Day #1,046 - NO or YES

My first stop was the tile store to have the designer look over my ideas. I thought they were fairly reasonable and would be cheap. NO. Stopped at 7-11 for a banana. NO bananas. Next I went to Home Depot to pick up the ceiling fans I ordered on line last Friday night. Wrong store. NO fans there. NO left turn out of the parking lot. NO painter or some of the other trades on site. Those who were there, left by noon. NO one needed babysitting, so I headed home to work on the October finances for the Project and some other tasks.

Those were the negative NOs.

But NOs can be positive as well: NO rain, NO injuries, NO car accident, NO water bursts, NO family crises …

So I guess that makes for a good day!

YES! I found a quarter, nickel and a penny at the 7-11 store. (Coins #1-3) I remember saying to the Angels, “Hope Doc gets his silver dime today”.

YES! At the office supply store where I stopped to make photo copies, the cashier asked about my unique necklace (Penny Pendant). Gave her a Penny Card along with the story. And the customer in line behind me got an earful as well. I had just found a penny where he was standing and told him about it. (Coin #4) Shared JOY.

YES! Doc spent the day grading exams and finished the majority of them.

YES! Doc went to the grocery store and found his dime and a penny. (Coins #5&6)

Total: 6 Coins P (3), N (1), D (1), Q (1) = $0.43

Day #1,045 - Firsts

The goal was to grade exams for an hour or two in the morning, then to shut down and depart the cabin at noon. We made it out at 12:30. Doc insisted upon stopping at the nearest 7-11 store for coins. I had to buy a banana as my decoy for collecting the two pennies and dime on the floor near the counter. (Coins #1-3)

We had to stop at the Penny Palace to let Doc see the progress for this week. He sure enjoyed being there - that’s better than just reading about it. And the doggies loved exploring all the new sights and smells.

Son, Stephen and grandson, Ethan met us at the PP to say hello and get a tour. They were astonished at the progress in the several weeks since their last visit. Stephen was the first to climb the garage ladder up to the storage area. (He was trying to get rid of moving boxes from his garage and wanted to ‘donate’ them to us). Ethan was the first to walk (stomp) on the newly-coated Master Deck.

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

Day #1,044 - Double Impact

It’s Not the Money, it’s the Message!

How many times have we been shown that over the past 1,044 days?

Today one penny had Double Impact.

We went to the cabin to grade midterm exam papers, but Doc awoke feeling really lousy. Throughout the week he had been getting a sore throat, cough, etc. and I think staying at work until late, sweeping rat poop and cleaning the solar car was too much for him. This morning he was not capable of much. His solution, “We need to go for decongestion medicine and breakfast before I can do anything!”

Outside the RiteAid store Doc spotted a dime and a quarter by the newspaper stands, but had me fetch them since he did not have the strength. I held those in my left hand. A few feet further along, he collected six quarters in the Sunday newspaper rack! (Note it is Saturday). I held those in my right hand. Notice that Doc found all silvers. We went into the store and I found a shiny penny (my copper). I then opened my left hand to find the first quarter we found had become a nickel! Now we had a Hit-for-the-Cycle. Alchemy? (Coins #1-9)

When returning to the van, I found another penny and Doc found a dime. Again the silver and copper. (Coins #10&11)

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Next we stopped at a grocery store. Doc was paying for his items in one lane, so I wandered over to the next lane. There was a penny within inches of a customer’s pedicured and sandaled toes. There was no way to obtain it without almost pushing her aside. She was waiting for a price check or something and I was too impatient to wait, so I asked her if I might have the penny under her. She stepped about 8 ft. aside to let me get it. (Coin #12) I had a ‘nudging’. I gave her a Penny Card with the most energetic smile I could create. I said something like, “to me a penny is just a little reminder that there is a Source really powerful which is all around us and we can tap into it for good things, bad times, whatever as needed. You see, I had this project and asked for help … that was 1044 days ago…” She looked at the card, then looked at me and gently said, “Wow! I REALLY needed to hear that today. THANK YOU so much for that”. I could tell there was something really deep inside her which needed a moment of joy and comfort.

Meanwhile Doc’s cashier was busy talking to him, but I could tell she had one ear to what I was saying as well. So I gave her a Penny Card as we were leaving. As we left the store, Doc said “Thanks for giving her a Penny Card too. She was almost crying with your story. Her son-in-law was just killed. He was 4 days shy of having 20 years in the military. He leaves behind her daughter with a 10-month-old baby. She was very grateful for your uplifting story and reminder of a higher Source.” Her comment to Doc “What a wonderful journey throughout those days”.

