Do you use keys to get into your house? Or to start your car? We don’t. I almost forgot how they work.
No, we don’t leave things unlocked. We had keypads installed on all our house doors except the front one a few years back after a service person vanished with our house key.
Keypads are wonderful. If you want to give someone access you can set up a code and then erase it afterward. No worry about anyone making a copy of your key or absconding off with it.
Newly sealed driveway
This week we had our driveway coated with stinky stuff to make it last longer. For 48 hours we could not use our driveway. Normally I enter the house through the garage after exiting a car. With both cars on the road the quickest way to enter the house is through the front door. That’s the one without a keypad.
The good news is that I get to admire my front porch. It’s lovely this time of year.
The bad news is that it takes a key. I am almost totally keyless (and somewhat clueless).
My car has a smart button. The door unlocks as I approach and it starts with the press of a button as long as I have a sensor thingie in my purse.
No fumbling in purses or pockets. You don’t have to take anything out. It just knows it’s there and it’s happy.
I had to run a short errand and realized I had to lock the door with a key from the outside. I found my key but it didn’t work.
I jiggled and jiggled but it didn’t lock. I wiggled and giggled. It didn’t lock. I ran my errand with the front door unsecured.
I notified the guard cats just in case there was an intruder. They knew exactly where the good stuff was so that they could distract. (Yeah, I know. They would be under the beds hiding or protecting their cat food. Mine, num, num, num!)
We had changed our locks when we installed the keypads so maybe I had the old key.
The beloved husband was perplexed when I told him. He was sure he had a front door key made for me. I showed him what I had. It was a leopard print key. Very snazzy but it didn’t work.
It took him a while but he got it to lock, then unlock. When you rekey a lock, the new keys do not work as smoothly as the old ones. I don’t know why. We can go to the moon but we can’t make good key copies. What gives here?
Fortunately, we are back to entering by keypad and life is again good except the driveway still stinks.
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
I have lots and lots of keys. One set for all things house and car; another for doors at school. Sometimes I wear the school keys on a lanyard and it makes me feel like a dog with dog tags – lots of dog tags.
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How about mistress of the castle?
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I’m in the dark ages…our tiny cottage was built in 1910 w/very old doors and locks. Our Toyota is ten years old and our Dodge truck is twenty years old so we’re really into keys! I do well with them but my sweet hubby is forever losing his keys! Yikes! Once he searched for a very long time and eureka…they were in his hand. Oh well, fun things help keep us young.
Crazy about your porch, flowers and all…so beautiful. And charming…looks peaceful/calm.
Key pads are awesome…we’re just not there yet and doubt if we will be. Time’s flying.
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Once you get rid of the keys, it’s hard to go back. Keys have a way of misplacing themselves. You know exactly where you put them but they moved when you weren’t looking. Just like screwdrivers!
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Kate … Your house is beautiful. Our door looks to be the same color as yours, but our house is a deeper shade of blue. Love those colors.
Oh … keys! I have forgotten them. Locked myself out of my apartment twice. Your idea of a keypad is perfect – except then I’d forget the combination. I do love my keyless entry to our car. Marvelous invention! 😉
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My house is really called sage green but most people refer to it as a gray-blue. The keypad entry is wonderful. I highly recommend it especially if you have kids that pop over. I always hated handing out copies of keys because I am never convinced people take care of them properly.
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My push-button car is way smarter than I am and it freaks me out a bit. We don’t have keypads on our house doors but I like the idea. Returning home from work before I retired, I often would waive my office key-card at the door expecting it to unlock just as it unlocked the doors at my office. Duh.
I just love when you post pictures of your home. So welcoming and pretty!
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Thanks!
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Beautiful place you have, Kate. I am still in the past I’m afraid. I live in little, old cottage with old doors, a ten year old car, and I still use keys for everything. 🙂
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🙂
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I can’t remember the last time I used an actual key. My world involves key pads and security cards that you scan.
Nice job on the driveway! Very welcoming…I might come up for a visit. 🙂
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Come on up!
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I like the flowers on the front steps; what are those?
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There is a pink mandevilla vine climbing the bamboo posts and on the bottom are a sweet potato vine, a pink ivy geranium and a purple million bells that got all hidden.
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I so agree about the bad keys they make today! But your driveway is lovely (and I don’t mean the stinky stuff).
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Thanks!
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Kate, I think you are the wave (as they say) of the future. Keyless we will be. About entering through the front door, we never used to do that either, but it is so nice. Now we walk the dog through the front door. And we are treating ourselves as well as we treat our guests, by doing so. Your front entrance is very pretty by the way! We spiffed ours up once we decided to use it.
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No one uses the front door. They park in the driveway and come around the back. The front is prettier although the pond is in the back. During the winter I forbid people to use the back door in fear of having someone fall in the pond in the dark.
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Sounds like an interesting layout!
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We stunk up our driveway in the same way — it’s a pleasure to be at work and away from the smell!
But your front door is much nicer than mine!
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If I wasn’t retired, I would have enjoyed going to work too. You couldn’t get away from the smell.
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Love the front porch, the flowers, and the stinky driveway shot with lovely landscaping on both sides. If you get locked out, you can always admire the view.
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That’s the beauty of keypads. You can’t get locked out. You just walk around the back.
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The pretty ones sometimes are a bit difficult….keys…ok people, too, but we’re talking about keys…what’s the deal with the pretty ones not working as well? Is it the metal is different? Is it the paint? Whyyyyy???? Why can’t we have pretty and functional? A pretty thing mystery.
(Your porch is quite lovely!)
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You hit the nail on the head. The pretty ones are always a bit difficult.
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what a gorgeously welcoming front door!
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Awwww, thanks!
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