Family Heirlooms and a Minor Delay

This is the busiest summer in decades... and that includes the twenty-plus years I taught summer school.  My father moved back to the Bay Area a few months ago... and we recently went back to his house in Las Vegas to clean it out and prepare it for sale/rent.

The process was both physically and mentally exhausting, while also being an eye-opening experience that hopefully inspires some changes in my own life.

Today... I just wanted to share a few items I brought home with me...

First up is this shoji lamp that Papa Fuji made decades ago.  He was pretty handy when it came to building stuff.  He's made everything from cabinets to craps tables and little things in between like this lamp.

Space at my place is very limited, so I knew before going down to Vegas that I had to be very picky when deciding on what to take.  This family heirloom was one of two no-brainers.

The other is this wall decoration:

With my father's memory in limbo... the history of this piece is a little blurry.  I'm pretty sure it was either passed down from my grandparents or possibly blessed by my grandfather.  Maybe both?

My parents had a pair of Hisashi Otsuka framed prints hanging on their walls.  My sister wanted one of them... and asked if I was interested in the other.  Although I don't really have any place to hang it up... I wanted it to stay in the family, so I grabbed it.

The last three items are San Francisco 49ers collectibles that I gave my parents years ago...

I wasn't the only collector in the family.  Back in the 90's, my mom went through a Beanie Baby phase.  I bought her this Jerry Rice bear back when I was working at the LCS in the late 90's.  I needed that job to help supplement my income when I was just starting out in the classroom.

That's also where I bought this Joe Montana signed print:

Upper Deck Authenticated

I always wondered where they put this frame.  My niece discovered it buried in one of the closets in my dad's bedroom.  I doubt this thing has seen daylight in over twenty years.

The final item is this custom display piece I made for my dad:

1999 Kenner SLU

1992 Pro Set #651

I took one of those puck and card holders, removed the puck holder, and replaced it with a Kenner Starting Lineup.  The autograph was the final piece of the puzzle.  It spent the past twenty-plus years sitting on my dad's desk.

Now I need to find a place for it in my office.

That leads me to a quick life update.  I've been extremely busy the past three weeks, but don't worry.  I haven't forgotten about shipping out all of those PWE's filled with Gwynns.  They'll hopefully be shipped out sooner than later.

As it stands, I have all of the cards in the temporary holders and they are ready to be slid into PWE's.

Here's a list of people who requested a Gwynn care package:

Ken Hawthorne

Laurens

Brett Alan (need address)

Elliptical Man

John Sharp

Vroomed

Crh614 (need address)

Jafronius

Bo

DRMustang

Hackenbush

jlcre2003

I'm pretty sure I got everyone.  If you wanted one and don't see your name... shoot me an email with your shipping address.  Brett Alan and Crh614... I need your addresses as well.

And rounding out this post is the obligatory baseball card of the day:

2000 Bowman Chrome DP&P #4

This graded rookie card of Barry Zito was part of a Reader X care package from last year.  Why show him off now?  Well... since our family just wrapped up another chapter in Las Vegas, I wanted to show off a player with ties to the city.  Zito was born there back in 1978.

Thanks for the card Xavier!  Thank you to all of you who are patiently waiting for your Gwynn care packages.  And thank you to everyone else who took the time to read this post.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!