Scooby Doo and More Too: 2024 Collection Haul, A Gifted Collection, Comic Book Appearance, and Meeting Scott Jeralds and Nikki Blake!

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collectibles, collecting, collection, collection haul, collector, memorabilia, Scooby, Scooby Doo, Scooby Doo Where Are You, toy collector, Toys

Like, zoinks! Well, gang, every previous Scooby collection haul post has been posted late, so why break with tradition now? I had planned for this to go up in January… it is now June. But let’s not dwell on the challenges of 2024 and all of the reasons I’m only getting this post written now—you came for the Scooby stuff, so let’s look at the Scooby stuff! And the Scooby people…… because let me tell you, Scooby-wise, 2024 was EPIC, for a whole host of reasons!

2024 was honestly an incredible year for my Scooby collection. It grew a huge amount… but not through purchases I made. I bought less than 30 of these items for myself, all of the rest were super lovely gifts from my friends. And a major chunk of those gifts were actually someone else’s collection that was gifted to me—but we’ll get to that in a bit here. Okay, to quote my friend Joel, enough of my jibber-jabber, let’s get on with the review Scooby haul!

I know you’re excited about that above photo of me, Scrappy and Nikki Blake of ScoobyAddicts fame, but just hold on thar, pardner, we’ll get to that!

Okay, let’s kick things off with an item that I have been trying to source (affordably!) for years: The 1979 Scooby Doo War card game.

Scooby Haul 2023: A Clue For Scooby-Doo… How Much I Collected in Another Year

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collectibles, collecting, collection, collection haul, collector, memorabilia, Scooby, Scooby Doo, toy collector, Toys

Like, zoinks, man — time sure flies when you’re having fun collecting Scooby-Doo memorabilia! Our last tour was not so long ago, but it was posted horribly late (just like this one, lol!), so here we are again to wander the cold, dark, possibly haunted (but not really) corner of my Scooby-Doo-laden closet. Let’s find out what groovy pieces I added to the collection in 2023.

You know what? Let’s start out with a bang this time and take a look at some of my favourite new items. Beginning with a two-for-one Hanna-Barbera special: These rare 1979 Lakeside Toy Teeter Totter Scooby Laff-a-Lympics and Yogi Bear watches, not mint, but happily still on card.

I first saw this wonderful old advertisement on a friend’s blog many, many years ago, and immediately fell in love with these watches because come on, how often do you see Laff-a-Lympics stuff??

A Recipe You’ll Surely Go “Bananas” For: Homemade Banana Cake with Maple Buttercream Icing

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baking, banana bread, banana cake, banana muffins, bananas, dessert, kitchen, recipe

Happy National Banana Bread Day!

Bananas — they’re amazing… in theory: Affordable, convenient to carry and eat, naturally sweet, and they do have a pretty decent shelf life. But you know what? I buy a bunch of bananas and a week or so later they’re still sitting on my kitchen counter, turning black.

The truth is I rarely end up eating bananas unless they’re in muffin form. Preferably with chocolate chips, cinnamon and/or raisins. But as I watched my bananas once again slowly developing ugly age spots these past two weeks, I just didn’t feel like having muffins again.

So I created something new for my recipe book — a sweet and divinely moist banana cake, topped with an even sweeter smooth and creamy maple flavoured icing.

Only One Reason For the Season

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Christmas, Jesus, Nativity

Gerrit van Honthorst, “Adoration of the Child”, 1620

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

~ Isaiah 9:6-7

There is only one Reason for the Season, and can we all stop apologizing and making caveats for that, please? If you love Jesus, then stop telling everyone you’re sorry for it when you want to wish them a Merry Christmas. If the idea of God Himself giving His life for you is offensive? Well, that’s just too bad.

Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Christ Crowned with Thorns”, 1510

Merry Christmas to all, everywhere. Keep Jesus in your heart all the year. And may God bless us, everyone. ♥

The Lord is Merciful

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#SundayScripture, Art, Bible, Christ, christianity, faith, God, Jesus, love, mercy, Painting, religion, Sunday Scripture

I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

~ Psalm 116:1-2

Brian Jekel, “Healing of a Blind Man”

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

~ Psalm 94:18-19

If We Had to Pay…

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#SundayScripture, Bible, christianity, faith, God, hope, Jesus, Sunday Scripture, thankfulness

When was the last time you said “thank you” to the Lord? If you aren’t sure, then you aren’t saying it nearly enough.

