Father's Day

Today we celebrated Father’s Day.  Yes, I realize it is a day early, but that’s when everyone’s schedule allowed for it.

You would smile at seeing Doc playing in the pool with ALL of his downline (two sons and two grandchildren).  What fun to see the waterfights and merriment. Sure wished I’d had a camera with me.

I know that has nothing to do with Penny Finding, I was merely sharing a JOY moment with you.

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Now for Penny Finding …

Excuse me for a moment – Doc is saying there is a skinny coyote in our front yard.  I gotta go see this.  Yup, that’s a coyote.

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Back to Penny Tales …

Approximately 7 p.m. this evening Doc and I realized that we had not been anywhere today in order to find a coin.  So we grabbed leashes and dogs and headed out.

Went to the shopping center down the street which has a fast food place, a 7-11 store and a car wash.  There were zero cars at the fast food drive up window, so I quickly went there before any cars came.  I could see several coins glistening in the fading sun.  This was going to be easy.  I was smiling with contentment in knowing that those coins would be mine in a few seconds.  I was approaching from the West.  Suddenly approaching from the East was a worker from the fast food diner!  She must have also noticed all those coins laying there and come outside to collect them.  Rats!  Of course Dundee and I proceeded as though we were just out for an evening stroll…

As I walked away I was disheartened,  “Hey Penny Angels, that was NOT nice!  You showed me all those sparkly coins, and then just took them away!”   Grumble, grumble.  Then Doc and Norman approached Dundee and me near the 7-11 store.  Doc and I yelled “Mine” simultaneously because we each had spotted separate dimes just a few feet apart!  By then we were laughing.  Then I found a quarter to which Doc said, “Now we just need one of those elusive nickels”.

We all walked over to the car wash where we collected another nine pennies and a dime.  Where was that nickel?  So Doc and I both began chanting “Nickel, Nickel, Nickel…” and within moments there was a nickel and a penny!  THANKS ANGLES for Playing with us!  That was FUN!  Both coins were turned up on their edges in a crack along a curb.  Very difficult place to see a coin.

My thought was: “WOW Angels!  This would make for a REALLY GOOD manifesting Penny Tale about getting that requested Nickel.  However Angels, I have other things I want to do tonight, so THANKS for the coins.  I appreciate the play time with you, but I have other plans.”

I was heading back to the van when Doc had a “nudging” to go behind the car wash.  Norman had enough walking, sat down and refused to go any further.  Doc still wanted to go behind the building and merely carried Norman along with him.  I went along and found a penny, then a Wheat Penny!  Special Find!  Glad we followed that Nudging.

Dundee and I went back to the van.  After what seemed like an eternity, Doc and Norman appeared.  Doc said, “I told you I had a “nudging”. He opened his hand to reveal at least two dozen coins.  (Tally #1).  Then Doc said, “Get a napkin and scraper of some sort, because I found a coin mine!”  So we went back to the “mine”.  We scraped and chiseled through the thick pile of ??????  (you don’t really want me to describe that) unearthing who knows how many coins.  (Tally #2)

There was no way to know what the coins were until they were cleaned.

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First Batch:   12P, 1N, 3D, 1Q  

That makes it a Coin Mine as well as a Hit for the Cycle.  Plus an included wheat Penny.

Tally #1     25P, 1N, 5D, 2Q, +

(+) This haul also included something Doc and I had not seen before – a $1 Presidential Commemorative Coin.

                       

Tally #2  10P, 2N, 8D, 2Q

TOTAL COUNT:     47P, 4N, 16D, 5Q, $1, = 73 coins for a face value of  $4.52  Including FOUR Hits for the Cycle!

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Conversation with the Angels when Driving Home. “OK.  YOU WIN!  With this spectacular of a haul, I am obligated to write a Penny Tale tonight. Please guide me on this”.

Lesson: We may see something REALLY good which we are anticipating.  Then when it does not happen as we were expecting, we can easily get discouraged and sometimes ask. “WHY?”  “What went wrong?”  “Why didn’t things go the way I had planned?” 

We need to keep in mind that sometimes SOURCE can see the bigger picture.  And SOURCE has limitless resources and blessings which are showered upon us.

Double Tale

Last night Doc and I attended a Christmas Eve service at a local church.  The entertainers put on quite a performance (actually five of them throughout the day).  It was very loud and high tech.  This morning’s Christmas performance by the Penny Angels was every bit as impressive – and much quieter).

Doc with Double Tails and Knee Braces

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This Christmas morning Doc wanted to a) get his coffee and b) break in his new knee braces.  He insisted I go with him (and get my coin for today).  The dogs, of course determined this now to be a Family Christmas activity.  The Two Tails demanded to go along as well.

