A Miraculous Find

I took the Briesmobile in for a much needed interior detailing on Monday. Mother bought me Weathertech car mats for Christmas last year. She also set up an appointment for detailing but the detailer cancelled the appointment. I decided to give Busse Automotive a try - they had great reviews, the price was reasonable and I try to shop local when I can. When I picked up the van, the man behind the counter set two keys down. My first reaction was this must not be right, I came in with one key. But then I quickly realized that they found my second key inside the van somewhere! I was totally amazed because it has been "missing" a good 10 of the 12 years I have owned this van. I have been so very careful all this time not to lose the only key I thought I had. In the past I inquired about having a duplicate made but due to the age of the van did not have luck finding someone who could make one. What great timing because we will be leaving soon and now there is a spare key in case something happens to the original one. While we are gone the van will need to be at least started up 2-3 times per week or the battery will die and need to be replaced. And the folks at Busse Automotive did an amazing job making the old girl look as best as she can at her age. They even applied the tire shine product to the rubber cargo mat. I was shocked at how great it looked. I highly recommend Busse Automotive for car detailing.

I was not able to post a Sunday night jewelry lot because I had estate sale paperwork to do but I did put this small lot of variscite jewelry up on Thursday night. The bracelet, ring and triangle earrings sold, the necklace and earrings set is available. Variscite is a rare material and is difficult to find in jewelry. These pieces show just a few of the possible color combinations of the stone.

A lovely repeat customer purchased the bracelet and ring and she had not heard of variscite before. From the Crystal Council website: "Variscite is an exceptional heart stone that helps one connect with their inner being. This mineral heavily promotes inner peace and clarity of the mind, while helping one slowly establish control over their emotional body. Working with this mineral helps teach our minds to simplify every situation and stop obsessing over the outcome. We have little control over anything in this world except for our own emotions and how we react. Variscite is here to serve as a reminder of that and push you to slow down and live in the moment." Sounds like a stone that anyone would benefit having as part of their collection.

We had a long overdue Brie's get together on Wednesday evening at Sunrise Grill in Des Plaines. It is an interesting place in an unassuming strip mall - diner by day and gourmet restaurant at night. Kuochun selected the restaurant, not only because the food is good but it is BYOB. Mother contributed some bottles of wine she will not be drinking and Kuochun picked up the rest at Walmart. Everyone had a great time except our server, even though we were in a separate room we were loud. It was great to see everyone and a fun time was had by all!

We are heading into our final week here before we go and the packing continues. The final U-Box was delivered to Mother's house and is scheduled to be picked up next Wednesday. Right now I am in the midst of helping Mother decide what she would like to keep and what she would like to send to Scottsdale to either sell or keep there. We spent a lot of time on the clothing, shoes and purses and I was able to bring all the holiday decorations up from the basement as well. The goal is to at least get all of the jewelry-making supplies up from the basement and if time permits, work on the vintage photos and memorabilia. It is taking longer than expected but hopefully there will be time to fill the container before the deadline.

There is much to do so this posting will be short and sweet!