"DRAWERS" IN THE ROAD : 02 19 2022

 

     

     This was a Saturday run and more often than not I will run this route. I think it may be a mile or so longer so there's more opportunities for 'stuff' to find me.  Today had some things I took, and some things I didn't took.  Like the pair of pink lacy lady's "drawers" in the road at the curb at the begin of my run.  And it's funny but about a half mile down the road, across the street, just off the curb were a pair of men's "drawers". I'm not even going to ask what these two were up to!

     I found a perfect little cherry tomato today, and in the road.  I couldn't have been there for very long or it would have been a very flat cherry tomato.  Oddly enough about a mile up the road there was another little tomato. guess these two little guys were making an escape and this was as far as they could hitch a ride.

    There was quite the assortment today, there was a pretty good work glove which I think matches another one I found, a magnetic hide-a-key which we can add to our "automotive line", lots of nuts in the road (picked up by.....), and a pen from the American Airlines Credit Union taken by I'm sure some pen robbing scofflaw.  Lots of pennies, a quarter and a nickel, but once again we were missing that elusive dime.  I even found a socket and a lug nut so I would have hit for the extended cycle, but no dime-ola.  I found another Allen wrench (what's that--65?) and a padlock, but again on the lock, with no key in sight, this picture will be the last anyone will see of it.

     I did find at the end of the run, thank goodness I didn't have to carry them too far, something to add to our women's line of fine foot ware. I found a pair of Under Armor running shoes!  Womens size 6 1/2, these are not going to last long ladies!  Call now, and as always, operators are standing sitting by.

OBVIOUSLY : 02 28 2022

      I didn't do a picture and blog yesterday as it was Cowtown Marathon Sunday and I run the half marathon every year. I remember thinking at some point during the race that the only thing I would stop for was paper money. (Ha!)  That was before all I could think about was sucking in air and just finishing the race. Which I did. I was about 10 min off my target but considering that last Thanksgiving I wasn't sure I'd be able to do any racing at all since the IT Band tendons were being a pain in the 'tookus' (quite literally), I'm thankful for the wherewithal to get through the half----there's my shiny penny right there!  And my time was still faster than I ran 10 years ago so that's another plus---thank you Peak Performance Pack!!

     Today was a late start, I work two different consultant jobs and for one, I had cell sites to inspect early in the morning.  With errands to do on the way back I didn't get to run until after 3p. I expected there would be lots of traffic to deal with, hence less opportunities to discover 'treasures' in the road. Nope, I even hit for the cycle (all 4 coins)!  Stuff where you least expect it, in the road of course, but also places where I haven't found much of anything. And I needed a quarter to round things out and whatdaya know, it was in the road, about as OBVIOUS as it could be, as if Somebody was making sure I didn't miss it. Well, I'll take all the help I can get! And thank you for that symbol............

     Lots of nuts in the road (picked up by----you probably know by now what always follows) and with the blog name I'm almost obliged to pick them up (ha). Found another nut driver drill attachment, no doubt I have several sets of those now.  

.    I did have some odd things find me while checking on cell sites this morning. I found a 16x16 Harley Davidson rubber mat along with more nuts and bolts and washers (oh my!). I didn't add those to the picture, but I might have done a second picture if some change had found me. Gotta draw the line somewhere. 

PINK RACING BIPPY 02 22 2022

      True to form, most of what I found was unexpected.  Like the Racqua-barefoot-hiking-diving-walking shoe.  Very very light weight, and they go for around $80 on Ebay so I figure this one's worth $40?  And another bungee cord, not very long but if I hook it up together with the other lebenty-nine of these cords I've found, I figure you could pretty much bungee anything.  Just sayin.  And, Jacquelynn, do not be leaving your name badge on the curb anymore!  I'm not going to continue to follow behind you picking up after you.  Kapeesh? 

     That white two ended hooky thing looked like something you could hang something from in the garage, or maybe hang a plant outside and drop it down from the soffit a foot or so (most plants kinda sorta like being able to catch a little sun).  Lots of nuts in the road, which kind of goes without saying, but one of the three lug nuts had gotten torqued, there was a chunk of it missing.  I'm thinking that one didn't come off without a fight.

     Didn't hit for the cycle, once again it was the quarter being elusive instead of a nickel, but for every penny that showed up (instead of a quarter) you still have to be thankful.  And after all, I do have a good use for all the shiny pennies, everybody that gets a card or letter gets one of them attached.  That way you get to share that little blessing.

