LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - A Little Christmas Cheer

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, was able to spend the day resting and relaxing and received some nice gifts under the tree this year.

My present haul is normally minimal, but more often than not it's filled with some great thinking and sincere gestures on the part of family and friends.

To top everything off, this year was stellar when it came to gifts from my niece and nephew.....stay tuned for that.

A late Christmas bubble mailer arrived today and contained a card that proves patience pays off.

2010/11 Panini Score
Recollection Collection buyback auto
#32 English Version /15

This card comes 13 months after I landed the bi-lingual version. At the time, I had just found out that there were indeed two versions of the coveted card. A plus in that there was another Linden added to the wantlist, but a minus in that yet another card would be coming with a somewhat hefty price.

That's where my patience paid off. Over the past year, I have seen three or four copies of this card come up for auction. All with price tags over $100. Now with the first or second copy of the card out of the gate, I can see it getting that price, but once the first few go - interest dies off considerably.

Recently, there have been a couple copies up for quite some time. Reason being, the asking price is just too high. I was bound and determined to get this card for no more than $65.

A few weeks ago I saw another copy of this card come up for grabs. The seller was taking offers though (which I always think is a smart idea). I threw out a $60 offer thinking I could barter up to $65. To my pleasant surprise - he took it.

A short wait and the card arrived today. And a big thanks to the seller for packaging it well. The bubble mailer had been punctured right through to the card. If there hadn't been an extra toploader on each side of the card, there would have been a good chance the card would have seen some damage.

Glad to knock this one off the list. It takes me down to just 11 cards (not including 1/1's) left to track down from the 10/11 season of Linden releases.

Slowly but surely.


Now, on to some of the great stuff I got for Christmas.

My nephew makes me laugh - lots. He's almost 10 and is becoming more creative and 'thinkative' (I just made that up) by the day.

As I was opening the gift from him he said "I know you like juice". What the heck does that mean?


Sure enough, his interpretation of "I like juice" means a big decorated container filled with single serving juice crystals - 90 packs worth...


...and a cheesy Christmas tie for good measure. Awesome gift. I love the thoughtfulness. Thanks so much Kyle!

My niece is starting to pick up on what I say when we're out a lot more.

A recent trip to the mall had us in Jersey City buying a gift for her dad. While we were there, I noticed a shirt that caught my eye. I simply mentioned to my niece that I liked it.

She put that info in her memory bank.


This retro Canucks t-shirt was wrapped and under the tree with my name on it. Such a simple gift, but I'm really impressed that she took the time to remember - and then follow up by buying it.


Of course, it was the name on the back that trumped the logo on the front.

I love it. Thanks Shauna!

The only other hockey-related item I received was NHL 12 for the PS3. I haven't fired it up yet as my player is a little buggered. Maybe I'll look at that today.

Thanks again guys. And a heads up - the hints start now for next year.