Ack! Thursday is practically gone already! The single-digit days leading up to Christmas are generally fraught, but there is still beauty tucked amidst the panic. Here are three from the past week:

1. Sweetpea, Rudi, and I meet up for dinner Tuesday night at a local diner that serves particularly good grilled cheese and tomato soup. At the bottom of my cherry coke sit two festive cherries just waiting to surprise me. (Luna also merits mention because they dangle Christmas ornaments from the dining room ceiling to really give the restaurant a festive spirit.)

2. In addition to Tuesday’s soiree, Rudi and I have had a lot of dinners out in the last week. Saturday night, a large group of us followed up a party with a midnight trip to a bar. Sunday, we partook of Sweetpea and Megan’s generosity and combined food, merrimaking, and holiday cartoons for a terrifically fun evening. And last night, Amani and I met up for dinner at Teaism so I could learn how her first week at the new job is going and so she could get instructions for caring for our cats next week.

3. Every Christmas Dad makes a mix cd or two. This week his latest compilation arrived in the mail and it really merits mention. One of my favorite tunes may be “Jingle Bell Rock” as performed by Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker. It sounded good on the computer speakers, but it particularly stands out when listening on headphones where you can hear the exchange between the two singers. They’re clearly having fun singing it together and it’s just impossible to listen without smiling. The rest of the music runs the genre gamut — from ’80s bands Heart and Survivor to the casts of the musicals Little Shop of Horrors and Hairspray and from Rebs’ favorite Grey Eye Glances to Sam’s fave KT Tunstall — and I’ve already listened to it through a number of times. Great job, Dad!

Sorry for the tardiness; I dozed off there. But better late than never, right? Here are my three beautiful things from the last week:

1. I meet Rudi’s cycling friends for the first time en masse Sunday evening at a party. They all seem like really nice people who genuinely like Rudi. They share his crazy “let’s cheerily ride 100 miles in a day” mentality, which I fail to understand. But I’m glad that he has people who do.

2. A few weeks ago, one of the classic radio podcasts I subscribe to on iTunes posted Miracle of the Bells, a mostly-forgotten movie starring Fred McMurray, Valli, and Frank Sinatra in a non-singing role. The radio show, presented by Lux Radio Theater, is a personal classic, though, because every year Dad used to take the taped copy out of the library for us to listen to. I listen to it late at night as I knit curled up on the couch. (As a side note, I realize that this show may have defined Western Pennsylvania for me growing up and probably is responsible for my misgiving that Pittsburgh would be a dirty coal mining city.)

3. Anxiolytic: anxiety-relieving. It means the exact opposite of what I guessed it would and, as such, is so much more useful. It’s my favorite word of the week.

Sorry this is so late, but Rudi and I were having blog problems earlier in the day. The problem has been rectified, allowing me to post again. Yay!

That fix has allowed me to post Three Beautiful Things from the past week. Admit it; you’ve been waiting all day for them…

1. At our holiday party on Sunday, several guests brought delicious food. Amani arrived with a vegetarian quiche and brownies, relieving me of the need of cooking the lasagna I hadn’t even started. Sarah brought delicious pretzel treats — pretzels with Hershey Kisses melted into the middle, with an M&M pressed into it. And Sweetpea brought her famous cranberry salsa, brie, and crackers.

2. Sweetpea, John, Rudi, and I went to the National Theatre tonight to see Avenue Q, which is a musical parody of (and tribute to) Sesame Street for adults. I admit that I was a little leery about such an irreverent show but, while some of it was over the top, much of it was not and I had a really good time. Everyone else seemed to have a blast, too. My favorite song? “I Wish I Could Go Back to College.”

3. A package arrived for me last night. I couldn’t remember ordering any yarn on ebay, but sometimes I get a little carried away. Rudi told me the only way to find out what it contained was to open the box. When I pried it open and saw a glittery hoof, I immediately knew where the box had come from — Grey Kitten! The box contained a sparkly unicorn just the same color as yesterday’s first snow, whom I have named Snowflake to commemorate her arrival.

Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. In addition to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and a second turkey dinner on Friday, Mum packed a container filled with leftovers for us to have for supper on Monday. Thanksgiving is one of the only times of the year when the leftovers are just as good as the original meal.

2. Karen and I still exploring meeting spots between her new home and my folks’ place. Last Saturday we chose Sturbridge, where we did much of what we would have done if we were still meeting up in Middletown — eat lunch, buy apples, and drink hot beverages.

3. Friday, Mum and I baked a batch of spritz cookies. She made the dough and shot the dough onto the trays and I decorated them. There was some confusion because she seems to be missing a few of the shape discs, but we eventually settled on poinsettas, ornaments, a few hearts, and a tray of humanoids that could have been angels, elves, or snowmen, depending on your interpretation.

Three Beautiful Thanksgiving Things from today:

1. Mum tried new squash and turnip recipes this year. They were delicious! (In fact, we might need to get the recipes…)

2. Dad lit a fire this morning just before the Macy’s Day Parade and it stayed alit pretty much all day long. It really made things seem quite cozy.

3. After Dad and I got the doughnuts this morning, I changed back into my pjs. I didn’t get dressed again until just before dinnertime.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I came back to work today after two days out sick. Walking to the Metro, I realized fall finally arrived while I was tucked in my Burrow sickbed. I offer you three beautiful things from my walk:

1. The rain and the wind brought down many leaves, which I shuffle through crunchily on the sidewalk. They are beginning to moulder, and the scent takes me back to my childhood.

2. I love how even leaves do not want to die. They lose their chlorophyll from their outer edges first, crinkling delicately around the edges, but tenaciously clinging to branches and to life.

3. As I bounce from the escalator into the station, I see an elderly couple heading up and out. The woman is losing her scarf, and her husband turns to grab it for her. He lovingly wraps it around her neck and gently ties it so it will stay put.

My heart just about broke with joy.

Anything beautiful and autumnal where you live?