     I had a PT session for those cranky IT band tendons first thing in the morning and would have had time to run before the dentist appointment 90 minutes later, but would not have had time to shower afterward.  I decided not to share all that "stinkatude" (and you have to say that with an Austrian accent) with Dr Baker and staff, so I ran after my appointment.  It was an area I'd driven by zillions of times, but you get a completely different viewpoint at the curbline. I was running along a 4' concrete median at an intersection where there's three lanes in all 4 directions.  I had scanned the intersection (nothing interesting there) and was running along the median and something registered, one of those "did I just see that?" moments.  I went back and there at the curbline, was a Pink Racing Bippy!  I don't even want to know how or why a very short person could have lost it there.  But I am pleased to announce that I'll be introducing a new children's line at the 'Road Store', we will now offer the stylish Pink Racing Bippy.  Pre orders are welcome.

MONOGRAMED HARDWARE 02 25 2022

 

Blog 02 25 2022

     Once again today lived up to the blog's name, there was a lot of, 'one more nut in the road being picked up by one more nut in the road.'  It was cold for Texas but with 7 layers on top and 3 on the bottom, it wasn't even whine-worthy.  I have to admit though that some days it just seems to take forever to get dressed and then to peel it all off after.  

     I picked up the slug today, and I have been fooled more than once by them, you run past and then it registers "something round, large, and shiny!", only, on closer inspection, well yeah, it's a slug.  Which is how I felt on Thursday's run.  Some days you go out there and get at it, and some days it just doesn't feel as easy.  Anyway, so that's the reason for picking that one up, it's a reminder that you don't always feeling like doing it, but you do it anyway.  The first shiny penny found me in a gas station driveway.  I had run through the station and remember saying, out loud even, "well , I guess there's nothing in the drivew....", and there at my feet is the penny.  And again (again) "thank you Creator of all things for this symbol of your infinite abundance." And of course, the next question is, "how does He do that?" Always makes me laugh.  

     Not sure why I picked up the lock, just for the picture I guess since I didn't see a key close by (and sometimes there is one).  The hooky thing I thought should be good for something, I'm always looking for hooks to hang something from (maybe some red bungie cords?) and also found some assorted pig iron.  I missed the quarter to hit for the cycle, and usually quarters are easy, it's the nickels that are more elusive, so go figure.  And last, but not by any means the least, we have a monogramed washer. If your initials are AAA, this is your kinda hardware.  Yeahuh!   I might just have to add it to the "Running Store" list of branded apparel and accessories. 

UNBREAKABLE! 02 18 2022

 

     In my garage, the drawer in the rolling tool cabinet with all the pliers, wrenches, and vice grips is getting hard to close these days and I just added to the problem as I found another pair of diagonal pliers, minus a plastic hand grip.  I also found reading glasses that were in good shape, and since they are so stylish, I will probably have to add them to the "Roadworthy" women's line of eyeware.  The tennis ball probably makes 6 or 8 found now, and they are really good for working on a sore muscle or tendon.  The 90 degree/right angle socket adapter is pretty handy and I'll be adding that to the main socket box. But get this----I found an electrical outlet cover.  But not just any outlet cover.  No.... it's UNBREAKABLE!  It says so right on the wrapper, so it has to be true, right?  And of course, somebody lost 3 lug nuts, let's hope they're from three different tires instead of the same one--for all our sakes. The USB cord has a little rust to remove, but since I've got so many found ones now, I may just have to give it a decent burial.  And of course--Thank you Creator of All for all the shiny pennies!

FLYING WEDGE 02 24 2022

 

     The weather report wasn't looking good for today and early this morning I went out and tried to stand in the road.  And you could stand......with great care! So, I decided to put off running and wait and see if things got better, and sure enough, although the temperature didn't get above freezing, the icy roads were melted and just wet.  I got a short run in, and I was happy to just get that (yup, that was my first shiny penny of the day).  In true "you never know what, or where, or when" form, I hit for the cycle (all four coins) early on, all the while watching for ice on the sidewalks, streets, and driveways.  Not a lot of traffic out there, which is fine with me, fewer chances of getting my 'tookus runned over' as they say.  Note the flying wedge of coinage, kind of amazes me to stumble across that much on an iffey day weather wise. Fortunately everybody's car managed to keep all their lug nuts and none of the armchair mechanics lost any sockets or tools in the road.  But tomorrow.....you just never know!

U S Mint, You're Killin Me Here!! 2/17/22

 

     It wasn't too bad out at 6am, mid 50s with some wind, but I was glad I didn't wait to run. I'm pretty sure we'd already hit the day's high temp.(wah!)

     I pretty much was finding change every few minutes today, and even hit for the cycle. Still....nickels seem to be harder to 'run' across. If I can be logical, let's say somebody was out and had gotten change somewhere, the max # of quarters you would get is 3, dimes and pennies is 4, but nickels is only 1, because of course, instead of two nickels you would get a dime.  That said, in my humble estimation nickels are harder to find. Now I'm going to have to look and see the number of nickels minted vs the number of pennies or dimes. 

