Giving Thanks A Day Late

Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope all of you are enjoy the company of family, friends, and/or cards.  I'm celebrating with two out of three.  Any guesses on which two?  I'll reveal the answer at the end of the post.

In the meantime, let's check out some cards.  First up are some from John over at Johnny's Trading Spot.  He held a 350 card giveaway a few weeks ago where he shipped out thirty PWE's to collectors across the blogosphere.  Thankfully, I was one of the recipients.

My nine pocket page contained the following...

This is pumpkin pie portion of the post.  Pumpkin is one of the most under-appreciated dessert pies out there... just like magazine cards from the 90's are in the hobby.

1992 Topps Magazine #TM79

I might not crave pumpkin pie all the time, but it's an essential part of our Thanksgiving meal... just like 90's magazine cards are an essential part of my collection.

Next up, the stuffing...

These twelve cards were part of a contest prize package from Brendan over at The View from the Third Floor.  He gave the winners a few different options for prizes.   I went with 2023 Topps lot, because I'm building that set.

2023 Topps #437

This Lane Thomas got me one step closer to completing the set:

Stuffing is one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner and it's generally what I fill up on.  The Thomas was a set filler.

Finally, I want to talk about two big surprises from yesterday's Thanksgiving feast.  First was the pumpkin soup, which tasted like split pea soup.

I had never tried it before, but was pleasantly surprised.  

The other surprise was the roasted brussels sprouts.  I've had it before, but only at Thanksgiving.  Every time I eat it, I'm blown away by how something so healthy looking tastes so amazing.

What's not a surprise is that the pumpkin soup and roasted brussels sprouts both featured bacon... which is one of my favorite things to eat.

How do all of these cards relate to pumpkin soup and roasted brussels sprouts?  Well all of them arrived awhile back as part of a care package from a fellow collector on Sports Card Forum.  Woody has sent me a bunch of packages over the years, but this one wasn't one I planned on.

It just showed up in my mailbox and was a complete surprise.  Thank you Woody for all of the Packers, Seahawks, Padres, and Japanese athletes you sent for my personal collections.

I also appreciate you thinking of my students with these stacks and stacks of 49ers, Raiders, Giants, and Warriors.

Thank you John for the generous giveaway on your blog.  And thank you Brendan for your contest and for helping me get one step closer to completing my 2023 Topps set.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  By the way, I started writing this post yesterday.  At the time I was at my brother's house with the rest of my siblings and a few of our friends.  Unfortunately, I didn't have any contact with cards yesterday.  I did however try my hardest to publish this post on Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately... once the football games, food preparation, and family time got started I got distracted and didn't get a chance to complete this post until today.

Happy Friday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

John reached out to me and offered to help me with more of my 2023 Topps.  Here's the updated list of set needs:

Thank you John!

Enjoying My Free Time

A few weeks ago, I received a warning from a fellow blogger in my comment section...

The message was simple.  I was going to need "a lot" more free time soon.  The reason?  John over at Johnny's Trading Spot had just sent me two packages.

One was a large padded envelope and the other was a small flat rate box.  The contents were ten team bags filled with goodies.  The sorting process took me a little under an hour, but scanning the singles took another hour.  That's two hours of solid entertainment on a Sunday afternoon.

In an effort to keep things timely, I'm going to follow in John's footsteps, keep the writing to a minimum, and let the scans do the talking.  Here we go...

2025 Topps 1990 Baseball #T90-46

2025 Topps 1990 Baseball #T90-40

2025 Topps 1990 Baseball #T90-36

Unlike last year, I have barely touched any 2025 Topps baseball.  I think I opened up one jumbo hobby pack earlier in the season, but that's about it.  I'm very excited to add new cards of three of my favorite players.

Here's one more of #19...

2025 Topps Call to the Hall #CTH-21

Not the most creative or attractive insert, but it's a new Gwynn for my collection.  Here's another favorite...

2004 Bowman DP&P Gold #BDP39

Two Kurt Suzuki sightings in three days.  Life is good.

Let's show off three more Athletics...

1991 Topps Magazine #TM59

2025 Topps Chrome Refractor #45

2025 Topps All-Star Game #4

Johnny has been showing off a ton of magazine cards lately on his blog.  Here's the first one of this post, but not the last.

Let's show off some new additions to my Japanese PC:

2007 Finest Rookie Finest Moments Blue Refractor #RFM-KJ

2015 Topps Update #US335

Not sure if it's coming across in the scan, but the Johjima is stunningly beautiful.  As for the Aoki, I discovered it was a photo variation when I was adding it to my binder.  Nice angle of Citi Field in the background.

2024 Topps Trading Card Day #NTCD-B14

These days, any Ohtani sent to me will get scanned.  Can't stand the Dodgers, but I can't root against this guy.

2021 Topps Chrome NPB #90

The same applies to Mr. Yamamoto.  Outside of one rough outing against the Phillies, this guy has been a stud in the playoffs this season.

One more Japanese athlete, but let's switch genders... 

1992 Legends #42

As a teacher, I try not to name favorites.  But this magazine card of my celebrity crush is the exception to the rule.

Here are the final two baseball card scans...