Thank you, Lord, for all that we have, all that we are, all that you’ve given, and continue to give. None are worthy, no, not one, but you went to the cross anyway, didn’t you? And you still make the sunsets bright, the rainbows glorious, and the birds song sweet.

There is always much to be thankful for… especially for all the things we didn’t have to pay for. ♥

Simple and Straightforward Symbolism in the Bible

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#SundayScripture, Bible, christianity, church, Jesus, language, parables, Sunday Scripture, symbolism

For September’s Sunday Scripture post, let’s build on what we talked about last time — recognizing that there are two sides to wisdom, and learning how to read and understand the spiritual meaning of what the Bible says.

Sometimes the meaning is more hidden, and it takes much study and sincerity to decipher what the Word is talking about. But then other times, God comes right out and defines the spiritual for us, eliminating any possibility for misunderstanding or incorrect interpretation.

Today, I’ve highlighted a few of those instances where God isn’t beating around the bush — burning or otherwise — and tells us plainly what He means.

I’ve tried to lay this out as simply as possible, introducing the word we’re going to define, then quoting a verse which plainly tells the reader what that word’s spiritual meaning is. If you would enjoy listening to this topic and these examples discussed in a more in depth manner, I’ve embedded a video for you here.

My dad has been creating Bible videos for more than a decade, but for the past year, I’ve been joining in. Today’s post is a text companion piece to the video. Let’s get started!

Out of the Darkness and Into the Light: But What is Light?

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#SundayScripture, Art, Bible, christianity, God, Light, Painting, Sunday Scripture, understanding

Just a quick little lesson today to remind us that there are two sides to wisdom in the Bible. And that it’s high time we stop clinging to the literal, and start searching out the spiritual.

The question: What is “light” in the Bible? Spoiler: It isn’t talking about a hot filament and glass bulb, or the flame that comes from a lit candle.

Psalm 119:130 pretty much gives the answer away: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

So Light = Understanding.

But let’s keep going.

Psalm 119:169: “May my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your Word.”

Psalm 119:105: “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

Beverly Levi-Parker, “A Lamp Unto My Feet and a Light Unto My Path”, 1975

Now that our lamp is illuminated and dispelling the darkness (if light is understanding, then what is darkness if not ignorance?), let’s take it farther now. Let’s identify what (or who maybe??) the Word is so that we can learn what (who!) the Light is.

Building Upon the Rock: Who is Our Rock?

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#SundayScripture, Art, Bible, christianity, God, Painting, Sunday Scripture, The Rock

Debbie Clark, “House Built on a Rock”

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Scooby Haul 2022: Jinkies! So Much Scooby, So Little Time

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collectibles, collecting, collection, collection haul, collector, memorabilia, Scooby, Scooby Doo, toy collector, Toys, Where Are You

Hurray! Since we last spoke of my Scooby-Doo collection back on September 13, 2021 (rikes!), a veritable cornucopia of new Scooby items have been added to my closet treasure trove.

Should we talk about how delayed this post is…? I posted my first Scooby collection haul/roundup post for Scooby’s 50th birthday — September 13, 2019. This collection tour was a follow-up to the February 2018 Syfy Wire article that my collection was featured in. And I enjoyed doing it so much that I wanted to do an updated collection tour each and every year on Scooby’s birthday going forward.

I was a bit late for the next one, it was posted November 10, 2020. But I did hit September 13th again in 2021.

From “Scooby Haul 2021“

But 2022 was a beast of a year for me, and I just never got around to doing this. And I’ve decided that posting a yearly update in September doesn’t really make that much sense anyway. (Plus, other people are now copying this “ooo, look at my collection on Scooby’s birthday!” idea, so I’ll do something new.) I’m going to move these posts into (hopefully) January, and then going forward, if I say “These are the collectibles I added in X-year”, I mean only January-December of that single year.

ANYWAY, no one cares, lol! Everyone is here for the Scoobies, right? So let’s just dive right in, with the quick note that these items were acquired January-December 2022, plus mid September-December 2021.

In the last collection haul, we kicked things off with the addition of my absolute holy grail piece of Scooby merch — the 1977 Imperial Toy Corp. Scooby-Dee push puppet. I had previously discovered and snagged a 1979 black knock-off version of this toy, and guess what? Last year, I snagged a third knock-off — a white one with a blue base this time!