     Which I just did.  News must travel much slower where I am. I just saw, "The U.S. Mint announced in early April that it will stop producing pennies beginning in 2022 and will make its last batch on April 1, 2023."  Hey....what about me????  Where on God’s green earth am I supposed to find my daily shiny penny now, that symbol of the creator's infinite abundance????? Let's forget for a moment, that it costs twice what they're worth to make them. Sheesh!  At least they're still making nickels.

     Moving on, the key I found what looked like a small padlock key, but it didn't unlock anything I had, and I don’t think it was unusual enough to keep.  The air compressor fitting might be good for something I guess, except I sold my compressor at a garage sale several years ago (I never used it…). but who knows, maybe I'll find one of them in the road!

Not Just "Pennies From Heaven" 2/23/22

 

     It was a colder morning, no snow yet, but with it spritzing out, I kind of expected it would.  Hit for the cycle (penny/nickel/dime/quarter) but also found a wet dollar bill, just about a foot from going in the storm drain.  It seems to me that the times I’ve found paper money on the ground is, more often than not, when it’s raining or wet out.  And it makes sense I guess, usually wet money is harder to blow in the wind.  So, unlike the song, it’s not just “Pennies From Heaven.”

     I found a perfectly good ski cap, with a Dickies label- the clothing one not the rib place.  I found a couple of shiny lug nuts as I passed one of the tire places.  I’m really hoping they were extras and not ones they missed! And, there was a CD as well from an obscure group.  The CD was frozen to the grass at the curb, and the ski hat was in a flower bed next to a driveway but it was soaked and it had frozen in a weird shape and it was like a board carrying it back.  I see micro-fiber cleaning cloths quite often too and I saw one along the way, but it was also frozen and was pretty much a 12x20 inch board and I decided to wait until another run when it had thawed out.   It was mid to low 20s out and maybe 12 with the wind chill, but I’ve learned my lesson.  No whining about the cold!!  Right now it feels like -28 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Counting my blessings (and just being able to run in the cold, by itself is a blessing (or a shiny penny!)

TEAM MINION 2/16/22

 

          How could anyone truthfully say that on their walk or run they were going to find a Minion sock??  It appears we have something else for the Road D'art store, the latest in Team Minion socks.  Go figure.  It was a warm morning today, and when I ran it was in the mid 60, a nice change of pace (pun intended).  I almost always have my drink bottles with me, having Sustain Sport and Amino Blast make a big difference when it starts warming up out there.  And when it starts getting hot out, I'll take an extra bottle of Sustain with me, the extra electrolytes are definitely a boost, and I'm not as apt to cramp up later.

     We hit for the extended cycle today-- woo and hoo!!  All four coins and sockets and lug nuts!  The nickels have been hard to find of late and it wasn't until about mile 5 or 6 that it finally showed up, on a median between 6 lanes of traffic near the RR crossing I got to "direct traffic" at a few days ago.  Truly, I never know where or when.  There was a shiny key I nabbed, which my brother would call racooning, but it was just for the picture.  I also found an S-hook which probably went to the red bungie cord I found on Monday.  As you can see, I found another 'tie-down strap with a hooky thing on the end', and I did debate whether to take it or not, but the next garage sale just got another item.  

OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY 2/14/22

 

       I ran the route that goes past the post office on Mon the 14th as I needed to drop off the passport I found Sunday, and again I could not have predicted what would be at the curb. Which we'll get into. But while running, in the "genius time" I've already talked about, I got to thinking about this whole collection of running 'stuff'. My honey and I were talking about NFTs (nonfungible tokens) Sunday morning and how there are people that spend STUPID amounts of money on digital art. Most of it, at least to us, is laughable, but the idea is fascinating.  So, I'm thinking I might want to jump into --- drum roll---Road Art. You know, the only place where you can get quality pieces like -- Lug Nut Earrings, or a Hub Cap Corsage. And since the daily finds are unique, how about putting the whole kit-and-kaboodle in a shadow box and selling it as D'art! We might not have to wait until April of the year 6513 to be Jillionaires (see Feb 11 post), it could happen in half that time! Hmmmm....we may have to revisit this.

     Ok then, today... we have a few more items to add to the Road Art Store, we have a vintage VHS (yes folks VHS) copy of that timeless classic, "Death Becomes Her", and the always favorite, Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry ski cap.  And I'm sure these won't last long, we have not one but TWO Dallas Cowboys squishy footballs - one for a lad and one for a dad.  Goes pretty good with how the Cowboys........... nah, not going to go there.  

