Shipping Containers Are On The Way

What a crazy week it was getting these three U-Boxes by U-Haul packed and ready to be picked up on Friday. The helpers from Dolly came and did a pretty good job loading the furniture and totes in the two hours they had. They only had regular cars so I had to provide the vehicle to move Mother's items to my house. Everything fit in the containers furniture-wise except for a pine bookshelf Mother wanted to send. It would have been nice but is not a necessity. I am sure we will have no trouble finding the rest of the furniture she needs to complete her bedroom locally. Frank kindly came over Wednesday night and helped me reorganize the small stuff so more could fit in.

I spent the entire day and evening Thursday packing breakables such as my mid-century modern Syracuse China set. I bought it many years ago at one of our sales in Melrose Park. I do not believe the family ever used it as it was in like-new condition. I have carried on the tradition and have never had the chance to use it here. I think chances are way better that we will use it in Scottsdale and it will look great there. I have more than what is shown here including all of the serving pieces. I really do not need a set of china in the china cabinet since I have been working in the dining room. Friday morning Mother and I frantically threw garbage bags filled with her clothing together as well as some totes and although I had to put the pickup off 15 minutes, all was well. Every inch of those boxes is loaded with stuff and I am so happy it is on its way. This was so much work, I cannot imagine what a full move would be like!

The most important items I wanted to be shipped were the furniture pieces, everything else is a bonus. We are actually going to sell a good amount of our smaller items. The plan is to earn enough from my unwanted items to pay for the furniture move. I forgot to include a couple of things but they will just need to be shipped separately. Over the weekend I was able to get Kuochun's car back in the garage which is a big win! There is so much more space with the furniture gone. I just have an hour or two to finish up my side of the garage and then the van will be in the garage too.

So far the entire experience with U-Haul has been flawless. Communication has been amazing and everyone has been so nice. Drop off and pick up were handled so carefully. Fingers crossed that all the careful packing paid off and that everything makes it safely!

I was able to post the above jewelry lot Sunday and as usual, turquoise reigns supreme! Everything sold except the cluster ring, the double turquoise ring, the single watch tip, the three-nugget turquoise necklace, the cross pendant, the turquoise nugget pendant and the turquoise chip inlay earrings. I am so pleased with the results! I think this was the first time in a long time that all of the big ticket items sold. But they were all great! I have a lot to post with no stones and another with more turquoise pieces and that will round out my time here in Mount Prospect.

Even though I have sold a lot and plan to sell more in the time I have remaining, I have too much jewelry to take on the airplane and will need to ship it. I am excited to work with the remaining pieces and finally be able to take interesting group shots for the website and Facebook using the Replica Studio. I just ordered two more custom cowhide pieces which are nearly as large as a Replica Surface. One is black and white with turquoise like above and the other will be brindle with dark brown. The problem with this placemat is that it is not wide enough and I have to shoot strategically in order for the curved edges not to show. It will be nice not to have to worry about that. I was able to pack and send all of the Replica Surfaces (except my go-to classic black wood which I left behind) as well as all of the white and brown wood jewelry displays. I also sent my tried and true iron revolving jewelry displays. I forgot to pack the two iron necklace / bracelet displays but I will ship them separately. The vases, platters and tablecloths are on their way too. Everything is going to look great together.

In addition to the vintage Native American jewelry, my plan is to send all of the Tucson Gem Show jewelry back and put it up for sale in the online store, eBay and Etsy this winter. Except for the amber, it is honestly a slow go for it to sell at the estate sales. The rest of the Southwest Style jewelry will make its way to AZ to sell at events with Melinda. The ultimate goal is to specialize in vintage sterling silver to sell at the IL estate sales.

I purchased an online training package for Margot and Vivi called The Ultimate Barking Course. It is geared towards small dogs and claims that unwanted barking can be put under control in a week or less. That is a good thing because we do not have much time! The method uses positive reinforcement, I would not have it any other way. Once the newsletters are done for the week I will take some time to watch the videos and take the quizzes. Luckily the timing is good since I only have one estate sale package to complete this week. It will be challenging to travel to Mother's house to train Vivi every day, maybe I will take her home for a few days.

I have been working hard to prepare for the transition to AZ, doing my best not to leave everything to the last minute. There is just too much to do for that! In the future we will not have the moving things around to contend with, both homes will be totally settled and we will have two well-trained dogs traveling with us. I am definitely looking forward to it!