Double Impact!

Lesson: Your words can affect more persons than you realize. Some intentionally, others not.

JOY Moments! That is one reason for Penny Finding

Total: 12 Coins P (3), N (1), D (2), Q (6) = $1.78

Day #1,043 - Working Together

Today I was expecting quite a number of the trades to be working. Thus, I was rushing to get to the jobsite. At the very first major intersection, the light turned red right in front of me. Drats! I was sitting there anxious to proceed, when a ‘nudging hit’. “See the KFC across the intersection? Go look for today’s coin”. When the signal turned green, I proceeded. I had not even parked the truck when I spotted a beautiful shiny Penny. Thanks Angels. As long as I was parked, I quickly walked through the drive up area. Three shiny pennies found there as well. (Coins #1-4).

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There was so much happening at the Penny Palace. There were 8 different trades on site and Working Together.

Tile Crew: Dolphin placed in Aussie shower stall. Garden tub scratch coated.

Deck Crew: Master deck clean up

HVAC: Installing and caulking ceiling registers

Masonry: Stone veneer on garden arbor

Framing: Installation of planter boxes and exterior truss web pieces.

Finish Carpenters: Removal and replacement of all hinges on the doors

Solar: Outlined area for panels and worked with Roofers

Roofing crew: Prep work, tiles laid on driveway side of house.

Electrical was expected, but all the parts did not arrive. Will now work Monday.

Stucco crew was expected to take down scaffolding, but was asked to delay that so Framing could use it.

Painters were not working, not sure why.

Being out there with the various crews was such fun. It was like an orchestra where each member was working together in perfect harmony. At one time or another, each of them would seek me out for questions or clarification which made me thankful of having the leave of absence from work in order to address the issues which arose.

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Doc spent the day Working Together with one of the College Distinguished Alumni. They were cleaning and prepping the solar car which had been in storage for nearly 15 years! They had to deal with a thick layer of cobwebs, rat droppings and dust, both inside and outside of the car. As Doc was vacuuming the cockpit, he discovered a penny! And it was a 1995 one - which was the last year we rayced that car. (Doc #1)

Doc found a second penny when returning to the lab from the bicycle shop. He had new rubber mounted on the solar car wheels. (Doc #2)

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This weekend Doc had 366 student midterm pages to grade. Thus we decided to grab a suitcase, pack up the dogs, and head to the cabin to work there. There is no TV, computer, phone or other such distractions so that we could focus on grading papers. Doc hoped to entice me into Working Together with him and making much progress.

It was 9:30 p.m. We were parked in our driveway with the car engine running and ready to depart when three raccoons scrambled right in front of us! In our 30 years of living here, we had never seen raccoons at our house. What a great way to begin our weekend.

Total: 6 Pennies

Day #1,042 - Decked

Each day this week there have been 3 or 4 trades working at the Penny Palace. It has been tough to keep up with them. Tomorrow I am expecting nine trades on site! And Doc is scheduled to be at school to work on the solar car lab clean out. He hasn’t been at the Penny Palace all week, so he reads and sees what you do through Penny Tales.

Four crews working today. Debriefing:

Tile: Aussie shower tile installed.

Masonry: More stone veneer on front of house and the two driveway columns.

Painting: The planter boxes, exterior truss braces and more foam painted.

Decking: Color Coat, Finish Coat and Sealer. I believe that crew is now finished with the Master Deck.

Next week the painters will be painting the interior walls. Thus, today I was playing with mural placements in order to determine color schemes.

On the way home from the jobsite, I stopped at two tile stores to pick up orders which came in today. At the second stop there was a penny right by the door when I returned to the truck. “Thanks Angels. I did not want to actively search for a Penny today”.

Our application for the solar system rebate is proceeding, but needs an additional document.

And there is so much more stuff which came in today and needs dealing with …. Must get to work on some of those issues now. Good night!

Total: 1 Penny

Day #1,041 - Nice Day

The weather and the mountains were beautiful today. The crews working at the Penny Palace all seemed to be enjoying the day while working on their various tasks.

There were three unexpected visitors today; Leonard (Daryl’s guest), Danny, and the solar panel installer. I love it when people walk in the Grand Room and just stand there saying “Wow!”

The Master deck crew was able to float their first coat today. Sebastian was carefully explaining to me that the area under the sliding glass door threshold needed metal, not the reinforced fiber which was currently showing there. I was taking notes and working on a solution for that. Suddenly framer Danny appeared! He has not been at the site for several weeks, and had decided to just pop in at that moment. Perfect Timing! He said he would take on that Action Item.

