Ready For 2022

Happy New Year! I am sure I share the same sentiment as many who are ready to leave 2021 behind and hope for better things in 2022. I have to say I believe this past year was even more challenging than 2020 which is saying a lot. But instead of dwelling on the past, I count my many blessings and I am determined to make 2022 a great one. I have never been a big fan of odd numbers (except my birthday number 7) and definitely prefer even-numbered years. It could be because many major milestones in my life happened in even years, such as the year I was born, graduation from junior high, high school, college and graduate school, landing my first full-time job after college and getting married. Odd years feel "off" to me. We lost Dad and I got divorced in odd-numbered years.

To that end, I resurrected the reconstruction project in Scottsdale. I needed to take out a loan to get the second phase going (start of work) but I felt it was necessary for Mother and me to keep our sanity. Right now the home is not really livable and we are going on nearly a year since the major plumbing problems occurred. We were unable to spend the winter there this time and I want to make sure this does not happen next winter.

It took some doing but I was able to sell the kitchen cabinets and countertops on Facebook Marketplace. I sold the dishwasher quickly which surprised me. I have the refrigerator sold as well but the nice folks had trouble getting it through the patio door. I am working on enlisting some help to get the door temporarily removed so they can get it out. The range needs a repair, the main oven does not heat up properly. I am hoping it is just a simple repair like replacing a fuse. I will have it checked out when I get there and if the issue is simple to fix I will.

Seeing these photos the caretaker sent over made me feel a lot better about the decision to replace the current flooring. I did not realize that the flooring was not installed wall to wall and there probably would have been a lot of patch work to save it. The cork throughout and black limestone in the kitchen area are going to look amazing!

Mother and I went to Abt to look at kitchen appliances, the designer seemed to want us to choose them on our own. The contractor needed selections in order to proceed. I told the designer Abt is the best appliance store in the country and it is only about 10 minutes away from me. It is too large of a store for Mother to walk now so we used her wheelchair. We went upstairs for the first time and it was definitely interesting to see the amazing kitchens they have on display there. My guess would be they are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the best of the best. I do not recall seeing any pricing up there but as Frank always used to say, if you have to ask you cannot afford it!

The catch with our project is the contractor allotted a 36" space for the range in planning the cabinets and the Scottsdale home is only electric. The only electric range Abt had available was this one by Bertazzoni and it just happens to be the brand the contractor recommended. Abt did not have Bertazzoni on display but were offering a good deal - curbside delivery to Scottsdale included, a free range hood with purchase of the range and 50% off the dishwasher. The plan also includes a Sharp microwave drawer which neither of us has experience with but seems very cool. Our Abt salesperson said Sharp makes most all of the microwave drawers on the market so we might as well buy their brand. Technically we do not need the appliances until next November but our salesperson said it was smart to order them now. Most of them are on back order with an unknown delivery date. Luckily I did not need to pay for them in full yet, I only had to put 10% down.

We went back to Abt this past week because I was concerned that the handles on the appliances were not going to match. I got that issue straightened out and it turns out that since our last visit Abt installed a full suite of Bertazzoni appliances. While it was a gas range, it was wonderful to be able to see the quality of everything in person. I was not really wanting stainless steel but the appliances are very beautiful. I definitely plan to get back to baking and to learn to make pasta as well. It was also reassuring to see a recent post in one of the mid-century modern groups on Facebook discussing appliance colors. More than one person said every commercial kitchen uses stainless steel appliances, they have been around for 100 years and will never go out of style. In fact, Bertazzoni was founded in 1882!

Here is a posting of the last jewelry purge of 2021. I am loving this Walnut surface from Replica Surfaces, I was ready to pitch my huge light box because I was not liking the way the colors of the jewelry were turning out. The necklace with the floral pendant, the bear paw cuff bracelet, the watch band and the nugget with feathers, butterfly and teardrop pendants have sold, the other items are available. The available items have all been added to the online store. Most of the pieces are in the Vintage Native American Jewelry collection and the arrow pendant and ring are in the New Native American and New Mexican Silver jewelry collections respectively.

Four more estate sale packages to go and then I will enjoy a two week break from paperwork. Tucson Gem Show time is rapidly approaching and I plan to take this time to organize the entire sterling silver jewelry collection. I am going to number the jewelry cases and then place backstock jewelry for each case in a separate shoe box. That way it will be easy for Mike to replenish the cases while I am away. I am retagging jewelry with the new labels and tags as I go. If time permits, I will polish and tag new pieces.

I am going to take all of the Native American jewelry to Scottsdale with me, keeping it in the online store while pursuing opportunities to sell it there. We are planning to have a sale in Melinda's garage in mid-February to introduce the Tucson Gem Show finds as well as offer the Native American jewelry, boutique clothing, handbags and more. Melinda has the two large decorative rolling racks I used to use at pop-up sales so the clothing will be easy to beautifully display. The community garage sale in Golden Keys where my home is located is back for 2022 but I am not ready for it. In addition, it is the Saturday of Gem Show week so we cannot even attend. The hours are only 8-12, it seems like a whole lot of work for only 4 hours of selling. I am going to ask the powers that be if sales are allowed at other times of year. There is nothing in the HOA documents about it but I have a feeling the answer will be no. The woman I spoke to about the garage sale said to remind her next year and they would change the date for me. My first reaction was for her not to go to any trouble on my account but thinking about it now, I know how to advertise and get a whole lot of shoppers there!

I have been giving some thought to what I would like to do work-wise while in Arizona. The original plan was for it to be a place of calm and rest while still keeping up with estate sale matters but the issues with the home have necessitated me to do additional work there. I would like to pair up with a local estate sale company to offer the jewelry caravan at their sales. I have attended a few estate sales in the area and found that jewelry is a huge hit. The last sale I attended had a good number of Native American pieces for sale and the line was out the door to look at the jewelry. This is what I remember from attending estate sales on the North Shore 25 years ago. It would be great to be able to focus more on jewelry during the slow season in Chicago and less during the busy season. Melinda knows most all of the Phoenix-area companies very well and gave me some suggestions on who to reach out to. I will post any developments here!