Penny Palace

Penny Palace

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Grand Finale

Another year of finding coins EVERY DAY!  Pretty amazing.   There were plenty of interesting tales – funny ones, mind-boggling ones, and even some nail-biting ones.

Today (New Year’s Eve) there were impressive fireworks and an impressive 73 coins found (60P, 5N, 7D, 1Q).  What a Grand Finale for 2016!


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Finding daily coins this year was not always an easy thing to do.  When Doc and I travelled to Panama on a tour bus with 40 other people, it was a real challenge to find coins.  My broken foot in August and subsequent surgery made penny finding (and everything else) a bit more difficult.  For three months I was not allowed to drive.  Thankfully each day Doc would gallantly make sure I got out of the house to find the requisite coins. North Dakota in September was quite sparsely populated – with both people and coins!  And the snow in Tehachapi made driving into town impossible with our car. 

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Many of you are “left brained” (logical engineering types) and would prefer to see the numbers versus reading the cutsie stories.  So here is the data for you:

Currently we are at 611 Consecutive Days of Coin Finding
U.S. Coins in 2016: 2185 pennies + 167 nickels + 448 dimes + 155 quarters = 2955 Total                           plus some paper money for a total value of  $130.73
Foreign Coins:  29

Norman Pennies  (2015D): 195
Hits for the Cycle (P+N+D+Q in one day): 38

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For you “right brained” persons – it was a good year and many coins were found!  LOL

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The Angels were present EACH DAY for us in 2016 in all sorts of challenging situations.  They are there for YOU as well.


Thursday, December 8, 2016

4 Way Calling?

This morning I had meetings with at least ten people in various locations.  While driving home on the freeway I was thinking, “I do not want to spend hours debriefing Doc and each of my two brothers regarding all this information.  I really need to learn how to use the 3-way calling feature on the home phone and talk to them all at the same time.”

Once I got home, I forgot about researching the 3-way calling instructions.  After dinner my phone rang.  It was my neighbor whom I had not heard from in a while.  I was expecting him to do a chatty “what’s new with you?” call.  Instead he said, “Tina, I need to make a 3-way call and so I have looked up how to do that.  I was going to call another friend, but at the last minute chose to call you as my guinea pig to learn this feature!”  Was that a “nudging” for him?  COINcidence?  My noisy thoughts? Laws of Attraction?  Manifesting?  Angel Interventions?


How would YOU explain it?

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Saying Hello?

Recently Doc and I invited some friends over to the house before an appointment they had in the local area.  Knowing my culinary skills, Doc suggested we all go out to lunch (actually the couple suggested it as well).  Since they had over an hour’s drive to get here, I thought it would be nicer to have lunch here at the Penny Palace.

It was approximately 1 a.m. the night before the luncheon and I was preparing the food.  Of course Doc was already in bed.  I thought some energizing music might be nice.  I found a Lawrence Welk Playlist on Paul’s Video Jukebox.  Some wonderful old music there – and it’s FREE!  Happy Music.  Lots and lots of “oldies”.

The Lawrence Welk Show was one of my (recently departed) Father’s favorites.  Every week the family would watch that show.  As the music was playing, I began talking to Father out loud.  “Hello Father.  Are you more comfortable on the other side?  Are you studying and learning more?  Hey – neither one of us is/was great in the kitchen.  How about if you help me out here?”  and then I said: “You and I are both Engineers.  IF you are here, it would help if you provided some sort of PROOF.”

Some time between 2 and 3 a.m. I was working across the kitchen at the Breakfast table.  I heard a noise which startled me.  It was the garbage disposer going ON!  I have had devices fail and go OFF, but to fail and go ON?  It was something from a horror movie!  I was looking for Gremlins to be racing on the counters and sitting in the blender!  Of course I ran to the sink area and played with the control switch.  That did nothing.  I dove under the sink and disconnected the unit. 

