Sheltered In My Card Room

Last Friday afternoon Illinois residents were issued a stay at home order in an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19.  All non essential businesses (however you want to interpret that) were ordered to be closed effective Saturday at 5:00.  While going out for a drive yesterday, I noticed our local Family Video was still open.  Not sure how it qualifies as an essential business. 

The Illinois governor declared construction as an essential job, so I am still going to work for now.  We may shorten business hours, but at least I still have a job.  My wife is a teacher.  She has been home since March 17, but will still get paid until the next school year is scheduled to start in August.  We are doing fine health wise and supply wise.  Our area has experienced some shortages, but shelves seem to get restocked in 3-4 days.  All in all things are somewhat normal.  Just more time being spent at home.

With all the time at home, I will be spending quite a bit of it in my card room.  I have never shown any pictures of it, but with my lack of trading right now I decided today was a good time to do so.  My room/office is roughly 10 x 13.  When we built our house in 2003, I took the smallest extra room.  I could use a little more space, but it works for what I really need it for.

My computer desk takes up most of my west wall.  There is usually a pile of cards on top that I need to scan or file away, but I am all caught up right now.

Beside the desk I keep my shipping supplies.  The shoe box has all my sleeves, top loaders, and team bags.  The box has countless used bubble mailers.  It has been years since I bought a new mailer.  Always good to reuse them when you can.  Under the shoe box is some foam that I use for packing.  The Dr. Pepper can is my trash can.  I worked as a Pepsi salesman my first 2 years out of college.  Not all the promotional items found their way to customers.

Above the desk I have a autographed pictures of Keith Tkachuk and Tony Twist, my 2 favorite St. Louis Blues of all time.  The signs were from a St. Louis area flea market.  The two plaques are from the Cardinals 2006 and 2011 World Series teams.  Both were Christmas gifts.

My window takes up most of the south wall.  My mother made the Illini curtain.  My autographed Wainwright/Molina 11 x 16 picture from the last out of the 2006 World Series is in the corner.  My Cardinals Fan Parking sign is on the other side of the window.  That was my first Cardinals Christmas gift from my parents when I was 8.

The east wall is by far the most cluttered.  Lots of things to see on this wall.

I made the bookcase a year after we moved into the house.  Not too many books on it.  I have a lot of bobbleheads still in boxes that I need to get a display for.  For now some of them sit on a shelf.  I do have a few sports books on the bottom shelf, but they are behind the boxes. 

The locker is another item from my Pepsi days.  I keep autographed baseballs and empty boxes in it.  The stuffed husky next to the locker was a prize from Dave & Busters.  Before we had kids, we raised them.  Great dogs.  To the left of the locker is a quilt rack with my Cardinals blanket and bobblehead shelf that I use in my title bar.

Next to the rack is my baseball display case.  All balls are autographed by Cardinals except for the top left.  It is a batting practice home run ball hit by Mark McGwire that I caught at Busch Stadium in 2001.  On top of the case is an autographed Springfield Cardinals mini bat.  It is signed by Oscar Taveras, Kolten Wong, and Carlos Martinez.  I received these autos during a weekend series in 2012.  The autographed Ray Lankford sign is from the first year I attended Cardinals Winter Warm Up in 2010.

The north wall has a homemade bat rack, a work table, and my card closet.  The bat rack has a game used autographed Lankford bat and another bat that we use for in person autographs.  A few more of my bobbleheads are on top of it along with another Lankford Winter Warm Up sign.  The card boxes beneath the table are empty. Not sure why I keep those.  Besides the table are another 20 or so bobbleheads that need to be displayed.  I hope to replace the table with some type of display unit, but have not found one I like yet. 

That leaves my closet.  This is where all my cards are kept.  It has a couple of larger shelves because it is built over my basement stairs.  The boxes on the left have my Cardinals inserts, the middle base cards, and the right are trade bait.  The binder has part of my Lankford collection.  There is another binder behind it sitting on a box with some score cards and other Cardinals magazines.

The bottom of the closet has a few more bobbleheads.  The boxes on the left have more game used Lankford bats.  I rotate them in and out of the wall rack every few months.

 The top shelf is a catch all.  I have some autographed posters, caps, and a seat back.  The race track on the bottom left is from Christmas 1986.  It still works.  On top of that is a table top hockey game.  One of these days I may drag it out for a better pictured.  And that is about it.  As you can tell I have a ton of things not displayed, but in the long run that should help preserve them.