A Half Inch Matters

 Over the past few months our dear friends of 50 years have been downsizing their three bedroom home in order to move into a much smaller retirement cottage.  Meals and housekeeping services are provided in the new residence.  Needless to say almost everything from furniture to cookware needed to be “repurposed”.

 

Doc and I both REALLY liked a well-made wood Media Cabinet.  It held over 1,000 CDs which were part of Donald’s prized music collection.  (See photo).  Doc and I took measurements and tried to fit it in all sorts of places inside our house.  There seemed to be no place where it would work.  We were so disappointed.  

The media cabinets (there were two) were put up for sale at the Estate Sale and then on line.  Eventually one of the cabinets was sold.  After a few weeks, Jeanne asked me to contact the buyer of those 1000+ CDs and DVDs to see if he wanted to purchase that second cabinet.  My heart was heavy.  I did not want to give up on that piece.  Aside from being practical and beautiful, it also held sentimental value for us.  Donald was Best Man at our wedding, so this cabinet sort of represented him and things he valued

 

As I set out for a brief walk last week I started brainstorming with the Angels/Powers that Be.  “Hi Guys.  Would you talk to me for a few minutes about that media cabinet?  I only have a few CDs, so that cabinet would look pretty empty and underused for that purpose.  WHAT ELSE could it be used for?  Books?  Not wide enough.  Office supplies?  Ugly.”

 

Then I had this “impression” of the Media Cabinet fitting under our spiral staircase with TRAVEL MUGS in it!  Several people had recently asked me about displaying the mugs Doc and I have collected from the countries we have visited.  Wow!  What a great concept!  Thanks Angels.  

 

COINcidence?  Recently Doc and I were on a long drive.  To pass the time we listed all the countries we had visited together.  Came up with about 18.  There are approximately 20 shelves in this cabinet.  A shelf for each mug!!!!

 

Doc and I measured the height under the staircase at 61 ¼ inches.  The cabinet is 62” high!!!  POOP!!!!!  ¾” too tall.  Doc said to get the unit anyhow and we would figure out something.

 

We went to obtain the unit.  The base was solid, but there were little feetsies which could be removed to gain ¼”.  But that still left A HALF INCH to deal with.  The entire way home I was “discussing things” with Source/God/the Angels or any other Divine beings which cared to get involved.  I was challenging them: “YOU showed me the vision of this cabinet under the spiral staircase.  Why would you do that if it was not going to fit?  So are you going to raise my spiral staircase by ½”?  Are you going to shrink the wood cabinet?  I don’t have any answers, so this is now YOUR problem.  YOU figure it out!”

When we arrived home Doc suggested we put the cabinet close to where we wanted it to be positioned.  Then we could determine some strategies.  We put it up against the wall and slid it toward the staircase.  IT FIT!!!!!!  No way!  How could this be?  It turns out that Doc and I had measured the clearance at the center pole of the spiral staircase.  The stair treads actually taper ever so slightly on each step.  Can you believe it?  The Universe/God/Source essentially raised the staircase!!!!!

 

Once again the Penny Palace experienced an example of the seemingly Impossible Becoming Possible.

 

Pocket Cash

Recently my friend M.V. was at our house.  She asked what had been happening since I last saw her. 

I was running late and did not have time to chat.   The ‘Nudging’ said to tell M.V. about the Ice Cream Social.  (See story from Friday, November 13th).   I argued back, “I am in a hurry”.  It didn’t matter to The Nudging.  “Take Time and share the story”.  So I told M.V. about the activities at the Ice Cream Social.  She seemed very interested in the Giving Game.

Summary:  A family with six children came over for ice cream and an evening of Thankfulness.  Each child was given $50 to play the Giving Game.  First step: at least $5 (10%) of their “earnings” had to be given to help others.   (Charity/Tithing)  They were able to choose from photos off a Poster Board ($25 for chickens, $16 for soccer balls $21 for a bed bug net, etc.)  They each chose gifts for international children.

 

I walked away to take a quick shower.  By now I was running REALLY late.  Before I could leave the room, M.V. insisted I come back and talk to her.  Uhhh, “No. I am already late!”  She insisted again.  She did not request that I talk to her, she demanded it!

 

M.V. explained to me…  I found some dollars in my apron pocket and have been asking God what I am supposed to do with it.  I have been instructed to give it to those children you just told me about.  Also, please take my wages from today and give that to them as well.

 

Keep in mind that M.V. is NOT well-to-do.  She cleans houses.  She has lost many of her clients this year due to COVID restrictions and does not have “excess”.  I told her SHE needed those dollars to pay her bills.  She argued that she was “instructed” to give these dollars as a gift to some children.