     Of course, there's almost always some shiny change to be found, and there was, but today there was a red bungie cord?  I've found all sizes of those but always in black.  So folks, if you have a red bungie and need a cord for it, step right up and call now, operators are standing by (actually, they're probably all sitting by)

HOLYOKE MASSACHUSETTS BATMAN! 02 15 2022

 

     Yup, it's a license plate and yes, I've passed a lot of them in the road, and yes I know I have one in the collection of odd stuff in the garage, but I grabbed this one anyway.  Maybe just for the picture, who knows.   Now there is a REALLY important tag above the Lic plate, and I'm REALLY glad I didn't miss this. " NOTICE---Tighten LV Bushing back up nut against LV spade to ensure good connection!"  Holyoke Massachusetts Batman I could have been driving around all this time with loose LV bushings!! (now I just have to figure out what an LV bushing is...I'm thinking maybe I went to school with an L.V. Bushing? Yeah, I think I dated his sister R.V.  she was big into camping).

     Ok, moving on, I also snagged a AAA battery and those I pass a ton of in the road, AA too. Again, that's just for the picture, just representative of what's out there.  From the auto parts section we have a rather huge lug nut and also a radiator cap.  The radiator caps I usually see when it gets cold out and folks are checking/adding antifreeze in the radiator and inevitably someone forgets to put the cap back on.  There's a couple of small rubber balls, a soccer ball and I'm not sure about the orange one, and also a skull key, which probably goes to the lock where somebody keeps all their super, secret, ninja, spy stuff.  And since it's broken in half whatever stuff it's guarding is going to be safe for a long time.  

     Lastly, there's a little doll head, all by its lonesome.  Didn't see a body anywhere close.  Poor little doll, it was probably just trying to get ahead, and now it just needs a head. Well, we have it.  

PASSPORTS & KENNEDY HALVES 02 13 2022

 

     I realize that i'm incredibly blessed, both by having the wherewithal (thank you Creator!!!) to get out there and run every day, but also but all the crazy, funny, sometimes stupid, laughable stuff that somehow finds me every day! (thank you again!) 

     I think I might have been getting a little cockey, feeling like I'd pretty much seen it all. I mean, I've found driver's licenses, birth cert, Covid Vax cards, military IDs, SS cards even. Well, now I've found a passport. Go figure?! (again, again, again.....). No address to look up on these but I can return it to any post office, so I guess I'll run the route today that goes past the post office.

     Lots of different stuff this time (like that's new?). A power bank (phone charger), a visor that I think came from a Jamba Juice I had just passed, and another little-person sparkley shoe (guess the shoe was faster than the person). Chain chain cha-ain..... remember the song? Well I found a big ol piece of chain chain cha-ain out there, right before I found a pretty decent glove. So I grabbed the glove to put the chain chain cha-ain in (it was a '6-7 layer cold' kinda morning and the cold steel wasn't keeping my hands very warm!)

     I found a couple of more lug nuts, I really hope we don't need these two for the Lug Nut Awards, there's way too many knuckleheads recipients as it is. The cord above the passport is a 6 or 8 foot audio cord, which I think is the lebenty-nineth one I've "run" across.

     I found a larger than normal amount of change today, 7 quarters, 9 dimes, 4 nickels, 33 1/2 pennies (I do find all kinds of pieces of pennies), one 1964 Canadian penny, AND......I don't even see these in change any more....a Kennedy half dollar!!! At the same intersection that I found a $20 bill at about 6 months ago! I hadn't run this (Sunday) route regularly since last October, but I believe I'm going to start adding it in!!

AND A GIFT FROM BIG CHUCK

 

     This was from the Sunday run April 11, 2021 and as you can see it was a pretty good morning's run.  13 quarters, 15 dimes, 2 nickels, and 42 pennies.  I do believe that's hitting for the cycle, a couple of times.  It was the week after Easter so the plastic egg makes sense, There's a pretty good open end wrench--and it came with the appropriate safety equipment, work gloves and safety glasses.  Oh yeah, I always use that stuff when I break out the wrenches (maybe a hard hat too).  But found in the road?  Ya just gotta laugh.  

     The Chuck E Cheese sippy cup was in the driveway as I passed Big Chuck's, I like the ears on the cup.  Really gives you something to grab on to.  I can quite often, on the longer runs find a pen, and there were two today.  The black thing next to the safety glasses is a brush for your dog, it's pretty stout to get the mats out I guess.  Next, there was a plastic MAYHEM thingy, and I don't remember at this point what that went to.  I guess if you really want to wreak MAYHEM, you'll have a calling card to leave.  

     And.......one of my favorites......I found another rubber duckie!!  This little guy must be very very brave because he has a target on his chest.  I'm not sure at this point what number he was, maybe 7 or 8.  I'm thinking I need to start some kind of master list with coins, and sockets, lug nuts, duckies, tools, etc.  I've forgotten some of this stuff so it's a good thing I take a picture every day.  

Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On : 02 11 2022

 

     Must be a lot of cars "shakin all over" because there were plenty of nuts, bolts, and washers everywhere.  And that's ignoring pretty much all the old rusty bent stuff.   I found another 2nd chance lotto drawing scratch-off, of course we're Gonna Take Tinseltown By Storm don't you know with another 20 chances in that drawing.  Funny, I found another one of those 2nd chance ones today, the one for a Vegas trip and it went into the pocket, but when I got back to the house it had escaped!  Just as well, my honey is not a fan of Vegas.  

     It was such a gorgeous day out this morning!  I figure that's a shiny penny right there, to go with the six others I found today.  My nickel finally showed up today but, no dime, so no hitting for the cycle.  That's a whole 61 cents today--woo and hoo!  At that rate, by the year 6513, at some point in April, I'll have hit a million dollars.  Just in case I need to float anybody a loan.  Better sign up now, I'm sure there'll be a line.  

MADE IN THE USA

 

     This picture actually goes with yesterday's post for Feb 10 (which was stuff from the 9th).  I know I've already mentioned that stuff pretty much finds me everywhere now, and this picture was from after the morning run.  I had to drive over to Carrollton to do some contract engineering, around the same spot where that penny found me in the dark back on the 1st. So, I was inspecting utility poles and walking the curb line and of course a shiny dime appears, along with a wrench, golf ball, socket, and a little ladybug doober (what's a doober? It's just a little thingamabobby).  And I found a little American flag on the ground, and I really hate to see our flag on the ground.  It's just not supposed to be there.  But the good news is, the US flag was not made in China, it's marked "Made In The USA" thankfully.  Maybe I'm just crazy but it seems crazy to me for us to be buying US flags somewhere besides the U S of A.  One last thing to mention, there was that small key at the bottom, not sure what that might go to, but it was unusual enough that I had to grab it, at least for the picture.

RAPID MAC COOKER

      I was short on time this morning, so it was a shorter run by probably a mile, but it was still interesting.  First off, there was the one, the only, AS SEEN ON TV, Rapid Mac Cooker!!! That's right, it's here, in the original packaging, ready to cook the perfect not just MAC, but CHEESE as well.  No waiting 20 minutes like on the stove....no siree, 5 minutes and Bang! You're eating M&C right now.  You just have to remember to add water because if you don't "failure to add water may result in product melting or becoming flammable. Words to live by right there, I know I hate it when my M&C catches fire.  Just sayin.

     This morning I saw the train "a comin, it's rolling round the bend, and I ain't see the sunshine....", sorry, I must have been channeling Johhny Cash.  So, I saw the train lights coming as I crossed the tracks and I timed it pretty well.  I stopped near the intersection and tracks to have a little Sustain sports drink and mill about for just a sec before going out in the road to stop the cars that were already stopped at the crossing, and wave the train through, that was going through anyway.  And then directed the cars to proceed when the crossing arms went back up.  And I don't think anybody got it, don't think I saw one smile.  But the engineer did give me a train whistle! And I did get a nice hello from the school crossing guard just down the street, another case of smiles multiplying.  

     And I think I found the last symbol of the Christmas season, I found the last jingle bell out in the road this morning.  The reindeer antlers have pretty much all been shed from area cars and I don't suppose they'll regrow them til late this fall.  

     I almost forgot, there was also a shelf organizer? You could put it in a cupboard or on any shelf I suppose and have room for stuff above and below.  I have since put it in by the office window where I have a bunch of plants all competing for light in the window.  Nice when something you find can be put to use, and surprisingly, I have found uses for quite a few things.

THANK YOU SANTA 12 26 2021

      This was the picture for the run the day after Christmas.  As you can see it looks like Santa left me a few surprises in the road.  We hit for the extended cycle, yea!  Lots of change, and some of the pennies had 'bites' out of them There were channel lock pliers, and I think there's a car wash token, scissors, another pen, and a little plastic dog (?) I think.  There's a USB cord and there are usually a lot of those scattered everywhere seeing as everyone's gadget need to get charged.  The ones in the road are usually too chewed up to work, but this one was ok.

     Now as for the sparkly red shoe, you don't see those every day.  I suspect it's a doll shoe, but I do find little person shoes and socks too for that matter.  There were a couple of small sockets out there which have been kinda handy of late.  I had to make a small repair on the car this weekend and instead of hauling the big toolbox out, I just reached for the "road" sockets tub and what I needed was right there at hand.  And you gotta know, those 40 seconds I saved, added to a few others I've no doubt saved, make for a good 7 min nap.  Just sayin!

