Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. I certainly didn’t expect (but am delighted nonetheless) to report that the Nationals have taken a 2-0 lead in the World Series. They return home tomorrow for Game 3 (and left fielder Juan Soto’s 21st birthday).

2. Leftover centerpieces from a summit my work hosted means I have a purple orchid sitting in a bowl on my desk.

3. My trip to the farmers market over the weekend netted a branch of Brussels sprouts, several quince, and a candy roaster squash nearly the length of my arm.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Today was cool and fall-like and I got to wear my new jewel-toned autumnal clothes.

2. Yesterday, it rained. It had been so long since we’d had precipitation that I could even forgive it cancelling my volleyball game.

3. Rudi and I were both tired on our drive back from Connecticut, and the radio was not being cooperative by playing something that didn’t annoy me. Eventually, I asked if the Yankees game was on, and Rudi was able to pull that up. There was a lot of background noise and the announcers and players were mostly new to me, but there is a cadence to baseball broadcasting that is common and familiar and comforting. (Plus, the Yankees have a woman doing color commentary for them, so Rudi and I got to spend some time learning about her and other female sports broadcasting trailblazers.)

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. I went on a work trip to New York City today and wrapped up my day there with dinner with two dear friends from college.

2. My long-time volleyball team is reaching the end of our season, so we went out for an evening of drinks and laughter at a local bar.

3. At the zoo, Nicole and I took Juliet into the Ape House. We saw baby gorillas and orangutans, but even more fun was when a big gorilla plopped itself down right in front of us.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Our friends John and Nicole and their daughter, Juliet, are back in town to visit Nicole’s parents after moving to the west coast a couple years ago, and we’ve been spending our evenings together. Today Juliet and I colored while waiting for our supper to arrive and the adults caught up on each other’s lives.

2. While we were waiting for John and Nicole to get back to their hotel this evening, Rudi and I hung out in a nearby park. An adorable black lab puppy was playing fetch with its owner and a squeaky ball.

3. I brought my happy lights into work this week and then added a bouquet of sunflowers from the farmers market to my desk, which means that everyone comments how bright and cheerful my cubicle is now. (This doesn’t seem like the sort of office culture where they’re going to be excited about themed light strands and desk toys, so I’m trying to build up slowly within the limits of where I think they’re going to have a hard time explaining why I can’t do something.)

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. In a surprise to this Mets fan after such a rocky start to the season, my favorite baseball team wasn’t eliminated from playoff contention until the final Wednesday of the season. (And my second-favorite team, the Nationals, clinched a wild-card spot the night before.)

2. I got to try out my new volleyball sneakers on the court. They did not make me play like Kerri Walsh, but they did make my knees feel way better. (Oh, and my new indoor team seems nice. I joined them at the bar for a while after the game because Rudi was out for the evening.)

3. The heat hasn’t disappeared for good yet, but autumn has arrived. I’m looking forward to crisp weather and changing leaves and knitwear season (although not to earlier darkness).

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A little girl of about four, wearing a pink bike helmet, races a corgi puppy up a set of stairs in the park. “I won!” she exclaims.

2. My job is near a mid-week farmers market and I have been celebrating by buying raspberries, which are back in season here.

3. Our library got DVDs of The Librarians, so Rudi and I have been able to resume watching the series.

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