Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. I made homemade Valentine’s cards for the volleyball team, with puns and freestyle drawings on the front and personal notes on the back about what I love about playing with them on the back:

Overall, they were a hit, and I was surprisingly pleased with how well they turned out.

2. In the week between visits to Palisades, an entire hollow of snowdrops appeared as if fairies conjured them in the warm February overnight.

3. Tuesday was my birthday, and Rudi, my family, and my friends made sure it was a fun one. I got lots of greetings, including from some friends who never send messages. My mom sent an abundance of lovely presents and a delicious homemade strawberry mousse cake south with Rudi. And Rudi and I spent a couple hours bowling, visited a yarn shop and a library, stopped at several coffee shops to cash in birthday freebies and to soak up the unseasonable warm sunshine, and pizza at my favorite restaurant for supper. It was a good final birthday of my first half-century and marked a positive way to start my fiftieth trip around the sun.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. I spent a solid half hour playing soccer (poorly) with elementary school kids as part of my volunteer gig. Afterwards, I still felt lively enough to go for a stroll.

2. A friend and I do the 20-minute walk to and from our volleyball games together twice a week.

3. My favorite Cuban restaurant has opened an outpost in Dupont Circle. I picked up yuca fries and garlic aioli to supplement supper the other night.

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

1. If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude (romance)
2. Always the Almost by Edward Underhill (romance)
3. Ashes by Álvaro Ortiz (graphic novel)
4. The Davenports by Krystal Marquis (historical fiction)
5. This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs (romance)
6. The Possibility of Life by Jaime Green (nonfiction)
7. Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (memoir)
8. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (fantasy)
9. Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee (romance)
10. Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (mystery)

How about you? Are there any debut authors you’re hoping to support this year?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Dogsitting means I’m up earlier than usual, so I’ve gotten to see the sun on several days when it would normally have already been hidden behind the clouds by the time I’ve risen.

2. My friend Chris and his fiancee, Julie, were playing volleyball on Saturday on the Mall, so I joined them for a couple hours, even though the ground was muddy and the grass a bit slick. Since it rained Sunday and both of my indoor games were cancelled this week, I’m really glad I made it down there.

3. Neal doesn’t drink a lot of hot beverages, which means his mug collection is small in both quantity and stature. The first couple days here, the water barely had time to cool before I was turning it on again for my next cup. Then I remembered I’d gotten a travel mug in my stocking and it holds almost three times as much liquid as his cups. Plus, it keeps my tea hot on days when I get distracted.

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

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl is a freebie, and while I ought to deal with the top ten list from 2022, it’s been a long day and that will take more energy than I have. There’s another freebie week in mid-February, so maybe I’ll aim for then.

Anyway, I figured I could give you ten of the books I currently have checked out from the library that I’m likely to read in the next little while:

1. Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
2. Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon
3. The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
4. Gene Luen Yang’s The Search
5. Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
6. Emily Brightwell’s Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders
7. The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev
8. Rachel Hartman’s Tess of the Road
9. My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman
10. Amor Towles’ Lincoln Highway

What do you currently have checked out from your library?

During this final weekend of January, I’m hoping my time includes:

• Hanging out with a pup (I’m dogsitting this coming week)
• Talking on the phone with my BFF
• Playing pickup volleyball with friends
• Shopping at the farmers market
• Getting some writing done
• Putting the Christmas ornaments away
• Reading
• Hanging fairy lights
• Knitting
• Baking something (unless Neal has left me the rest of the cookies I left with him last week)

What are you hoping to get up to before we turn the calendar page next week?