Day #832 - Time Flies

The last day of March. One fourth of the year has passed. Nine months of my one year leave of absence. Time sure flies when your are either having fun with what you are doing or are in love. If you have both conditions, look out!

This morning I met my friend, Mandy, at 7:30 AM out on the jobsite. She has been an integral part of the new house project for at least 15 years. We “walked through” the various rooms of the house and enjoyed the thoughts of future times there. We took an exercise walk around the neighborhood and past Steve and Laura’s potential new home.

Mandy and I had 45 minutes before she had to leave for her next appointment. What to do? Penny Finding and Breakfast! She asked if I wanted to share a banana with her. I told her no, I would splurge and buy us each our own banana! So we ate and walked and found pennies. The first penny within a few feet of her vehicle. Mandy exclaimed, “That was pretty easy”! We found one at the gas pumps, one or two at the car wash, three dirt pennies in a planter, and a few others. All pennies. (Coins #1-9). Time flew by.

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Doc was also on the construction site today. Happy Report: The concrete inspector arrived and signed off for our next pour. Expected to occur on Monday.

The crew was laying concrete block for two walls of the garage as well as the patio retaining wall. Temperatures were nearing 100 degrees, yet the crew kept working. I bet time was NOT flying quickly enough for them today.

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Doc collected one median penny on his way home. (Coin #10), then a penny and a dime at the grocery store. (Coins #11&12)

Total: 12 Coins P (11), N (0), D (1), Q (0) = $0.21

Day #831 - Growing Up

Each day is so unique. How can people ever say they are “bored”?

This morning I had a phone meeting with a co-worker from the office of Alumni Affairs at school. I am putting together a 20-year solar car team reunion and asked if her office had any more recent addresses than I had. She provided a list of 25 names. It will be fun to see how “our kids” have grown up.

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Doc and I spent some time this morning at the construction site. It’s been bugging Doc for a while, and yesterday, I too, was concerned. The foundation wall on the South side of the house just didn’t seem tall enough. Last night we checked the plans and today discussed things with the concrete contractor. Sure enough, that South wall needs to “Grow Up”.

I wrestled some numbers with the framer. He was saying my desk wall (48”) needed to be shrunk a bit. I objected because I want a desk in that corner. After discussions, he saw it my way.

Of course on the way home Doc had to stop for munchies. At McDonald’s there were two burgers for him; 5 pennies and two dimes for me (Coins #1-7). That’s the magic 25 number.

Plus in the planter, Doc found a little heart charm with diamonds in it. Sweet, Romantic Angels at work.

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This afternoon we had our bi-monthly Play Time with the nieces and nephews. All six of us played like kids and had a blast. Must we really “grow up”? We took the Metro Gold Line (Jaime’s first time) into downtown L.A. dinner in China Town. One nickel and one penny. (Coins #8&9). We made wishes and threw pennies in a waterfall, rode on toys, and looked in shop windows. (photo taken by Ashley)

Then on the way home we hopped out at the Pasadena station and enjoyed Vanilla Steamers (coffee for Doc) at Starbucks.

Of course there were discussions about school, vacations, and what I want to be when I grow up. We had the kids home at 8:30 PM, but stayed to work on some math exercises with them. Since Doc and I both like math, we were having a great time. Brandon said, “this was such fun to do together!” Let’s hope they continue to have that excitement about learning new things.

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On the way home, Doc made a grocery store stop. He got the items he wanted, I collected 6 pennies and a foreign coin of some sort. (Coins #10-15) At home we looked up the coin on line.

British One Pound 1983

According to Wikipedia:

In July 2010, it was reported there were so many counterfeit pound coins in circulation (about 2.81% or about 1 in 36) that the Royal Mint were considering removing the current £1 coin from circulation and replacing it with a new design.

Question: Why must “growing up” mean being stuffy and serious?

Isn’t it better to keep that childlike wonder and playfulness?

