Night Owl Cards

  I was supposed to be watching the Bills playoff game today, which would probably mean no posting here. The game was moved to Monday -- during a time when I'm working, thanks a lot -- so now all I have to do is stare at the snow (we've haven't gotten as much as Buffalo but apparently it's coming tonight). There are NFC games today, but I don't have much interest in that conference. Sounds like I've got some time to post! I was happy to see the snow though because that means it's cold enough that we don't have to deal with the weird weather that led to the power outages last week. But on No Power Wednesday the mail did arrive and it included a package from Torren' Up Cards . Zippy Zappy's downsizing! It was just the thing to divert my attention from the no heat/no light.     Kenny doesn't send your typical card stuff so I had cards of the Dodgers' two most recent big-name Japanese pitching acquisitions to warm things up! He has the honor ...

  One of the best aspects of the hobby, something that keeps me coming to it again and again, is that it provides the best physical example, on almost a daily basis, that I'm making progress in SOMETHING in this life.   Success is all over my hobby, and I can't say the same thing for any other topic presently.   Whenever I add a card, when someone sends me a card, especially when that card is related to one of my main collecting missions, there is progress to behold. I stand up straight, put my hands on my hips, smile broadly at the brand-new card and chuckle smugly to myself.   OK, I don't do any of that. But I feel like doing that. SUCCESS! PROGRESS! I am doing things!!!   Bob from the best bubble has been sending me envelopes willy nilly lately. He is including cards that cover a wide cross-section of my card interests. I showed off the 1970 Topps Bills quarterback card a few posts ago . Some other cards helped me make a big leap forward in other card quests...

  I have been pursuing a collecting milestone in the most lazy way possible, and in perfect lazy fashion, I let someone else get me to that milestone. I mentioned a couple of months ago that I had come within one card of having signed cards for 200 different Dodgers players. Bob of the best bubble helped me to the doorstep of that achievement by getting me to 199. Well, Bob's at it again. In a recent envelope, he sent three cards signed by Dodgers. One of them was the Charlie Hough '79 Topps card. I have a couple of Hough-signed cards already, but getting one signed on a '70s cards makes me think of how glorious it would be to have every '70s Dodgers card signed, not that this will happen ever. But the other two signed cards were from players that I did not have in signed form in my collection until I opened the envelope. That means ...   🎉🎈🎇200!!! 💙💙💙   That is some kind of feat for someone who never actively seeks an autograph. Not only do I not stand in line ...

  I received a Paul Lo Duca autograph of the unlicensed variety from Too Many Verlanders just the other day. I really appreciated Dennis reaching out to me because right away I thought "I somehow don't have a Lo Duca Dodgers autograph in my collection." I've been thinking about how close I am to 200 different Dodgers in autograph card form for a little bit now and Lo Duca would get me one Dodger closer! So when I received the card, I went right to the trusty Dodgers autographs binder and counted up what I had just to be sure ... and that's when I came across another Lo Duca auto. Damn, that's right. The mini Lo Duca auto! Mini Lo Duca has a page all to himself so I missed it the first time. So even with the Prizm Lo Duca I am still at 190 different Dodgers for whom I have autos. I thought this might be a good opportunity to look at which notable Dodgers have avoided getting into my autograph collection. I don't really seek out autograph cards, except fo...

  It's the ol' birthday again, which is why I was pleased to pull the Shoeless Joe Jackson card in my box of Diamond Kings the other day as he's probably the most notable sports person born on my birthday. I've done all that "born the same day as me" stuff already in past posts and I've done a lot of "how the Dodgers did on my birthday" stuff, too. I don't have a lot of creativity left for this day -- maybe I'll think of something for 365 days from now. But I do have some cards to show that I like. I'm calling it a birthday gift and since they're from Rod of Padrographs , it's possible they actually are. He's a good guy and he's sent stuff my way for my birthday before. You all remember that birthday card signed by Ron Cey, right ? There were more signatures in this package, a whole bunch of them, in fact. Just about all of them were Dodgers, because I'm not collecting scribbles from some inferior team. He sent som...

  My card room, which debuted about a year-and-a-half ago, is already chock full of stuff. There isn't a lot of room -- on the floor, on the walls -- for much more. If I wanted to go all out and cover every inch of space with a photo or decoration, I could do it, but I'm trying to keep it looking pleasant, so we don't have to close the door when people come over. I've been looking at the framed card wall-hangings that I have. I like them a lot and I want to add even more, but there's probably only room for one or two. Those wall-hangings showcase the original 1975 Topps cards that I collected that year and saved all these years. I have two next to my card desk. And there's one, way up high over one of my binder shelves (and hung crookedly now that I look at it). I have just a few more original '75s that I'd like to display in another one. But for the other wall-hanging, I'd like it to be something different, but also special, and commemorating someth...