Goodbye 2025

by Brigid McAlpin December 7, 2025

Next week it looks like we are hosting our last estate sale of the year so this will be the last blog post of the year as well. 2025 has been a year I will never forget, with massive life changes. I lost my dear Mother at the start of the year and Kuochun and I made the decision to leave Mount Prospect and permanently relocate to Arizona. Although we are not fully settled down yet from the move, I am making progress and plan to have everything organized by the end of the year. We have not seen the new home in Prescott since June because it is being worked on but the main home project is on schedule and we are hoping that it will be ready in the next 2-3 months. As of now, HVAC, electrical and insulation have been brought up to snuff. The double door to the studio has been installed and the front door has been painted a new color. Exterior light fixtures are up and the interior fixtures and wallpaper will be up next. The studio will be carpeted and custom cabinetry will be installed in both bedrooms, the studio and laundry area. The studio will even have a beverage refrigerator and microwave! The Arizona room is still in the permitting process, this is the third go-around but the hope is that once the main home is finished, I can get everything out of storage with U-Haul and the garage here in Scottsdale. That will be a happy day!

Hot off the press - this updated Prescott front door color. I liked the original black color but the designer felt really strongly about the pop of color on the front door (and the garage "people" door down the way) so I OK'd it. Thankfully it matches the new light fixture but that almost did not happen!

It nearly ended up being this green color which did not match the light fixture at all! In the end, the paint color was matched to the fixture.

Since my last blog post, I have been working on unpacking all of the boxes from Mount Prospect. Thank goodness Mike labeled the boxes, that really helped me segregate what is staying in Scottsdale from what will go to Prescott. Unfortunately we had a lot of rain and water got into the garage. My beautiful shearling boots from Canada which I have had for years were full of green mold and my Brother label printer which I had saved for a long time got wet and had little bugs crawling on it. They had to go, as well as two of my woven boxes from Container Store which they do not offer for sale anymore. I am currently using seagrass boxes to hold all my various plastic bags for jewelry and the boxes shed like crazy. A couple of the larger boxes in a different color were spared and hopefully they will fit in my credenza. The only items I have not been able to find are the supplements I traveled with, which does not make sense since we had them with us. It is really a mystery!

I went through the kitchen in Scottsdale and split up the items, and also eliminated the plastic utensils and gadgets. As cute as they are, I will be selling the Joseph Joseph kitchen items as they are all plastic. My favorite items were the diamond shaped colanders with handles that stack inside each other. I heard though that even though the plastic is BPA-free, it is still not enough protection from the combination of boiling water hitting the plastic. When I get the chance I will get stainless steel colanders. Since I was handling the items, I priced them for a future garage sale at the same time. Since I downsized my Christmas decor and estate sale paperwork, I was left with quite a few of the Container Store bins that when locked down, are waterproof and bug proof. They are perfect for storing in the garage. My future self will really thank me for doing this when garage sale time comes! My first thought was to keep the Mount Prospect Corelle set in Scottsdale and send the other Corelle set to Prescott. However after Kuochun ran them all through the dishwasher, he found that they do not fit in the cabinet very well. I had already packed some of the previous set so I will need to locate them, and now repack the Mount Prospect set. I made a lot of good progress with this project but still have about a day or two left of packing / pricing for the garage sale left to do.

A week ago Saturday I had the movers who came recommended from the Scottsdale Living Facebook group come over to help us get out from all the extra furniture, rugs etc. that have been all over the place. We had five mattresses crammed into our second floor which is not very large, it consists of two rectangular bedrooms, a hallway and the bathroom at the end of the hall. It was a 6-hour project but just about all of the extra furniture which is going to Prescott is in the garage. One half of the garage has Mother's remaining household items and the Prescott items are on the other side. We will have to open the garage door to get to the mail but overall the situation is much better than it was before. We actually have a pathway to get to the laundry room. I had been using half of a bed frame turned upright to hang my clothing to dry on hangers. Kuochun was struggling as well with two bedroom sets in his room and his mattress from Mount Prospect taking up the entire hallway. The bedroom furniture he was using in Scottsdale is going to Prescott and the movers set up his bed from Mount Prospect. It took three trips to the hardware store because some of the bed frame hardware was missing but things are looking so much better in his room. We decided to keep the dressers that were already there (1950s long low dresser and highboy by Raymond Loewy) so that means I will need to sell his other two dressers. Unfortunately every piece of furniture which went into the U-Boxes the last go-around now has damage. It is really a shame because everything was in wonderful vintage condition to start. The Illinois movers did not wrap or pack the furniture well enough. I am going to see if I can find a furniture repair person who hopefully could at least fix my headboard which needs one of the platform legs reattached as well as additional damage. It currently looks pretty bad sitting in my room on a severe angle. However for myself as well, it is such a relief to be able to freely walk around my room without having to dodge furniture at every turn. It did come at a price - the mover charged me way more than I was expecting the job to be. I had originally told him it would be a two-part job but I will not be having him back. I think he overcharged me because he thought he could but in the long run it will was not a smart idea on his part.

