A Semi-Empty Nest

The household became quieter (in a way) on Tuesday when Kuochun left for China. He flew from Phoenix to Los Angeles, where he had a layover of several hours before the second and very long leg which was Taipei, Taiwan. In his words, that portion was a "torture trip." After that, it was a third short flight to his hometown of Guangzhou, historically known as Canton to us Westerners. We have been able to talk through iPhone text messages but he cannot see any images and does not have access to the US internet. There is a 15-hour time difference between Arizona and Guangzhou! It took Kuochun several days to recover from the journey but he is doing well now. He was able to meet up with some friends and said all of the people he has met with so far say he looks so much healthier than before. The number one thing he has done to continue to improve his health next to quitting smoking is regular exercise. In addition to about an hour and a half of dog walking per day, 5-6 days per week he is at the Scottsdale Community College fitness center logging a half hour on the treadmill and a half hour on the NuStep. And these are real workouts, with his heart rate up, sweating and everything!

It has been a transition as well for the girls, especially Vivi. Most of the week she was waiting either in the living room or at the front door, waiting for Kuochun to come home. I kept telling her it was going to be a long wait! Dog walking hours are pretty brutal for me, being a night owl. Vivi gets us up promptly at 5:50 AM, ready for the first walk of the day. Well, one day she let me sleep in until 5:51! Kuochun has found that the early morning walks are helpful because there are not nearly as many other people out and about walking their dogs. Vivi is reactive and barks like crazy and jumps around like a fool when she sees other dogs. Sometimes she jumps on Margot and of course Margot does not like it so the two of them tussle. Kuochun and I have both learned to hold Margot back while the jumping around is going on. It is really embarrassing because no one else's dogs act like that. Most of them have no reaction and a few of them will bark a little in return. I have been trying to get them to do their business in the back patio area between longer walks. The issue here in Scottsdale is we have no grass, it is all desert landscape. They are used to going on rocks when out on walks but for some reason it does not compute as well at home. It is not consistent yet but I keep trying. It is almost like having a puppy, trying to be patient while they decide whether to go or not. Thursday was Vivi's 8th birthday and Margot's will be on the 11th. Both girls have been pretty needy while they transition to a new full-time caretaker while Kuochun is away but things are getting better!

Unfortunately the extra walking is wreaking havoc on my knee. The pain is pretty intense all the time and my sciatica is acting up as well. I am about halfway through physical therapy and the pressure is on to get results before my visits run out. Luckily I am responding well to the NuStep, I just have to get myself to the fitness center 1-2 days per week as part of my homework. As usual, it is always something though! Friday was cleaning day so we had to clear out but we were able to come back before 11:00 which was not bad. The weather has been beautiful, temperatures have been more in the normal range for this time of year but it is due to heat up again. So far, temperatures have been pretty comfortable for walking.

Before Kuochun left on Tuesday, we briefly met up with Melinda and Frank at a Walmart in North Scottsdale to deliver the jewelry that Melinda was going to help me sell at her friend Robin's estate sale. They were there having their taxes done. The sale was supposed to start Wednesday and end on Friday but it was pushed back to Thursday-Saturday. I have not received the final results yet because the sale will resume on Monday but believe I have sold about 6 pieces so far. Every little bit helps! Kuochun wanted to go out to eat one last time before he left so after we left Walmart we decided to try Butters, which is the sister restaurant to Butterfield's which we love. Other than the decor, which was a bit more modern at Butters, the menu was basically the same. Kuochun ordered his usual two by two by two and I suggested that he upgrade the pancakes to the cinnamon roll flavor which are amazing. He decided to close his eyes and point his finger to the pancake menu and he landed on Berry Bliss. It is not something either of us would think to order but wow were they good! I should have taken a photo, they were beautiful too. I ordered the same breakfast sandwich I have in the past but I need to remember to just get pancakes from now on. As much of a sweet tooth that I have, I tend to gravitate towards savory at breakfast spots.

I have taken a liking to Portland Leather Goods bags and belong to a few of the related Facebook groups. Some of these people have entire rooms filled with the bags they have collected. I have four and the one I carry the most is a black circle crossbody bag with a flat rope-like design stitched on it. I found it on Poshmark. I have never been a shoulder bag fan and used to carry handbags but now I really love having my hands free. I do not carry much other than a small wallet, keys and sunglasses if they fit. PLG was having a one-time "drop" of a bag called the Luna crossbody and I liked the style and a couple of the colors - Empire which is a dark purple and Seaglass which is a greenish teal. The bags were supposed to drop on the website Tuesday at 11:00 AM my time but they were not dropping! I kept up to date on the Facebook groups and it was finally announced that the bags were going to drop the next day. I followed some online tips for increasing my chances to snag one or both colors (these bags are POPULAR!) so I was set up for success. The bags dropped on time and I was able to get both colors and in the Medium size which fans said was similar to my circle bag. They should arrive early next week.

