that problem. Maybe you stuck an extra in your wallet, which you also left back in the house. Maybe you gave a copy to a friend, but they're inconveniently unavailable. Or maybe you were smart and hid a key someplace - and can even remember where that someplace is. If none of the options pan out, there's always a locksmith - assuming you have a phone available to call them with. Of course, the simplest solution is just don't walk out the door without them.

The locksmith did eventually arrive. The normal tricks failed, leaving him to drill out the lock. If I'd known he was just going to drill out the lock, I'd have grabbed the cordless power drill that was still available in the backyard and saved myself a lot of time - though a trip to the hardware store and a new knob installation would have still taken time and expense. Two hundred fifty dollars later, I have a new door knob. Sigh. It is nice and shiny. That's an improvement, actually - the finish had begun wearing off the old one, and it would sometimes, rarely, act up.

At least I made some more progress on the trailer today. Even there, the ninety minute delay imposed by the lock incident seriously cut into my working time, as by the time that was dealt with daylight had faded and the temperature was soon to dip below the dew point, making any sanding or painting of old steel a problematic proposition. Tomorrow promises to be nice again, so maybe I can get a bit done after work.

Another lesson today reinforced: refit work is far more time consuming than new build. If I wasn't having to work around pieces already in place, or a previous owner's attempts at repairs, this would be a much easier proposition. Or if I'd gone ahead and drilled out hundreds of rivets and done a frame-off restoration - though without a garage trying to protect the floor of a 20 foot long trailer floor while replacing it might have been a messy prospect. Oh, well.  We live, we learn. Each day brings me closer to completion, even if they fall short of the progress I'd really like to be making.  I shouldn't complain much - the weather has been awesome for February.

Okay, enough rambling for now. I'm going to get cleaned up and go to bed. More writing and programming will come again someday when the weather takes a turn for the worse, I need a break, or I get the trailer floor replaced and the overall thing sealed up a bit more.  Have a nice night, everybody.