On the brighter side, the same day shortly after the movers left I was able to receive the items that Kuochun and I had to leave in the office the night before the house closing. I found this shipper / mover through uShip.com. At first I received outrageous quotes for $2,000 and $3,000 and thought I was not going to be able to reunite Mother's rattan set and my patio set but a quote came through for $528 which was way more down to earth. Marcos was terrific to work with - such a nice man and his communication was excellent, keeping me up to date every step of the way. Everything arrived in perfect condition. Marcos makes the drive from the Midwest to the Southwest every two weeks. I will definitely remember him if I ever need his help moving anything back and forth to Illinois.

All of this occurred in the midst of my experiencing some really wretched knee pain. There is nothing in particular that happened, all of a sudden the right knee especially just felt terrible. It has been more than two weeks and it is not getting any better. There is no swelling and thankfully I have been able to sleep but when I wake up the knee is very stiff and painful when I move it. I would like to think I do not need a knee replacement at my age, the thought of that is very scary to me because I saw firsthand what Mother went through. I am in limbo with my health insurance right now. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL insurance until the end of the year. I cancelled that policy and signed up for a similar policy with Blue Cross Blue Shield of AZ. I was hoping there would be a cost savings but it turned out to be $13 per month more than before. The copays are the same but the deductibles are higher. It is so expensive being self-employed and having to fully pay for insurance. It is like having a third mortgage payment. I am waiting until the final acceptance and then I will see if I can select a primary care physician and make an appointment now for 2026. I just missed my annual checkup and mammogram which I was doing in October so I have a reason to schedule appointments.

I have been doing pretty well with posting new jewelry items online. I read that on the online venues, especially Poshmark and eBay, posting consistently is much more beneficial than posting a bunch of items at once and then not posting for a week. I thought if I can just post one item each evening at minimum it is better than not posting at all. I continue to organize my jewelry inventory and found two Leo Feeney Christmas pins. Leo Feeney was a Southwest Style jewelry artisan who recently passed away. His style is very recognizable, fancy with the elaborate use of gemstones. I made it a priority to post the pins right away, one each for two consecutive days. I sold the multi-gem pin above on Poshmark the very next morning. I think it was only online for about 6 hours. On Sunday, the same buyer offered $100 less on the other pin. Normally I would not have gone any lower since it was already discounted but I took into account the fact that she purchased the other pin and met her in the middle. She accepted the offer!

I also accepted an offer on a bundle deal of three items - a fabulous Navajo turquoise cuff bracelet, a turquoise and silver bench beaded eyeglass holder and a chunky silver link necklace and bracelet by Carolyn Pollack. I felt it was a reasonable offer, even though the items were discounted and I had just posted the cuff bracelet.

I sold a turquoise cluster cuff bracelet which I had just posted. The customer found the bracelet through Facebook Marketplace but wanted to pay by credit card directly so I had her go to my website.

In addition, I sold four cuff bracelets including this fabulous rainbow man by Federico, a pair of owl earrings from Bali and a Navajo-made floral bouquet turquoise ring. The new items brought attention to the items I had previously posted over the past two years and resulted in purchases from eBay, Etsy and Poshmark. Overall it has been very encouraging and I am glad to be back in the swing of things!

The Sunday before last, I posted two high-end Native American jewelry items - this men's cuff bracelet by Howard Begay which features natural Sleeping Beauty turquoise and this men's statement ring by Henry Yazzie which has a show-stopping 50 carat Bisbee turquoise stone. Both of these types of turquoise are very popular because the mines are long closed but Bisbee in particular is highly sought-after. I thought it was a good idea to post these just in case anyone out there is looking for a very special holiday gift.

In addition to the items previously mentioned, I posted nine vintage cuff bracelets, five statement necklaces and the very cool leather cuff bracelet and ring by Navajo artist Joe Piaso Jr pictured above. The remaining available recent postings can be found under the Native American Vintage and Southwest Style jewelry categories. Some of them are definitely investment pieces but for now I am concentrating on posting higher-value items online.

We have been running Whatnot shows for the estate sales weekly but I have not been the best about scheduling my own personal Whatnot shows as of late. I schedule them and then move them because I do not feel like I am prepared enough. I have been working on pre-measuring the cuff bracelets and necklaces and although I retagged a lot, I still have a bunch to do. I have the smaller pieces lined up off-camera and I am adding labels to each bag with the total size of the cuff bracelets. I found this was a great way to identify my own necklaces by length and I know this will be so helpful when customers ask for a particular size cuff bracelet. I will be able to go right to them. I am using some leftover plastic refrigerator containers from Mother but I am going to go to HomeGoods sometime soon to see if I can find some longer ones. They are a great way to line up the cuff bracelet bags.