Selections From the "Rundover Collection" 02 08 2022

 

     Ok, the shoes I found yesterday, and I forgot about them.  I came in from my run yesterday by going through the garage and had set them on the roof of the car (didn't somebody just talk about that????) because I had gotten distracted by something. And there they stayed, wedged in the roof rack until today when I drove to the Physical Therapy place, and where after working out there and putting stuff in the car and locking up to go run, surprise!!!  So, ladies, we have shoes today, a stylish selection of flats from the "Rundover" collection.  Act now, these won't last long (literally).  

     I found a gift card and usually those have a zero balance but not today, no siree!  I called up the balance and there was a penny-----HA!  My shiny penny---again!  There was also the smallest lug wrench I've ever seen, it's maybe 6" long with a flat blade end for prying a hub cap off, and could remove two different size nuts, including the lug nut I found today.  Six pennies, mostly showing up on the stripe at the curb line--talk about easy to see!  And the glove I found was in good shape but if there's only one, I usually don't pick them up, but I think I have it's mate somewhere.  Otherwise, it was kinda quiet, nothing else worth picking up, or maybe I'm just getting a little more selective, I mean are 6 washers enough, are 600 too many?  It's scary to think there's probably that many in the washer container in the garage.  Don't tell my honey, the lug nuts alone are probably enough to scare her.  

WHERE'S MY NICKEL?

 

     I was going through past running pictures this morning looking for something specific and noticed the ones from a year ago, and we were dealing with ice and snow then as well.  Funny though, the pennies were still finding me (thank you creator for all these blessings!).  Today I had a feeling that a lot of the stuff that had been there under the snow would make an appearance today and seems there was a little bit of everything out there.  If there was a need to secure something to your truck or trailer, I had the bungie solution covered and also had the nylon strap with the hooky thing on the end, and even found an extra hook.  I found a perfectly good 15mm combination wrench, and also a lock with a key.  I usually only pick up combination locks, the keyed ones without keys don't have much use.  I must have a dozen combo ones at the moment, so if it's not in really good shape I may just leave it.  Unless of course tomorrow is a very light day and then I might take it just for the picture. 😃  I do find a bunch of lighters at the curb line but since I don't smoke and I don't know anybody that does really, those need to be in pretty good shape to get picked up (and of course--to light up).  And for the 2nd day---no nickel so no hitting for the cycle.  But I'll probably find 6 tomorrow, that's how that tends to go.  

      I found another lotto scratch-off 2nd chance drawing ticket but from the way it's folded to fit in a pocket, I think it's the one that fell out of my pocket last week, so there's 20 more entries for a Vegas trip.  I hadn't found any golf balls in a while until today, but those too I have a lot of.  I have kiddingly said that with the way I'd be hitting them today, it would make more sense to just go to the golf course, throw a dozen balls into the woods right off and then go have lunch in the clubhouse.  Much much less aggravation.  Actually, I do know that, unless you're Jordan Speith, it makes a whole lot more sense to just hit the course, get some exercise, fresh air, enjoy a beautiful day, and appreciate the one decent shot you might hit per hole (or every other hole...).  I guess it's the same with fishing, you just need to appreciate being out on the lake, enjoying a pretty day, drowning a few worms.

GRUNT STYLE

 

          I don't remember it taking this long to get my 'tookus' out the door years ago.  Of course, now it takes 20-30 minutes to get my eyeballs to stay open, contacts in, sports cream on (for a tendon that has been a little cranky), dress for days like this with 5-7 layers this morning, and stretching out before the run and then finally out the door.  And back in for the aminos and Sustain. And back out and then back in for my watch.  And then back out and hopefully that's all (sheesh!)  This morning the first thing I found was a Bank of America debit MC, in (where else?) the Bank of America driveway.  I did make some phone calls courtesy of Spokeo when I got back to the house, to try to locate the owner.  I left a couple of messages, but I was just guessing and there were a lot of people with the name on the card in all the little cities around the bank where I found it.  I was going to just call the number on the back of the card, but my wife (she's so smart!) suggested I put it in the night drop at the bank, so hopefully tomorrow they'll call the owner to reunite (and they'll live happily ever after).

     There was a 'Grunt Style' ball cap by the RR tracks I passed (again no traffic to direct) and I picked it up just for the picture.  But, what in the wide wide world of sports is grunt style??  I know Grunt is a sound I've been known to make on occasion, and it's a term for a low-ranking soldier, but Grunt Style?  Those are two words you don't usually hear together. Maybe whoever was just so good at grunting that they just grunted the hat right off their head.  Also found a tennis ball (1st blue and white one though), and a plastic KIA thing-a-ma-bob thingy.  There was the usual assortment of Sunday change- quarters, pennies, and dimes but no nickels so I didn't hit for the cycle.  And of course, the nut in the road, (and it's ok to say it, I do every time I pick one of them up) picked up by a nut in the road.  It was a sunny morning and the last of the snow and ice was disappearing.  A pretty day to run, that's a shiny penny right there, another reason to be thankful! 

