March 30, 2018
students, in the room where it happens, & adulting
posted by soe 12:59 am
Three beautiful things from my past week:
1. Brave and determined teenagers insistent on not allowing others to limit or define them, but who instead move to make the world a better place.
2. Rudi was up and caught a news item alerting him to the impending sale of local Hamilton tickets, which means we’ll be spending a delightful Friday evening at the Kennedy Center in June.
3. A double-booked evening resolved itself without any intervention on my part, which allowed me to sup on pizza and doughnuts before a talk on creativity. My inner eight-year-old knew being an adult would be awesome.
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?
March 23, 2018
official snack, equinox, and snow day
posted by soe 1:59 am
Three beautiful things from my past week:
1. The concession stand at the movie theater where we saw Love, Simon sold packages of mini Oreos. (Oreos are mentioned over and over in both the book and the film, so I knew we’d want them.)
2. Spring has arrived!

3. So did the snow, which remained uncertain enough in its forecast that the federal government shut down on Wednesday and had a late opening today. Unlike New England, which probably feels like it will never thaw, we only had a few inches and the accumulation has already mostly melted away. Best thing about spring snowstorms is that it melts fast!
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?
March 16, 2018
pi(e), daylight, and y
posted by soe 12:29 am
Three beautiful things from my past week:
1. Baking is my thing (as opposed to cooking, which is Rudi’s), so Pi(e) Day is usually my responsibility. Somehow, though, I lost a day this week, so my plans to prep for the mathematical baking celebration after my volleyball game really didn’t really work, since that was, in fact, the 14th. Rudi stepped up, though, and made quiche for supper, including his very first pie crust. It was delicious!
2. Daylight Savings Time means there’s light after work. And since I’m not awake when the sun rises right now, it’s a 100% improvement for me. (Even if I am tired this week, from the shifted clock.)
3. We quite enjoyed the first episode of Rise, a tv show about a high school drama program, starring Rosie Perez, the dad from How I Met Your Mother, and the real-life girl who voiced the animated Moana.
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?
March 9, 2018
killing me softly, be the light, and tea time
posted by soe 1:04 am
Three beautiful things from my past week:
1. A woman sings softly (and, I think, unconsciously) on the other side of the Metro platform as she waits for her train. Because of the acoustics of the station, her melodic tones reach me, too.
2. Sarah, Rudi, and I caught opening night of A Wrinkle in Time tonight. I went into it too excited and the screenplay writer/director opted not to include the scene from the book I love best, one essential to my personal understanding of life, so I can say assuredly it’s not perfect. But it was very good, with lush scenery that makes me curious about the 3D version (and green lipstick), a solid reenvisioning of the story, and excellent performances from its actors, particularly Storm Reid, who plays Meg.
3. My yearly supply of tea leaves arrived Monday, much to the bemusement of my office mailroom supervisor, who inquired about the contents when I cheered with glee as he delivered the box to me. Sure, I suppose most people don’t order 11 pounds of tea at once, but most people don’t drink as much tea as we do. I’m really excited to refill all my canisters this weekend, some of which have been empty a long time. (I think my supplier has been out of Gurance when I’ve tried to order it for the past two years!)
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?
March 6, 2018
sock madness
posted by soe 1:37 am
Every spring for years now I’ve taken part in Sock Madness, a competition where knitters from around the world strive to knit a sock pattern faster than one another. Except it’s slightly more complicated than that in that it involves six rounds and teams and probably some other stuff I’m not thinking of. The first round is a play-in type round and you just have to be able to complete the first pair in two weeks’ time in order to advance. I haven’t managed it in at least two years. Maybe three. But this year I’m feeling it and this is my progress after half a week. I haven’t been dedicated to knitting Fée Dragée when I should (in part because of some lingering doubts about color combinations, size, and my ability to read a perfectly clear pattern), so I could be further along than I am, so I have hopes that sock #2 will fly by. But this is sock #1 (and a very patient Corey), so I shouldn’t count chickens.
March 2, 2018
conclusion, signs, and bagels
posted by soe 1:28 am
D.C. is dealing with a significant wind storm right now and as I sit here writing (and listening to recycling bins skitter down the street), I wonder how much of the tree outside our apartment will come down before it’s over. But since I have no control over that, let’s look back at three beautiful things from my past week:
1. The Closing Ceremony of the Olympics in PyeongChang was very impressive. I particularly liked that spirograph act with the lines.
2. Spring is coming because we got an email about our baseball tickets today and I expect another about the garden this weekend. (I went down to the our plot last week to assess how things are going and think I’ll try to get peas in the ground in a week or so.) Also, Sock Madness kicked off today, so I know the seasonal shift is right around the corner.
3. Rudi got up this morning and went out to buy a bag of day-olds at our local bagel shop while I was still curled up asleep so there would be something to eat for breakfast.
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?