Moving Things Around As Usual

I often joke that I feel like all I do is move things from one place to another. This has definitely been the theme since we arrived in Scottsdale. With the downsizing and "moving in" sale wrapped up, the next step was to relocate the unsold items to the garage. In an attempt to get the house livable, I booked an appointment for house cleaning with Eco Mama Green Clean. They are recommended over and over on Facebook, particularly in the local groups I belong to. They use non-toxic products which are their own creation so this was very interesting to me as well. It was quite a feat but I was able to get everything in good enough shape for them to clean in time for their arrival.

Mother had a nearby foot doctor appointment at the same time so we decided to all go and bring Vivi and Margot with us so we were not in the cleaning crew's hair. While Mother was in the appointment, we walked the girls along the canal. There was no fence separating the walking path and the canal but luckily they had no interest in venturing out that way. They were way more interested in barking at dogs they cannot see who happened to be in their backyards at the time. The walls are all cinder block but they could sniff out upcoming dogs a few houses away. We turned back after a while as we did not want to get too far away from the medical office. After that we decided to try a sandwich place in Old Town, it is a chain called Capriotti's and they say they have America's favorite sandwich. Kuochun ran in to get the sandwiches while we stayed in the car. It took a really long time so by the time the sandwiches were ready the house cleaning was almost finished.

Mother decided to order the favorite sandwich, called the Bobbie. It is like Thanksgiving on a bun. She opted for the cold version but ended up not eating it because she said it was all dark meat. I do not know what happened, the meat looks white in this photo. I ordered a chicken sandwich and it was all dark meat. It was good though, I got more used to dark meat chicken when I was on Seattle Sutton but still prefer white. The bread was great, soft and easy to chew. I would try Capriotti's again.

I got off topic but I was super pleased with the house cleaning. It totally made our day when we saw all of the amazing touches the crew performed for us. I wish I would have taken more photos of these details but I did take a photo of Kuochun's room. He has been switching back and forth between two bed covers depending upon overnight temperatures and they found a way to incorporate both sets of bedding onto the bed at the same time. They also organized all of his cooking supplies, utensils and cutting boards on the kitchen counters and artfully folded the rolls of paper towels on the diagonal, one roll in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. As we have found with most services in Phoenix, the house cleaning was twice what I pay at home but we agreed to split the cost three ways so that will really help me out. I will definitely have them again and hopefully the monthly charge will be less than the first-time charge. It was such a great feeling to have the house feel normal after nearly two years of turmoil. The next step will be to do some staging with some of the vintage home decor we have onhand.

Over the weekend we were able to have a local handyman organize our TVs. The construction crew took the big TV down but did not put it back. Kuochun purchased a TV for his own use but it turned out to be too large for his room. We decided to swap out the TV in my room which was an older one the previous owner left behind. Mother purchased a smaller TV for her room but there is no good place it put it in there. We decided to mount it to the wall and she can rest on the sofa and watch it in her "family room." We did like the Insignia TV that was left behind, maybe it can be set up in the garage. Coming up are to have the refrigerator door handles tightened as one fell off early on and to have the wallpaper installed in the front hallway and kitchen. This will be a game-changer!

Unfortunately though we are still having electrical issues. Since the construction, none of the electrical has worked in the living room, hallway and front of the house and only the dining room chandelier works in the family room and dining room areas. The problem has been diagnosed - the entire circuit box is trashed as it is original and not weatherproof. It is not up to code and there were leaves and wet cardboard inside. Also, the electrical needs to be run up and over the house and to the corner of the living room in order to get it going again. The alternative would have been to tear into the newly renovated kitchen walls. I am definitely upset that the contractor did not look at the big picture and try to improve what was there while everything was torn up. The cost to repair the electrical unfortunately far exceeds my take from the sale but at least having the sale is helping with it. I sure hope this is the last issue for a long while!I made a decision on where to have my hair done which was sorely needed. I normally go every 8 weeks like clockwork but this time 12 weeks had slipped by. I really liked the Aveda salon I went to before but it is just too expensive and about 20 minutes away. There are quite a few curly hair specialists in the Phoenix area and I thought it would be fun to try one but the ones nearby were booked for months and those further out even more expensive than Aveda. Also they have a lot of rules like wash your own hair and put no styling products in it, then they cut it dry. I decided to go with Ohana Salon which is an Aveda outpost in Old Town, only 5 minutes from home. I chose Caroline who on her website photo had very cool fuchsia and dark hair which was colored in quadrants so I thought she was a good choice for me. Currently she has blonde hair with pale pink in it which is not surprising because hairstylists change their color a lot.

Caroline worked so hard on my hair, listened to what I was looking for and the result was just what I wanted. Also for the first time since before the pandemic I had my eyebrows waxed and by another stylist at the salon, Wayne. He was a real character and did a great job. I was waiting for the pain but it did not happen. The whole process took a long 4.5 hours because the wax machine was not ready and Caroline wanted to redo my purple as it was looking too red. It also cost twice what I pay at home but a lot less than what I paid before. The color is pretty, brunette with a soft violet shimmer so maybe I will just go with the single color and not bother with highlights. That would definitely save time and money. The week before, Mother had a haircut and style with Wayne. I was shocked to see her with curly hair! She has been fighting it all these years. At first she loved it but then Rachel told her she looked like George Washington so now bye-bye curls.

With a clean and organized house, I could then focus on estate sale paperwork. It was not easy but I completed 7 estate sale packages in 4 days! I am officially caught up. This is important because we are heading on our road trip to Las Vegas and northern Arizona on Monday morning. I planned the trip months ago before the early slowdown with estate sales and had I known what the future held would have skipped the trip for now. But it is a done deal and I will make the best of it. The estate sale work will continue but I will have my laptop and paperwork along for the ride. I am also going to bring a bunch of sterling jewelry to polish and price. I always look for short-term rentals that have a dining table and regular height chairs so I can work more comfortably. If I can get everything I brought along completed, I will be able to hit the ground running and post items for sale. I will also spend some time sourcing more goodies!