The End Of A Hair Era

I am writing in the wee hours of Sunday morning from Scottsdale, AZ. We flew into town a little over 24 hours ago. Everything went very smoothly with the flight, it was scheduled for four hours but we arrived in less than three and a half. Mother now needs a wheelchair to get around the airport as it is too far for her to walk. We really got the VIP treatment, bypassing the long security line. I had my entire Native American jewelry collection in my carryon bag (35 pounds!) and as expected the bag was intercepted for a search. Mother was on the aisle like she prefers and I was in the middle seat. Luckily the window seat was never filled. At the very last minute the flight crew moved seven passengers from the back of the plane to the front but did not fill our neighboring seat. The back of my ears were sore from wearing the N95 mask but that was the only discomfort.

Once I grabbed the checked bags I was able to call a Lyft and we only needed to wait a few minutes. It was our first time using a ride share service and I was not sure what we were going to get at 1:30 AM on a Saturday. However I was relieved to see it was a woman. She was very lovely and of Native descent, we had a nice chat. Overall the trip was very efficient, it almost felt like one moment we were in Chicago and the next we were in Phoenix. I highly recommend Frontier Airlines, I have had nothing but a great experience each time. The price was great at just over $80 for each of us one-way including carryon and checked bags as well as seating in Row 4. Mother likes to be seated at the front of the plane. However requesting the wheelchair we basically had to wait until all of the other passengers left the plane. We now know what to expect in the future.

It was great to see the house again after nine months but things are really in a disarray. The entire first floor and garage are out of commission and there is a dumpster in the driveway. The folks who did the demolition did not hang up plastic walls to protect our furniture which is all loaded in the living room and everything is so dusty. The dust permeated the second floor as well. Last winter I bought a Rainbow vacuum which has the capability to be an air purifier. I am going to figure out how it works so we can get to cleaning the air. I have been dusting here and there but will save the heavy duty cleaning for after we return from Tucson. I figure it will just get dusty again in the span of a week. I believe though that the dirty work should be done as the demolition and masonry work are completed. Things can only get better from here!

We are having a cement tile bathroom floor installed and I found an open box of the tile in the garage. I put a grouping of four together, it is going to be so pretty! We are also excited about the large window that will be installed in the first floor bedroom. Mother is dreaming about being able to lay in bed and look out the window at the garden and Camelback Mountain. I do not know why but there were no regular windows installed in that room. We are really "roughing it" - no kitchen, mini fridge in the garage and the TV does not work. I have the cable company coming Monday afternoon. Luckily the internet is working which is more important.

Sadly our contractor lost his mother to COVID three days ago, our designer let me know yesterday. Understandably it does not appear that any work was done on the house this past week and I am not sure when work will resume. He seems to be young, I bet he is not even 30 so I imagine his mother could have been about my age or so. It is really heartbreaking, he has a young daughter who is about a year old who will never know her grandmother.

I am kind of working backwards in my thoughts so I will jump back to the beginning of the week. This is my last week of the break from estate sale paperwork and it was a good thing because there was a lot going on. Our last two of three multi-weekend sales wrapped up this week and Kuochun and I were on pickup duty. I do not know how but we ended up with 13 non-folding 6-foot tables between the three locations. There were so many supplies! It was good that we picked up McHenry especially because it gave me the opportunity to properly sort the homeowner's jewelry from the consignment on site.

On Wednesday I took a trip out to Naperville to pay Janet of The Sundance Gallery a visit. She has had a lot of my Native American jewelry on display in her gallery for a long time and it was time for a refresh and pick up a consignment check. We made a jewelry swap and we may have the opportunity to work together on other special projects in the future.

I cannot go to Naperville without a stop at one of my favorite bakeries, DeEtta's. It happens to be right around the corner from Janet. I totally recommend it to anyone who is in the area. This was the first time I visited when the cases were totally full and I was able to try a couple of their specialties. They are known for their croissant cups and cinnamon rolls. I was able to get ham/smoked gouda and bacon/cheddar croissants and although cinnamon rolls are not something I crave, they looked amazing and were huge so I thought I'd give one a try. Sue G., I got the cinnamon roll in your honor, put this bakery on your list the next time you visit Tim! I also got scones, cookies and a salted caramel brownie for Kuochun. It all came to about $40 which I thought was reasonable for the size and quality of the items. The cinnamon roll was so big and heavy it needed its own box! I swear it was three pounds. I forgot to get the Nutella Sweetie Pie but there was plenty to enjoy.