Total: 16 Coins P (12), N (1), D (2), Q (0) + 1 British Pound = $0. 37 + approx $1.60

Day #830 - Solo

Yesterday the new school term began at Cal Poly Pomona. As such, Doc is back in the classroom. I have now completed nine months of my one-year leave of absence. This baby is going to take a bit longer before it is delivered!

For the past four months Doc and I have been together every day. (It has been his “off” quarter from teaching). All the subcontractors and other people have come to know us as a pair. Today as I was working solo, people kept asking “Where is Doc?”

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This morning I quickly did some follow up with the sales rep at the bath fixture shop. Then at Noon, I was out on the job site to meet with the concrete contractor. Today he was using a 1 ft. wide bucket to dig a little trench for a concrete block wall. There were so many rocks and boulders that the “little trench” was 2-3 ft. wide in places. And to think that at one time Doc proposed that we could do the block wall ourselves! You should see the “nuggets” that were pulled out.

I also began working with the septic tank installer. Exciting to lay out the plans for the next two weeks.

Some suggestions were made for storage under the house, so that resulted in conversations with the architect and civil engineer later this afternoon.

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I had a meeting up in the mountains (1 hour drive) with Cal Fire services. We need to clear our land up there, so I was dealing with those services, contracts, etc. New project.

It was so nice in the mountains. Listening to the birds and the sounds of the stream. What a great “refresher for the spirit”. Should do that more often.

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On the way down the mountain I stopped at a convenience store. Really to search for today’s coin, but bought a bottle of water out of guilt. The cashier asked about my Penny Pendant. So I shared the story and gave her a Penny Card. Then I bent down and picked up today’s penny. Joy Shared. Smiles!

Total: 1 Solo Penny

Day #829 - Loitering

Today involved more prep work for me, and the beginning of the new school term for Doc.

My first errand was an office supply store. No coins there. So I wandered to the CVS Pharmacy. Used the excuse of going in to take my blood pressure so I wasn’t merely loitering. I collected my BP reading, a penny, a nickel, and a dime. (Coins #1-3).

Spent a few hours at Home Depot researching and selecting laminate countertops, door handles, sinks, and more. One more penny. (Coin #4).

Doc was preoccupied with school all day. By the time he came home at 8:30 PM he was not in the mood to discuss much of anything.

Total: 4 Coins P (2), N (1), D (1), Q (0) = $0.17

Day #828 - Exponential Finds

Doc likes to go out for breakfast whenever he can - steak and eggs, biscuits and gravy. I don’t particularly want a heavy meal and am satisfied with yogurt. Doc enticed me to going out with him by saying we would penny search a few places on the way to breakfast, then do some planning and scheduling for the week.

We found a few coins on our journey to breakfast. A penny at the Arby’s window, a penny at the McDonalds window, a penny at the In-N-Out tables, two dirt pennies in a flowerbed, a nickel in the grocery store parking lot, and a penny in the high school parking lot. (Coins #1-7).

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The afternoon was spent doing more prep work. I did price comparisons and research on line. Doc prepared for classes and went to school to get his materials ready for tomorrow’s class. He found a nickel and a Canadian dime while cruising the parking lot upon leaving campus. (Coins #8&9) Sit-n-Find.

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When Doc came home this evening it was time for our weekly grocery shopping. At the first store we found one coin. At the second store we found two coins. So I said to Doc, “Given this series, how many coins shall we expect at the third store?” He replied, “Five?” Sure enough, we found five! (Coins #10-17)

We hadn’t been to that 7-11 in a while, so just for fun, we stopped. I was thinking linearly: Store #1 - one coin; Store #2 - two coins; Store #3 - three coins, Store #4 - four coins. But the Penny Angels were thinking exponentially - they provided eight coins there!

At first I counted 23 coins for today and thought, “Rats! Just missed my favorite number of 25”. Then I remembered Doc’s two coins. That made it 25. Nice.

Total: 25 Coins P (20), N (2), D (2), Q (0) + one Canadian = $0.50+ ??

Day #827 - Prep Work

Spent almost all day prepping for the new house. I was designing, researching, and testing things. Went to Lowe’s for three hours and played with cabinet knobs, water filters, faucets, water coolers, sinks, countertops and so much more. Collected 2 pennies while “working”.

