It’s late and I stayed up too late finishing my book, so now I’m tired and cranky and in that headspace where you start to think about what to write and then think that maybe instead of contemplating you were dozing, but no one who’s still up (Corey) can tell you if that was the case or not. The only thing preventing me from toddling off to join Rudi for a few hours of sleep is a blog post and everything I thought/dreamed about will just take too long to write, despite the fact that I’ve now been sitting at the computer for half an hour not writing.

So, in the interest of getting to bed, I’m writing a bonus three beautiful things post about today and going to sleep:

1. I took both a hat and an earwarmer out with me cycling today, which meant I could use the hat as a tea cozy when sitting outdoors.

2. Fleece-lined leggings.

3. I was still home when Posey threw up a hairball, which meant I cleaned it up. If it’d happened after I’d left, it would have been mashed under the door and/or Rudi’s bike tire when he came home before he himself even crossed the threshold.

I just dropped a glass jar while taking out the leftover recycling, so I’m annoyed with myself and the world right now. All of which means it’s an especially good time to consider three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Leaves crunch beneath my feet while yellow sunshine filters through red-orange leaves against a blue sky.

2. Nicole tucked a baggie containing two mini muffins into the bags of untouched beers and used pots when we weren’t looking. As they were my favorite thing from Pumpkin Fest, it was a delight to find we had a couple to eat after we’d recovered from the festivities.

3. When last I bought wool wash*, we couldn’t find my favorite scent (which, it turns out, has been discontinued), so Rudi did a sniff test and suggested one. Since we’re now back in handknits season, I’ve had the chance to break out the new bottle of Soak and find the fig scent far more pleasant than I would have imagined.

*Woolite, knitters will tell you, is actually really good for washing lingerie and similar delicates, but is bad for laundering wool. Should you not want to shop for a product specifically for your knitwear, baby shampoo is gentle and is generally considered a good substitute.

How about you? What was beautiful in your world this week?

So early in the day to be posting!

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A week later and my scalp is still orange where I spray dyed my hair for Halloween. It’s getting less obvious, but it still makes me smile when I glimpse it.

2. Gramma fell and broke her hip late last week. She had surgery over the weekend and spent a few days very out of it. When I spoke with her yesterday at the nursing home where she’s working to regain strength and mobility, she seemed more aware and focused.

3. I spent a little time after waking Sunday confused about what time it was versus what time the alarm clock said. Convinced I’d seriously overslept, I got moving quickly in order to catch the farmers market before it closed. As I was grabbing my phone, though, I realized the bedroom clock was still set to daylight time. Suddenly, without having to do anything, I was presented a whole hour back into my life. It was like magic.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Kris Delmhorst played this week at Gypsy Sally’s, a local club in Georgetown. Her music makes me smile just as much today as it did the first time we saw her perform on my 25th birthday.

2. Karen and I both run IM on our work computers and, as the mood strikes us, we share how the day is going. We’re far apart, but as close as a window will allow. I think we’ve talked every day this week.

3. I didn’t realize until after everyone else had left the garden clean-up day that there was a person-sized hole in the fence next to my plot. I managed to cut and secure a new piece of fencing on my own to mend it.

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

Three beautiful things from our past week:

1. We eat four of the apples we brought back from Vermont tonight, and one of them, Hidden Rose, has pink flesh. The others are the small Lamb Abbey, the oddly shaped Calville Blanc d’Hiver, and the red Mollie(‘)s Delicious. My favorite is the Calville, which is sweetly tart and crisp.

2. We arrive at the ocean two days after the remnants of a tropical storm have passed through. Surfers are plentiful, but it’s with a start, after overhearing a comment, that I realize what I originally thought was a class of wetsuit-clad boarders is actually a pod of 50 or so seals body-surfing in the breakers.

3. A daddy long-legs has gotten wet and can’t escape the campground bathroom sink. I offer it a literal helping hand and it climbs out and up onto the tap, where it proceeds to shake its legs off and lick (or something that looks similar) them dry.

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

Three beautiful things from our past week:

1. Sam & Alexis’ son, Max, is merely three weeks old when we get the chance to visit. He is adorable and tiny and neither Rudi nor I break him while we hold him.

2. Last year, our fall road trip to New England came after the peak foliage season here had passed. This year, we’re in the midst of it and have seen some gorgeous color:

3. Just as I say, “Gosh, if it were six hours later, there would be a rainbow with this rain,” I spy a noon rainbow just over the horizon.

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