Another week has flown by! We started off in Prescott with another plumbing appointment to hopefully get the bathroom facilities up and running again. I mentioned to the plumbers that I felt everything needed to be checked out from the inside, to be sure there was a clear path to the work which they did on the outside. He went outside, checked it and said everything was fine, then they proceeded to reinstall the toilet. However, it became apparent fairly soon that some of the same issues were cropping up. We had to head back to Scottsdale for our appointments on Friday and Monday but before leaving I set up another plumbing appointment for next Wednesday. I rescheduled my physical therapy appointment which was supposed to be Tuesday to September 8 which was the next available appointment.
Before leaving, Kuochun and I attempted to go to the fitness center at Yavapai Community College. The center is quite small and is only open sporadic hours, 9:00-11:00 and then again in the evening. When we arrived, there were two deal breakers - a bunch of rowdy students piled in just ahead of us and luckily Kuochun noticed that the NuStep machine which is the major part of my physical therapy homework and he uses for half his workout was out of commission. I consulted with ChatGPT and it suggested The Center For Physical Excellence. We headed over there and found that half the facility is for physical therapy and the other half is a gym. We received a quick tour and the gym had the machines we both need. At the time there was only one person working out. We can buy a day pass for $10 each or a monthly pass for $75 each. It is more expensive than we are used to but Kuochun brought up a good point - under my insurance a physical therapy appointment has a $40 copay so at least the day pass is quite a bit less than that. The passes also include use of the pool. Kuochun has told me all these years how he would love to swim again but for some reason he is not interested in trying this pool.
We ended up going to Planet Fitness that day since it was our last day on the monthly pass we had purchased and tried the new facility on a single day pass the next day. The staff is super nice, we were the only ones there, the room had plenty of sunlight and there was a steady dose of '80s music. There are two NuStep machines, they are older but I just chose the newer one and it was doable. It has been a little challenging with us shifting back and forth between locations but we are trying to make things as normal as possible. For now at least, this facility will be a great fill-in until we can establish a regular schedule. It is about the same distance from home as Scottsdale and the location is in an upscale complex with quite a few other medical professionals.
Unfortunately I was not able to post any new items this week but two pieces did sell - a pair of cute Federico earrings is going out of the country, although I am not sure where because my job is to mail them to the international hub in Glendale Heights. I also accepted a reasonable Poshmark offer on this beautiful statement horse pendant from Bali which features a large piece of Hubei turquoise from China. I should get this piece of petrified cholla cactus out again for a prop, this photo turned out well!
This leaves one more Bali piece online, also with Hubei turquoise but a hummingbird motif. I do have a shoebox with Bali jewelry which I have not done anything with for a long time. It is all priced and ready to go so I will be displaying it in the pop-up shop. From what I recall, they are mostly dangle earrings and matching pendants with cute animal and floral designs.
I did a little organizing around the house in Prescott but mostly focused on estate sale work. Next time I will really need to hit the ground running though and get to organizing the pop-up shop. It is coming up on only one month until the garage and pop-up shop sale. The tile for the Arizona room arrived on Thursday afternoon. The delivery driver was very nice but he was not able to bring it into the room. The best he could do is drop the pallet on the side street. It is very tightly wrapped in heavy plastic so hopefully it can brave the elements (and potential theft) until it can be installed in a couple of weeks. We had to leave for Scottsdale after the delivery and Tina has been on vacation so there was nothing we could do. Thankfully we have the side street so the pallet is not in anyone's way. It was my first time making the drive in the dark but I did just fine!
The Whatnot jewelry seller had a scheduled trip to New Mexico to pick up new creations from her artist friends so she did not need to come over for more inventory from me. This Saturday's show featured the amazing pieces with a heart motif and two types of opal as well as pink mussel shell and pink conch shell. It was so fun to see what was created from the stone arrangements she had shown me on on of her visits. There were two pendants and I snagged the larger one. I am so excited to receive it, opal is my birthstone (and Kuochun's too) but I have never really seen opal jewelry in a style or color tones that I liked. The entire collection sold out on Saturday except for the most valuable piece which is a statement necklace. I am glad that no one else bid on the pendant, if they had I would not have gotten into a bidding war with someone over it. Later in the show, my pieces were featured and there was a great run! Nine pieces sold including my sterling silver heart concho belt and my cosmic inlay panel bracelet sold the next day. I am glad that I did not make the investment in taking the belt apart and making smaller pieces with it such as pendants and rings. It looked so great as a belt and now it has found a new home. I have been focusing now on having pieces restored back to the way they were originally created.
I picked up a large order from repair which included putting quite a few bolo ties together. Someone had turned one of the bolos into a ring by gluing it onto a clunky ring setting. It turned out adorable, as well as the other bolos. They are not inexpensive but I keep hearing that bolos are popular at the moment so maybe they can find new homes between posting them online or offering them at the pop-up sale.
Over the weekend between estate sale work I started to make sure everything has a price for the pop-up sale, starting with rings. So far I have a full tray of vintage Native American turquoise rings, half a tray of vintage Native American non-turquoise or multi-stone rings and half a tray of new old stock Native American rings. I also started a display with Non-Native rings. For now, I will keep any jewelry that I price with me to offer in the pop-up sale as opposed to sending it to Mount Prospect for the jewelry caravan. I was going to ask for the turquoise rings back but since I have a full tray I think that will be plenty for my sale.
Next week and leading into the Labor Day holiday the hope is that the Prescott plumbing will be up to par so I can stay for the week and complete staging for the pop-up sale. Although the evenings cool down, I feel like I have not had a day in Prescott that has not been 90 degrees. We are supposed to get a little break from the heat next week.
Once the non-jewelry items are in place, then I can start introducing the jewelry. I have my three free-standing display cases all lined up. I think one will be vintage Mexican jewelry, one vintage Native American and the third Tucson Gem Show finds. I am good with leaving costume jewelry out in the open but I would like the sterling to be under wraps. I think the best jewelry will be in the pop-up shop and I will put the budget-friendly pieces in the garage. I will need to man the pop-up shop while Kuochun can be in the garage area. He is not keen on wearing any jewelry but I asked him to put a bolo on and see if he can sell it. I have one that is manly looking, made of a slice of an antler with a snake design on it.
Margot was not feeling well at all on Sunday. She was fine when we went to the fitness center in the morning but we came back to a big mess in my room. We will keep an eye on her and give her a break from food so her digestive system can reset. I hope she feels better soon. She is such a little sweetie but sassy at the same time, I miss her sassy self.
Until next time!
