Prescott Move Part 2
Monday I received the go-ahead to bring all of the Scottsdale garage items up to Prescott where they belong. I originally thought I would schedule the move for next week but when I contacted the mover on Tuesday it turned out they were doing a job in the Phoenix area the next day. Even though we were due to be in the middle of a record-breaking heatwave I jumped at the opportunity. Overall it was better for Kuochun since he will have more downtime before he makes his journey to China. It also saved me money since I did not have to pay for travel time from Prescott. I found the movers through Moving Help with U-Haul, they emptied the two U-Boxes for me. The owner has had great communication which impressed me. The movers took their time doing everything but at least they were not carelessly banging things up as they went. I thought about renting a U-Haul truck, having local movers fill it, then I would drive it up to Prescott and have these movers unload everything. Kuochun would have to follow in his car with the girls so we could leave the rental truck in Prescott. But I decided to see what it would be to have the Prescott movers do the entire job. I thought the price was reasonable - it was not much more than I was charged by another mover to just move things around the house to prepare for this final leg of the journey.
In the end, the first leg of the move was successful but did not come without stress. Late afternoon is just about the high point of the day as far as temperature goes. It was very hot and I had to be out there every moment to make sure the correct items were going into the truck. We were about 45 minutes in when a police officer showed up. Apparently the movers had their truck too far out into the street and several neighbors called the police. The joys of living in an HOA! No one had the courtesy to come over and talk to me, or give me a call (all of our contact information is in a directory.) The police officer was nice, she was just doing her job. I did not say one word and just kept my mouth shut, even though I was really upset. The truck and trailer did not fit on the driveway so the truck had to be unhitched. They were having difficulty unhitching it, honestly it would have taken less time for us to finish the job and for them to be on their way. I was not feeling well from the heat overload and the situation left me sad and disappointed.
It took me right back to when Mother and I first arrived in AZ and we only had Vivi with us. I inherited a room filled with IKEA bookshelves and sold them on Facebook Marketplace to a couple who lived nearby. They had to make four trips in their pickup truck and every time they came back, Vivi barked at them. Someone called the police to complain about Vivi! I do not know for sure but I suspect it was my former next door neighbor. She was not nice from the get-go. Thankfully she does not live here anymore. Her place is rented out but there are rules regarding rentals. They must rent for a year at a time and only 5% of the homes in the community can be rented at once. The renters do not speak with us but we have not had any issues with them. I think there have been two or three so far. This is a dream place to live and so sad that there are meanies who live here. Not too long ago, the lady two doors down (who was always nice in the past) yelled at Kuochun when he was walking the girls in the island which is in front of our place but not in front of hers. Of course the girls were barking but the gist of it was that the lady was accusing Kuochun of not picking up after them. We are extremely responsible dog owners and would never leave anything behind. Also, they have never pooped on the island! Kuochun just told her we are neighbors and she should really be kinder, while waving the poop bag at her as proof that we pick up. Such drama for no reason! But we will never let anyone drive us away from here.
Thankfully I asked for a later start time in Prescott the next day for the unload. I wanted to take up another trunk load of items up there, including the art which will go in Kuochun's room and a few items I purchased for the pop-up shop. I saved loading the car for that morning. We made it there before noon which I thought was pretty good, arriving just before the movers did. It was a bit of a puzzle but everything fit in, although Prescott's one-car garage is full. Many of the garage items are going to be sold and the desk and credenza are in there which will go in the Arizona room once it is built. The movers just put all of the items where I asked them to so Kuochun and I set up his bedroom and he helped me put my mattress in place on the metal frame. I was able to grab a few things we needed before we left like quilts and pillows but we still had to head to the store to pick up a few essentials, including a shower curtain setup to temporarily use until the glass shower door is installed.
For decades, Mother and I both were always able to purchase Ralph Lauren sheets and towels from TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods. They were great quality and lasted a really long time. There is one TJ Maxx in the Prescott area and it is a nice one but they did not have any quality sheets. Every set I picked up was thin polyester! I sent Mother's cedar chest up to Prescott and there were good old Ralph Lauren sheets inside. I was only able to find one queen size fitted sheet for Kuochun, the rest were all full size. I ended up using a full size flat sheet as the bottom layer which did not work too well. Tina the designer has sheets on order for both of us but I would not mind having a spare set. I love my Scottsdale comforter and sheets from The Company Store and Mother had purchased a beautiful set of queen sheets from Anthropologie which would work for me. It is a cultural thing but Kuochun does not use a flat sheet - only a fitted sheet and coverlet of some sort. We will be getting duvets which will be better for him since the covers can be easily laundered.