Also spent some time making arrangements and prepping for the 20 Year CaPSET (solar race team) Reunion. That is coming together nicely.

Doc went to school to prep for classes. He was not very successful because the computers weren’t working. He is now getting a “cents” of urgency. (Classes begin Monday). He collected a nickel and a metal slug on campus.

Total: 3 Coins P (2), N (1), D (0), Q (0) = $0.07

Day #826 - 888 Steps

Many of you know that the reason we are building our new home in Deer Creek is due to our son. For many years now, Stephen and his wife have desired to live in the Deer Creek area and have done many drive throughs and investigations of the various homes as they came on the market. When Steve first showed us their desired ‘dream’ neighborhood, I told him he was crazy to think of having a home there. It was way more than ordinary people like us could afford.

Steve and Laura continued to watch the area. That is how we obtained the lot we now have. Steve saw the foreclosed sign shortly after it was posted, and strongly pushed us to ‘throw in an offer’. We did, surprisingly it was accepted, and you know the rest of the story …

Steve and Laura are pursuing a bank-owned house in Deer Creek. It is a definite fixer-upper with leaking roofs, an algae pond which is supposed to be a pool, rotted out floors, dilapidated cabinetry, etc. It will take lots of TLC. The view of the mountains from the kitchen sink, though, is breathtaking.

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Today I walked from the “doorstep” of our new house to the doorstep of Steve’s potential new house. It took just 7 minutes and 888 steps. That will be really convenient when Grandson Ethan and new Granddaughter Isla want to come visit Grandpa Doc.

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Today we had out-of-town guests visiting. Good friends and solar car raycers for 40+ (?) years. Before they arrived, a quick run to the grocery store yielded munchies and two pennies.

We took them to visit our construction site since they have been part of this adventure for the past 30 years. One penny at Starbucks on the way to the site. There were some hilarious other occurrences during the evening, but those did not involve pennies.

Thought: Good friends are like comfy slippers - so warm and easy to be with.

Total: 3 pennies

Day #825 - Retirement?

Retirement is a full-time job! Today we had household errands, construction-related contacts, Penny Finding, solar car team reunion work, lunch, house research, sports watching and more. Who has time to work?

Tonight one Penny Pal suggested that we include videos of penny finding in addition to the house building. She must have been foreseeing things since this afternoon we took some video!

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Around noon, Doc and I made a quick stop at the bank, then wandered next door to the grocery store to look for coins. I collected a dime and two pennies near the check out area while Doc retrieved a penny at the photocopier. (Coins #1-4). We walked outside in the parking lot where we paused for a moment to count the coins and record them. We had literally stopped on a dime! (Coin #5).

To save time, Doc fetched the van while I searched around picnic tables. I found one lonely penny. He needed friends, so I scooped him up to play with the other finds. (Coin #6).

Stopped at the 99¢ store. I shopped while Doc wandered the closed self-serve car wash. (He wanted to challenge my successful find from the other car wash. He only found two coins - a penny and a nickel. I found one penny. (Coins #7-9)

At the office supply store Doc passed by a really bright, shiny penny. I gave him a bad time about missing that one. Minutes later as we left the store, I walked past a penny on the sidewalk. Doc, in return, gave me a bad time. (Coins #10&11).

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I was seeking a birthday card at the CVS store. Got the card and a dime. (Coin #12). Paused for a moment outside the store to record that find. I was looking downward at the voice recorder in my hand and noticed I had stopped on a dime wedged in a sidewalk crack. (Coin #13)

Doc had meanwhile gone to the van to get our “arm extender”. The garden section of the store has been closed for years. There are only weeds and trash there now. As we walked past, I thought, “It would be just like the Angels to torment me by showing me a penny in there!” Sure enough, they did. The Penny was approximately 3 ft. beyond the metal fence and beyond my arm length. (Coin #14) So Doc handed me the arm extender (back scratcher) which we keep in the car for just such purposes. My “prince” then spread out Sparky’s cushy towel on the concrete so I would be more comfortable. Got to love that guy! (See video).

