My Trade-Up Trial #2


Happy Saturday! In last week's blog post, I introduced my new trade-up trial, a challenge where I attempt to make my way from a single paperclip to a house via a series of increasingly more valuable trades. This challenge was inspired by someone who had done the exact same thing a few years ago, and I decided to try and repeat it while blogging about my progress. 

Well, I am happy to say that this past week, I already made my first trade of the challenge! 

On August 24, 2020, I received an email from fellow Basil E. Bacorn Publishing author Dennis Lantz containing a list of proposed items to trade for my one white paperclip. The list was five items long, but the two that caught my eye were a handcrafted wooden sign and a hiking stick topped with a wooden moose head.

Now, I have to be honest: I am not the best at making decisions like this. What made this particular decision that much harder, though, was the fact that I wanted to pick both items, but for two very different reasons.

My brain, the logical part of me, was immediately drawn to the handcrafted wooden sign. It looked to be of good quality, probably had a higher trade value, and I feel like it would be easier to find someone to trade the sign with than it would to find someone to trade the hiking stick with, just because it was a more "normal" and "general" piece of decor. The hiking stick was more unique and specialized - I could only expect hikers and those who collect hiking sticks to be interested.

That being said, my heart had other ideas. 

They say to follow your heart, and mine wanted to go with the moose head walking stick. Despite my logical side's thinking, my emotional side wanted the unique treasure. The sign was normal, but the walking stick with a kinda creepy moose head? That was way more special! The moose hiking stick was different, and although my logical side thought it would be harder to trade, it was just too "on-brand" for me to pass up. The moose hiking stick would definitely make this adventure more interesting!

In the end, however, I decided to pick the logical choice. My goal, after all, is to trade my way to a house. This requires logic and reasoning to make the right decisions along the way.


One Welcome Friends Sign


So on August 26, 2020, I went to town and traded my one white paperclip for this handcrafted "Welcome Friends" sign. Quite an increase in value, if I do say so myself.

And I know what you are thinking. "Basil, you should have followed your heart and gone for the moose walking stick!" 

Well, if you know anything about me, you know I couldn't resist making a second trade (different from the trade-up challenge) in order to get my hands on this cursed moose hiking companion!



Mr. GlassEyes here is about five-feet tall, topped with a wood-carved moose head with a very shiny eyeball that makes me feel uncomfortable. 

And now, it's mine. :)

But anyway, back to the challenge! 

I am now looking for someone who would be interested in making a trade for my new handcrafted wooden "Welcome Friends" sign. The sign is approximately 20 inches wide and 13 inches tall, with the words "Welcome Friends" engraved in the wood as pictured. Right now it is hanging on the wall where I do my weekly Facebook Lives, so if you are interested in making a trade, send me an email at basil@basilebacorn.com and let's see what we can do!


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Thanks for reading! I am so excited to see what comes next!





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