Saturday Shadow Shots

 Happy Saturday folks! I'm planning on heading down to Orlando and hit up 3 or 4 card shops today. Wish me luck. I hope to find a new source of "great deals".

I'm not sure what I see in this shadow. Maybe a crab.

I see a Chess pawn.

I could say the head of one of the Pokemon, but I'll go with the body of a huge bird.

Clearwater Florida: The PC gets.

 Wrapping up that show in Clearwater with some PC pickups. Hopefully, I will need them like I did with the Braves gets.

This first (minus the auto) will be checked against set build needs before dumping into the PC boxes. I already know the Clemens SP is a set need.

The first row will go to the set builds too. I did in fact need the Adley's for those builds.

Now I know I didn't need the 87' Hygrades, but I didn't want to leave them.

Starting lineups for less than a buck, yeah I'll take them. The best deal was probably the Gold Fanfest Clemens.

Several great deals in this batch too.

I did take a bath on a handful of cards when compared to what I could get it for on ComC.

I am definitely a fan of the 90's Pacific brands inserts.

Some winners and some losers, but all in all I did get a bunch of really cool cards.

Have a great weekend (no post Friday). See ya with some Shadows on Saturday.

Wacky Wednesday

 Holy smokes, what a week and we are only on hump day. Let's see what I have done in the last 3 days.

1) Finished updating my G's PC guys.

2) Visited the V.A. in Ocala West side. (labs for an appt next week in G'veille.

3) Voted, took my brother too.

4) Mowed the grass.

5) Pulled out my H, I, J, K, L, M, N's. (Of course there is a ton of sorting for each of those, but I have consolidated the "letters". I should say "isolated" the letters.

6) Filed my taxes and for the first time in the last 24 years will be getting a refund. What, I didn't send them any money (none taken out either - that is how I've done it since 2003), yet I am going to get a whopping $10.00. I requested a check (y'all no I'm not a digital guy especially when it comes to finances), besides I may just frame the check. I haven't seen a refund in 2 decades. I really don't understand the refund even though I don't work and really have very little monthly income (roughly $142.00 a month) especially when I made more money (live on the savings I've had built up since 1976,   yes I was born in 1966, but was working and actually paying taxes since 1977. My mother had one rule half in the bank no matter what. I did that, and trust me spent the other half (usually invested some way to make more money). I did that since I was 10 years old (really 8 but wasn't enough to file taxes). Me retiring at 40 really makes since when you consider I paid into the system for over 30 years. I did work in the financial services industry, and learned very early, I am a ZERO RISK kind of guy, so less guaranteed meant more to me than the promises of potential. What little I did tuck away for later days (and wasn't that much) predominantly was in tax free stuff. I like that concept. I just hope I don't run through the savings and then wipe out those tucked away far from bank. My plan had me coasting right up until full Soc. Sec. age. Keep in mind my V.A. Doc told me to file for SSI over a decade ago and I refused after all I gave back my Army pension back in the late 80's. I figured I could always go make money if needed even with nightmare of bad back I have. Anyways, none of that explains the $10.00 refund either, but at least you can be puzzled the same as I am.

Now, I do kind of have an idea, but I'm not a CPA so can't be 100%. I will just have to except the $10.00. :) (I'm not going to frame it, I'll buy a pizza with it).

Alrighty, let's get to why you are really here.

I could choose any one of these to be the favorite on the page. There is something I still a dozen years later that I find interesting, different, or worthy.

Have a great night all.

Don't fall for any of those tricksters.

 Time for another birthday Holi-date binder post. April Fools Day. below you'll find a handful of athletes from baseball, football, Hockey, basketball, soccer, and Golf who share this day of celebration.

Remembering the good ole days. Playing pranks on people (loved it). Remember several years back when I think it was Matt who got a bunch of "us" clued in on a prank he pulled on these blogs.... You know where we all posted the Niekro card above. I do, that was fun and harmless. Like the most recent holi-date that past St. Patty's day, pinching people that weren't wearing green. Sure you can't say that was harmless, but in reality it was harmless when you consider all of things one has to worry about these days compared to what it was like when "we" were kids. Yes....the good ole days. 