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For weeks Doc has been griping about his eyeglass case being so worn and frayed. I have suggested numerous times that he just ask the optometrist for a new case. He refused. (It must be a guy thing. Like not being willing to return or exchange items at the store). Today Doc drove next to the door of the optometrist, I hopped out, asked for a new case, and was back at the van as he was parking it. No big deal! We collected a dirt penny in the planter (Coin #15), then had lunch to celebrate the successful completion of so many errands!

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The next 2.5 hours were spent working with a sales rep at a bath and appliance store. While I researched and discussed toilets, sinks, garbage disposers, etc., Doc drank coffee, tried to stay awake, munched, went to the bathroom, and tried to be patient.

When we finally returned to our van, he asked, “So do you want to go for more Penny Finding and try for a ‘Hit for the Cycle’ “? I said, “No. we have plenty”. With a Big grin, Doc pulled out a quarter! He had found it while wandering the store in his efforts to stay awake. (Coin #16).

Our day was now complete (except for Doc watching the College basketball tournament and my responding to emails, paying bills, loving on the doggies …)

Total: 16 Coins P (10), N (1), D (4), Q (1) = $0.80

Day #824 - Just One

Most of today was spent editing a report for The Dog Rescuers. I may not be able to rescue animals and physically transport them to new homes, but perhaps I can help indirectly. If I can save “Just One” homeless doggie, it will make this effort worthwhile.

Thought: What causes do you support? What types of assistance can you provide?

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This afternoon Doc headed for the construction site. The temporary power pole was finally connected today. Formwork from the previous pour was being removed and new formwork was being erected for the next concrete pour.

Several people have said they like seeing the videos, so Doc took some today. I told him to keep the clips within 5-10 seconds long.

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At 3:30 PM I realized it was time to get out of pajamas and take a break from the report editing. I headed out for an hour. I was nudged to stop at a car wash which was closed due to the rain today. I searched the gas pumping area, but found nothing. Then I searched the planters by the waiting area. I found three dirt pennies and had just spied another three coins when I was stopped and questioned by the attendant on duty. I smiled and gave her a Penny Card. Told her I was looking for material for today’s Penny Tale. She didn’t look totally convinced, but said she would look at the website tonight.

I proceeded to collect those three coins - and then spotted a few more. That seems to happen so frequently after “sharing” the story. I walked away and counted 11 coins in my hand! I was surprised. I said, “OK Penny Angels. ‘Just One More’ to make it a Coin Mine”. And within a few seconds, there was a penny! (Coin #12). Thank You! Then I passed some other planters on the way back to my truck and found three more pennies. (Coins #13-15).

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This evening I am back to working on the report. Stomach says “dinner time”. Head says, “Just One More” paragraph…. (it is now after 11 pm).

Total: 15 Coins P (12), N (0), D (2), Q (1) = $0.57

Day #823 - "Sloppy"

Not every day is a “Ten” (on a scale from 1-10). Most days are a comfortable 7 or 8.

Today Doc went to campus. On the way he stopped at McDonald’s for a snack, three pennies, a quarter, and a Canadian penny. (Coins #1-4 +).

At 2:30 we headed out to the lot to check the construction progress. Dashed into a 7-11 Store so that I could collect a penny for today. (Coin #5)

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The concrete crew was just quitting for the day. Today they had removed some of the formwork from Pour #1 and began building some of the formwork for Pour #2. When Doc asked Matt about the metal inserts between the rows, Matt explained how those inserts keep the boards in alignment, so the walls don’t get “sloppy” and deform.

Thought: What devices can we use in our daily lives to keep us “straight” and from getting “sloppy”?

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We made a quick stop at the cabinetry shop to just say hello and dream for a few minutes. While I went inside, Doc and Sparky walked the parking lot. They collected two pennies and a car wash token. (Coins #6&7 + other).