Our first stop this morning was at a closed car wash.  I set out to find merely a coin or two.  Doc hopped out of the van and said we should go find …….25 coins?

We walked the doggies, logged in several hundred steps and found my requisite coin.  (Actually we collected 24 coins [20P, N, 3D] which is a double Coin Mine).

Our second stop was at a shopping center where Doc planned to get his coffee.  The grocery store was closed, so we walked the parking lot to get a few more steps logged.  We collected 10 Pennies and a Dime on that walk.

The third stop was to get Doc’s coffee.  He headed toward the shop, I headed in the opposite direction across the empty parking lot.  I was talking to the Angels,

“We have pennies, a nickel, and dimes.  If you want to make for a good story this morning, you could deliver a quarter to me right now and complete a Hit for the Cycle”.  Within 3-4 minutes there was a shiny quarter in a dirt patch!  And as I bent over to retrieve it, another quarter appeared!  TWO quarters.  I guess that means the Penny Angels wanted me to write a (Double) Penny Tale today (since they delivered a Double Hit for the Cycle).

Coin Finds in Starbucks Courtyard

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I headed back to Starbucks to meet Doc.  He had his coffee; I had my quarters.  But the Penny Angels were not through with us.  Doc spotted a penny in the Starbucks courtyard.  We retrieved it.  There was another penny and another penny and another… it felt as though we were surrounded by coins!  Within moments we had gobbled up 69 coins!  The coins had crusty white sediment on them.  It wasn’t until we got home and I could wash them, that we could determine we had collected 62P, 3N, 4D at that spot.

Then, as we returned to our van to leave, Doc spotted a Wheat penny!  (Perhaps from the Angels of Christmas Past)?

Instead of SPENDING money on Christmas, we were FINDING money on Christmas…. And enjoying Playful Time with the Angels.

Christmas Count:   P (94), N (4), D (8), Q (2) = 108 Coins

Some Lessons Today: 

·     The Angels enJOY when we Play like a Child with them

·     Set your expectations / goals higher than the minimum daily requirement

·     The Angels are there to assist and will generally perform much better than humans will

Popping Pennies

We have been living at the Penny Palace for over a year now.  In that time I have taken numerous walks around the neighborhood by myself or with various friends, but never with Doc. He does not like to walk.  This morning he surprised me by asking to go for a walk!  We did.  I found a shiny penny in the street of this quiet residential neighborhood!  My response was, “Thank You Angels.  You are correct.  My mind was thinking of a million other things.  I had not even thought about anything remotely ‘spiritual’ today.  Thanks for the reminder.  Good Morning!”

I figured that was my Penny Find for today.

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Our patriotic celebrations today consisted of decorating our mailbox.  My heart was a little sad in thinking about Sasha.  Wish he was here.  He was to have attended a 4^th of July BBQ and parade with Host Family #6 in Clayton, CA. 

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This evening just after 7 p.m. Doc said he wanted to get out of the house.  He proposed going Penny Finding.  I told him to go alone since I had already found a penny today. (After being with him all day, I wanted some time to tackle a few of MY tasks).  PLUS I was concerned that the obnoxious Penny Angels would do something note worthy and then I would feel “Nudged” to write about it and today is a Holiday and I did not FEEL like spending a few hours writing a dog-gone Penny Tale!  However, Doc insisted I go with him to walk the streets.

Doc drove to the local car wash and gas station.  Within a few seconds of getting out of the van, I found a penny and told Doc we could go home.  He wanted to get 2,000 more steps on his pedometer, so he kept walking -- and finding coins.  I then found a quarter by the air pump, then a penny and dime inside the convenience store.  Of course I began repeating: “Nickel, Nickel, Nickel …” in order to have a “Hit for the Cycle”.

Meanwhile Doc was walking around the Car Wash area.  He had at least 18 coins in his hand. 

The sun was setting and most “normal” people were home enjoying 4^th of July BBQs and preparing for fireworks.  I wanted to go home, but Doc wanted more steps so we kept Searching together.  A romantic sunset walk - through the Car Wash!

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Detour here for a Side Story:  Yesterday for our 31^st Anniversary we enjoyed an extravagant classy lunch.  Home Town Buffet all-you-can-eat Senior Special with Free Beverage for $7 each!  Then we went shopping together.  At the first store Doc said, “You can choose any 3 items in the whole store!”  (We were at the 99¢ Only store).