2006 Upper Deck Collect the Mascots #MLB-1

2006 Upper Deck Collect the Mascots #MLB-2

John knows that I'm a big fan of mascots.  In 2006 Upper Deck created a three card set which was also an interactive contest for kids.  I'm now on the hunt for the final card:  Mr. Met.

Okay, five more cards.  Two feature athletes I collect:

2019 Prizm Red, White, & Blue Prizm #258

Wilson is past his prime and now riding the bench in New York, but I'll always appreciate what he accomplished in Seattle. 

2021 UD Goodwin Champions #61

Just like Ohtani... any card of MJ is scan worthy.

Last, but not least are the non-sports cards...

1972 Donruss Choppers and Hot Bikes #48

I'm not sure why John sent me this card, but I love it.  This chopper reminds me of the Hot Wheels I used to play with when I was a kid.  Speaking of childhood toys, here are a pair of Lego cards:

2000 Lego Mini Heroes Collection #1

2000 Lego Mini Heroes Collection #3

Not familiar with them, but they'll be added to the Japan non-sports binder.

That wraps up the two care packages from John over at Johnny's Trading Spot.  Sorry it took me so long to open them up and sort them, but this was the first weekend in as long as I can remember where I had some "free time".

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #175: Cheap Sets, Cards, and Other Stuff

I just can't seem to catch up on these Flea Market Find posts.  Today's covers purchases I made at the De Anza Flea Market back on June 7th.  It had been three weeks since my previous trip to the flea market and the weekend before my final week of school, so I was excited to get out there and find stuff to buy.

Well... it wasn't quite as memorable as the trip to the Branham Flea Market, but I did find a few things for my collection.

Purchase #1:  Pair of Kobe Rookies  $30

1996-97 Fleer Metal #181

It took about thirty minutes before I came across anything worth buying.  The gentleman with these two cards is a regular who has a variety of items ranging from trinkets to sports cards.  I hadn't gone through his boxes in a few months, so I flipped through them and found these.  He knew exactly what these were and offered me the pair for $40.  I countered with $30 and he accepted.

Purchase #2:  80's Comic Books  $4

I sort have been on a comic book binge.  Anyways... there was a guy with a 2 for $1 box.  I started with pulling out the Double Dragon and Samurai Squirrel books, but ended up grabbing seven more.  I'm starting to think I have a problem.

Purchase #3:  45's from the 1980's  $5

Another item I just can't seem to pass up is cheap vinyl.  This woman had a bunch of 45's from the 70's and 80's with different prices.  I grabbed five of the dollar ones:

Foreigner:  Feels Like the First Time

Gary Numan:  Cars

Timex Social Club:  Rumors

Salt-N-Pepa:  Push It

WHAM!:  Careless Whisper

I like the first four songs, but I'm not the biggest fan of WHAM!.  Pretty much picked this up because it reminded me of this guy:

2013 Topps #316

Reddick used Careless Whisper as his walk-up song back in the day.

Purchase #4:  Star Wars Blu-ray  $1

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

I had just finished watching Andor when I stumbled across this Blu-ray.  Figured for the price, it was a good deal.  Unfortunately, when I got home... I noticed that I already own a copy.  It's not a problem, because I'll just bring it to my classroom.

Purchase #5a:  Magazine Lot  $5

My final purchase of the day was actually three small purchases wrapped into one from a lady I previously dealt with at the other flea market.

Back in April at the Branham Flea Market, I ran into a lady selling her son's card collection.  I bought two basketball sets along with an unopened box of 1989 Bowman.

This time she set up at De Anza and she brought out some new stuff including these magazines.  I sort of have a mini-obsession with the Topps Magazines from the early 90's, so when I find them cheap, I'll grab them.

I bought the entire box for $5, but should have taken the time to count them out, because I pretty much only wanted these ten issues.  There were some water damaged Sports Illustrated issues that I recycled when I got home.

I also discovered this cool Beatles print from the early 90's tucked away in an envelope:

Unfortunately if you look closely there's a crease above John's head.

According to the note inside of the envelope, this print was a Disney Channel sweepstakes prize.

Purchase #5b:  Cheap Sets  $5

She also had a bunch of sets at 1/2 off her sticker price, so I grabbed the 1984 and 1989 Topps Glossy Mail-In sets.  While looking over the others, she told me she'd give me a good deal if I bought more.  I packaged these six sets for five bucks.

I'm hoping to do a set showcase post on the 1982 Kmart boxed set.  If you'd like me to scan and show off any of these other sets, leave a comment down below.

Purchase #5c:  Cheap Cards  $1

The lady also had a nickel box.  Most of it was early 90's basketball commons, but there was a small stack of 1984 Donruss (maybe 40 cards) and some random cards like a McDonald's Shaq rookie card.

There were also six unopened food issue packs that I snatched up right away.  I only grabbed fifteen cards from the box, so technically these were closer to 7¢ each... but that's a price tag I could live with.

Well that wraps up another trip to the De Anza Flea Market.  I have one more flea market post to write up and then I'll officially be caught up with them.  I'm hoping to finish taking photos and writing up that post over the weekend.

Until then...

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!