It is a BIG deal when PLG opens a new store, people travel from all over to get there. We have been patiently waiting for months for the Arizona store to open and the announcement came out of the blue Friday evening - the soft opening was Saturday! I thought about going but the store is nearly 40 minutes each way in Gilbert and driving even 5 minutes is painful. Also, these stores are small and I knew there was going to be a feeding frenzy. After seeing the recap I am glad I did not go. The "unicorn" or limited edition colors featured were Hot Pink, Paradise Blue and Moss. I actually prefer the pebbled or textured leathers and these were all smooth. The word is that they scratch easily. People go to the stores and personal shop for people who are not close to a store. Some of them charge a fee for their time. I saw that one person was charging $20 plus shipping per item. Sounds like a good way for her to make some pocket change! Each store also has a "flair" or bag charm which relates to their location. The Arizona flair was not ready for the soft opening. If they have something cute I may try and get one, they are only in stores. My vote would be for a Saguaro cactus or roadrunner. I actually have some gorgeous flower flairs I purchased from another maker on Facebook. She uses PLG leathers plus leathers from other brands such as Go Forth Goods. The store is at a beautiful shopping center called San Tan Village. Mother and I went there a few years ago and I remember the HomeGoods being very nice so it would be fun to go out there some time. Plus Flancer's is a great lunch place in Gilbert that Kuochun and I love.

Next Thursday is National Unicorn Day and PLG will drop some fun metallic bags. I actually like all three colors. Most of the offerings will be large totes and shoulder bags but I like these two choices. I will probably try and see what I can get. Then I will be done, I do not want to turn into a crazy bag lady!

I had to mention that PLG also dropped their Bagaloon bag on April 1 as it fit the flying the nest theme this week. A lot of people thought it was an April Fool's joke but it was not. Many thought the price was very high at $260 but once people started receiving their orders it made total sense to me. Along with all the added construction, this bag is huge! I think it would make a better decoration for the hard-core collectors who have purse rooms. In my opinion it is not wearable, although apparently some people are attempting it as shown here.

Easter was the first holiday ever that I have been totally on my own. But I did well and treated it like a usual Sunday with estate sale paperwork, and I continued with making sure my online inventory is correct. I am now about halfway through it. This includes tagging any pieces without a price attached so they are ready to go for my next in-person sale or Whatnot. There was no special food for me either, I did the opposite and cleaned out the refrigerator on Sunday because garbage pickup is Monday. Kuochun left a good amount of food behind, except for a few things he asked me to freeze I had to toss the rest. I am not a fan of going to the grocery store, especially on my own. It actually kind of gives me anxiety now with so many people running around in every direction. I do need to go sometime soon though, I am down to my last Metabolic Meal so I will need to come up with some dinner ideas. I decided to take some time off from the meals, to save money and also I fell behind with the two trips to Prescott. They are vacuum packed and do last a long time. If it were not for Kuochun I would probably never go out to eat so I do not have any plans to eat out while he is away.

I did not get to post any new items once again but I did sell 6 items - four on Etsy and two on Poshmark. A couple of weeks ago I had a Poshmark offer on this reversible mid-century pendant from Mexico. My process is to either accept a Poshmark offer if it is reasonable or to counteroffer with my best price if the offer is too low. If they try to counteroffer again, I come back with my best price again. This happened but the price was just not high enough for me to accept. Fast forward to this past week and I received another offer which was reasonable enough to accept right off the bat. I did double-check and it was not the person who made the offers before. Unless they also sell, I do not think Poshmark buyers realize we pay the highest commission around (20%) plus I pay shipping ($6.49) so I just cannot accept low offers. I had someone else offer me $1,200 on an amazing artist signed squash blossom necklace I paid $1,600 for and have listed for $3,000. My listing prices across the board directly relate to Poshmark fees because they are the highest. I counteroffered at $2,500 but he declined the offer. I also had someone ask through Poshmark to provide a photo of a necklace I have up for sale, which is a struggle for me to do on my own. After about an hour, I finally came up with a decent-looking photo. No response until 5 days later when she says "no longer interested." How weird!

Three of the other pieces I sold were Navajo jewelry which I have had online for a long time. They are all really nice and I was happy to see them find new homes. I also sold these adorable Federico earrings and this vintage Christmas candle ring. This is why it is good to have seasonal items posted year-round! I actually still have my Christmas tree in the living room. I never decorated it, my intention was to photograph each of the remaining ornaments I would like to sell displayed on the tree with the silver metallic branches as the background. I think I will put the tree away at this point and just superimpose a background on the ornaments, like I did here with the candle ring.

My injury is holding me back but my plan is to take advantage of the quiet time this month to get jewelry priced for the caravan and new items posted. I also need to reorganize the guest room and straighten out what is remaining in the garage so I can get the two cars in. I think I have about two car trunks of items that still need to go to Prescott but it is mostly for the garage sale. I also have a few lamps to bring up but will probably wait on the lamps for the AZ room until it is built. I will be able to use one of the lamps I have had for several years on the nightstand in my room. I need to clean up the construction dust from when the plumbers installed the French drain in front of the garage door. It basically messed up the garage, everything is covered in white powder. Had I known this, I would have waited on this job until everything going to Prescott was out of there. I ordered this cool pink foamy cleaner that you just spray on the surface, let it sit while it foams up and then wipe it clean. It is supposed to be a clean product yet the shipping is taking forever like it is coming from China. As a once a year product it should be OK to use and the hope is the French drain will keep the water out of the garage during monsoon season. But before I can tackle the to do list I will need to complete my taxes first! Like I said, it is always something.

See you next time!