Every Thursday, I share beautiful things from my past week. Here are three from this week:

1. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings performed on Tuesday night at the Lincoln Theatre in a show destined to go down in my top ten of all time, if not the top five. The band is tight. The backing singers, who also served as the opening act, harmonized amazingly. And Jones has an amazing energy and attitude that is apparent in her recorded music, but it springs to the fore when seeing her on stage. She strutted, she pranced, she worked her way through all the popular dances of the ’60s. She kept it real by coming out in fancy gold shoes, then asking someone to bring her her flip-flops when her feet started hurting, and then kicking those off, too, when she wanted to bop around stage. And then she opened her mouth and, oh! She belted out those songs as if not only her life depended on it, but also the lives of everyone in the building. All I can say is there’s a reason they call it soul music. The woman has just finished her second round of chemo in three years for a type of cancer that she shared her doctors tell her won’t go into remission. But, she said, doctors only know what doctors know. She declared that as long as her voice worked and she had a microphone, she would go on.

2. Every November the orchids that my late uncle gave me for my birthday several years ago start to bud. I always think that they’ll bloom for his birthday, while I’m away for Thanksgiving, but each time they hold off just a few more days and bloom instead when I get back to the office.

3. We get in touch with the landlord about a handful of plumbing issues and over the past week we’ve had our toilet, hot water, bathroom faucet, kitchen faucet, and countertop repaired or upgraded. It’s nice not to have to deal with any of those niggling problems any more.

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

Every Thursday I share beautiful things from the previous week. These are just three of this week’s:

1. I run into Panera, a fast-food bakery/restaurant, for a bagel for a late lunch. The guy at the counter throws a second bagel into the bag and asks me to grab a free cup of coffee or tea as his treat.

2. A seven-and-a-half hour commute home on a holiday weekend. (For comparison, our fastest ever drive from Connecticut to D.C. was six-and-a-half hours, which we managed just once in the past 12 years. Normally it’s eight’ish.)

3. After days of grey and rain, this morning I awoke to sunshine and brilliant blue skies.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. At a time of year I rarely see either sunrise or sunset, I saw both in a single day. Dawn was pinkish, while the sun set more orangey.

2. I’m listening to the audiobook of Anne of Green Gables, and it’s clear from her pronunciation that the reader, Colleen Winton, is Canadian. Rudi noted that her voice reminds him of Colleen Dewhurst, who played Marilla in the wonderful tv movies. I don’t know if he’s right (it’s been several years since I last saw the show (Ooh! I should see if DCPL has a copy to borrow)), but she definitely does a fantastic job with Marilla’s part. She’s a very comforting companion during late-night chores.

3. My bathroom is very clean after a marathon scouring session.

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

It’s Thursday, so it’s time to reflect on three beautiful things from my past week:

1. If Starbucks didn’t launch the gingerbread latte trend, they at least furthered it significantly, and people understandably look forward fondly to this time of the year for a tasty seasonal beverage. We tea drinkers have gone neglected, though, with even their Joy tea disappearing last year. This year, though, they’ve introduced a gingerbread chai tea latte, which is delicious.

2. I try a new-to-me dessert from Chatpat, our vegetarian Indian food truck. Ras malai is a farmer’s cheese served in a fragrant, herb-infused cream sauce; it’s not too sweet, but very tasty. (Do you sense a theme?)

3. The weather has been especially mild this week, allowing for short sleeves and no jacket several days in a row. Temperatures are about to drop again to more seasonal averages, so it’s been nice to have one last warm streak for the year.

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

It’s Thursday, so it’s time to look back on three beautiful things from my past week:

1. After commenting on the blanket of leaves hiding my car, I awoke to discover someone (be in the city or the neighbor’s gardening service) had whisked away every leaf in its vicinity.

2. The second season of The Librarians has begun!

3. It’s finally cool enough to wear wool socks and hats and scarves (although not so cold as to need all of them at once)!

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A MetroAccess van driver helping a frail, elderly woman into the store, arm-in-arm, chatting away.

2. My cats, like most, occasionally throw up hairballs. Because of this, I have become very good at realizing I’m stepping in something squishy and recoiling before I put my full weight down on it. This skill came in handy when I, while wearing flip flops, accidentally stepped on a dead rat lying in the sidewalk.

3. Thanks to a sale price and two hoarded gift cards, I’m able to procure the Hamilton soundtrack on cd for 37 cents at Barnes & Noble. I know the libretto booklets are going to come in handy for nailing some of the quicker rap bits.

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