Tile Bob and Tony scratch coated the Aussie (Dolphin) shower. Then we laid out the tiles to determine pleasing cut and accent lines. It’s going to look great.

Painters Peter and Pete were painting the exterior second story trim pieces above the roof and then the window decorative foam. Doc had argued to leave the window foam the existing stucco color. (He did not want the expense of having them painted). The paint just really accents the windows (see video).

Miguel and Serafin were working on the stone veneer again today. They completed the front of the house and the garage corners. Looking good!

Around noon the painter was running out of paint, so I suggested he take his lunch break while I got more paint. Found a penny in the lot at the paint store. (Coin #1)

This afternoon Daryl and I hauled some of the truss members out of the Dungeon. Framer Danny had cut and placed them down there until the stucco work was completed. Daryl hates spiders and was greeted by a Black Widow which he did not appreciate.

When things shut down at 3:30 p.m., I headed to three tiles stores and two flooring stores.

Finally got those ¼ round tiles for the Aussie shower, some grout, and then placed the order for the picket fence tiles.

The laminated US map arrived in today’s mail. That goes on the Mug Wall with our collection of US State mugs. Anticipation …

Total: 1 Penny

Day #1,040 - Drizzles

It is not supposed to rain in Southern California, but it did. Thus, the roofing crew and the deck surfacing crew could not begin work as scheduled today. The tile guys also said it was too wet to work.

There were three crews which did work. The masonry crew was working from 7:30 - 3:30 non stop on the stone veneer at the front of the house. They did not seem to notice that it was drizzling. The painters continued prepping the interior of the house. They had planned to paint metal flashings and things on the roof, but those areas were too wet. The finish carpenters completed all the window stools and aprons. The cathedral windows look so much more finished with molding around them. Imagine how beautiful they will be when they are clean and all the labels are removed.

We shut down the worksite at 3:30 and I rushed to get to the tile store before it closed at 4 p.m. Made it with one minute to spare. Picked up the doggie decal which I had forgotten there yesterday when tile searching.

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The next stop was Home Depot to research light switches, ceiling fans, etc. Upon leaving I was in search mode and a pleasant cashier asked if she might help me find something. I replied, “Yes, please. Today’s Penny”. Then I gave her a Penny Card and briefly told her the story. She smiled and wished me good luck in finding today’s coin. Shared JOY.

On the way to my truck I said, “Penny Angels please deliver a coin because: a) I really want to go home and not search anywhere else and b) it will corroborate my story if I can show today’s find to that nice sales clerk. I searched the parking area and then the gas pumping station nearby. Found a dime in a deep crack. Tool extraction. (Coin #1).

As I walked back to my pickup truck, I said, “Thank You Angels. Very generous of you. But since my blog is called Penny Tales, it really is nice to find a PENNY each day. Could you provide one before I get back to Pippy please?” Within a few seconds there was a penny in my path. (Coin #2). I returned to the store, showed the sales clerk the coins and told her about the finds. She smiled. Shared JOY.

Total: 2 Coins P (1), N (0), D (1), Q (0) = $0.11

Day #1,039 - At Ease

I understand why persons in the construction trade seem to end their work day from 3-4 in the afternoon. These days on the jobsite are exhausting. I cleaned, removed weather stripping, painted, dealt with everyone’s questions, and all sorts of other things.

This morning I returned those borrowed tile samples (as Promised yesterday) at 8:01 when the store opened. Yesterday when I was at the store, I had an idea.

It’s tough to explain, but with every component of this house I seem to wrestle and re-design it until there is an “at ease” feeling. Until then, the design may be functional, pretty or satisfactory to everyone else, but I can’t seem to proceed until it ‘clicks’ into place. I think that happened today with the tiles around the bathtub in the everyday bath. Until now I was planning on just using some basic white tile around the bathtub, but somehow I did not have the “at ease” feeling about it yet. Yesterday I saw some wood-looking tile … now I am seriously considering creating a wood (tile) picket fence around the tub instead of standard white tile. I thought the crusty old tile guy would give me grief over it. He actually liked it!

There were four crews working today: Stucco, masonry, painting and tile. See the video

At 3:30 I headed to the paint store. The painters need to paint the foam belly band and window trim before the stucco crew takes the scaffolding away. That could happen tomorrow! Thus I needed to get paint samples, test them, and make a decision tonight.