Just before we arrived home, Doc claimed another one of his Median Finds. (Coin #8)

Total: 8 US Coins P (7), N (0), D (0), Q (1) = $0.32
+ Canadian Penny + Car Wash Token

Day #822 - Rainy Monday

It was too rainy for any work to take place on the construction site, so instead I made numerous follow up calls and performed other clean up actions. In one folder I noticed an action item for school which needed dealing with this week! So this rainy day provided a good opportunity to get that report completed.

At 5 PM I headed to campus. It is Spring break, so the place was deserted. Since I had not found any coins yet today, I headed for one of the student study rooms. Lots of trash and clutter in the aftermath of Final Exam week. Plus one lonely penny in the corner. (Coin #1)

I had a “nudging” that one of my favorite colleagues might still be on campus, so I headed for his office. Sure enough, he was there. We had a few wonderful moments together. It was like a high-voltage “electrical quick charge”. Don’t you love those encounters? We discussed all sorts of topics from seniors citizens who drive, to my construction project, to classroom topics and, of course, penny finding. His office phone rang and our encounter came to a quick close. Upon leaving I spotted a dime (Coin #2) and had to run back and flash it to him while he was on the phone. Nice closure to that little episode. Shared Joy.

This evening Doc had a coffee meeting with one of his former students and now, colleague. He found a penny outside Starbucks (Coin #3).

Thought: Who re-charges You? And then, Who do you re-charge?

How can you charge someone’s day tomorrow?

Total: 3 Coins P (2), N (0), D (1), Q (0) = $0.12

Day #821 - Spring is Here

The storm did hit and there has been fairly heavy rain most of the day. Really did not want to leave the house at all, but couldn’t find any coins here. This first week of Spring is forecast to be a wet one.

Doc collected the first coin, a nickel, at a McDonalds along with his breakfast. (Coin #1)

In the early afternoon Doc wanted to get some photos printed, so we ventured forth. The photo lab at Target was closed and we found no coins there. Two strikes-outs.

We next went to the 1-hour self-serve photo machine at the CVS store. There was a shiny penny as we walked in the store, then a dime inside. As Doc loaded his photos, I searched for coins. Two pennies at the coin counting machine, one nickel under the photo copier, then as I stepped back to take a last look at those machines, I stepped on a penny! Doc finished his printing, then looked at the coin counting machine. “I thought you searched this store? I found some sort of copper coin at the counting machine, plus a penny by the exit door.” (Coins #2-8)

At the grocery store Doc found a penny in a food aisle and then a penny outside next to a sitting bench. (Coins #9&10).

We had time to kill while waiting for the photos to develop, so we visited the 99¢ store. Outside, I walked right over the shiniest penny, but Doc saw it. I found 3 pennies inside. (Coins #11-14). As we were leaving the store a sparkly caught my eye. There was a dirt nickel in the planter. (Coin #15).

Doc stopped for a mid afternoon snack at del Taco. I collected a very shiny penny. (Coin #16)

Total: 16 Coins P (12), N (3), D (1), Q (0) = $0.37 + one copper ?

Day #820 - Between Storms

Yesterday there was a storm of activities and it was pouring concrete on the lot. Tomorrow it is expected to pour rain there. Today we are between storms.

This morning I totaled my spreadsheet for the coins found so far this month. Doc noted an unusually high number of Hits for the Cycle and quarters.

We had an afternoon meeting with our tax preparer, so at noon we headed out. When Doc stopped at the first red light, I did not say a word, but had the strong THOUGHT, “I just know Doc will look out his window, but there is no way he will find a coin in that median strip since he looks there so often”. Doc immediately looked out his window and said, “Quarter!” and then reached out for it. Median Find, Sit-N-Find. (Coin #1) Sure proved me wrong. Can he read my thoughts?

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The lobby of the building for our tax preparer is quite small and bare - except for some plants and two vending machines. Doc checked the return chute and collected a nickel! (Coin #2).

After our appointment as we left the building, Doc said, “Check the machines again while I go to the bathroom”. I had seen no evidence of anyone coming or going from the building, so I didn’t think there would be any coins. There wasn’t. But there was a bag of CHOCOLATE M&Ms in the chute which someone had left. That is worth $1.00 Chocolate beats nickel in my game!

