I promise a more in-depth report over the weekend when I will be through knitting my sock, either through to the next round of Sock Madness or eliminated from competition if the final 12 spots fill before I finish. Either way, I will have some time to catch up on posting and pictures and reading and gardening and cleaning and being in touch with friends.

In the meantime, let us consider three beautiful things from the past week:

1. The Nats beat the Phillies in the first game Rudi and I attend this season. A chilly evening leaves us shivering, but watching Livan Hernandez toss slowball after slowball past swinging batters and seeing Jason Werth ignore the taunts of Phillies fans in attendance make the win particularly enjoyable.

2. Rudi comes home after a meeting with a hand-packed container of ice cream from our favorite local shop.

3. We have a baby shower at work for three moms-to-be. I pick up nine brightly hued, helium-filled balloons from a local shop to decorate their chairs. Despite the breezy weather, the balloons and I all make it safely back to the office.

How about you? What beautiful things have you noticed this week?