HOLD THE HOT SAUCE!

 

     Well it's two days after the ice and snow and the streets and sidewalks are pretty good.  The only trouble spots were shaded areas like under trees or the north side of a taller building.  And no ankle-deep puddles of icy cold water!  I am especially not happy getting my feet wet, which happens of course, it's just the getting wet part I hate.  It's kind of like wading into a lake that's relatively cold and you inch in and torture yourself.  Better to just jump in and you're done! 

     Ok, today I found some change that had been hurt in the road, a bent quarter I found at a pretty busy intersection, and the penny I somehow spotted just along the curb line.  It's funny now how I'll catch something out of the corner of my eye, and it will take a sec to register.  But I'll turn around and inevitably it'll be a penny, and in this case, it was indeed.  Found a nickel but didn't hit for the cycle today, I'm thinking my dime was still under some unmelted snow at the curb line.  Something for the next run.  Found another Wally World gift card, haven't looked yet to see if it's worth anything, and I also found a packet of "Secret Sauce."  This one was "Texas Pete's Hot Sauce" and Pete ol buddy, it's all yours, I don't do hot/spicy anything.  That gene obviously skipped my generation, my dad loved his hot sauce (he'd put it on scrambled eggs???---really dad???) and my son likes it too.  

     Found another hitch pin, I do have uses for them, and have a number that get used on a regular basis, but it's something more for the next garage sale (or more accurately--the stuff on the tables in the garage sale, I'd rather keep the garage).  Not sure what the green metal pineappley looking thing is but I'm guessing it's a schmancy tire valve cap.  All in all, it was the usual collection of stuff I couldn't have predicted would be there.  Tomorrow (Sunday) is the long run and it has been fun of late--wallets and rubber duckies and change (oh my) everywhere.  Stay tuned!!

TOLL LANE CHANGE

 

     It was another morning when it took forever to finally get out the door.  Yes, I had to eat another Access workout bar because it had been more than two hours, but for once I caught a break because it gave the sun extra time to melt some of the ice that was everywhere.  The bad thing here about running the 2nd day after a snow is that where there was snow with traction yesterday, it's melted and frozen now and is pretty slick.  Fortunately, there were a lot of places where there was snow covered grass which was pretty safe.  I found the dime first and the pennies one after the other after that.  I found the large nut in the road (now where have I heard that before?) and then not too far from the RR tracks (sadly no traffic to direct) I found a cache of small nuts, which in the picture reminds me of a mama duck with a little parade following her.  I only took a bottle of sports drink today, and no aminos, when it's that cold you don't get all that thirsty.  I do get a little pick-me-up from the Sustain which is why I took it but since it had started to freeze in the bottle yesterday, I mixed it with hot water today.  I've never had it hot before, it never occurred to me since usually the runs are warmer here and the last thing you want is something hot.  But maybe I've stumbled on to something.

     I was looking at all the containers full of coins I've got here, 12 and a half plastic luncheon meat containers at the moment and I remember when all that change used to be pretty handy.  My first car was an old, rusty, beat up Chevy wagon, which I LOVED by the way, 3 speed on the column, power tailgate window, AM-FM 8 track player (really---an 8 track player...and I had two 8 track tapes--HA).  And since I didn't smoke, I kept the ash tray full of change which in those days was handy because you had roads with toll lanes where you had stop and pitch quarters in the basket to make the toll lane arm go up. So if "pitch a quarter" toll lanes ever come back, I got it covered.  I think I got us ALL covered.  

     

PENNIES IN THE SNOW

      25 degrees with a wind chill of 7 is normal in upstate NY where I grew up.  However, in Texas, when you add snow and ice to the mix, as my mom used to say, "that makes the cheese more binding."  For the good news, there weren't very many cars on the road so I could run on the sidewalk or in the street, whichever had the best footing.  The bad news, it was too cold to rain so all that fine rainy mist coming down was ice, and with a 15-20 MPH wind it kinda felt like I was getting sandblasted.  Bright side, I should think of that as exfoliation?   I do have to admit that I really like running in inclement weather, it's kind of cool being out there in the rain, snow, wind, whatever and you're the only one out there.  And most times people will smile and wave, except for this morning when most cars had snow/ice on part of the windshield and with the conditions they were just trying to keep the car on the road and between the lines that you couldn't see under the snow.  