I currently have a great vintage Native American jewelry display set up and I was going to go live this past Friday evening but shortly before the show was scheduled to start I was experiencing the knee pain and sciatica pain at the same time and felt like I was not going to be able to stay on for long. I also misplaced the power cord for my ring light. The light is rechargeable but I am not sure how long it will last without being plugged in. The show is not doable without it in my temporary setup. I am looking forward to having my dining room light fixture from Mount Prospect installed instead of the mood light chandelier I am currently working with. The dining room fixture is a semi-flush mount which will be much more appropriate for how I am using the space. Plus Kuochun has bumped his head on the chandelier more times that I can count!

Next week we have our last Whatnot live estate sale for the year scheduled in Elmhurst on Wednesday December 10 at 12:00 PM Central Time. I have also scheduled a jewelry caravan and vintage home decor sale for Thursday December 11, also at 12:00. The plan is to make the Thursday sale a weekly occurrence, as well as the Friday night vintage Native American jewelry sale. No matter how I feel, I am going to at least try and start a show Friday. The day is meaningful because December 12 is Dad's heavenly birthday. At least for now, I am going to do Friday instead of Sunday evenings. It has been a challenge trying to go live on Sundays during football season.

After a week off from paperwork, it will be time to get back to it next week with three estate sale packages which need to be completed. I am looking forward to the holiday break - it looks like it will be three weeks this time and possibly longer because nothing is scheduled but I always have more than enough to do.

Because there has been so much going on, I actually forgot to book an Airbnb for the Tucson Gem Show in early November like I normally do. I recently looked at the choices and things were kind of picked over. The pricing was also sky-high! I do not "need" any more jewelry but the thought of skipping a year saddened me. I have been hearing buzz that Federico will be retiring soon and I would not want to miss out on purchasing jewelry from him at least one more time. Also, Kuochun and I enjoy visiting. The only Sweet Tomatoes restaurant is in Tucson and I cannot wait to go again! Every other year, we had been visiting the charming town of Tubac which is about 45 minutes south of Tucson close to the Mexican border. Next time would be our turn to go.

I looked at Airbnbs for a final time and stumbled across what looks like a beautiful mid-century modern home in a central location but not too close to the downtown noise. It has four bedrooms which is two more than we need but the price was reduced by one-third for some reason, making it less than many of the not so great two-bedroom offerings in sketchy neighborhoods. It also has two baths which is a real luxury for Tucson. A must-have for Kuochun is that the neighborhood have regular sidewalks so it is easier for him to walk the girls. I am not sure if I will be able to land a doctor's appointment by then but I figure in the worst case I can use Mother's power chair to get around. I think the Airbnb will be a great backdrop for Whatnot shows live from Tucson. I booked the usual Tuesday-Monday but we may have the opportunity to extend the stay if things go well and it is still available.

Reflecting back on this year, it has been a real challenge but Kuochun and I have come out the other side with our sanity intact. Things are looking up for next year including having a permanent studio space in Prescott where there will be plenty of room for Whatnot shows, a couple of pop-up sales per year and in-person appointments. We will be able to follow the weather and stay wherever we like. I am actually looking forward to more seasonal weather and Prescott has a mild four-season climate. Maybe we can even plan a driving trip next fall - there are lots of choices like California, Las Vegas and New Mexico. If I can sell a lot of jewelry and save my pennies, I hope to be able to finish Scottsdale's design project after Prescott is complete. I am on my own as far as the designer who started things is concerned but maybe I will get in touch with the contractor who worked on the project, as the designer said I could when I was ready. I also plan to complete the sale of Mother's estate items - I have not tackled her jewelry collection yet and I have beautiful dresses, purses and shoes that I need to post online. I would like to get the backlog of non-Native sterling silver jewelry polished, priced and ready to sell. Many pieces will be sent to Mount Prospect to go into the jewelry caravan. I will hang onto most of the Mexican and Southwest Style jewelry to sell in Arizona and the plan is to try and sell it all on Whatnot both in Mount Prospect and Arizona. Since I moved, I no longer have a steady in-person source of "regular" sterling silver jewelry but that is OK, I have plenty to work with and I am also resourceful. One thing I will always be able to find is rings. I just purchased more than 70 fabulous glittering sterling silver and gemstone rings. I am going to liquidate the vintage costume jewelry and just about all of the beads and jewelry-making supplies as well. I would like to streamline what I offer. After moving the bead sales on Whatnot around for a couple of months, I decided to push them back to January so I have more time to prepare. The materials that are easily accessible need to be bagged and priced. Note to self - I will remember to check back a year from now to see how I did with my goals!

All my best to you for a Happy Holiday season and prosperous New Year and I will see you again soon, whenever the week of our first estate sales of 2026 will be. Thank you for hanging in there through all our ups and downs!