Catching Up - Trade Bonanza~!

Man, it's been a really busy couple weeks - I caught that damn virus that's been going around (the uncontrollable shivering even while under 3 blankets was the best part) and it knocked me on my ass for almost a week, and I've been playing catch-up ever since.  I have a whole slew of trades to post on, so let's get to it!

(For those I've traded with, if I make any mistakes about who sent me which cards please forgive me. I tried to keep them all separate but then they ended up getting mixed together by accident, and I THINK I'm remembering who sent what correctly...)

First up, I had an exchange with Charlie over at the Lifetime Topps Project.  I really like the premise of his blog - he is trying to collect every Topps base set since he was born.  In this case I sent him a handful of 2010 Topps cards, but the bulk were cards he needed for his 2010 Upper Deck set.  In return, he sent me a stack I needed from 2010 Upper Deck (which I can't post a scan of because they are already in my set binder!), and also a handful of Griffeys:

 

Thanks Charlie.  As I continue to pick my way through my old card closet I've found lots of doubles from some of the 1990s Topps sets, and I'd be happy to send some your way in the future!

Next up, I had a small exchange with AJ at The Lost Collector.  AJ found my blog and saw that I was looking to trade for Platinum Diamonds, so I sent him a couple of Yankees from different sets from last year and he sent over a couple 2010 Topps Chrome cards I was missing plus this sparkly version of Mr. Borbon:

Thanks AJ, glad you liked the Posada refractor!

Next, I had been talking with Justin over at Justin's World for a couple weeks about a trade for the Starlin Castro Topps 60 Jersey Patch I pulled from my box.  He ended up sending me a couple more Platinum Diamonds, a couple Griffeys, and a few assorted Topps inserts:

This is one of the reasons I'm really glad I started this blog.  In the past I would have pulled the Castro, said "meh," and put it in a box forever.  Now I'm able to send that card to someone who really will appreciate it and get some cool stuff in return.  Thanks Justin!

And finally, I had an exchange with Matt over at Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius (easily one of the best blog names I've seen so far).  This trade had a really unusual start - I had just happened upon his blog one day, and looking around I noticed one of the things he collects is the old Donruss Diamond King Puzzles.  I made a mental note because I had gotten all of the pieces of the Duke Snider puzzle a few months before from a random box I purchased at the local card shop (I believe it was 1984 Donruss Champions & Legends), and I figured I could set up a trade.  Then about a week later, in a really bizarre coincidence, I went to my card store and while perusing the table full of random old boxes of wax packs and assorted oddball items what did I find but 2 other complete Donruss puzzles from the mid 1980s! I snatched them right up, contacted Matt, and soon after had these lovely Griffeys waiting for me in my mailbox:

Thanks Matt!

Whew!  That's everything.  I really need to not get a backlog like this again.