We’re in the round of Sock Madness where large numbers of competitors really start being eliminated, so I’m knitting frantically, but not optimistically, along. Luckily, I’m also learning a new technique at the same time, so it’s exciting as well as stressful.

However, it’s not just sock knitting all the time around here. There are also beautiful things tucked in here and there to help keep me upbeat. Here are just three of them from the last week:

1. Rudi and I pack a Thermos of tea and some cookies (maple syrup pecan shortbread) to take with us to the garden. We snack on them as we dig, water, plant, and harvest. Spring eating at its best.

2. I purchase a peony. It is a swollen, hot pink bud on Sunday. Each day it opens a bit more until this morning it is a gigantic, pale pink, crepe paper blossom as big as my head. Such a cheerful addition to the kitchen!

3. Five ducklings paddle along the canal with their parents. Periodically, they stray a bit too far from mama, and then they have to wind themselves up, pull out all the stops, and speed along on the surface of the water to catch up.

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

I just finished the most recent round of Sock Madness. I believe I have advanced to the next round, but won’t know for sure until the organizers wake up in the morning.

While I bask in the glow of a freshly completed pair of socks on Rudi’s feet, let me also reflect back on three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Along with much of the East Coast, D.C. has been experiencing a drought that has brought with it the danger of wildfires. This past week, we’ve had rain. Blessed wet rain.

2. I pass through Franklin Square on the same afternoon as its lawns have been mowed. You’d be surprised how infrequently you smell cut grass in the city.

3. The new washing machine and dryer for our building were delivered Monday, and our landlord surprised us with rolls of quarters. We have washed loads and loads (literally) of clothing and linens. It’s nice to see piles of clean wash, rather than an overflowing laundry basket. And it’s also equally nice not to have count pairs of underwear to see if handwashing is necessary.

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

It’s Thursday, so it must be time to report on three beautiful things. I covered a bunch in yesterday’s post, but there are always more to consider. Here are three new ones:

1. We pass a young boy whose bloodied arm is wrapped in gauze. He capers up the sidewalk at a good pace, his superhero cape flapping in the breeze behind him.

2. The bottom half of a bathing suit, when you have forgotten to handwash a pair of underwear in time for work. (The building’s new washing machine is due to arrive on Monday after nearly a month of being broken. It can’t come soon enough!)

3. Our friend Michael has written a play called The Cortical Titanic, which he hopes to put on this fall. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking, on Saturday, he hosted the first fundraiser, which featured a lecture, readings of two scenes from the play, educational materials, and noshes. It was a lovely way to pass a Saturday evening.

And a bonus one, from Michael’s fundraiser:

4. I broke out the red shoes I bought for the ball we went to after the Presidential Inauguration three years ago. They’re cherry red patent leather with three-inch heels and a Mary Jane strap, and I love them. So, apparently, did everyone else, because I got compliments from friends and strangers alike.

Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. I come home from Northampton with, among other things, a recipe book for homemade popsicles, a cheery pillow for the couch, and an Oscar the Grouch mug.

2. Strawberries — red and ripe and local. And sooooo good.

3. We decide to get an early jump on things. Early, as in before the sun rises early. Early, as in we are already waking up from a much needed nap at a rest stop when the sun rises early. Early, as in eat lunch in New Haven early.

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

Happy Thursday! Here are three beautiful things from the past week:

1. This morning I suddenly realize (after a year missing) where my blue hat is — just in time to coordinate nicely with my outfit.

2. I just miss my bus both going to and coming from my destination. It’s a couple of miles to walk and the weather is pleasant, so I don’t bother to wait for the next one. On the way home, I have a view of the full moon and glimpse Orion’s familiar belt through a gap over a garden.

3. A trio of poppies nod cheerfully over my desk all week. And two bundles of asparagus are currently tucked away in the fridge for the weekend.

(Honestly, advancing to the next round of Sock Madness would have made the list, but it deserves its own post. To come over the weekend, along with finished photos of squishy socks.)

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

Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. The furniture movers look at our stairs and then at the cabinet. “It’s not going to fit. But we’ll give it a shot.” By virtue of its narrowness, they’re able to magically make it bend around the corner, to fit it inside. (It was especially beautiful because these were the same movers a few years back who had to return our couch to the shop when I neglected to measure to the bottom of the overhang arch, rather than the top.)

2. The kitchen floor is overdue to be washed. I am being slow and crabby about getting it done. Rudi sends me to the living room for a tea break and mops it for me.

3. Rain and wind are predicted, which bodes poorly for the cherry blossoms. We get up early, drive down to the Tidal Basin, and encounter traffic and road blocks and impossibility. Rudi routes us over to Hains Point where we romp practically alone under cherry trees across from the marina.

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