We spent a few hours at the next store where Doc picked up a few items.  It was an Apple Store and the items there are definitely more than $1 each.  My computer is seven years old and its operating system will no longer support newer software - including my webmail.  Thus, I had been planning a new computer this year, but still unsure about a desktop or a laptop.

Doc was intrigued by the capabilities of the new devices.  I dreaded the thought of trying to learn how to operate a new computer and didn’t want to think about it.  The knowledgeable, cute young Apple sales tech (Jenny) showed Doc how the iPad could navigate and ‘talk’ directions.  Doc said, “OK, we’ll take it”.

Additionally we found 5 pennies while at those stores.

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I was laughing at how Doc was having me “Walk the Streets” today in order to earn money for that shopping spree we had yesterday.

I was ready to go home, but Doc was not yet satisfied.  He spotted three pennies deeply imbedded in cracks of the concrete driveway.  I took out my pocket knife to retrieve those.  So now I was using “special tools” to earn my money.  (Good for another laugh).

I was saying, “Angels, please find that Nickel so maybe Doc will let me go home”.  A few minutes later I found a nickel in a dirt planter!  Yipee!  I excitedly showed Doc and he said, “Find Another One”.  I replied with: “*##*#*”    The rated G version was, “Look.  We only found two nickels in the entire month of June and you expect me to find two within a few minutes today?”

Doc had to use the restroom, so I used the time to count the coins.  There were 48 coins!  Definitely a coin mine!  Plus the one from this morning made a total of 49.  I told Doc “We just need ONE more to make 50.  That would be a good number on this 4^th of July to represent the 50 States.”  So we kept walking and searching.  I told Doc to find ONE coin, no extras please.

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We took a quick 5 minute walk through the parking lot across the street.  I said, “C’mon Angels.  Just ONE more coin please to make that 50?  Within moments I had a dime!  Yay. The 50^th coin.  But then another coin -- a NICKEL!  WOW!  That second Nickel!   Incredible.  OK.  That one can represent Washington D.C.   Then as I was walking back to the van, there was a dime. That makes three coins for 25¢ in that lot.  (25 is my favorite number).

I could almost hear the Penny Angels laughing.  We were probably their “dinner show” this evening.

Coin Count:   52 Coins            45 (P), 2 (N), 4 (D), 1 (Q) = $1.20

ASK

The Penny Finding just won’t end!  Today Doc stopped for a coffee at the local convenience store.  I went in with him to look for coins (yes, this addiction is difficult to break).  There were no coins to be found inside and I was disappointed.

As I walked out of the store, I remembered the “Word of the Day” from my yoga class.  The word was “ASK”.  Someone quoted the verse “You do not have, because you do not ask”.  Soooo… once again I challenged the Penny Angels.  “OK Angels, how about a coin before I get back in my truck?”  I looked in a muddy planter bed.  There were some pennies and nickels!! (Nickels are the rarest finds of the four basic coins).  I bent over to retrieve the coins …. I kept gobbling them up!  Doc called to see where I was, so I quickly returned to him.  I thought perhaps I had as many as 25 coins (my favorite number).  I unfolded my hand and we counted together … one, two, three… there were thirty-seven coins!  Including Two Hits for the Cycle!  (Defined as one penny, one nickel, one dime, and one quarter).

LESSON:  ASK!!!

Note:  I also challenged the Angels about “writing time”.  Doc and I expected (and allowed time for) stop-and-go morning traffic on the freeway.  I told the Angels if they wanted me to write a Penny Tale today, they would need to open up some time for me.  I was able to drive the maximum speed limit on the freeway!  Unheard of in morning traffic. Thus I had that extra time to write the Penny Tale for today!

Coin Count:   37 Coins            28 (P), 4 (N), 3 (D), 2 (Q) = $1.28

                        Two hits for the Cycle

Day #1,374 - Mellow Day

Spent the morning catching up on the Construction Daily Journal. (I had not worked on it since April!)

Video Work

Son Stephen returned borrowed tables and then worked with Doc on the video for the Open House.

Aussie Room Prepped

At 3 p.m. we headed out to the Pomona house to prepare for tomorrow’s move.  Doc stopped for coffee and a banana. I found two coins in the planter next to the van.  It was difficult to tell, but one coin was a dime, and the other a penny.  (Coins #1&2)  Then Doc and I searched the 4-5 parking spots in front of the store.  Neither one of us saw any coins. I turned around and suddenly there was a gleaming penny behind me.  I bent to pick it up and found a vertical penny in a crack. And then there was another penny!  (Coins #3-5)

Washer & Dryer Prepped

Inside the store I spotted two silver coins under the counter right next to one another. One was a loose quarter which I had to use to pry off the stuck nickel. (Coins #6&7). Hit for the Cycle at one location!