Doc hates plumbing work and we had plans for the morning.  Thus I dreaded telling him that we had a little something we needed to deal with...  After Doc had some coffee in him, I told him the story.  I expected him to grumble (he does not swear) and be quite irritated by the change of plans.  He laughed! 
I’m thinking: “Huh”? 
Doc’s response:  “Don’t you get it?” 
Tina: “Get what?”
Doc:  “Remember the video tribute your brother created for your Father’s memorial service?”
Tina “Yes”
Doc: “You were a bit dismayed because there were numerous great shots of your Father with your brothers in the hot tub, motorcycle riding, doing things together, hugging, etc.  Yet there was only one shot of you and your Father together.  People even joked about the “Father / Daughter bonding time”.

Tina (laughing):  “Right!  That one shot was of my Father and I with our butts in the air replacing a kitchen garbage disposer!”  (See attached).




COINcidence?  You decide.


Tuesday, June 21, 2016

People Training

Hi Folks-


It’s mee, Liesel.  It has bin tree munths sins I last wrot to U.  My adoptive sister Sheila and I have pretty much taken control of dee Pennee Palas.  We are now in charge and keep Mr. Doc and Ms. Tina bizee wid takin’ gud care of us.

Aren’t I gud lookin’?  I was a scrawnee young whippersnapper when I furst got here.  Now I am a lean mean racing machine.  Wee bin eatin reel gud, dashing thru dee house and yards, and getting lots of training treats.


Look!  Wee even have our own day bed.  Dat is cauz wee like to work on our tans in dee dog yard, but dee concrete was too hard for us and dee artificial turf was too dirty.  So Ms. Tina got us dis bed for lounging.  Plus, we can keep our eyes on dee neighborhood and street to make shur our hous is safe.

Today was dee Final Test for dee six week training class Sheila and mee have been going to.  Sheila does everyting Mr. Doc tells her to do.  She walks, she sits, she lays, she stays, she comes.  She is such a show off and of course, “Daddy’s Little Girl”.

Der were four canines and der peoples in our training class. Sheila was dee first one to take her exam tonight, so Mr. Doc says “Sheila Finished First in her class”. 


I was dee last one to take dee exam.  Ms. Tina and I have been training for six weeks now.  It’s so funee when Ms. Tina makes all sorts of faces and noises to try to git me to understand her.  Of course I know exactly what she wants me to do.  I’m not stupid!  But I got other tings on my mind.  Der are leaves to attack, bugs to chase, smells to investigate.  Why ever would I want to jest sit still or lay down?

I tink dee teacher Miss Barbie liked ME dee best in the class!  She told dee other three dogs dat dey could move on to a new teacher.  She must not like them so much.  She wants ME to come back next month and bee wid her for another six weeks.

Good Night
OK.  It’s bin a very long, hot day and wee need our beauty sleep.
Good Night!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Rockin' and Rollin' Angels

For the past two months Doc and I have been working on a “Passion Project”.  It is essentially a community beautification project called the “Garden of Hope”.

One of the features of the Garden is a dry stream bed.  Doc and I managed to collect and transport seven loads of rocks from various sources for that.  Those were rocks which we could lift into Pippy (my 24-year-old little truck).

In addition to the stream, I planned for 6-8 Feature Rocks in other areas of the yard.  I had several leads on those and didn’t realize how difficult the task would be to actually obtain them.  One by one this past week, it seemed the doors were shutting down on each of those leads. 

Wednesday:  I visited a construction site where two guys said they would help me lift the desired rocks into my truck on Thursday at quitting time. 

Thursday: I returned with gloves, wheelbarrow, and a case of beer for the guys.  The same guys were not working.  I stood in the sun for 40 minutes as the carpenters wrapped up their work for the day.  Then I asked several of them if they would help me lift a few rocks.  None of them would except for one “old guy” (probably in his sixties) who said OK.  He lifted one rock and was going to quit, but I pushed for a second.  After the second one, the poor man said “No more” in very broken English.

