Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Waking up after dozing off needles in hand with just enough time to finish my sock toe, take pictures, and send an email before the end-of-round deadline.

2. A friend is in from out of town, so she and another friend and I meet for dinner and, more crucially, dessert. (It’s funny, but she is back in town often enough that we may see her more since she moved away than we did when she lived nearby.)

3. One of the coffeehouses we frequent is short on seats inside and out, but does boast a bench in front of their window. The overhang is just wide enough that we stay dry from the drizzle as we sip drinks and share a piece of Pi Day pie.

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

I’ve been really sleepy since returning from Hungary Tuesday evening, and what waking time I’ve had has been devoted to Sock Madness knitting. The first round ends, with or without me, in the wee smalls of Sunday, so I hope to have time after that to begin uploading pictures and regaling you with stories of our trip.

In the meantime, here are three beautiful things from the past week:

1. We spend two relaxing evenings in Budapest lounging in Turkish baths. The buildings, which date from 1566 and 1570, each contain multiple thermal pools ranging in temperature from 82 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Daylight savings time returned to the U.S. while we were away, which was pleasant for two reasons: One, we only had to readjust five hours instead of six, and, two, it’s still light out when I leave the office.

3. As it is whenever we’re gone for a period of time, the cats have been particularly clingy and lovey since our return.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. D.C.’s biggest snowstorm of the winter comes while we’re out of town, so I don’t have to do any shoveling. (It may also remind our landlord that we do an excellent job of snow removal. It’s good not to be taken for granted.)

2. It takes us three flights to get to Budapest. All of them leave roughly on time.

3. I keep dozing off when we stop, so Rudi doesn’t argue when I say I need to go back to the hotel and go to bed. I get something like 10 hours of sleep, so now I’m better equipped to go out and take on a world in a language I know only a few words of. (Kindly, most people here know English.)

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. I leave Rudi a note on the white board. He leaves me a cheerful drawing in return.

2. Sarah accepts my invitation to meet for dinner and then lets me vent my grumpiness. I feel so much better afterwards.

3. The A Team has made its way back into Netflix’s streaming service and makes perfect sick-day tv.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Waves of cold radiating off the top layers of my scarf as I unwind it: they didn’t reach my neck.

2. Forgetting this week is the conference a friend comes to town for every year. Getting to have dinner with him anyway.

3. Rudi took the long weekend off from coaching in order to spend my birthday and Valentine’s Day with me. I haven’t had a weekend with him since Christmas. Then to get an extra day off for snow.

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

Three beautiful things from the week before my birthday:

1. D.C.’s winter has been rather lackluster, so it was a nice change to spend a few days in Connecticut, where it has been winter for about 67 years so far in 2015.

2. A patch of snowdrops in a neighborhood front yard.

3. A week’s worth of Valentine’s Day socks.

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