This past week felt like nearly a carbon copy of the previous week. We unexpectedly had to go back to Prescott for two reasons - one was that our contractor Victor was not able to get to the painting supplies in the garage due to our move and two was that we had to dismantle Kuochun's bedroom furniture after setting it up the week before. The reason for the bedroom furniture dismantling was because Kuochun was to receive a grasscloth accent wallpaper wall before the move but the installer did not have the skills to install it properly. Tina our designer had to find a new installer (and order a new batch of wallpaper) but they have not been to the house yet. She was afraid that the installer would get wallpaper paste on Kuochun's furniture and if we did not do the job ourselves I was going to get charged to have the furniture moved.
We did not stay as long in Prescott this time. I had a mammogram appointment late Thursday afternoon so we could not leave until after that and since Kuochun is leaving for China next Tuesday, he only wanted to stay until Saturday. This gave me a very tight timeframe to accomplish everything. I was able to get about 75% of the garage items in the right place and most of them unpacked. There were still some items out there which belonged in the house like the rest of our everyday dishes, the glass doors for the china cabinet and little wooden shelves for the buffet. I also found Mother and Dad's three framed vintage posters which I would like to hang in my room. Many of the items in the garage will go to the pop-up shop and the rest will stay in the garage for the "moving in" sale. I decided to fill the trunk of the car with garage sale items from Scottsdale (mostly Mother's) and a batch of new clothing which I tagged and will sell at the garage sale and future pop-up sales. The garage in Scottsdale is not perfect but it is getting there!
I took a look at upcoming Prescott events thinking they would have a art or craft show in the Courthouse Square Memorial Day weekend. Courthouse Square is the centerpiece of Yavapai County and attracts lots of visitors, especially with an event going on. We are only six blocks east of Courthouse Square and all I need to do for a garage sale is post a sign on each of the busy street corners - one just north of us on Sheldon and the other a couple of blocks south on Gurley. It turns out that the Territorial Days Arts & Crafts Show is June 6-7 so I think I will shoot for that weekend. I could never have an outdoor sale that time of year in Scottsdale, temperatures are well over 100 degrees by then.
I spent some time working with ChatGPT to create new branding for Arizona, in a color palette which goes with the pop-up shop. I presented it with the logo I have been using as well as a sample of my breezeway cement tile from Mount Prospect. I have nearly four boxes of tile remaining and it has been on quite a journey! Several years ago, Melinda drove it from Mount Prospect on one of her driving trips to and from Illinois and it has been sitting in my laundry room in Scottsdale ever since. I asked the movers to include the boxes in my move but they forgot so I had to lug them up there myself. They are so heavy! I thought it would make a beautiful backsplash so I consulted with Victor to see what we could do. He thinks there is enough to make three rows of the 8x8 inch tiles above the cabinets. I said three rows would be great as long as enough tiles are in great shape. Even if we can only do two rows it will still make the above pattern across the wall. Then I will have space to hang art above it. The carpet tiles are still not fully installed yet and Tina needs to track down a countertop remnant. Then the appliances can be installed and two huge boxes will be out of there!
At first, I asked ChatGPT to give me a Southwestern background but in the end I went back to a floral. The theme of the pop-up shop has always been French market-inspired. I then tried to work on the front and back sides of the business card and made good progress. I had to stop because sometimes ChatGPT goes off the rails and will not follow instructions. I am actually using a paid version so when this happens it is definitely very frustrating. This is what I have so far, I think I have it but the front image is too narrow. I tried to get ChatGPT to size it correctly but it was not listening. I also cannot get it to use the matching font for my name. I will give it a few days' break.
This is the most time I have spent in the pop-up shop and I unfortunately discovered that the lights turn off automatically after about five minutes or so. I have this same problem in the garage in Scottsdale, then I have to go across the room and wave my arms around until the lights come on again. This will not work for Whatnot shows - I need to find out if the sensor can be turned off while I am working in there.
Because I only had one full day in Prescott to work on these projects, I ended up working after dark but that was cut short in a hurry! There were still items outside the door and I was working away at about 8:00 PM when all of a sudden I clearly heard pig noises! That could only mean one thing, javelina! I quickly shut the chain link gate, locked up the pop-up shop and ran to the back door. I probably scared Kuochun but luckily he was in the kitchen at the time.
We did take a break on Friday to try a Cajun / Southern restaurant right down the street from us called Uncle Bud's Place. We were driving by the shopping center and I noticed the sign. I have heard from the Facebook groups that this is a good place and Cajun food is one of Kuochun's very favorites. However Kuochun decided to try the jerk chicken because I told him it was good. Dad used to take us to a restaurant on Okauchee Lake in Wisconsin named Gilligan's and their specialty was jerk chicken. Mother and Dad took a couple of trips to Jamaica with friends back in the day and they loved the jerk chicken there. The only choice was thighs which works for Kuochun and he did like it. I went with the mac and cheese with andouille sausage because they only serve mac and cheese on Friday and Saturday. I thought the pasta was overdone so I would not order it again. I did enjoy the bread pudding. The owner asked if I wanted vanilla or bourbon sauce and I said it was hard to decide because I would like both. He said no problem and he did half and half for me. I think this will end up being a go-to place for Kuochun to get carryout food.
On Saturday, even though time was limited we did go downtown and picked up some Parlor Doughnuts and had lunch at Bistro St. Michael in the Hotel St. Michael. The reason we went for donuts was because the restaurant is closed from 1:45-2:45 as they end their brunch hours and prepare for dinner and we arrived about ten minutes early. I have been wanting to go here since the first time I visited Prescott but the timing never worked out. We decided to share a couple of appetizers - calamari and coconut macadamia nut shrimp with pina colada sauce and split a Caesar salad. Everything was so delicious! Kuochun wondered how old the building was so I looked it up, it was rebuilt in 1901 after a fire in 1900. I am definitely interested in going there again and trying the daily brunch!
After that, it was a scramble to get things situated well enough for Victor to continue his work in the pop-up shop and the wallpaper hanger to do the accent wall in Kuochun's room. I had tried to unpack a few things in the pop-up shop but ran out of time. I ended p having to stack everything on the opposite side of the room. We arrived back in Scottsdale Saturday evening, giving me enough time to prepare two jewelry cases which will go to Melinda next Tuesday for an estate sale in Sun City Wednesday-Friday. We have our own sale in South Barrington which will be Wednesday-Saturday due to Easter. I should have room for at least two cases there as well so I am hoping for a successful jewelry weekend.
Once again, due to all of the extra activity and keeping up with estate sale work I was not able to post any new items online. I did sell two items - a 1970s Navajo-made cuff bracelet with a tiger's eye cabochon and a huge surprise on Sunday evening! I was talking with Melinda on the phone and all of a sudden I received a sale notification from Etsy - the amazing squash blossom necklace by Navajo artist Wilson Bahe featured in the main photo sold to a buyer from Japan at my asking price! This is an exquisite example of Navajo workmanship and I hope the buyer loves it. Interestingly enough, many Japanese love Native American jewelry!
Plans for next week include continuing physical therapy - these past two weeks I have not been able to keep up with my homework but once Kuochun leaves next Tuesday I will need to take over dog walking duty which I think will really aggravate my knee. We will see what happens. After a two-week break from estate sale paperwork, I will have one package to do next week. I would like to get posting again and also send some jewelry back to Mount Prospect for the caravan. I have noticed that the few turquoise rings I have there are selling so I think I am going to give up some of the rings I have here to see if I can get them sold. First up, they will be for sale next weekend at the Sun City estate sale.
Until next time!