After working at the Pomona house, we went to the bank and grocery store next to it.  I spied a gleaming penny in a dirt planter.  Bent to collect it and saw a second penny, then a third, then another, then another… Six pennies there.  (Coins #8-13).

Inside the grocery store, there was a dime as I walked in.   Then Doc spotted a dime as we entered the check-out lane. (Coins #14&15).

As the tall man in front of us paid for his items, he dropped a penny.  He looked at it, stood on top of it, completed his transaction, and left. My coin now!  (Coin #16). There was one more penny before we left the store. (Coin #17).

Total:  17 Coins        P (12), N (1), D (3), Q (1) = $0.72   Hit for the Cycle

Day #1,353 - Dungeon Time

This morning at 8 a.m. Doc and son Steve headed to Lowe’s to purchase some folding tables.  Steve had been debating between renting or buying tables for his upcoming event.  He was hesitant to buy since he has no place to store any tables.  I was planning to buy six tables for the upcoming Open House so I proposed that Steve buy three and we buy three, then store them in the Dungeon.  Win / win situation.  Doc found a penny on that run. (Doc #1)

Insulation Tacking

If they were bringing new tables, that meant the dungeon needed cleaning.  For the next two hours I swept, cleaned, and moved things in the Dungeon.  By the time Doc and Steve arrived with the tables, I was drenched in sweat and ready to fall over.

As long as we were already under the house, it seemed like a good time for Doc and I to  re-hang some dangling floor insulation.  So for the next two hours we did a bit of  fix-ups.

Doc made a run to McDonalds for lunch and a penny. (Doc Coin #2)

The afternoon was spent writing Penny Tales, cleaning, paying bills, etc.  Doc did a little bit of school prep work.  I worked on the last few placecards for tomorrow’s wedding.

At 6:30 p.m. it was time to get out of the house.  The office supply and the other store we attempted to visit had both closed at 6 p.m.  Frustrating.  We obtained dog food at the next store.  We penny searched a 7-11  store where I found a penny at the self-serve car wash and Doc found a dirt penny in a planter.  (Coins #3&4) Doc began driving away and as I was noting those two finds in my little voice recorder, I yelled “Coin!”  Doc wasn’t sure if that was for the voice journal, or if I had in fact seen a penny?  But he is well-trained, so he stopped immediately and asked. “Do you want me to back up?”   “Of course!”  (Coin #5)

Total:  5 Coins        P (5), N (0), D (0), Q (0) = $0.05

Day #1,350 - Men, Men, Men

While Doc went to the office, I had lots of other men here at home wanting my attention.

Pond Miguel

At 9 a.m. there was the pond (pool) company guy.  I noticed the truck parked on the street (because that company cleans the pools to the North and South of our house), but the guy I had been talking to about our service a few weeks ago was not the same person I saw working today.  I left a note on his truck to please come see me when he was done with the other two  jobs.  Pool Miguel came over and we worked on the pond.  One hour was now gone from my morning.

The next task was to call CalCERTS, get registered, and continue our energy rating review process.

Solar Jose

Solar Robert called unexpectedly. He needed to send someone over and look at the solar panel monitoring system to see how they were going to do the final connections.  He would have someone over in 10 minutes!  Yikes.  Time to get out of pajamas.  I worked with Jose for the next hour.

The printing company emailed for final approval of the Open House invitations proof.  I tried and tired to do it on line, but finally decided their server was not cooperating, so I dealt directly with the rep on that issue.

Bookcase Staining

I finally said “all else is put aside until I get this @#$@# bookcase stained!”  I just applied the stain (to be wiped off immediately) when the front doorbell rang.  It was Pest Control Guy Kevin.  That was unexpected.  I had called the service yesterday.  I was told they would call back and let me know when a tech would be in the area.  Of course Kevin needed me to explain the situation and show him the affected areas.  But what about the stain which was setting on my bookcase!!!! 

Ant Killer Kevin

I thought the bookcase staining job would take 1.5 hours.  It probably extended across 4-5 hours due to interruptions such as calls from Drapery Bryan, Doc, etc.

Of course the three canine males also wanted attention.

When Doc came home we went out for dinner and my coins.  I wanted something quick - for both of those.  Doc suggested the car wash again!  No way.  We found four dirt pennies there.  (Coins #1-4).

Doc had found one dime at Subway when he went to Subway for our breakfast. Then he found a penny in the breezeway at school.  (Doc #1&2).

Total:  6 Coins        P (5), N (0), D (1), Q (0) = $0.15