Kuochun was able to successfully set up WiFi in Prescott. We had never changed the WiFi name and password in Scottsdale but he decided he wanted to change it for Prescott. He asked me what I would like to call it - the home used to be an Airbnb so I was thinking what would it be called if it were still an Airbnb? Something like Prescott Perch? Kuochun came up with a great name - DreamHouse2. I said then we need to change Scottsdale to DreamHouse1! However, Kuochun could not figure out how to get the air conditioner going - I had a brand new system installed last year because the existing HVAC system was not operational. There was one mini split in the dining area and one in Kuochun's room. Those mini splits were removed - one was installed in the pop-up shop and the other will go in the Arizona room. Since all the ductwork was already in place, I thought it was a better idea to get the new HVAC. The mini splits are no longer taking up room in the main living space and I will have heating and cooling in my room. I ended up having to call the HVAC company and they came out Saturday morning. It turned out the fuses did not have enough capacity to support the system and they had to be upgraded. It was definitely warm during the day but at night it cools off. The window in Kuochun's room does not have a screen but he opened a different window and that helped.
I started off with an allergy attack the first day and a half but it went away after that. It is not the first time that my allergies kicked in while in Prescott. I was going to go to the farmer's market Saturday morning and get some local honey because I had heard that it was good for building up an immunity to pollen. We ended up not going because of the HVAC issue and I also Googled it and studies show that it was no better than a placebo. I do not like to take medication unless it is absolutely necessary so I toughed it out. Maybe it will take me a couple of days to get used to the environment. I am surprised that so far the mile high elevation has not affected me.
Because of the setbacks I was not able to unpack everything but I took my time and was able to unpack and put away everything that was moved into the main house. There were extra area rugs in the garage and I set them up temporarily until the new ones are ordered. This will also help me more easily take photos of them when it comes time to sell. I am still looking for the three vintage posters which were Mother and Dad's, I thought I would hang them up in my room. My room used to be a carport so it is shaped like a long skinny rectangle. There is a lot of wall space to hang this trio of art. I have figured out where several additional pieces of art can go and the rest can be sold. Things are starting to fall into place and feel homey!
We did not have time to pack any food so we ended up eating out a few times but nowhere special - Panera for lunch one day, Red Robin for dinner Friday night and Angry Crab Shack for dinner Saturday night. I actually had pizza at Red Robin and it was good! The crust was very thin and I chose pepperoni but there was at least five times the amount of pepperoni you would expect on a pizza. It was too much but if we go there again, I would get plain cheese. Angry Crab Shack is not my kind of place but Kuochun really wanted to try it. I went in thinking I would get a shrimp po'boy but I ended up with garlic lo mein noodles and grilled shrimp. We ordered calamari as an appetizer and I thought it was good, it was in strips but did not have the creepy crawlies that Kuochun prefers. He chose gumbo which was only $6 and it was enough for a meal. He did not even touch the lobster roll he ordered. The entree I ordered said it was only 770 calories but I do not think so! There was tons of butter in it but it all fell to the bottom and I left it there. Overall Kuochun gave it a "medium" rating. So far the food is not as good as the Phoenix area but that is to be expected. We will keep exploring the area for hidden gems. Cottonwood is a fun town with great restaurants, and one of my favorite breakfast spots. I mapped it from the house and it is an hour and 7 minutes away! I guess that is how it is when navigating mountains. There is a Sprouts Farmers Market (similar to Fresh Thyme) right down the street and a Trader Joe's about ten minutes away so we will be able to get nice groceries. There is no Chinese grocery store but I told Kuochun he can always stock up at the Phoenix-area place he goes to and bring everything up.
We headed back to Scottsdale on Sunday afternoon and traffic was not an issue. It only took us an hour and 42 minutes when it is typically a 2-hour drive. I left Prescott feeling good about what I accomplished and also looking forward to coming back again to work on the garage and pop-up shop. The inoperable back door has not been replaced yet but it will be soon. Once everything is finished, it will be so convenient to let the girls out to the backyard. I predict that they will only need walks before they eat morning and evening. They enjoyed the backyard even in its current state of concrete and pebbles. It is not perfect yet but it was really nice to be able to spend some time there. I am especially happy to say that this will be my final move - if I downsize one of these homes in the future, I will not be taking anything with me.