I was at the paint store and realized that was probably my only opportunity to find a coin today. I wandered next door to the gas station. No coins to be found at the gas pumps or inside at the convenience store. I was disappointed. I looked in one of the planter beds and found 2 pennies. Figured that was enough. Then I spotted a third penny and a fourth and a fifth …(Coins #1-17) Coin Mine! There was a young cashier taking her break outside and watching me, so I gave her a Penny Card and shared the story. Shared Joy.

At 4:30 I locked up the jobsite and headed for a tile shop which I assumed closed at 5 p.m. I arrived at 4:59, but they had closed at 4 p.m. At least they left a quarter in the parking lot for me to find. (Coin #18)

There was a nearby tile store open until 5:30 p.m. so I ventured there in search of that ¼ round tile. I found two which would work. Choice A was less expensive, so I requested that one. After a lengthy product search, the sales person said those were not available. How can this one little component be so difficult? Choice B WAS available and I should have them by the end of the week. Not sure if I am “at ease” with that decision, or just tired of fighting with it?

Those 13 properties we looked at on Saturday - we were interested in two of them. My favorite one already received an offer. Drat! So tonight I am working on the offer for the second property.

Came home to find a message from Roofer Bill - he will begin working tomorrow. Deck Dan is expected to begin working as well. Tomorrow should be even busier than today!

Total: 18 Coins P (17), N (0), D (0), Q (1) = $0.42

Day #1,038 - Tenacious

After a morning full of household chores and other tasks, I finally got out of the house around 1 p.m. I went tenaciously in search of the elusive ¼ round tile and the dark brown border tile for the Grand Room.

I made a quick stop for petrol. As I was washing the windshield I had that feeling like someone was looking at me. I turned around to find a shiny penny looking up at me from the pavement! (Coin #1)

I spent the next few hours at a tile shop. This was my third visit. On the two previous visits I asked about taking my selections to test them in the light at the Penny Palace. I was told the store policy does not allow tile boards to be checked out and they will not order samples. That just did not set well with me. Today near closing time, I tenaciously pleaded (argued), “What are the chances you will get a customer wanting these two brown tiles in the next 30 minutes before closing? You said they aren’t very popular. I promise to have them back in your store by opening time in the morning”. I think the sales guy was tired of telling me “No”, so he let me take them. Good thing, because neither one of the tiles looked good when they were on site.

This evening Doc and I conducted our Sunday night, 3-grocery store, weekly tour. At the first store I got my coin (copper) and Doc got his (silver). At the next store there were two pennies. At the third store there were four pennies and a dime. (Coins #2-10)

Now it’s time to design a Pantry Shelving schematic to give Finish Carpenter David in the morning.

Total: 10 Coins P (8), N (0), D (2), Q (0) = $0.28

Day #1,037 - Hooray!

The good news is that our Claremont property is in Escrow. Hooray! The bad news is that now we have two choices: a) Pay lots of taxes on the sale or b) Roll the funds into other investment properties. With housing prices at a low point right now, it seems prudent to consider rental properties. Thus, today we went house hunting.

Today we investigated thirteen rental properties within 35 miles from home. Some of them were pretty nice and I enjoyed walking around the neighborhoods; others were boarded up, bug infested, and would require major renovations. I do not want to deal with major fix up projects at this time.

We found two pennies at the first property. I did a “Hooray” when I found them. Our realtor Adrie said, “That much excitement for just a penny? I figured you found a quarter!” So at the next house when I found a quarter I let out a bigger “Hooray!”

Throughout the day Doc and I found numerous coins. Our realtor was dismayed that she had not found any. Then she spotted one right under Doc’s foot! Hooray!

At one property a penny was standing upright in the street with the sun shining on it. It was shining like a beacon! Hooray!

Doc and I were both exhausted after such a full day, but this evening he graded student papers while I took care of some overdue household and Penny Palace chores.

Total: 16 Coins P (15), N (0), D (0), Q (1) = $0.40

Day #1,036 - Clean

This morning before going to the jobsite, Doc and I ran a few errands. Then we went into a grocery store merely to search for coins. He found a silver, I found a copper. (Coins #1&2). I had packed salads and munchies in our lunch bag. According to Doc, “salad is not a meal”. Thus he pulled into a del Taco. He got a combo meal and I cleaned up with 5 pennies, 2 nickels, and a dime. (Coins #3-10).

I think there were 17 persons at the Penny Palace today. The place was humming like a beehive!

