The Scrounge and the Hound

When I was 16, I worked at a fast food restaurant where my primary responsibility was cleaning everything from the dining room to the parking lot. One fine day, I was picking up trash from right outside the drive-thru window when I looked down and saw ... money!! It was a penny or two, I'm sure, but it was money. I found it often once I realized I should look for it there. Better yet, there was a crack between the pavement and the building concrete where more money fell and no one (else) bothered retrieving. My fingers didn't fit in the crack, but I devised a way to get it out. If you don't want to know my device, please skip to the next paragraph ... I'll wait ... Okay, I got it out by chewing a piece of gum, putting it on the end of a straw (there were plenty of those right at my finger tips) and fishing the money out of the crack by sticking the gum onto it. Yup, that's what I did.

So, clearly, the finding-money thing started young. And, who knew this would all come back around and be incorporated into running? (Well, we could start with who knew I'd ever take up running ... but, that's not today's theme.) I'm not just talking about coming across the change; I'm talking about intentionally setting out and knowing where to look. A number of times in the past year, I've purposely routed myself to go through a parking lot or restaurant to find change. More often than not, that pays off. This morning was no exception. In fact, it was fabulous.

Elly and I went a whole new way this morning because I was bored of our normal route. I wasn't quite sure of the distance we'd go, but I had a general idea, and we had the time to do it. At the first half mile is a killer hill. It's one I've only walked up once or twice, and, ouch is all I really have to say about it. But, at the top, I found a penny and, soon after, a nickel. The change of scenery already paid off!

My real purpose of this route was to run through the parking lot of a fast food restaurant I knew wasn't yet open. To the drive-thru window we went, and ba-da-bing ...

... bonanza!!

Fortunately, the crack in which I found 4 of the pennies and the dime was just  big enough to get my fingers in. There was no wiggle room, but you don't need to wiggle, you just need to know how to maneuver. I'm pretty sure I heard someone above me inside the drive-thru window, but I don't think they knew I was there. I didn't really care and was more than ready to give whomover it was a bright and cheery, "Good Morning!" I will say someone suddenly talking to us might have scared the crap out of Elly, though. Anyway, between this stash and that which I found at the half mile mark, that's 20 cents for the day. Booyah!

Being a scrounge pays off, and the Food Bank stash is a little richer today! It also pays being a hound. Not only did she get a great outing, but she also received some spa treatment after to get her dirty self all cleaned up:

"I'm very dirty, Mommy. Let's get on with
the rub-a-dubbing."

While I made my withdrawals from the street bank, she made many-a-deposit. It's a give and take duo.

I do so love our pooch!

Tomorrow's a Rest Day! It might come to be known as "please drop some more money to replenish what I've picked up" day. Here's to hoping for a great crop on Wednesday, but I'll see you from Rest Day tomorrow! In the meantime, here's a peek at where Elly spent the majority of the rest of her day:

Ahhhh ...