If I want the door closed - I have to keep it locked. However, it is not always a practical idea. I need the front door open for ventilation. My screen door, even with a lock is not going to stop a home invasion. In the back of my mind is the idea of getting one of those security screen doors -- real estate people hate them, but a door that lets air in and can be locked well enough to slow a no-gooder down is a win. I have friends who live next to a public park -- they can get the breeze from the canal at night , because of the security door.

The only times I will leave my door unlocked is if I am doing yardwork and bopping in and out of the house. Chances are, if it's nice enough to be doing yardwork, there will be a bazillion neighbors out doing the same.

I live in a double and leave my inside door unlocked when I am not home, and locked when I am. Sort of weird, but I trust my downstairs neighbor and feel the chances of me losing my keys are larger than the chances of someone breaking in to steal...nothing but books and a 19" TV which will be obsolete come february.

I grew up in the country, though and we never locked anything until we had a kid on the street who liked to kill and torture animals. I wonder if he has been up to any serial killing lately?

Timelies all!

I don't always relock the door when I get home from work. The door is always locked when I go to sleep, however.

My paranoia was something I was born with (although a few incidents as a young child reinforced it), so even when we lived in the country, we would lock most doors when we were home. And from like 9 on, if I was home alone or home at night with my brother only, I'd often have all doors locked, curtains shut, and a gun out. I'm better now and never bring out the guns when at the parents house, even if left alone.

And yay! I got approval on Monday off. I think I will make cookies for teachers (10) and maybe start the cards to send out.

In pictures: Kitschmas

To celebrate the countdown to Christmas, the satirical Christian website, Ship of Fools, has published its annual selection of religious-themed gifts spotted on sale, such as these nativity ducks.

I like this one:

Jesus is one of the most famous beardies of all time, but simply add a hot drink to this mug and the familiar facial hair of our Lord disappears, leaving him clean-shaven.

I lock my doors at home but at my dad's we usually only lock at night or if we're leaving. Just how I grew up I guess. My upstairs neighbor leaves her interior door unlocked all the time - I know because she's asked to come through my place a few times when she's forgotten her keys. (Or actually, the first time I realized was taking care of her cat over the holidays last year, but at the time I thought that was just because it was last minute and she had several people doing it over the three weeks she was gone so I thought it was just an emergency situation.)

I hope you're feeling better this morning, tommy.

I always lock, unless I'm actually in the yard, but I was married to a cop for 12 years.

I'm going through my spending trends info for the past year on Mint.com and getting sick to my stomach.

Also I burnt the fuck out of my tongue on my coffee this morning.

OTOH, I've got homemade bread in the works to go in the oven shortly. Yay?