• — Painters Peter and Pete finished painting the trusses and beams in the Grand Room and the Dining Room
• — Stucco Crew put the lower color coat (darker color) on half of the house
• — Masonry Crew put the wall caps on the wall along the driveway and on the 11 posts.
• — Finish Carpenters David and Matthew put window sills on most of the windows and created the shelving supports for the wall niches in the master bathroom
• — Concrete Rick and Black Lab Wesley visited
• — Cabinet John was on a nearby job and stopped to check on progress. Cabinets scheduled for delivery mid-November
• — HVAC Brian stopped by on his way home from work
• — Doc and I were out there answering questions, making decisions, cleaning up.

Some of the workers today said the Penny Palace is one of the cleanest jobsites they have ever worked on. In the past other people have said that as well. Comments like that help to overcome the yuckiness of hauling the trash yesterday.

Total: 10 Coins P (6), N (2), D (2), Q (0) = $0.36

Day #1,035 - Trash Day

Five weeks since the Day #1000 Celebration. There was no drywall at that time. Big changes in these past few weeks.

Had some errands to run before getting to the jobsite. One stop was for that ¼ round molding. Choice A not available for 4 months. Choice B not available. Choice C is 3 times the cost of A and I’m too cheap to pay that much for third choice! Back to search mode.

At the jobsite two crews were working: stucco and finish carpentry. The stucco crew completed all the light color stucco on the house and began working on the detached garage. The finish guys completed the molding arround all the doors.

Daryl arrived just after 3 pm and he and I spent the next two hours hauling loads of trash into the dumpster. There was no dumpster on site for 10 days, so much trash had accumulated in various piles. By the end of our dumpster digging, I had yellow stucco all over me and it looked like … uhh a big bird had dropped on me! That is the way I went to the store.

Remember last week we found the perfect paint color swatch, but when I had it mixed and took it home, the color was nowhere close to the swatch and looked horrible next to the fireplace? I took the paint back to the store the following day and the GUY there tried everything he could think of to get the correct color. He finally said, you’ll need to talk to Cyndi. So today I went back to Lowe’s. As I walked across the parking lot I said, “Decorator Angels, please guide Cyndi in mixing this paint”. I explained the situation and Cyndi mixed the paint. Batch 1 was not close, so she tried again. I now have a sample of Batch 2 drying on my kitchen counter. Let’s see what it looks like in the Grand Room tomorrow.

Lesson: When the GUYS can’t figure it out, ask a GAL to do it! (and the Angels as well).

There was a carwash next to Lowe’s so I walked over there to find today’s coin. I searched and searched. There were dozens of coins in the fountain and I could have easily scooped up several, but that goes against Penny Protocol, so I kept searching. Finally found a penny and then a quarter by the propane tanks! (Reward for playing fairly?) (Coins #1&2).

I had a craving for bread and soup, so stopped at Trader Joe’s for bread. Two pennies there. (Coins #3&4).

It is 9:30 pm and Doc is coming through the front door. Bye!

Total: 4 Coins P (3), N (0), D (0), Q (1) = $0.28

Day #1,034 - Rolling

This morning we met with the realtor to sign some more documents for the sale of the Claremont lot. Then Doc was off to school and I went off to the jobsite.

The only guys working today were the finish framers. They were installing door jambs and casings. They were “on a roll” and making good time.

I did some sanding of the exposed posts, put in some expanding foam, and worked on a few design aspects.

I left the jobsite at 3 p.m. in order to stop at the lumber yard to make a payment, then to the glass shop to order the glass for the transom windows, then the hardware store for a washer to finish up that weekend sink repair job.

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I made a quick stop to get Doc’s watch band repaired. It needs fixing about every other month. There was no charge for the repair job and I found today’s penny in the parking lot. (Coin #1)

Doc arrived home this evening around 7 p.m. He had stopped at WalMart where he bought all sorts of stuff. He also collected three pennies, a nickel and a dime! (Coins #2-6).

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For months Doc has been saying he wanted a wagon to haul things around. I finally got tired of hearing his jabber, so I bought one for him. It needed some assembly, thus it has sat in the garage for the past month. Since I need to do some hauling at the Penny Palace tomorrow, and Doc will be at work, tonight was the night for putting it together. I told Doc “dinner comes after your wagon is rolling”. So we had a wonderful hour playing around together on the filthy garage floor. Dinner was a shared can of beef stew. Ahhhh…. Such romantic and elegant times together. LOL

Total: 6 Coins P (4), N (1), D (1), Q (0) = $0.19

Day #1,033 - Expecting

I was expecting several things today.

The replacement doors were expected at 9 a.m., so I was at the jobsite by 8:45. The truck arrived at 9:30. The molding delivery was expected at 10 a.m., it arrived after 11. I was expecting one crew to be putting the caps on the retaining wall, they did not show up.

