Time and days don’t really exist up here, other than in the form of making doctors’ appointments, which means I have a hard time holding onto Thursdays…

Here are three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The hospital releases my dad after five days this time and lets him do his final treatment as an outpatient, sitting next to my mom for her weekly chemo infusion.

2. Rudi overnights me a package, which includes leftover Halloween candy, more cold-weather clothing (fall in New England means something different than in D.C.), and my new phone, which I’d had sent home instead of to Connecticut. (The battery doesn’t die when you blink! The flashlight works! I can talk to people for an hour and not have to be tethered to a charging cable!)

3. When I went to Northampton the weekend before Halloween, I picked up a bunch of books, including Bishop Takes King, a Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) novel by Ashley Poston. The Hawkeye novel was perfect for the hospital, and rewatching the first episode of her Disney+ series was perfect for the few hours a day I had to myself.

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

I started this post Thursday and then life happened…

Three beautiful things from last week:

1. I sent up the bat signal to the volleyball team and they replied with pictures, jokes, recipes, and words of encouragement.

2. The view from Dad’s hospital room looks to the hills outside Hartford and is quite restful.

3. My visit to the bowling alley was curtailed by a family emergency, but before I headed out, they played a novelty song from my volleyball team playlist, which made me feel calmer and more capable.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My college roommate and her family welcome me as a last-minute guest for the weekend. She and I eat Indian food; visit her local coffeehouse, farmers market, and farm stand (where I buy a ton of apples, cider doughnuts, and delicious bread; and catch up.

2. Hours in the car mean I get to put a dent in The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling, a witchy romance sequel to a book I read last year.

3. Eri and I head to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, which is conveniently located in the town next to hers. The temperatures are mild, the rain mostly dissipates, we get to admire both animals and animal products, her childhood friend sees us and hands off her cider doughnut leftovers, I find a skein of sparkly punk rock yarn, and she procures soft, new gloves in a pretty hue.

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

Three beautiful things from my last week:

1. My dad is home from the hospital and his relevant numbers are still slowly improving.

2. The trees in Connecticut are starting to look very festive in their yellow, orange, and red finery.

3. The farm stand is out of cider doughnuts, but I curl up with an ice cream cone next to the fire pit and read for a bit.

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

So, last week, we had some family health emergencies on top of regular family health crises, and in the wake of spending 20 hours a day in the hospital, I lost track of the blog. But since the only time I’ve missed a weekly TBT things post was after my grandmother died, I wanted to share three beautiful things from last week, just half a week later than usual:

1. Karen and I got a lovely afternoon visit in together, with stuffed French toast, a dry walk along the river, and a chat. It was needed.

2. Rudi and I went down to our alma mater for its 50 Years of Volleyball celebration. I played a single year, but it had a profound impact on my life. The team didn’t pull off a win, but they did have some solid plays and we enjoyed watching the game in person. And we met the coach, the director of athletics, my former captain’s daughter, and a bunch of the current players’ parents.

3. This year, I was in charge of making Dad’s birthday pie. It wasn’t as good as Mum’s, but it was a solid check-plus, which we’re taking as a win. Plus, I sliced enough apples for the Thanksgiving pie and froze them and some pie crust, so we’re doing well!

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Saturday’s and Sunday’s sunsets were both gorgeous, if completely different. Saturday’s was deep pink altocumulus clouds piled above and behind the Washington Monument. Sunday’s, seen near the end of my Virginia-Connecticut flight, was thick stripes of pastel haze.

2. Rudi rescued a chipmunk from drowning in the bucket of water I emptied from the basement dehumidifiers.

3. I’ve turned the heel of the sock I’m knitting and am chugging on toward the toe.

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