It’s a three-day weekend for the federal government, which means D.C. has emptied out quite a bit. But some of us are still here. What do I hope to squeeze into the next three days, you ask? Let me tell you:

• Start my #1000WordsOfSummer project (That’s kind of a misnomer, because it only lasts for two weeks. But the idea is to write 1000 words each day over the next fortnight and to jumpstart or reinvigorate or put a solid dent into a project. I finished it last summer and am going to give it another shot, this time with the actual intent of continuing on through July.)
• Decide if I’m going to do #ChristmasInJuly this year and sign up if I am (I probably will.)
• Bake something with cherries (a cobbler or a pie, most likely)
• Play volleyball
• Swim
• Water the garden and plant beans (and maybe tomatillos)
• Go to supper at a friend of Rudi’s
• Shop at the farmers market (peaches!!!)
• Clear out the refrigerator (honestly!)
• Finish a book or two
• Sit outside at a cafe (maybe with my writing project or maybe with a book or maybe with a knitting project)
• Vacuum
• Send some mail
• Check in with some friends
• Do laundry
• Eat tons of fresh berries because it’s the best couple weeks of the year for that!

How about you? What are you hoping to do this weekend?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Rudi and I picked two buckets of tart cherries last weekend and as of this evening, they’re all pitted and most are in the freezer.

2. I spent the better part of the week at my friend Neal’s house, taking care of my favorite doggo, Naya. And then he came back and I got to return home to my best boys, both of whom seem quite happy to have me back.

3. We are in prime berry season, which means in addition to the cherries, I’ve also bought strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries at farmers markets this week. I’m really looking forward to this weekend’s yogurt parfaits!

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The fireflies have made their first appearances of the season!

2. It was a really good week at volunteering this week. We brought snacks to celebrate one of the other coaches’ 25th birthday, which both she and the kids loved; the kids had a fun time trying to score on me in the goal (with our bitsy nets, I am a pretty good goalie); and some of the kids who usually sit on the sideline actually played in the game at the end (and seemed to have fun).

3. My friend Chris got married last weekend and invited us to his and Julie’s wedding. And it was delightful. All of it. From the ceremony to the reception, from the venue to the food, and from the raucous joy of both their families to easy camaraderie of the volleyball folks in attendance (we even got a shoutout in their vows), I can’t point to a single thing I’d change. Except maybe that we were having too much fun conversing to do much dancing, and that doesn’t really seem like a negative at all.

What about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl invites us to share Books That Feel like Summer.

To me, summers include vacations, road trips, times at the beach or pool, camp, and high school jobs. Here are some books, five of which I recommend and five of which I hope to read, that include those items:

Read and Recommended:

1. Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
2. Summerland by Michael Chabon
3. Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
4. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
5. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

On My Radar:

1. I Don’t Care If We Never Get Back by Ben Blatt
2. Beach Read by Emily Henry
3. The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
4. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
5. Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler

How about you? Are there books that just scream summer that you’re hoping to read or that you’ve finished and recommend?

Dozed off writing this last night… Apparently too much sun and sand for quick, coherent thoughts!

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. We spent the afternoon at the beach, my first in more than a year. An onshore breeze mostly kept the haze away from the shore until evening, so we held court under deep blue skies and with temperatures in the upper 60s.

2. After going a couple more days without water than I would have liked (the water was mysteriously off at the garden and I hadn’t brought any from home), my young plants have perked back up, including my pink flowers, which had looked decidedly wilted.

3. I needed a haircut and tried a new stylist. She listened to what I wanted, offered her suggestions when I asked for her professional opinion, and provided tips for getting the most out of my new ‘do this summer. It works both down and back for sports, and now I just need to find a diffuser attachment for my (very dusty) hairdryer to see if I can recreate what she did for Chris’ wedding on Saturday.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

I had a nice weekend and I hope you did, too. I didn’t get to everything I’d hoped to, but such is the way of life. I did manage to squeeze in quite a bit:

We picnicked at the Kennedy Center and watched Raiders of the Lost Ark under the stars.

I spent time at the garden, outside in a pool, and on the patio of a cafe.

I bought a flat of strawberries at the farmers market.

I played volleyball, both in the sun and in the (what was quite a bit more than expected) rain and got in some miles on the bike.

We cooked (veggie) hot dogs at home and made daiquiris and went out for ice cream with my friend Chris. And we shopped at our local Japanese market and treated ourselves to some buns and soup.

How was your weekend?