I was not expecting the stucco crew to return until Thursday. They arrive today with a full crew and began the color coat. I was expecting the tile samples I ordered 10 days ago to have arrived by now. When I called the tile store, they had no record of my order. Matthew the Finish Carpenter began working today. I was not expecting him until tomorrow.

After leaving the jobsite, I stopped at a 7-11 store expecting to find a coin or two. I found 8 pennies, 3 dimes, and a quarter. Coin Mine! (Coins #1-12)

When I arrived home, I found a Love Note from Doc which I was not expecting:

At the grocery store coin counting machine he found a 10 sen Piece from Malaysia (Foreign Coin). That is 1/10 th of the Malaysian Ringgit (dollar). He also found: 4 pennies, 8 dimes, and 2 quarters! (Coin Mine) (Coins #13-26)

Total: 26 US Coins P (12), N (0), D (11), Q (3) = $1.97 + 10 Malaysian Sen

Double Coin Mine

Day #1,032 - No Brass

We began another day with the continental breakfast which is included with the hotel stay. Then Doc graded some more student papers while I checked emails and wrote some postcards.

At 10:15 we checked out of the hotel and proceeded to the mortuary for the Celebration of Life.

Afterward we enjoyed a tailgate lunch with the kids, my two brothers and my mom.

Doc and I decided not to attend the burial since it was another 30 miles in the opposite direction of home. Doc needed to prepare for this week’s classes and we still had the issue of the leaky faucet awaiting us.

On the way home we stopped at four hardware stores seeking polished brass bathroom faucets. As long as we needed to change the shut off valve and supply hose, we figured we might as well change the faucets since they are looking really worn. There were zero polished brass fixtures to be found! Those were common 25 years ago when we built the bathroom, but I guess that color is no longer in fashion. We found a penny and a dime at the first hardware store and another penny at the second hardware store. (Coins #1-3).

We finally gave up on the idea of putting in a new faucet and just bought one shutoff valve along with one hose. After two hours of shopping and one hour of repair work, the leak seems to be solved and we have turned on the water to the house.

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

Day #1,031 - "A" Day

“A” is for Apples, Alpacas and Angels.

We began the day with the continental breakfast which is included with the hotel stay. Then it was back to the hotel room for a few hours of grading student papers. Doc coerced me into doing half of the problems (although I did get the easier ones).

At 1 p.m. we headed out to meet the kids. Ashley’s Brownie Troop was having an Apple Picking outing so Doc and I joined in with the family and had a fun time.

By 2 p.m. we were done with that and had some extra time before attending the Viewing at the Mortuary. Thus, we detoured and visited Field of Dreams Alpaca Farm. The owner of the farm gave us a wonderful private tour. My favorite alpaca was a sweet copper-colored one named, of course, Penny!

Before returning to our hotel, we stopped for a few moments at a produce stand in search of honey or dried fruit. Did not find either of those items, but there was a bright shiny penny standing upright on the floor by the cash register. I gave a small “Yippee!” to Doc which caused Charles Drew, the owner of the stand, to wonder about the fuss I was making. Of course I gave him a Penny Card and explained the story while Doc purchased two peaches. JOY shared. (Coin #1).

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We attended the viewing at the mortuary and then the gathering of family and friends at the home of the deceased. Lovely home, good food, fun conversations.

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Around 9 p.m. we headed back to the hotel room. Doc was dismayed that we only had one penny for the day, so he detoured into an Albertsons store where I found one penny. (Coin #2). At the next intersection we noticed a Starbucks with no cars at the drive up window, so I had Doc detour there. I hopped out of the van and asked the Angels for “a coin for Doc”. There was a silver dime. (Coin #3).

9:30 was still a little early to head to the hotel room, so we detoured into Kmart. Doc found a silver (dime) and I collected two pennies and a new blouse. (Coins #4-6)

As we were driving away from the Kmart Doc said, “That totals 24¢ -- just one cent shy of your favorite number”. By then we were getting silly. There was a Burger King within the shopping center, so I told Doc to pause the van while I ran past the drive up window to look for a penny. I said to the Angels, “I am searching for the 25¢” I guess they misunderstood me because they provided a quarter versus the expected penny under the window. (Coin #7). Then when I turned to go back to the van, a nickel gleamed in the moonlight. (Coin #8) (Now we had a Hit for the Cycle). I laughed and said, “Thanks Angels, but I asked for a Penny!” So they provided one under one of the outdoor eating tables. (Coin #9).

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OK. Now we could continue to the hotel room and call it quits for the day. (As far as Penny Finding was concerned).