I went off and took my shower.  While the water was running, I was asking for guidance as to HOW best to forward her gift.  Should I mail a check to the family or what?  The answer was to “take it to the kids – and DOUBLE what they lovingly gave in the Giving Game.  Show them how when they are generous, it will come back to them.”

 

I got out of the shower excited to ask M.V. what she thought about the “Double Back” idea.  She said while I was in the shower, she heard the word “DOUBLE” in her mind.  COINcidence?? 

 

M.V. asked how many kids were in the family.  I told her 4 boys and 2 girls.  Her eyes widened as she said, “THAT is how many kids were in my family!  We did not have much at Christmas time when we came to the U.S.  How great that I can give these kids something for THEIR Christmas.”     COINcidence or what?

 

What a Great Lesson for the kids (and for the rest of us as well).  Give and Ye Shall Receive.

 

Right now the whole family is in a 14 day COVID quarantine.  (A co-worker of the mom tested positive, so they are being cautious).  I can’t wait to see them all again, share this story, and give them their “Return on Investment”.  

Ice Cream Social

 Tonight was fantastic!

Activities such as these were the intent/objective when building the Penny Palace.

 

Six kids (ranging from 4-17)  were here along with mom and dad.  A few hours of fun, joy, learning.  Topics included: Charity, Being Thankful, Investing, Ice Cream, Elves, Solar Cars, Aussie Flora and Fauna, Math, and so much more!

 

Before leaving, the kids were each asked what they liked most or what they learned this evening.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Each of them had been given $50 cash, yet none of them mentioned the money as one of their top 3 things!!!!  That, in itself was eye opening for everyone at the table -- money is not really what is important.  Important was giving, being grateful, etc.

 

I am still high on the "Good Vibrations".  This was one more event adding JOY value to the Penny Palace.

Chicken Soup

This evening I attended an Energy and Breath session at the nearby Salt Oasis.  During the session while in deep relaxation, my thoughts wandered to Chicken Soup?!?!?!  The thought kept coming back: “Wouldn’t some chicken soup be good tonight?”

Yesterday a neighbor had mentioned how tasty the chicken soup was at a local café, so I considered trying it.  After class I looked at my watch and realized it was after 9 p.m. so the café would be closed.  Rats!

I drove home figuring perhaps I would open a can of soup.  I walked through the door and the first thing Doc said to me was:  “Are you hungry?  Son Stevie will be here any minute with some homemade chicken soup!”  No way!  Seriously?

Stevie appeared within minutes.  He said his wife had made chicken soup earlier this evening.  Steve began putting the soup away, but was “nudged” instead to call Doc and I to see if we wanted it!

Would you call that Manifesting?  Coincidence?  Answer to Prayer?  Or just very loud thinking?

Tax Time

Many people seem to dread tax time.  Sure, it’s a lot of work, but it’s also a chance to Count Our Blessings!  When you sort your receipts and bills, do you think “there’s the bill for when the sink line was clogged” or do you think “how great it was the serviceman responded so quickly and we were only inconvenienced for a little while?”  When you see a charge for a special meal, does it bring you smiles to reflect back?

There is a new display at the Penny Palace mailbox.  The theme is : Counting Your Blessings.

For a year I have been wanting to create this mailbox display, just could not figure out how to do it.  I asked at least a dozen people for ideas and for their help.  They pretty much wished me good luck with MY project.

So finally last week I told (I was too frustrated to politely request help) the Angels I needed some divine help and it was time for them to take over.

I was walking toward the grocery store, but “nudged” to detour into a UPS store.  The owner, Lori, asked if there was something she could do for me?  I shared with her what I was trying to create and she agreed to help with the printout portion of it!  She was super nice.  Kim at the sign shop helped with the fine tuning of my 5421 Tax Form Banner when I couldn’t make it look right.

Doc and I went to Home Depot to obtain wind weights for the banners.  Had originally thought of PVC pipe filled with sand and capped.  Then decided lengths of galvanized pipes would be simpler.  I asked the sales attendant the price of the pipe pieces.  It would be around $20 for those weights.  Ugggg… This already has been the most expensive display I’ve assembled.  I was standing in front of the pipes and asking the Angels what to do.   There was a closed 5 gallon bucket being used as a trash can.  Doc opened the bucket to toss his Starbucks coffee cup.  Guess what was inside?  Yup, you guessed it – four pieces of galvanized pipe in lengths I could use!  I explained to the sales guy that I was doing a Neighborhood Joy project and asked him if I might have that “trash”?  It was “trash” in the store, but “treasure” when I got home with it!

The mailbox display must resist nightly sprinklers, winds up to 80 mph, and rain.  Thus, it is fairly heavy.  Since Doc is still in no condition to do much lifting, sons Brian and Steve erected the contraption.  Note the First Blessing on the Banner – FAMILY.

Take a look at this Tax Form 5421.
See how many Itemized Blessings YOU can claim.