Three beautiful things from my previous week:

1. Lying in the park, reading books and comic books.

2. Rudi and I get all the seedlings I’ve bought recently planted in the garden.

3. My coworker and I head to the White House-adjacent farmers market for lunch every Thursday, where we both enjoy vegetable tacos from one of the stands. Today, the line is long and I tell her that if she wasn’t there I’d have bailed and found something else. But because she is there, I wait patiently beneath a blue sky, my sweater folded over my bag, soaking in the sun while I wait to place an order for three very tasty tacos.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Rudi went to the garden of his own accord to turn soil and then picked me a vaseful of the violets I let run rampant this time of year amidst our strawberry patch (something he normally dislikes doing).

2. A sunny afternoon at the ballpark where the home team won and the star outfielder hit three back-to-back home runs.

3. A couple of my volleyball teammates agreed to go with me to a local cafe for the period between when our game ended and the pick-up game began. We’re talking about playing together again this summer (or next fall when games resume in our current location).

How about you? I’d really like to hear what’s been beautiful in your world this week.

There’s a hard post I need to write, but I’m going to save it for tomorrow. Today, I’m going to share three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The dogwood and wisteria are blooming in D.C.

2. I bought lilacs, asparagus, ramps, nettles, and pea shoots at my Thursday farmers markets.

3. The roof deck at work has re-opened for the season, so my coworker and I celebrate by taking our free lunch upstairs to eat.

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

Three beautiful things from Easter week:

1. Gramma has had a bad afternoon and I’ve stayed late at the nursing home in an effort to keep her calm (and, if truth be told, to help alleviate the guilt I feel about being far away most of the time these days). As I’m pulling out of the driveway to head back to my folks’ house, a full moon rises over the horizon behind me.

2. A guy and I bump into each other in the line for coffee at the Montvale rest stop and we both make jokes about being tired from the road. As I’m doctoring my drinks, he comes over to inquire if I’ve been in the traffic heading north. No, I say, I’m heading south. There’s a big accident on your side of the road, he warns; all his traffic has been caused by rubberneckers. Rudi and I bale across the river from the Garden State and traverse our way south through Newark, keeping our trip home from grinding to a halt.

3. Volleyball resumed this week, but with fewer teams in this new session. As a result, a court opens up in the final hour, where the league invites players to join in a pick-up match. I get in nearly two hours of play time and leave so soaked there’s nowhere dry to wipe my hands off before serving. It’s a nice way to spend an evening.

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

Sorry I’m a day late with this, but I was traveling during the usual time I blog. Here, though, are three beautiful from last week:

1. It’s a late night at the office and it’s past nine when I get to the metro station, feeling drained and a bit grumpy. I’ve barely settled in to wait for the train when I see my friend Susan walking up the platform after a late meeting. We chat about the project she’s working on until I reach my stop in a more cheerful mood.

2. We head to our local indie cinema for its final weekend in business. We watch a showing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and eat delicious popcorn and think fond thoughts of all the movies we’ve enjoyed there.

3. I’m fed up with my glasses and their wonky arm, so instead of re-glueing them, I head to CostCo and order a new pair. They’re different from anything I’ve ever worn, so I’m looking forward to picking them up next week. (And, yes, I’ll post a photo here so you all can see them, too.)

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Gramma had a mild stroke over the weekend, but has rallied significantly as the week has gone on. Today she moved into a nursing home for a short period of rehab before she returns home.

2. Today the high exceeded 70 degrees, which made wearing a tshirt, sitting outside for lunch, and biking home from work possible and pleasant.

3. On Sunday, I found myself in Savage, Maryland, for a yarn event. The French bakery* that is usually at my farmers market, but that’s been absent this month, happens to be located in the same building, so after I finished my shopping I went for a snack. To my surprise, the woman came rushing up to the counter exclaiming her shock and delight at finding me there, rather than in my usual habitat, and then told all of her colleagues that I was one of her regulars. We’ve had some pleasant exchanges over the years they’ve been coming to the market, but I’d always assumed they were impersonal, and certainly never expected to be recognized away from it. My almond croissant, still warm from the oven, tasted even better than usual.

*Bonaparte Breads, owned by French expats, makes croissants as good as any we had in France when we visited.

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