Total: 9 Coins P (5), N (1), D (2), Q (1) = $0.55

Day #1,030 - Drats and Drips

This week there was an unexpected death in the family and initially we were not sure if ceremonies would be on Friday or Monday. So we “made lemonade out of this lemon” situation and squeezed out some time to spend with the nieces and nephews over the weekend.

Our goal was to leave our house by 7:30 and head up to Tehachapi which is about 150 miles away. Doc discovered a leak under the bathroom sink. Drats a Drip! There was no time to deal with it, so we placed a bowl under the sink, shut off the main water line to the house, and asked my Mom to check the bowl periodically. Then upon leaving the house I asked the Penny Angels to watch over things until our return.

We stopped at a huge gas station in Palmdale. Searched the convenience store, throughout the gas pumps, around the entire area and found nothing! As we were driving out of the parking lot Doc said, “There is a penny right outside my window! Hop out and get it.” While I fetched the penny, Doc advanced the car a few feet. As I returned to my side of the car, there was a beautiful shiny penny by the passenger door! (Coins #1&2).

At 12:30 we met with a realtor in the Tehachapi area. We spent the next few hours visiting several potential rental properties. We found 5 pennies during that time. (Coins #3-7)

At 5 p.m. we met up with brother Greg and the nieces and nephews.

It was good to see them all again. We met them at the construction site of their new home. It makes the Penny Palace seem small in comparison.

(Photo is of the barn).

Then we headed to their temporary home. We got to see all their animals and enjoy BBQd hamburgers on their deck overlooking Bear Valley.

Total: 7 pennies

Day #1,029 - Drat

Woke up tired this morning and with a headache. Drat. Realized I fell asleep last night before completing Penny Tale. Must have been really tired. Drat. Was rushing and trying to get out of the house when Doc reminded me I needed to clean up the dog poop in the back yard because the gardener would be working there shortly. Drat.

Made it to the jobsite just in time for an 8:30 meeting with the floor tile guy. After 30 minutes of waiting, I called him. He forgot about the meeting. Drat! No one else was working on site. Drat! So I locked the gate and proceeded with my day.

Went to investigate that quarter round tile. The one that was the perfect color, better size, and right price, won’t be available for 4 months. Drat. The second choice one is no longer available. Drat.

Yesterday Daryl and I picked out that perfect paint color in a sandstone texture for the fireplace wall. I bought a can and painted a sample board. Took it to the site today. Yuck! The painted sample is nothing like the paint chip from the store. Drat! Even Doc who doesn’t really care that much about the color scheme, said. “Nope”.

I took the paint can back and the sales attendant, Tom, agreed. Something was wrong. Tom tried adding pigment to ‘correct’ the paint. That gave us mauve! Drat. Tom took a similar normal color of paint and added it to the sandstone base. Awful! Drat. He then called the manufacturer and was told I had an old color swatch. So I chose another newer color in hopes it might work. Took it to the jobsite. It was too grey. Ugly. Drat. I want the color we had chosen!

I completed more errands, then went back to the jobsite at 1 p.m. to meet with the floor tile guy.

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Stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the freeway. We were seeking coins and dog food. Doc and I each found a penny outside the store.

Other than the frustrations, the rest of the day was OK.

Total: 2 pennies

Day #1,028 - No Waste

We sure maximized that fireplace stone. There were only two of the corner stones remaining. No waste on those! (I wish it was a case of ‘no waist’ like 30 years ago when Doc married me, but alas, that is no longer the case).

This morning Doc said he graded papers and did class prep until noon. (Sure he did. I’ll bet as soon as I left the house, he and the dogs probably spent time with coffee and TV).

There were a series of early morning calls, then it was out the door. First stop was to order ¼ round tile for the Aussie bathroom. It is in stock. “We will have it Tuesday for you”. But then a few hours later I received a call - 4 months for that. Back to the drawing board.

Next stop was to say “thank you” to Barak for putting my hand-sketched medallion design into PhotoShop. And he even made a few more edits for me! When I “taped it out” on the floor of the Penny Palace, I realized I may need to ‘stretch’ it a little bigger.

Two additional stops to pick up shower tile, and then to place the order for all the door and window moldings.

At the jobsite, the stucco crew was attaching more foam, reinforcing it, and stuccoing the first coat on it. At 3:30 Daryl and I interviewed a potential wood flooring installer. Anxious to see what he says. It probably didn’t help the cost estimate when he realized there are no stairs for him to carry the wood up to the second level. That means ladder work.

On the way home I stopped at Lowe’s for painting supplies. I think we may have found a great paint for that mountain wall. Regular paints just don’t have ‘depth’ to them!

