Card About Coffee

*where would life be without coffee is what I am pondering this morning after not getting a lot of sleep last night. For a strictly decaf coffee drinker, the taste is what its all about for me so I go to a lot of dark roasts to get that flavor. otherwise it feels like I am drinking watered down milk or what I call skim milk. takes another sip, I can feel myself waking up some...*

I had never considered the thought before, but how cool would it be to own a card that involved coffee for this Coffee drinking, blogger? So I took to Twitter for help on this subject. I was shown a few examples of players drinking out of paper cups, etc. It really wasn't what I was looking for. Then I started getting some more interesting suggestions. Someone found a really cool Coffee Mug card from 1991 Star Pics Twin Peaks I really want still. Another person found suggested that maybe I should collect a few Glen Coffee cards. Then a close friend of mine sent me a picture of a card that is in today's card post and let me tell you, this card is a perfect fit.

*takes another sip. not feeling quite hungry yet, but craves more coffee. follows up with a few more sips, a gulp and a swig to finish the cup. onto cup #2*

In 2019, Rittenhouse created a Scratch and Sniff set in it's Twin Peaks Archives product. There are a few cards in that set that would fit on this blog but none more than the one I bought.

Coffee...and yes, I scratched it some just so I can sniff it and they nailed the scent.

 

I probably won't scratch it too many times as I don't want it to lose its essence.

I don't remember a lot about the show but remember watching it in the 90's. I may have to do some research or watch a few episodes to remind myself.

*takes a scratch..I mean sip before closing up today's post*

On my big want list right now is to hunt down that Star Pics Coffee Mug card. I think it would be a lot of fun to coffee card up this blog.

Also on my watch list is adding a few more of these that would fit on here such as Bacon and Eggs, Birthday Cake and especially, Donuts. No, I am not a cop.

Let me know your thoughts on scratch and sniff cards and if you own or have seen any cards that relate to coffee.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Friends With Cards

*takes a lunchtime sip. Sips of coffee are good any time of the day. I have my latest round of cards from Cards Over Coffee reader Oren right next to me and I am ready to get the latest post up*

Little pieces of cardboard with pictures on it can be more than just that if you think about it deeper. They can symbolize joy, a hobby and even friendships.

  

I enjoy all three of those aspects and more within my little pieces of cardboard. The hobby has a lot of meanings to me, some deeper than others. But, one thing is for sure, I have enjoyed all of the friendships I have built because of the hobby especially since all of my "close friends" are no really so close.

One of those friendships I built was through email. This was a first one for me in my ten years of being apart of the online hobby community. Usually my email is the last place, besides Facebook, I try to start up any form of trading or interaction. I have gotten some funky requests over the years in my email that I usually don't respond to, but for some reason I felt good about the one Oren sent me and gambled. I am glad I did.

Not only have I acquired some excellent cards in our trades, but we have also created a solid friendship.

Speaking of our outstanding trades, we just made another and once again, it didn't disappoint.

*takes a sip of a dunkin' hot mocha that my wife just set down next to me, time to show off the goods from this trade*

There was a great mix of cards in this trade,

Alec Ogletree Purple Power /49

Mario Manningham Certified Potential

Lamar Jackson Thunder & Lightning (love the parallels in these)

Amani Toomer Stadium Club rookie (this is a picture of him as a kick returner which is how he got his foot going in NY)

 

Hakeem Nicks Bowman Chrome Rookie Refractor /99

Mark Brunell (side PC player) game worn relic from Gridiron Gear

Jerrel Jernigan Topps Precision red inked auto

I have always wanted one of these, 2001 Topps Super Bowl Bunting swatch. This fits perfect in my unique relic PC, this one just makes me sad. Super Bowl 35 was an embarrassment for the Giants I prefer not to go any deeper into. At least the relic is cool.

Believe it or not, this autograph had me hooked. Imagine how popular I would have been in 1998 carrying around this bad boy. I have been wanting autographs of guys like this and landed a Tim Couch auto not too long ago. I can finally cross Leaf off my Top 100 wants.

