Habits and Views.

       While I have been on my vacation dog sitting for my brother, I thought maybe a change of scenery would recharge my interest in blogging a little.  Instead I have been kind of unplugged from the world and just mostly chilling out with the dog.  If anything, it has recharged my love of cooking as they have an amazing kitchen that I have taken full advantage of.  But this is a baseball card blog, not a foodie blog, so let's see if there is some unfinished drafts I can share with you.  Before I left last week I received in the mail two packages from fellow bloggers and I scanned their contents, so we'll take a look at those. 

One is a most venerable partner, Robert from $30 a Week Habit.  I had sent him two small piles in the last month or so and to reciprocate, he actually emailed me on his way to a show saying he was going to pick some stuff up for me from my want lists.  As I have pointed out before, he is an amazingly polite individual.

The two cards that are most appreciated, as they are from that aforementioned want list, are the Bautista and the Posey as they finish off player pages that had been sitting at eight for a while.  That Posey is just the regular Walmart blue card but it looks so vibrant in the scan, it almost looks like a refractor, especially when compared to the D'Arnaud, which is also Walmart Blue.  Also here are some recent inserts with Wright and Harvey that I didn't have, plus a couple of prospects from this year's Bowman - which is wonderful since I have purchased exactly zero Bowman this year.  Saving the best for last is the Tom Seaver UD Masterpiece red frame parallel, which is just a glorious looking card.  Upper Deck did a lot wrong at the end, those sets were not one of them.

He also included some miscut 1971 Topps cards I had asked him to set aside for me. 

I asked for two of them, he included six.  That definitely meets my approval. These will find their way to a spot of honor amongst my miscut collection.  Thanks Robert!

On the other end of the trade spectrum was a first time trade with Chris from View From the Skybox.  From a quick little post I did a little while ago, Chris commented and emailed me that he loves blue parallel cards and would love to trade if I had any extras.  I found some blue Walmart cards from the last few years and a couple of the shiny blue Opening Day parallels and sent them to him.  Chris got me back with a nice bunch of Mets:

I didn't have the shiny version of the Seaver or Wright Chasing History nor did I have the WBC Wright card, which seems unthinkable.  He also included a nifty liquorfractor I didn't have, I almost have a page of these for the Mets, I will have to update my want lists to finish this off.  Then he finished me off with some blue parallels.  This seems a little counter-intuitive, but hey, I'll take it, especially that Murphy from this year.  What a stupendous photo that is.

Chris included a nice little note with his stuff...and believe me, I know from how shipping costs have gotten out of hand.  As you can see, they arrived safely.

Chris collects a wide variety of things and has a great Ginter Relic Exchange program on his blog, so this may be the first trade we've done but it definitely won't be the last.  Thanks Chris!

As for the rest of my weekend?  Why, I am gonna watch soccer of course, but probably not the kind you are thinking of...

Look at how happy she is with that thing?  We should all be that happy.  Woof!

Update and Trade.

       This post is not about Topps' 3rd series of recent vintage, this is simply about a trade and some blog updates...my witty titling skills know no bounds.  First off, let's cover my recent swap with someone who's becoming my new favorite trade target, Robert from $30 a week habit.  I have become semi-obsessed with his side blog, the serial number insanity set.  It might just be my natural love of all things equally brilliant and insane, but I now put it as priority one to comb my card piles and local dime boxes for numbered Topps cards for his massive undertaking.  This replaces my first bloggly love, The Great 1965 Topps Project, not because of lesser adoration, but because Kevin is almost done with that one.  Anyway, my rambling aside, last week I sent Robert some of his beloved Blue Jays and about half a dozen cards for his insane side project and he was kind enough to come up with some 2011 Topps Chrome needs for me:

On top of that, he sent a kick ass Martin Brodeur insert, some shiny liquorfractor redheaded Met action, and a pretty sweet David Wright striped jersey card.  Those last three were from the generosity of his heart, as they weren't part of our original deal, which makes him a damn fine humanitarian.  Thanks Robert!

So, that pile of 2011 Chrome has become this page in my Topps binder:

I really enjoy the aesthetics of this page.  Plus, that Elvis Andrus card has an epic photo.  He has some great fielding shots on his cards and he seems to have gotten the center square of my pages a lot the last few years.  I might have to start referring to him as Paul Lynde.  Also, I wonder if we will look at "Mike Stanton" cards the same way we look at "Joey Belle" cards in a decade or so? 

Since no one stepped up offering some, I had noticed recently that my local K-Mart had some 2010 Topps Chrome blasters on sale, so in a fit of nostalgia, I bought one so I could complete my run of Topps Chrome pages in my binders:

Night Owl was right, that year's Chrome cards have the worst curling ever.  I had this badboy squished under the weight of two binders for two weeks and it did very little to help.  You will have to take my word for it that it looks far better in person.  Ya gotta love all of the jumpy fielders on that page, though.

       So, with all that chrome business down, what else do I have to cover?  Well, I like to tie up loose ends and I have two flapping in the breeze a bit.  First, yesterday I offered a 1982 Topps K-Mart MVP box set to anyone who wanted it.  Well, dawgbones snapped it up within an hour and it will be in the mail for him shortly.  Looking at my pile of unsorted things, the "Who Wants It" bit will probably become a regular thing, so look out for more freebies soon.

       Second, I ran a charity auction on eBay last week and posted about it hoping to drum up some support and maybe get that shirt in the hands of a Devils fan who will enjoy it (and fit into it).  Well, it sold for $16 to a gal in New Hampshire and that money will go to the Red Cross.  Thank you to any and all who looked and helped and if it inspired even one of you to donate either money or blood, then it was a success.