The next Holi-date post coming up will be for Easter (and NO- shouldn't have any of those Topps Easter cards included). I say shouldn't because I could be pulling a prank on you tonight.... Ah huh, you'll just have to wait to find out if I pulled one on you.

Cards from Clearwater

 As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I did manage to drag myself south to the Clearwater show. I'd say this go around was 50/50 Pokemon/Sports. I made a one card purchase from a kid and probably my favorite addition of the day. The bulk I brought home was a vendor who struggles month to month, and I was going to help him out, but alas my gut says he'll not change. I had originally grabbed about 750 cards from his dollar boxes, but we couldn't agree on a price. It didn't take long while negotiating to figure out that the guy is just not going to last through the season. I quote "I can't come anywhere close to fifty cents a card". Yeah I knew I would weed out most of what I got. I don't take lists or books with me, so I go totally from memory as to what I need. I will say now, I did real good in that department with my Braves and the PC guys too. I thinned the herd, and will split the haul into two posts. This one will be my new to me Braves.

As you can see, lots of 90's needs.

Plenty of early 2000's as well.

Mid to late 20teens.

And of course lots of more recent Braves needs too.

Now it is time to show off that one card purchase I made. My favorite of the day.

A very nice on card auto. Man, I hope he comes back stronger and better than before....and soon. 

I'll hit up the PC guys Thursday night. In other news I finished updating my "G's" tonight! Yeah, moving on to the H & I's.

Saturday Shadow Shots

 I hope everyone is enjoying the start of the 2025 baseball season. I'm not as my Braves are off to 0-2 start. I can't say I'm surprised, but still I have hope they will get things going in the right direction.

I see a lizard man with a ponytail.

I see a fox with a saddle on it.  Gitty up.

I see a kangaroo (all but the head).

Enjoy the weekend.

Jeremy knocks it out of the ballpark!

 I've got quite a few post scans to carry me through the next week or so, probably 2 weeks worth. With today being the real Opening Day of the 2025 MLB baseball season, uh um I figured I'd chime in with the visit last week from Jeremy (Topps cards that never were). Jeremy brought me a stack of cards (I had a huge stack waiting for him too). Among the stack he brought were some PC guys which I did not scan because it was the Braves he gave me that knocked it out of the ballpark.

All Braves needs. I did tell Jeremy he didn't have to break up his 1998 Inaugural Rays set to get me the Braves, but he waivered and did so anyway. Pretty sure he pulled out his Rays and Tigers too. I still need the Dbacks Braves set and most of the 1993 Marlins and half of the Rockies inaugural sets so if you have them PLEASE....let's trade. Jeremy even mailed me another 2025 card I needed after he got back home. Not a Brave (Skenes cup card), but still was a need. Thank you Jeremy for the huge help in my quest for that ATL #1 spot. Which brings me to this     what is coming up. I have cards from Clearwater, more from Ormond, Ebay, and other incoming cards. And I also have a 600+ card haul coming in from Sport Lots which is probably 2/3 of new to me Braves cards. Combine that with themed posts of shadows and Wackys I am pretty set for a couple of weeks and then some. 

Have a great weekend everybody.

WaCkY wEdNeSdAy

 Apparently my brother has re-couped from his ailment and we shall be playing trivia tonight. It's been a month, not sure how we'll do, but the free answer for tonight is "The Godfather". 

1984 fleer offered up several interesting and iconic cards. I also see another baseball card make it on a baseball card. Not bad for junk wax. Now we have started on the 1985 cards.

Have a great night folks!

The DOLLAR boxes.

 Here we go, straight up went through every BASEBALL dollar box (maybe 7) at the shop. I say "at the shop" because pretty sure there are a dozen more baseball at Bill's house. Those will be fun to go through once. I only wish that I could go through them before they get put in the card saver plastics, also nice to not have to look at the other cards again. Maybe, next time I see Bill I will ask if that would be possible before he stuffs them into the plastic.