By the way, Ryan Leaf may have never turned his career around, he at least turned around his life after a rough stretch.

The final in this trade, but not really final card as I will get to that in a minute, is Vance McDonald Happy Holidays Santa Hat swatch for my Christmas PC.

*takes final sip of the Dunkin' coffee before finishing up today's post*

I did receive three other cards in this trade before I came on vacation, but didn't have time to upload them. I will include those in my next mail day posting from Oren which I know will be sooner rather than later.

So thanks again to Oren for the trade and I am looking forward to the next.

*takes a look around for something to eat, need to finish this up so I can grab something*

The hobby has provided me with an outlet in life when times get tough, just look at 2020 for example. Last year I started some new sorting projects, moved my card room around, traded away stuff I never wanted to and started to build sets again. It was a nice distraction which also helped me make some new friends through trading last year as well. The hobby has always been there for me and I have always been there for it and supporting others when I feel they need a pick-me-up. Who needs a stress relief ball when you have a piece of cardboard with someone's face on it to make connections..

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Black Friday

*takes a sip of non black coffee, one thing I haven't ever enjoyed about coffee was it being completely black. Not that I drown mine in creamer to make it all creamer either. It is a little lightened that way I get more coffee than creamer flavor. I think a great cup needs a great balance and today's cup hits that spot*

Black Friday is known to most as a day of shopping, whether that means online or in a store people go crazy for the crazy deals. Sometimes even trampling others to get to them.

Black Friday to me is tomorrow and isn't anything close to shopping or landing a crazy deal. Tomorrow I will be going into surgery to get my kidney stone removed. Well, hopefully removed. The past two surgeries I have had to remove a kidney stone, I have had to go through two surgeries to get the job done. The first surgery usually tells the tale of whether the urologist can reach the stone or not. If they go in and can't get to it because of my "narrow tubes", I apologize for the TMI, I will get a stent put in place and will need a second surgery to remove the stent and stone.

It's all the party that it sounds to be.

*takes a sip of coffee, hopes it can calm down the nerves and stress of tomorrow. Then realizes he can't drink coffee in the morning since can't eat or drink after midnight. Starts drinking this cup faster to get more in today*

One positive at least this week is I found a pack of 2019 Panini Black Friday kicking around so figured to fit the theme of today's post, I would show off the results. I will promise in advance that I won't show off the results of tomorrow's Black Friday though ;)

There are two cards per pack of Panini's promo Black Friday packs. It was actually quite sad this year not to see this fun promotion continue. There are some really nice cards that can be found in these packs. I know the odds are against me since the pack is skinny and it's just one pack but I was still hopeful for a possible parallel or autograph.

First card, Hall Of Famer Kurt Warner. Kurt was a Super Bowl champ and MVP when he led the Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans. What an ending to that game with the Titans falling just one yard short of trying to tie the game up. One of those Super Bowl memories I will have.

I am also a fan of Kurt's. He was a NY Giant for one year (I try to chase down cards of him in Big Blue but not too many out there), he is an underdog and who doesn't root for them, and he is a devout Christian which I am all for.

Back of the Warner card.

Next card, Josh Jacobs and it's a rookie. I would have rather found Daniel Jones but not going to complain too much about one of the top players of last year's draft.

Jacobs is having a great sophomore year and proving he wasn't just a one year wonder for the Raiders last year. Their offense definitely builds themselves around how he does.

Back of his card which is slightly different than the Warner.

Not too bad of a pack break with a Hall Of Famer and a possible Hall Of Famer.

*takes another sip to finish up the first cup, will pour a second very soon*

I am hopeful they will find a way just to get the stone out with one surgery and hoping not for a second. I know I will be a bit out of it for the rest of the day tomorrow so watch for updates in the near future on here or on Twitter if you follow me there.

Maybe while I am knocked out in anesthesia tomorrow, I will dream about actually landing more of these Black Friday packs or that big screen TV I always ask my wife for. Which will be great until I wake in realization of how my Black Friday actually went.

