Rudi and I head north this afternoon for the holidays. I anticipate a rollicking drive full of merriment and sing-alongs, but what’s more likely is one of us catching up on sleep while the other drives. I’m prepared for that, too: I have the audio version of The Christmas Carol queued up for Rudi’s naps.

But before we join the Christmas migration out of town, I wanted to share three beautiful things from my week past:

1. Sunday night we join a group for caroling. Bundled against the chill, we wandered with a dozen strangers through a neighborhood not our own, singing songs of wonder and joy. Children in pajamas were our favorite audiences, but the house where the owner requested a second song and then passed around a plate of cookies was pretty awesome, too.

2. Ten minutes before closing time at a big box store, I join the queue at a checkstand. The couple in front of me notice I only have one item and kindly invite me to jump ahead of them and their cart. I demur, but the clerk is fast so practically by the time I’m done thanking them for their offer, they’re ready to pay.

3. Rudi and I head out for the eclipse of the full moon. In the wee hours of the Solstice, the quiet, clear night affords us a magical viewing from a local traffic circle as we watch the moon diminish before our eyes.

What’s been beautiful in your world this week? Please share in the comments.

And, finally, before I sign off, I wanted to point you to this story featuring what started as one beautiful holiday thing that snowballed to encompass thousands of them. I warn you, it moved me to tears.

Eight days until Christmas people…

Three short and sweet beautiful things from my past week:

1. I find myself on the Hill for back-to-back parties. Charles and Jordi’s includes macaroons and the chance to trade knitting lessons for hair trims. Sarah’s party (co-hosted by Megan) provides the chance to watch childhood tv specials, eat a vast array of Christmas cookies, and meet Holden, Susan and Phillip’s one-month-old son, for the first time.

2. Twice this week it’s snowed in D.C. The first happens one night around midnight, when we look up from Holiday Inn to find flakes swirling outside our window. When the ground is essentially clear the next morning, we’re glad we responded by running outside. This morning’s snow arrives equally quickly but carries on longer, offering us glimpses of snowglobe-like weather each time we glance out the office windows. It also sticks around longer, giving us an inch-and-a-half of white on every surface.

3. I stop for a hot, fortifying beverage at the coffee stand before joining the 20-person-deep queue snaking around the front of store. The barista asks if I’d like him to ring up my purchases at the same time as my tea. Yes, please!

What’s been beautiful in your world this week?

Today was Thursday. How did that happen? I’ve accounted for the end of last week through Sunday, but where did the beginning of this week go?

However, if it is Thursday (and every calendar and computer has assured me that it really is), it must be time to reflect on three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Every year we drive out to Aldie, Virginia, to cut down our Christmas tree and then stop by the British Pantry to pick up a treat or two. Arriving a little earlier than usual this year, we ask if there’s an open table in the tearoom. After a delicious full tea with sandwiches and sweets, the matron asks us if we’d like a couple more scones because it’s the end of the day.

2. A few blocks from the Burrow an orange motorcycle with a sidecar sits parallel-parked. I wonder where its riders are and where they’re heading.

3. An impoverished man steps onto the Metro. He settles into a seat and gently nestles his aged, off-white accordion at his feet.

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

The first Thursday in December offers the opportunity for a holiday-themed spin to three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The young man outside Macy’s ringing the bell for Salvation Army has a rich tenor voice, which he uses to serenade passersby with “The Christmas Song.”

2. Over the summer in an excursion to my parents’ basement, I tracked down the cookie shooter templates that my grandmother had handed down to me when I still lived in Connecticut and it turns out that they went to my mother’s best shooter. So this year, instead of being stuck with the four shapes we’ve made do with years for our Christmas spritz cookies, we are able to branch out and add bells and poinsettias to our repertoire.

3. As Karen and I sit in a cafe sipping hot beverages, Santa Claus rides past on a fire truck.

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

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this fourth Thursday of November, I want to precede my weekly list of beauty with a note of thanks. I am extraordinarily lucky in my life. I have a family and friends who love me, good health, a comfortable place to live in a dynamic city, delicious food to eat, a job that lets me sleep at night, cats to cuddle, and hobbies I enjoy. I am so grateful for all of that and for so much more.

And I am also grateful for a place to record things that strike as beautiful. Here are three of them:

1. The new Harry Potter movie may be my favorite yet of the series. Seeing it opening night at the Uptown, D.C.’s old, one-screen cinema gem, with an enthusiastic, sell-out crowd was fantastic and just what it should have been.

2. Phillip texts a photo of his and Susan’s new wee son, Holden. Adorable!

3. Our drive to Connecticut last night was absolutely traffic-free. We even avoided the back-up at the Delaware toll with a quick hop off the highway that also gave us the opportunity to stop at Dunkin’ for hot beverages.

What about you? What’s been beautiful in your world this Thanksgiving week?

Wow! There’s only a week until Thanksgiving. Thirty-seven days until Christmas. Huh.

But before panic creeps in, let’s look back at three beautiful things from my week past:

1. The day I forgot my lunch and walked down to Pret for a sandwich, a new bakery was handing out free mini cupcakes.

2. The Tweed Ride was on Sunday. Rudi and I joined roughly 500 other cyclists sporting our fall finest to ride across the city. Costumes were colorful and dapper and elegant and it’s always so cool to see the penny-farthings and Pedersen bicycles that get brought out for these fancy-dress events.

3. Several weeks ago, Grey Kitten wrote on one of my TBT posts that the moon was beautiful and he wanted to share it with me. Last Friday it arrived in the post in the form of a breathtakingly beautiful book of photography and French poetry.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your life this week?