Day #692 - Blurred Vision

The first part of today was wonderful. The second part of the day was poopey.

Last night we had a sleepover with the Twins. There was anticipation when we all woke up because we were headed for someplace new today. Our first stop was to fuel the van. Nick wanted to help Uncle Doc pump gas and Brandon wanted to help Aunt Tina find today’s penny. We found a penny within a minute of beginning our search. Done. (Coin #1) But Brandon was not satisfied. He began a SingSong. “Hey Penny Angels won’t you come out and play …” Then he stopped and said, “No, I want a quarter instead of a Penny”. We walked into the convenience store. He dove under the counter, and emerged with two pennies -- and his quarter! (Coins #2-4).

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We had breakfast at IHOP and then off to the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena. We had such a great day exploring the various exhibits. The weather was picture perfect, the hummingbirds were flying and we enjoyed roaming the grounds.

We had lunch and then the kids went off to play. I went to the restroom and when I returned, Doc was sitting at the table with four women surrounding him! I turned my back for only 2-3 minutes and there were women scrambling to sit with him! Nice to know the old guy still has “the Magic”.

As we were leaving the museum, Doc glanced through the doorway of the Museum store and saw a penny on a shelf! (Coin #5)

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We delivered the kids home by their 4 PM return time. Then Doc and I stopped at the Blueprint Shop and picked up 6 sets of our revised Grading Plan for the new house. Things were looking so wonderful today. I was planning a nice evening with not too much to try and tackle.

As we were traveling down the freeway with this rosy glow, Doc felt “nudged” to stop and check on our rental townhouse. (Where I lived when I was going to college). As you’ll recall Doc and I spent all of July and August getting it rent-ready. It is beautiful. I could definitely live in it again.

As we approached the townhouse, I found a penny and thought that was a very good omen. (Coin #6). When Doc opened the front door we were shocked. Water was dripping from the ceiling in the living room and we walked across a pond of water to get to the kitchen. This was not a good thing. We shut off the water and tried to assess the source of the problem. Tough to do without tools.

We made some calls to get a water mitigation company on the job ASAP. They said two hours, so Doc and I drove home to feed the dogs, change into work clothes, and get tools. Doc insisted upon stopping at McDonalds for dinner. I found one penny at the first window and said that was all. Doc leaned out the car door and got a penny on his side. Then he drove forward and I spotted an additional penny where we both had just looked! (Coins #7-9). Doc proceeded to the pickup window and collected his burger along with three shiny pennies and a quarter! (Coins #10-13).

We arrived at the townhouse right on time. Everyone knows you can’t find pennies in the dark. But I did! In the same parking spot I had found the one two hours earlier. Asphalt Mushroom? (Coin #14)

The Emergency Water Damage truck pulled up and they began assessing the situation. Gallons and gallons of water removed for starters. They are talking about ripping out the upstairs tub, flooring, downstairs drywall, and more.

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I am really trying to keep a sense of humor here, but right now the tears of frustration are blurring my vision. Standing in the midst of the water tonight, I told Doc and the Angels, “I now have the flood, could I please have the ark too?”

Total: 14 Coins P (12), N (0), D (0), Q (2) = $0.62