Of course I will lead off with the Braves.

Threw in the Dylan SP variation to fill the page so that I could keep the four below together.

Now moving to the PC guys.

There you go this closes out that back to back run to Ormond. 

Have a great night all!

Ormond cards from the 2 for 5 boxes and the $5 boxes.

 That Ormond trip with back to back days found me spending my time flipping through the 2 for $5.00 and the $5.00 boxes.

Found another Matt Olson from the Bo Jackson Battle Arena set and a Jackson Holiday too. Mind you I didn't pay $5.00 for each card.  I needed these Braves.

That almost clears up that trip. I have the buck boxes left which I will do tomorrow.

Saturday Shadow Shots

 Talk about a week flying by, this one sure did....at least for me. I was planning on heading 2 hrs south today for a pretty good sized flea market, but decided with it in the mid 30's this morning nah. Nope, ah uh, just not not happening. I'll be staying inside my warm house nice and cozy. Now then, let's look deep into the shadows shall we?

A pig. (tail tucked between his legs of course).

The leaning tower of Piza.

This one made the cut because it caught three shadows, which is pretty cool.

far left could be a very dirty cartoon character.

middle looks like someone is getting ready to punch somebody else.

the far right has to be an alien, see the antennas coming out of his head?

Have a great weekend folks, it won't be long for baseball season to get rolling nor will it be long before we start seeing the non vintage shadows which get a whole lot better.

Baseball cards: FREE PACKS!

 A couple of weeks back when I made the back to back day trips over to Ormond Beach and Kyle jacked the cost of the dime boxes (by the box) 3 fold and I whined I did get some free packs of cards. Yes, I am spoiled....who wouldn't be when for a decade plus you were buying monster (3 and 5 row) boxes of baseball cards for $5-25.00, then all of a sudden they $30.00, then very short lived jumped to $75.00. yeah I'm calling it sticker shock. I just bought 2 and 2/3 boxes that day and I'm probably not going to buy any box full from there again. That is not saying that $75.00 isn't a good deal with the kinds of cards in the dime boxes (that's .03 a piece) a very good deal. I however, am not going to spend $75.00 for them as 99% of them won't be needs of any kind for me. I can hand pick the cards I want, and because the last visit last Friday I grabbed 200 cards and got them for free. I expect that to be the case most of the time going forward, along with a reduced number of trips over there. 

My blog's profile since it's inception was about DEALS. So now I must journey back into the real world and find some DEALS. I actually look forward to taking some trips all over Florida looking for them. It may take awhile, but I'll find some you can bank on it. 

Kyle did make it up to me by giving me some free packs, a book case, a 8ft table, and that curio which was more beneficial to me than anything else I got that day. In an attempt to get my Star Wars all together and organized before May 4th, I visited a few used furniture stores. The closest thing I seen was kind of like the curio I got from the shop, the difference those in the "used" furniture shops were $1200.00. Yeah, that trip albeit shocking initially was a HIT for me. As for the free packs of cards on day 1 were 4 packs of 2024 Heritage and a slew of the 2025 Topps Hobby Rip night packs.

I wasn't able to complete the 15 card set from the first packs on day 1, but I got Kyle to give me some more of them on day 2 along with a few packs of 2023 Big League wrapper redemption packs.

He gave me some packs of the Trading card day too. After the 2 days of packs of the Rip night cards I completed the set but still need the base Crews card.

I slipped in the Soler Braves rainbow foil from 2025 to even out the scan.

The Big League wrapper set is just 100 cards and no short prints in the base. there are lots of parallels too. Did anyone see the one above? The autograph one of one?

The 1/1 is hard to see but it is in the upper left corner just under the BL. That pull would have been better if it was a PC guy or Braves card, but hey I am NOT complaining. I still have a couple more posts from the Ormond cards from those two days. The cards i pulled from the buck box, and then other cards. After those are done I will start on the Clearwater show cards, followed by some Ebay wins, and other incoming and then back to another visit to Ormond. Who knows what else I'll find before I get those posts posted.