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Doc had some papers to deliver to son, Steve. We called and Steve was on his way to Target. So we met him there. The two of them had Starbucks coffees while Grandson, Ethan and I did a few minutes of Penny Finding. We found two. (Coins #3&4).

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We were so close to the construction site. Just could not resist checking on it. Yup. The ten loads of concrete are still in those forms and hardening nicely. They haven’t gone anywhere!

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On the way home we stopped at Trader Joe’s grocery. As we drove into the parking lot Doc said, “dime, dime, dime, dime, dime …” Once inside the store I checked the register area 3 times for coins. I found none. As we were paying Doc asked, “Have you already looked?” I replied, “Yes Dear, several times.” He took 2-3 steps and said, “I think that’s my dime by the foot of that customer!” Sure enough it was. (Coin #5)

There was a lesson: I did not get the dime (even though I was casually looking for coins) because I did not ask for it. Doc found the dime because he did ask and then acted accordingly.

Total: 5 Coins P (2), N (1), D (1), Q (1) = $0.42 Hit for the Cycle

That is pretty amazing. Sometimes we collect 30-40 coins and do not get a Hit for the Cycle. Today the Angels did it with merely 5 coins!

Day #819 - First Concrete

Yesterday we had the Theoretical 6 Ps: “Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance”. Today we put that into action by Pumping Plenty of Pounds of Pretty dry concrete until we were Positively Pooped.

I think the photos say it all today: Pumping Concrete!

We collected 5 pennies at McDonalds along with our breakfast. One more penny at lunchtime.

Steve was the guy using the remote control box to manipulate the pumping truck and that incredible 120 ft. long pumping arm. If any of your kids are video game addicts, this would be a potential career for them! Steve was so precise with his moves. Plus it turns out that he also finds pennies and has stories to tell.

I gave him a Penny Card and we had a few moments of Shared

JOY while waiting for the next truckload of concrete. There were 10 loads of concrete poured into the various forms and trenches. More to come next week!

Total: 6 Pennies

Penny Palace Update: Pumped!

FIRST CONCRETE POUR!

Exciting to see 10 truckloads of concrete going in today on the FIRST Pour for the Penny Palace foundation.

Look at this pumper! (See 20 seconds of videos).

Yes, we are engineers and the machinery gets our attention.

The crew worked from 9 AM until 4 PM without stopping. Doc and I watched, had lunch, shoveled concrete for a few minutes, then watched some more, stayed in the shade and out of their way. Boy are we exhausted!

Day #818 - 6 Ps

On the way to the construction site, Doc made his Starbucks stop. I walked passed the Chick fil-A window and was gobbling up coins when the cashier noticed me and said, “There is a big truck coming through”. My reply: “Yeah, I see him. Sure hope he sees me down here!” (Adrenaline Coins #1-6). Doc collected his penny on the way back to the van. (Coin #7).

We arrived at the lot around 8:45 AM. We were to meet our structural engineer at 9 AM for his sign off. At 8:50 AM the city inspector arrived to review the concrete forms. He was not expected until the afternoon when the work would be completed. Surprise! All went really well. We asked him for any advice. His response: “Remember the 6 Ps”. Of course we asked for further explanation on that: “Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance”.

Side note: There was a beautiful green-breasted hummingbird on the lot. As we were meeting with the engineer, the bird was feeding at one of the vines climbing up the property wall. Good omen

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On the way home, we stopped at a gas station / car wash to look for a quarter. No big deal, but would be fun. We only found two pennies. (Coins #8&9)

My brother called unexpectedly in the early afternoon. This is the brother who has the four kids we write about in our Play Times. He was going to be in the area of our lot and would like to see it!

We went to meet brother and were a few minutes early. What to do? Penny Finding of course! The 7-11 store had no coins inside, but Doc found three pennies outside at the gas pumps. (Coins #10-12). I walked over to the carwash and found a nickel plus two dirt pennies. (Coins #13-15)

We arrived at the job site at 3 PM expecting much commotion in preparation for tomorrow’s concrete pour. The site was locked up. It’s great to have a crew that is Prepared. What a blessing.