Remember 2019?

 

*takes a sip of coffee reminiscing about the good times*

I decided to take a trip back in time in my mind when the world was normal. Remember a time when you could go visit family on holidays? Take a trip to the beach? Go to an eating establishment with friends or family? Going to a Dr's appointment without needing a Dr's appointment to get in? Get together with 10 or more people? Go grocery shopping? Find retail sport cards at the store?

Yeah, I do to. 

Even though that was simply only a year ago, a lot of those things you don't realize how much they actually meant until they were taken away. Even those family get togethers with that one annoying aunt or uncle who discussed politics at the table.

As this year has gone on and holidays are approaching, I am realizing more and more how much those things meant, even the simple things of running to a grocery store, to my cycle of life. It's like taking sunlight away from a plant and expecting it to grow with just water and a seed.

At least I have a distraction in blogging and card sorting to get me by. Even though most parts of the hobby this year haven't been the same either.

*takes a sip of coffee trying to perk myself up. See what I did there, tried to use a coffee synonym joke to help with my feelings of 2020.*

One of my last Walmart runs in September, I actually stumbled on a few packs of retail at the store. It 

wasn't the newest product by any stretch but it was product so I grabbed a couple of packs just to have something to break. I actually felt like a champion that day just for finding any retail packs.

The packs were 2019 Score football fat packs.

I stored one of the packs away, it's still sealed, for a later date just in case I get another retail itch to open since I am no longer going to Walmart until Covid goes away (all three Walmart within an hour of me are in "hot" Covid zones). In the meantime, I did rip one of the packs and thought I would show off my finds today.

*takes a sip, already ripped*

2019 Score came with a 330 card veteran base set that has some great photography such as this A.J. Green.

The base set was also topped off with 110 rookies pictured in their College Uni's to make it a 440 base card set. One of Panini's bigger base set products. Could actually be the biggest knowing most of their base sets run 100 cards. 

My rookies from this pack were not too strong. CJ Conrad was at least Giants PC material even though he didn't make the team but I will keep it.

Each Fat Pack comes with red parallels as well,

T.J. McDonald was my first

Followed by Saquon Barkley. I really miss him making plays like this. Can't wait until he is on the field next year.

And no rest of the pack which was made up of a variety of inserts. Sorry for the early no hit spoiler but I am sure most of you have already scrolled by my rambling just to see the pictures anyways.

*takes a gulp and back to the inserts*

NFL Draft  has 30 cards to collect. I landed the speedster Hollywood Brown

Captains has the team leaders, such as Cam Newton that I haven't adjusted to seeing in a Patriots uniform yet, that has 30 cards to collect as well.

Fantasy Stars...well I have had Rodgers as my QB many times in Fantasy and he never scored much for me. It's too bad I didn't have him this year however as my QB's have been less than par especially when you start out with Carson Wentz and now have Taysum Hill. There are 20 of these to collect.

Epix, an Epix fail compared to what we saw in the 90's but it's still nice to see an attempt to bring it back. Also finding any Patrick Mahomes in your pack is a pack saver. There are 30 cards split up into three 10 card sets. Similar to the 90's. There is Game, Moment and Season and each of the 10 players has a card in each set. I have all three of Saquon Barkley.

All Hands team are those great catches that happened the previous year from guys who have gloves of steel. There are 10 of these to collect.

Signal Callers are the QB's leaders in this 30 card set. The two I pulled are QB's on different teams. Jameis is with the Saints and Darnold is with the bench/injured reserve most of the time.

And finally, Throwbacks. 20 card set to collect. The Darnold is a red parallel if you look really closely.

And that's it. Not a bad pack considering I landed a few PC cards and most were known names in football.

*takes a sip to finish up this cup and post. Definitely need more coffee to drown the sorrows of 2020 out*

2020 has taught me many lessons both big and small. Other than the one about how much those things meant to my cycle of life in the example I gave above, I also learned even more how much things I already have in my life on a daily basis are even more important to me now.

