Monthly Round-Up: Rose & Thorns – November 2020

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! I’m still recovering from all the delectable food (and leftovers) I’ve eaten this past week. I spent the majority of the month settling into a routine in my new home. In such a short period of time I was able to change some minor details of the condo to make it reflect my personal taste. To top off the month, the weather is beginning to cool down. Just in time to motivate me to decorate for the Christmas holiday.

Rose: Having friends with handyman skills is an invaluable resource. Accomplishing home projects sometime requires two sets of hands. There were two major upgrades I needed help with this month: changing the locks on the front door and replacing the kitchen faucet. I was able to change the locks myself initially, it just didn’t look pretty. I resided myself to having a functional yet, ugly door. My friend Rob was having none of this. He not only adjusted the locks into the proper placement, he also handcrafted metal plates to hide the gaps around the locks. Making my front door the envy of the neighborhood.

The following week Rob agreed to help install the faucet in the kitchen. After the lock debacle, I wasn’t feeling confident to install the faucet on my own. I was also cautioned that special tools (that I don’t own) might be required. A few bloody knuckles and an instructional YouTube video later the faucet was installed. This was defiantly a two person job. It required one person under the sink while another held the faucet. I’m happy to report there have been zero incidents of leaking (which was my biggest fear) and the kitchen looks 100% more stylish.

Thorn: It seems the entire world started decorating for Christmas in November. I agreed to wait to decorate until Aaron could help. He is a holiday decorating wizard. In preparation for his arrival, I decided to pull my tree from it’s storage closet. Admittedly, I have not unearthed this tree in several years. It has been stored in the garage in it’s original cardboard box. It never crossed my mind to think every outdoor creature made this their home while it laid dormmate all those years. I did have the foresight to open the box outside, however I was not prepared for the amount of bugs and bug poop covering this tree. There is no salvaging it. It wasn’t very pretty to begin with. A hand-me-down tree I’ve carted from place to place for years; who’s pre-lit lights haven’t worked in the time I’ve own it. Now it’s time for me to buy a proper Christmas tree. I promise to buy a plastic storage case to keep from repeating this mistake again.

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Rose: Scout and I were exploring the neighborhood on our morning walk and discovered a Little Free Library. There were a range of books to choose from. I picked a young adult book to start; just to see if I would actually sit down to read a book. Much to my surprise, I found myself finishing the book in two days. Instead of endlessly scrolling through my phone for the millionth time; I’ve enjoyed reading a few pages each night before bed. I also like the paired down selection of the Little Free Library. It’s easier to make a choice when there are only thirty books to choose from. I could have easily glanced over the book I’m reading now if I were at a regular Library.

Click HERE to see if a Little Free Library is in your area!

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