Wednesday night I ran out to the van which is parked in the driveway to grab the jewelry and made the mistake of walking on the grass side instead of the driveway. I slipped with my left foot on the ice and my right leg doubled backwards and I fell on it. I was in pain for a few days and could not put any pressure on it. I tried to walk normally downstairs from my bedroom and my leg collapsed and I fell on the stairs. It was a challenge getting ready for the trip and having to take the stairs one step at a time. Right now it is 90% improved. I am grateful that I was not more seriously hurt and that I was able to make the trip.

Thursday Claire stopped by and made a jewelry swap as well. She has finished writing up listings for the vintage silver and Federico jewelry and I gave her a bunch of high-end vintage Mexican silver to work on. We also swapped out some of the Replica Surfaces which will complement the new pieces. I let Claire know that I would like to have each collection have a different background color and props. Someday I would love to customize the atmosphere for each piece of jewelry but right now the goal is to get it all out there. I figure with matching backgrounds, the jewelry will stand out more when viewing the collection pages. I will need to review the jewelry listings before I can post them so it will unfortunately have to wait until I return. It will be nice to have something in the online store besides Native American pieces.

Thursday night marked the end of our hair era. I have lived in Mount Prospect for over 20 years now and when I moved here, Mother and Dad were living in Northbrook and she and I were going to a salon called Shear Elegance. However we did not care for it - the atmosphere was hectic, crowded and not the least bit relaxing. I said there is an Aveda salon three blocks from my home, I would like to support the community where I live so let's give it a try. I gave them a call and asked who was good with curly hair and the rest was history. We were both matched up with Kerri. Up until my first experience with Kerri I did not like the way anyone styled my hair, I would just want to wash it right away. Not so with Kerri, I totally loved it! She also really enjoyed working with my hair. Mother is hard to please and loved her hair as well.

Kerri is ten years younger than me and we have seen her go from dating and living in a condo in the city to marriage, two children and owning a home in Des Plaines. Since having children Kerri has gradually downsized her work hours and was doing one day per week for a while. She was so popular that I would have to book two appointments ahead to keep on an 8-week schedule. She has made the decision to change her path and pursue a career in landscaping. She has been at the salon for half her life. Kerri currently works part time at Lurvey's. She would like to go to school for landscaping and may go into design or the study of plant health. Her last day with the salon is next Thursday. It is a difficult time to have children in school during the pandemic, things are unpredictable. She never knows when she is going to have to leave work and bring the children home because another child came to school sick. It is especially difficult when folks have been waiting for months for an appointment. Kerri said most everyone was understanding but one client actually yelled at her, saying what she was doing was "sh---y." I told Kerri we are sad for us but happy for her, I am all about people living their best life. We will miss her, both personally and professionally!

The salon is so convenient to home and I like the atmosphere so I asked Kerri who she thought should carry the torch for us. She suggested Emily for me because she likes playing with fun colors and Kristen for Mother because they would get along great personality-wise. Kerri will be visiting the salon often and having her hair done there. We wish her the very best and hope to see her again soon. Meanwhile it will be difficult to wash this last glamorous hairstyle!

I posted what I thought was going to be the last Native American jewelry purge for a while last Sunday but now I have lots of pieces which came back from the gallery. The squash blossom necklace, the rings on the left and right, the link bracelet and the bear paw earrings all sold. The three bolos on the right are on hold for someone and the other items are available. The squash blossom necklace and cluster cuff are from Mother's personal collection, she made the decision to sell to raise funds to buy something new at the Gem Show. Although we both appreciate squash blossoms, I do not think the style suits either of us. This one came from a River Forest estate we conducted many years ago. They had a Southwest Style room in their home complete with coyote fur throws. The necklace was wired to a rawhide lampshade as a decoration! Being an investment piece it took a day to sell but it is going to a very happy customer.

Well that is plenty to post for one week! Goals for next week are to get organized before we leave for Tucson, get a jumpstart on paperwork so I do not have to do the bulk of it while we are gone and make a detailed plan for the Gem Show. See you next time!