Bittersweet Christmas

Christmas break has always been an extra special time of the year for me.  When I was a kid, it meant two weeks off from school.  These days, it means two weeks off from work... which still happens to be a school.

This year, I kicked off my break spending a few days up in Lake Oswego, Oregon with my best friend and her family.

We were all hoping for a white Christmas and our wish came true after it snowed on Christmas Eve.

The day before we took a trip down to George Rogers Park and were treated to a picturesque view of the Willamette River and a family of ducks.

The view was so beautiful, I figured I'd share it with my wallet card who hasn't seen daylight since last year.  I've been to Oregon a few times... and every time I'm blown away by how clean and quiet it is compared to California.  I can't wait to go back and visit.

Unfortunately my weekend wasn't entirely jolly.  I'll spare all of you the small details and give you the CliffsNotes version.  On Christmas Eve, I found out that my mother had fallen on Friday evening.  The next day, doctors determined she had a hip fracture that required immediate surgery.

Thankfully everything went smoothly and Mama Fuji is in the process of recovering with support from Papa Fuji and my sister's family.  However since my mother is in her 80's, rehabilitation will most likely be an uphill battle.  We're all thinking positively and she has plenty of love and support.  As soon as they hammer out a timetable, I'll schedule a trip down to my parents to help my father take care of my mom.

In the meantime... I figured I'd wrap up this post with something a little more festive: baseball cards from  The Daily Dimwit who happened to be my Secret Santa this year.  He went above and beyond the call of duty when he hooked me up with this smorgasbord of cards...


Appetizer:  A Pair of Prospects

2017 Bowman Chrome Talent Pipeline #TPM-OAK

A.J. Puk and Franklin Barreto are the Athletics two top prospects.  Both are expected to be called up sometime this season.  Munoz was shipped off to St. Louis as part of the Stephen Piscotty trade that took place a few weeks back.

Side Dishes:  A Pair of Batting Champions

2017 Topps Tribute Purple Relic #TR-JA

2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Refractor #7

Jose Altuve and Rod Carew are two of the greatest hitters of their generation and are two of my newer player collections, which means they're both relatively small.  I was really excited to add these to the collection.


The Main Course:  Picture Perfect Mustache

2003 Topps Gallery Hall of Fame #70

I wish I could say that I cheered for Rollie back in the 70's when he pitched for the Athletics and helped them win three World Series titles.  Unfortunately... I was a little too young.  On the other hand, I was a big fan of him during the early 80's when he pitched in Milwaukee.  One of my childhood buddies is Rollie's nephew and he'd get together with my friend's family when the Brewers were in town.


Dessert:  Sweet Looking Card

2017 Topps Gold Label Gold Framed Auto #FA-JCO

This card is sweet.  It's features a shiny, dual image design, a heavy metal frame, and an on-card signature.  Cotton is kind of a wild card on the team.  After struggling in 2017, it'll be interesting to see if he becomes an everyday starter on the A's rotation in 2018.

Thank you Sam for this generous Secret Santa package!  I appreciate you going through and hand picking cards for my collection.

I'd also like to thank Mr. Scott for taking the time to organize another great year of Secret Santa gift exchanges during this busy holiday season.  Great job buddy!

I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas with your family and loved ones.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!