Of course, I needed to find a penny. So I stopped at a 7-11 where I collected 3 pennies and a dime from under the counter. Good thing there were no other customers waiting in line, because this was a nose-to-the-floor retrieval!

Total: 4 Coins P (3), N (0), D (1), Q (0) = $0.13

Day #1,027 - 95%

The fireplace stone was finished today! I’d give it a score of 95%. Just five small things that weren’t as I would have liked them. That’s still a good, solid “A Grade”.

There was one guy from the stucco crew working on the exterior decorative foam. The Finish Carpenters, David and Matthew hung all the available doors. The new front door doesn’t fit the frame so at this point it will not close.

I did all sorts of things today. Transported half a case of stones, swept, cleaned, ordered moldings, dealt with follow up calls, etc.

I locked the gates around 6:30 p.m. (sunset). Just before getting on the freeway, I pulled into the Walgreens parking lot and said, “Dearest Penny Angels, my body can barely move right now. PLEASE, Yes I am Begging You, PLEASE deliver today’s penny easily and quickly”. As I approached the door to the store there was a beautiful, shiny penny in my path. (Coin #1) THANK YOU Angels, you really did make that one quick and easy. Plus it is a pretty penny as well. Sincerely appreciated today.

I turned to go back to my truck, but my tummy growled. Oh yes, lunch! So I went into the store and bought some beef jerky. One more penny at the register as I was paying. (Coin #2). The Angel’s 2¢ Worth.

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I arrived home to find a Love Note from Doc. It has been a very long time since he has left one of those. “Please fill the water in the pond when you get home. I found 8 pennies in a parking spot as I was entering Starbucks this morning and another penny as I exited the place.” (Coins #3-11)

Today’s Guests: Mandy in the morning, Brenda in the afternoon.

Total: 11 Pennies

Day #1,026 - Steady Progress

There was nothing earth-shattering today, just nice, steady progress in several areas.

The first appointment was at 8 a.m. with David, the Finish Carpenter. We met at our current house so that he could see the Aussie room, measure the flower closet doors, etc.

Then it was off to the jobsite. Tile Bob and Tony were installing the wire mesh in the Master bathroom.

Finish Matthew was installing interior doors. Stone Masons Miguel and Rafael were placing stones on the fireplace. Stucco Leo and David were reinforcing, then plastering the exterior foam molding. I was cleaning up trash in the house, sweeping the street, laying out fireplace rocks, answering questions, making calls, etc.

At 4:45 everyone finally left and I locked the gate. I stopped at the nearest grocery store to find today’s coin because I was exhausted and didn’t want to go anywhere else later tonight. Found only one penny there. (Coin #1)

This evening I was evaluating molding quotes, working with our realtor, ordering the kitchen countertop planks, and more. Doc didn’t get home from school until 10 p.m. again. Does that sound like he is retired?

Total: 1 Penny

Day #1,025 - Holiday?

There was no mail in our mailbox today. When I questioned that, I was told today was a holiday? Certainly not at the Penny Palace.

I arrived at the jobsite at 8:15. Did not even get a chance to move away from my truck before being summoned regarding the belly band around the house. We reduced the size of some of the windows and that has now thrown off the lines on the belly bands. It took some creative compromising to make things look good again.

Tile Bob and Tony began working early this morning. When I arrived, they were just finishing the wire mesh in the first bathroom. There were several discussions today with them on the details of the tubs and showers.

It was the first day on site for the Finish Carpenters David and Matthew. They hung many of the doors and taught me several things.

The Lo-Boy dumpster Finally was hauled off. We had been requesting that for 10 days.

Somewhat glad the painting crew did not work today. There was enough going on and I was having trouble answering everyone’s questions, listening to instructions, cleaning up trash and keeping my Action Items list going.

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It was fun to have twirly flower back up and running. (See yesterday’s story).

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“After work” when the gates were shut at 4 p.m., I headed to the tile shops. At the first one, I ordered the ‘penny tile’ which I had seen Friday. The tile just shouts “Pennies” and so I had to find some small place to incorporate it.

Next it was back to the tile store where I had seen the Medallion. I asked if they had an electronic file so I could play with the color scheme? “They do things the old-fashioned way and don’t do things on the computer”. I asked for Angel assistance. Two hours later I had an incoming email from Barak with the medallion design. So what CHANGED?

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On the way home I stopped to fuel Pippy. One penny at the gas station.

Total: 1 Penny

Reminder: The Angels do not think ‘impossible’ like we do. I love it when they jump in and help.