What we’re reading, listening to and thinking about this month.

Todd R.: End of November and my lawn is still green – 2020 still has a heart! Enjoying The Undoing on HBO and Big Sky on ABC. Rediscovering the music of Laura Nyro over the past few weeks. Learning the fine art of brining a turkey, as we are giving the Traeger the ultimate test by trusting it with Thanksgiving dinner.

Alyssa: We kicked off the holidays early this month and put the tree up a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. It’s nice to have some in-person sparkle for our virtual holiday season. We also watched an old documentary on Netflix called Long Shot – amazing story about how an accused murderer proved his innocence using footage from the show “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Rich: November, 2020. What a month! Pandemic. New restrictions on bars, restaurants, gyms, social gatherings, etc. Announcement of probable approval of vaccines before year end. Surging increase in community spread of the virus. Family Thanksgiving gathering shelved. Winter just around the corner; no more golf or outdoor social gatherings until spring.

Election Day. Finally going to bed with Trump in the lead. Waking up to much uncertainty about the Presidential Election (feels like 2000). Sen. Smith re-elected. Incumbent Congressman Peterson loses his seat. House DFL holds their majority. Senate Republicans hold their majority. Minnesota has the only divided state government in the country. After a week of counting votes, media declares Biden the President-Elect. Trump refuses to concede. The lawsuits and fraud allegations start to fly. After three weeks of dismissed lawsuits and state voter certifications, Trump allows transition to begin. Control of the Senate to be decided in January in Georgia. Pelosi re-elected Speaker.

Life in general. Family and colleagues healthy and safe. Several friends test positive for COVID. All doing OK. Work continues to provide meaningful opportunities to interact with great people and help solve problems and take advantage of opportunities. Starting to get into moderate binge watching of very good TV series. Home improvement projects wrapping up. After years of threatening to do so, Kari and I embark on a major clean-up of the garage and basement. Lots of items discovered that bring joy to the heart. Lots of junk goes into the dumpster.

As 2020 draws to a close, I am hopeful about a much improved experience in 2021. However, a difficult 2020 has brought reminders of the importance of human relationships. We are social animals. I recommit to investing in my great relationships and look forward to more handshakes and hugs in 2021.

Todd S.: During a pandemic, the Stone family decided to start the Christmas season in November, well before Thanksgiving. The tree is up, and the house is decorated. The Christmas movies are just around the corner.

Sarah: I, like everyone else, binged The Queen’s Gambit this month. Unlike everyone else, I have no desire to learn chess after watching it. I also returned to season 4 of The Crown, which is a series that constantly leads to googling of the events and reading every possible piece of information about the royals. While my fiancé wrapped up harvest, I moved on to planning the garden of my dreams for next spring – everything from greens to cut flowers. I’m looking forward to becoming the office’s local CSA!

Anna: My month was a whirlwind of wedding planning, including a socially distanced, mask-wearing bridal shower at my church. I found time to try a few new recipes, including an easy sheet pan meal with sausage, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and all the delicious seasonings. I also started the thought-provoking book The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. 

Quentin: I won’t beat around the bush: This month flew by. 

Between the presidential election, exciting new client work, holiday decorating, and a lot of free hours spent outdoors thanks to some surprisingly nice Minnesota weather, November felt like it came and went over the course of just a few days. 

The highlight of my month had to be the quick early Thanksgiving trip back to my hometown of Iowa City, Iowa. After a quick and painless COVID-19 test that came back negative, we make the nearly five-hour drive to see my parents at a distance and splurged on our favorite local restaurants via takeout and patio seating (Iowa felt like summer with nearly 60 degree temperatures at one point!) 

Even in the midst of a pandemic, it was fun to see and try out new businesses, take in the new public art and run through some of my favorite trails (Iowa isn’t ALL flat).