Goodbye Scottsdale, Hello Prescott

This past week marked our final days in Scottsdale for the season and it was just in time as temperatures are heating up. This is about two weeks earlier than we have left the past two years. Although it was over 100 degrees for a few days I was able to handle it. In the past I found that when temperatures go over 110, it is really hot. Overall things were in good shape at the homefront, I just needed to move a few things further up in the garage in case we get a little flooding during monsoon season and pack up the jewelry. I filled small, medium and large size Hulken bags with sterling silver jewelry. I left the costume jewelry behind as well as some new Native American jewelry from past years and the Buffalo Dancer jewelry. I have to be realistic and know that I packed plenty to work on for the next five months. The focus this summer will be getting the 2025 Gem Show jewelry and the recent acquisitions of Native American jewelry online. Because I have so much, I will be tagging all of the budget-friendly pieces and rings to add to the jewelry caravan. I packed all of the jewelry cards I recently purchased so I would not need to purchase them again. And finally after three years we are able to bring home some of the pasta/salad bowls we use on a daily basis as there were 24 in Scottsdale and none in Mount Prospect. Everything we brought turned out to be a bit much for Kuochun as it was not possible to see out of the back of the car but I promised him I would consolidate even more while we are in Prescott before the cross-country drive. I am used to that driving the van because other than the driver and passenger doors and the front windshield there are no other windows and no rearview mirror.

Due to the final pack-up and a pair of very high-maintenance estate sales this week, I was not able to post any new items. I did sell my last ash grey Easel heart T-shirt (my first clothing sellout!) and this beautiful pair of Federico earrings. I was able to ship the T-shirt before we left but the earrings were purchased Sunday evening. I will get some shipping supplies next week and the box comes from USPS so I will be able to ship the earrings out on Tuesday. Good thing I put all of the online store items in my small pink Hulken bag so I could more easily find them! I had two pairs of these earrings and will offer the second pair with a $50.00 discount, making them $350.00, just like the offer I accepted from the buyer on eBay.

I was hoping to be packed up and ready to go by 1:00 PM Sunday but there was too much going on with the estate sales. Then when I was nearly ready, I realized that I had not yet backed up my files from the Scottsdale computer to take home to Mount Prospect. It took nearly 2 hours to copy them all up to the cloud. Kuochun fell asleep waiting for it but he was a good sport. My main goal was to get there before it got dark, not knowing what the drive would be like. I had been to Prescott twice before but never drove there directly from Scottsdale. It was actually a really easy drive of a little over two hours. It would have been about 20 minutes less but there was some construction traffic in Prescott Valley, which comes before Prescott when heading north and west. Once we left the Phoenix area there was a stretch that was really pretty, little mountains with Saguaro cacti scattered all over them.

Driving through downtown Prescott on the way in we noticed a bunch of EZ-Up tents set up in the Courthouse Square (shown in the main photo) so it looks like there is an art or craft fair going on for the holiday weekend. We are going to walk there to get some steps in and check it out on Monday. Prescott is the county seat of Yavapai County and the Courthouse Square is the centerpiece of the city. Many events are held there throughout the year.

We did not get much daylight by the time we arrived but we could see that the neighborhood we are in is so charming. It reminds me a lot of River Forest. When we stepped out of the car the 20-degree temperature difference was delightful! The Vrbo I rented does not have the "wow factor" as far as decor but I knew this going in. This time I was more interested in the neighborhood. The last time we came to Prescott 2.5 years ago, we stayed in a very cute Craftsman cottage but the neighborhood was not as nice as where we are now.

The layout of the home is good for us, it is a 2-bedroom, 1-bath and 1,200 square feet built in 1945. There is a lot of wasted space in the kitchen, I cannot explain why there is a round tiered side table and two dining room chairs in there instead of more counter space and a real place to dine but it is fine for a few days.

The backyard is cute but only fenced in on two sides. The owners also own the home next door and the two homes share a driveway but there are places to park at each home to keep the driveway free. The curb is super high but the owner gave good advice on how to navigate it. The entire home has a thick coat of yellowish-white paint slapped on the interior and exterior but there are still a few cute features such as the built-ins in the living room which were kept. The home has the potential to be much better than it is.

Kuochun wanted to get something to eat since we did not have the chance to eat lunch but choices were very limited late on a Sunday evening. We ended up going to Culver's. Kuochun always orders the cod dinner and I get a single butterburger with cheese. I can attest that Culver's is Wisconsin-style food. They have crinkle fries just like the ones we used to get at Gilles Custard in Milwaukee, just over the border from Wauwatosa.

I have the usual estate sale work to do while we are in Prescott but the plan is to get as much as possible done Monday and Tuesday so we can have a little free time later in the week. I have not been to Sedona in about four years and I would like to go to the very cool mid-century modern church there which is built into the mountain and light a candle for Mother, just as I did for Dad. We are bringing Mother's ashes home with us so she and Dad are in the same place. Just before leaving, I came across the last page of Dad's will which specified that his ashes be released in Stumpy Bay, which is the portion of Okauchee Lake where their Wisconsin home was located. Interestingly, he specified that the "children pick it" as far as what happens to Mother's ashes. It just seemed like an informal way to describe it. Kuochun is such a good egg and he is ready to rent a boat and distribute both of their ashes in Stumpy Bay. I said I am not sure if I could even find Stumpy Bay from the boat launch location but I guess GPS to their former home would work. The thought of two inexperienced people getting in a boat and trying to drive around a large lake is scary to me so unfortunately I do not know how we will be able to fulfill Dad's wish.

I spent a good part of the week working on a personal representative application to the Maricopa County court in an attempt to get Mother's car title into a position where Rachel can bring it to her DMV and register it in her name. However after three trips there and hours of paperwork, in the end the application was rejected because the will I have is not an original copy. I then had to file a motion to try and get my filing fee back since the next step will be to see what I can do at the Illinois DMV once we return to Mount Prospect. The two of us have agreed on how the rest of the items will be settled so technically we do not need the personal representative filed but I was told it needed to be done for the car title.

Looking forward to spending a few days in Northern Arizona before heading for home!