     I used to have expectations for the run based on the time of day, the route, and the weather, but I have learned (yeah, I know, at this advanced age even...) that YOU    JUST    NEVER    KNOW.   With snow and ice everywhere, I wondered if I'd find anything, so I 'hedged my bets' just a little by salting my pocket with a penny that found me in the dark Monday night.  I've mentioned how pennies find me everywhere now. So, Monday night I was finishing up fielding an engineering fiber placement job in Carrollton.  It was very dark.  There were street lights, there were car headlights of course, but for the most part, it was dark. So what shows up in the street, in a little depression in the road even, in the dirt?  Yup, my shiny penny.  And of course, I always have this momentary sense of awe---how does he find me like that???   Anyway, I was going to use that penny for today's picture if I didn't find anything, and as always, stuff shows up. In this case it was a quarter, a dime and 4 pennies, one of which was a wheat penny from 1942.  Once again, it just makes me laugh.  And I found my hundred and lebenty ninth bungie cord, hard to pass those up.  I mean how are you going to keep your bungie together if you don't have a supply of these guys!

DIRECTING TRAFFIC

 

     Although it was kinda brisk out this morning, tomorrow's going to be snow and ice?!  I know, I know, in Texas??  Anyway, today's treasures included 2 Christmas stockings, 2 hooks with nylon cords, 2 quarters, pennies, a little baby socket-quarter inch 7/32", and another Australian half penny replica pendant.  There was also a Lotto 2nd chance drawing scratch off, one of the ones for a trip to Vegas, but it somehow escaped from my pocket before I got back, probably making its way back to Vegas.

     I made mention briefly once before about directing traffic, and I had a chance to do just that today.  It started at some point last year, most of the routes I run end up crossing RR tracks at some point.  Which means that at some point, me and the train, we gonna meet.  I was waiting for the train to clear, waiting at the cross arms, leaning on the cross arms looking down, and there, in the white gravel between me and the train was an I-phone.  It blended in perfectly with the white stones and if I hadn't had to stop, I never would have seen it.  Go figure.  After that I decided that if had to stop, I was at least going to have a little fun doing it.  So now when I have a train that's crossing, I'll go out in the road and direct traffic.  I will hold a hand out to stop cars that are already stopped at the crossing, and I will direct a train through the intersection that was coming through anyway.  And then when it's clear I'll signal the cars to continue on, which they are about to do anyway.  It's the ludicrousness of all this that makes this fun.  Most people get the humor and I usually get a thumbs up from the cars closest to the intersection.  I've even gotten the train engineer to blow the train whistle for me a couple of times.  Ok, I get it, it doesn't take much to amuse some people.  But it just seems better to have fun with a situation than to get all steamed about something you have no control over.  And life's way too short to get all torked about the little stuff and for the most part, it's all little stuff.  

Good Karma Might Be Worth An Extra Cookie And Pudding!

     It wasn't so cold out today, it was in the 50s with a little wind, and I underdressed for a change. I ran right after the Tuesday Physical Therapy session, but I left the long sleeve top I was going to wear as well as my ear covering at the house. On days like that I just need to keep my ears warm, and I had some ear plugs that kept the wind out so yea for that.  At least I remembered my sports drink and my Amino Boost.  It was kind of an average run, almost hit for the cycle, I just missed the nickel.  Some days it's 71 coins like two Sundays ago and some days it's two quarters like yesterday.  That's the thing ..... you just never know!  

      I usually don't pick up anything that has a point, like the self-tapping screw in the picture or the roofing nail in Sunday's picture. Those generally will put a hole in your pocket.   Usually, I'll just toss the nails I see in the road somewhere else, grass, flower beds, anywhere they won't get into a car tire.  It's good karma, right?  A zillion nails in the road equates to a zillion flats I'm thinking.  All those people I've saved from getting a flat, I figure that's got to be worth an extra cookie and pudding, right?

     Something else I see a lot would be those lead weights they use to balance your tires.  They're everywhere!  Wouldn't you expect there'd be a lot of cars on the road that get to highway speeds and start to 'shake, rattle, and roll?' (maybe because they're missing a lug nut or two as well?)  I would think about hanging on to some of those lead weights, but I just can't think of a good use for them--unlike all the nuts, bolts, washers and other pig iron I have been keeping (that should get me another eye roll from my honey!) 

     I found a very new looking Walmart gift card today in the grass next to the road. Turns out it had a zero balance, but I found one recently that had 5 or 6 dollars left on it.  That's like finding a $5 bill in the road, which I have also done recently.  As you can see, I found a Sports Clips "Touchdown" card where you can get your 6th haircut for half price.  It says you get a punch for every full price haircut and I'm hoping that they just mark the card and don't actually smack you when they're done with the shearing.  And I also found probably the 6th or 8th folding knife.  Fortunately, the sharp blade they warn you about had already fallen out after being run over so many times so that's another blessing, not sticking yourself with a knife in your pocket while running.