Blocked In

*sits down with a freshly brewed cup from the Keurig, was it because his coffee maker was broken? Nope. It's blocked in right now and since life can't go on without coffee, so goes to the second best route*

Why is my coffee maker blocked in? Well, that's because my wife and I have been on a canning spree.

(there's the ole coffee maker in the back)

Between the amount of pickles, dilly beans and salsa we have made so far and haven't had the chance to put away yet, there's no counter space for my beloved best friend Mr. Black+Decker. He's the one friend I can usually rely on throughout my day. Always has my back and my fills my soul.

But, it's creeping in on Fall and this is the kind of stuff we do when it is around the corner. Well except buy a bunch of Pumpkin spice stuff, more on that another time. For now, I will enjoy the smells that all of this brings.

I always miss summer with the sun and warm temperatures around this time of year as it starts to get a tad cooler, but there also comes that time where I am ready for it to cool down. It's been one of the hottest summers on record here so I don't mind moving into the next phase. That's what great about having four seasons unlike a lot of places where it's summer all of the time. I wouldn't survive and need the variety in my life.

*takes another sip of coffee, gets ready for the cards portion of this post*

In the hobby, I have also been blocked in by my want list for years. There is so much I want in the cardosphere that I want to keep expanding my list on but I don't. I have been blocked in by whats already on there and don't feel like I should keep adding to it until I knock more down. Occasionally I am able to knock down a card or two, but there are still so many big ones on there that I may never get to accomplish it or be able to add to it.

Or will I?

In my latest trade with Dions Autograph Collection, I really made some headway on a few of those wants. Especially when it comes to my baseball want list.

First up, we will take a look at some football cards I traded for that were not on my want list but were cards I wanted. Yes, there is a difference in that.

Cards On The Want List:Usually dream cards you hope to own

Cards You Want:Spur of the moment, fits your collection cards.

Here they are,

Three more Daniel Jones rookies for the PC. I really need to do a complete number update on my Jones collection.

Prizm Jones rookie. This was technically on my want list as I wanted a second one for my PC. Just in case he breaks out and I don't get another. So I will partially count this as a want knocked down despite already owning one. We will get to the real knockdowns soon.

I crossed off a much wanted Drew Lock Prizm rookie a few weeks ago, but, when you see another in a trade you grab it. This time though, its a Red White and Blue version. Prizm sure is pretty. Just like our canning jar of goods.

 

*another sip of coffee. Looks at his hand of remaining cards and smiles knowing what's remaining to show off*

 

And now onto the big part of the trade for my want lists. These were actually cards I thought I would never own of Hall Of Famers but finally do now.

I do own a rookie of Gwynn with the O-Pee-Chee version, but to me it's a knock off to the Topps one and really wanted the real brand. Now I have it. Yes, the centering on it isn't beautiful, but that's not what I am about. I just wanted the rookie card.

Second card, George Brett rookie. I know many don't care for this design, but I do. I like the color schemes and to me it's one of the iconic Topps designs.

And lastly, a Rickey Henderson rookie! Holy Topps Rickey Henderson Batman! This one I never thought I would have in hand.

*takes another sip, realizes one more item was stuck behind the Henderson. I guess you can say that Henderson had it blocked in....*

 

This one wasn't on my want list for basketball, but it's such a cool piece I added it,

Also in this trade was a 1988 Fleer Michael Jordan sticker. Great centerpiece for my MJ collection.

*few more sips to finish up this post. Trying to decide what breakfast will be*

Three big milestones in this trade knocked down and now my want list needs an update. I will have to look at my baseball want list again to see if there is room to expand or will I still be blocked in by what remains.

I just hope my coffee maker won't be blocked in much longer by an ever expanding canning operation. Will be doing some spaghetti sauce today for the first time but also will be purchasing a shelf hopefully to store this stuff on. I can't go another day without my coffee maker in sight.