One by one the workers left.  I was standing next to a rock with my ready wheelbarrow in hopes that someone would just take 2 minutes and help.  The last guy was walking over to me …..
and right past me into the blue Port-a-Potty!  When he emerged I asked if he could lift the rock into the wheelbarrow with me?  He replied, “but then what would you do with it?”  He then locked the gate, got in his truck, and drove away.

I was so discouraged.  I sat on the side of the road too weary to lift the wheelbarrow back into my nearly empty truck and so disheartened.  Tears were streaming as I said, “Look Powers that BE – I have been doing everything I can think of now for several weeks to get these big rocks for the Project. I want to give up on this!  I quit!   If YOU want the D*** rocks, then YOU get them!



Within two minutes a big grey truck came down the street.  The driver pulled over to my side of the road and said, “Do you need something?”   After the initial shock, I replied “Yes – Rocks.”  He asked from where I needed to fetch them?  I told him my story and that it appeared my resources had dried up.  He said he would somehow help me get the desired 200 pound boulders!  I told him he was an Angel!!!  He laughed.

Lou's Rocks


Two hours later I received an email and this photo saying “Rocks are in the truck. Where and when would you like them delivered?”


Friday:
Lou and a co-worker James met me at the jobsite.  These “Rock Angels” had the stones Rolled off the truck and carried aside within a few minutes.  Again my tears were streaming.  This time in gratitude!

Rock Angels Delivering

I thought that was where this story would end.  I was happy and grateful.  But there is more .....











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Saturday:
Miguel was the first worker to arrive on site, I was so very excited to show him the rocks.  I explained how two of the rocks would go here… and another two were to go here … and another one here ….  (And those locations were also shown on the design plan). 

Pippy with Pea Gravel
Then I went to fetch a load of pea gravel for the stream.  When I returned the rocks had been moved – but NOT where I had intended.  They had been used as part of the stream!!!  NO!!  I was very “frustrated”.  (A polite form of the adjective).

I could not move the rocks by myself, and I could not ask Miguel to take them back out.  I was at wit’s end.  In addition, Miguel said he needed an 8th load of medium stones for the stream!  Grrrr…  Doc and I headed out for rocks to a site near our home and said we would return in 2-3 hours with a load of washed rocks.

Doc and I usually take a certain route, but Doc asked if perhaps today we should take an alternate route.  We drove past an excavation site which I had been watching for a few weeks.  Today (a Saturday) there were four pieces of heavy equipment operating!  And rocks of every size all over the place!  Doc and I were able to fill my truck in just a few minutes and these rocks did not need any washing.  I expected Load #8 to take us three hours to obtain.  We were done in 30 minutes!  This was almost too good to BELIEVE! 

A guy in a pickup truck stopped to see Doc and I as we were loading rocks. Uhh Ohh… Angels please help out here.  The guy was super friendly and said we could have as many rocks as we wanted and the gates would be open until 5 p.m.!

Boulder Rollin'
I asked the guy about getting some “feature boulders” (big ones). He said to take what I wanted.  Now how the heck could I lift 200-250 lb. rocks?  I drove back to the Garden Project and managed to get Miguel, Angel and Doc to come with me to the excavation site.  I still did not know exactly how we would lift the heavy boulders into Pippy. 

Can you believe this?  There was a berm with dozens of boulders the size we needed!  I backed up my truck, then Miguel and Angel essentially ROLLED the boulders right into Pippy’s bed!  Talk about a miracle.  We did not have to lift the boulders! 


Poor Pippy.  She is such a trooper.  She was scratched and tired, but she graciously hauled the heavy load back to the jobsite.  It was 100 degree at the time, but she kept her cool.


Conclusion:

The Angels arranged for incredible boulders from not just ONE source, but from TWO!  It was if they were saying, “You think the first ‘miracle’ was mind boggling?  Here’s Another One.  NOW do you BELIEVE?  Just ‘ask and ye shall receive!’”