It was fun to have my brother on site. He and family will be starting to build their house next month in Tehachapi. The race is on …

We stopped to show my brother another house in the neighborhood. As we were standing in front of that house we collected three pennies - one for each of us! (Coins #16-18). That was a good omen.

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Doc and I wanted that quarter for the day. So on our way home we stopped at a 7-11 store. There were four pennies found there, but no quarter. (Coins #19-22). I began walking to the self-serve car wash and said, “OK Penny Angels. One more place. That’s it, then I am going home. If you want a Hit for the Cycle story today, this is your last opportunity to provide it.”

There was only one car at the car wash. I walked through each bay and the surrounding area. Doc spotted a nickel in one of the drains under the metal plate, so he went back to the van to retrieve the chopsticks. That coin was a tool-assisted find. (Coin #23). I was walking away from the area when that single vehicle drove off. I was ‘nudged’ to look in the final wash bay. I argued, “Angels, why bother?” But I looked. There was a shiny penny and our quarter where that truck had been! What a revelation! Such fun! (Coins #24&25).

Note: the requested 25¢ piece was the 25^th coin for the day!

Total: 25 Coins P (20), N (3), D (1), Q (1) = $0.70 Hit for the Cycle

Day #817 - Stretched

We picked up the kids at 4 PM. Four kids = four opinions on where to go for our play time and another four opinions on where to do our homework and another four opinions on where to have dinner.

We spent the first half hour doing homework at some picnic tables. Then it was off to Jump ‘n Jammin. As we were all taking off our shoes I said, “Penny Angels I don’t have any coins yet today, how about at least one here?” Tucked way in the corner was a penny! (Coin #2).

The first thing the kids wanted to do was to conquer the climbing wall. It was fun to watch each kid progress to higher levels as well as more and more challenging walls. They stretched their arms and legs and beliefs to their limits. Good lessons to learn there.

While wandering the play area I spotted a penny behind the netting and under the climbing zone. Way out of reach (limited belief level). Then I spotted a quarter even further from reach.

I showed Doc. He said, “You Can Do It!” So he held my gear as I went belly down, flat out. My arm was about an inch too short -- on the first attempt. But then I stretched with all I could - and got the quarter! (Coin #3) Then the penny was suddenly also attainable. (Coin #4).

I spotted a quarter even further back. (Coin #5) This time we noticed a pole to use as an arm extender. By this time the 3 attendees were wondering what we were doing. I ‘fessed up, explained our antics, and gave each a Penny Card. Such fun and shared joy. One really nice young lady quipped, “I could have easily unzipped that access panel and you could have reached right in!” Duh. Much easier (but would not have had everyone laughing as we did).

We had a Mongolian BBQ dinner at the mall, some time at the bookstore, some time at the local library, then the kids were home at 8:35 PM.

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Doc and I really wanted a dime for tonight. We have been finding so many lately. So we stopped at a 7-11 store on the way home. Three pennies there (Coins #6-8). Had a great time telling the young cashier about Penny Finding. A few minutes of Shared JOY. Still no dime, so I walked past an empty del Taco window. One penny (Coin #9).

As we got on the freeway Doc said, “Dime, Dime, Dime!” When we exited the freeway, we stopped at one of the ‘designer’ grocery stores. Those usually do not have coins. Doc went for the bathroom and vending area while I cruised the check out area. The manager approached and asked if he might help me. (I must have looked lost). I told him I was looking for a dime and gave him a Penny Card. We had a really enjoyable few moments together. Shared Joy.

Still needed a dime, so one final stop at our usual grocery store. A dime as I walked in the door! (Coin #10) Then three pennies throughout the store. (Coins #11-13). Then one more penny in an ashtray just outside the door after we left the store. (Coin #14)

Lesson: Stretch yourself each day to grow and to learn something new.

Reach just a tiny bit further than you think you can.

Total: 14 Coins P (10), N (1), D (1), Q (2) = $0.75