As Clare pointed out in last week’s comments, I have been blogging three beautiful things each Thursday (and on the occasional off day, as well) for more than four years now. If you look through the TBT archives, that gives us 24 pages totalling 232 posts on beautiful things. Even not accounting for the posts where I had seen so much loveliness it spilled past three items, that still gives us roughly 700 small moments of beauty noted since 2005.

Clare herself will mark the fifth anniversary of her blog, Three Beautiful Things, on May 18. She records three pleasurable moments every day and is narrowing in on 5,500 beautiful recordings over the course of her tenure. Clare, I salute you!

I write this introduction in part because it’s been a rough week. Work has been hard. Personalities have conflicted. It seems like the sun may never come out again. And yesterday, a student at Wesleyan, where I worked for seven years and the source of my master’s degree, was murdered by a stalker a block from where I used to live. It’s weeks like these when beauty seems secondary to hatefulness and ugliness and malaise. Yet that’s probably when it’s most important for me to note down that life is not without hope and that the rain leads (eventually) to rebirth.

1. At the ballpark, a horde of teenagers come rushing toward me on the concourse. They are skipping. And singing.

2. A woman and her young son sit on the bus. The baby is sucking his pacifier, his head on mom’s shoulder. His hand reaches toward her cheek and gently caresses it.

3. Susan and I head downtown to meet up with Michael and Julia. We sit by the fountain for a while, watching a duck make a water landing (as opposed to using the duck ramp on the far side of the pool). Then we head up to the tea shop and sit outside and drink warm beverages and eat cookies and talk. It rains a bit off and on, but it doesn’t matter.

Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

2. “Jeeves Saves the Cow-Creamer” — Sometimes you just need a little Wodehouse, as performed by Fry and Laurie.

3. I finish listening to the final chapter of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with CraftLit. Heather has introduced me to literature that I wouldn’t otherwise have tried, such as the Stevenson and Frankenstein, that I’ve quite enjoyed hearing.

Sorry this is a bit late, but we had a late dinner and I fell asleep on the couch. Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Tuesday was Ben and Jerry’s Free Cone Day. Because of a late shower, the line was short, the ice cream flavors were still plentiful, and I walked away with a coconut and chocolate chip cone.

2. Two packages arrive the same day. One contains lovely, soft green yarn from Mini, a pettable prize for participating in her contest earlier this month. The other carries two cds from Dad — the first, a compilation of songs from Peter, Paul, and Mary; the second, songs from 1963. Rudi and I spin up the latter disc blindly to try and guess who sings each song. We fail miserably, but enjoy guessing … and singing along.

3. What I mistook for decorative driftwood on a second floor balcony turns out to be a living stalk that can be traced down to the front garden. This week, the first blooms of wisteria hang from it.

Yes, I fell off the face of the planet. Sorry ’bout that…

In lieu of a real post or an actual update, I’ll offer you an extra-special list of recent beautiful things from my world.

1. The Nationals won their first game of the season last Thursday before losing the following three in the ninth inning. Tonight? They chose to turn things around and win their second game.
2. Craig Ferguson has done several great lip-synch videos in the last week. He’s the funniest person on late-night tv, hands-down.
3. Walking to the Metro in the rain allows me to use my rainbow-colored umbrella and my red rain hat.
4. Our garden is coming along. That’s a row of radishes. We harvested the first one Sunday; it was the length of your pinky fingernail.
   
   
5. I joined Michael, Julia, and their friend Maurice for a bike ride on Saturday. Michael packed a picnic, Julia and I put in 20 miles, and we got to see herons, water snakes, and lots of sunning turtles
6. Rudi and I went over to Virginia so I could look for pants. On the way home, we notice fireworks over the Potomac. It was the annual finale to the Cherry Blossom Festival. We never would have caught it if we’d stayed home. Instead, we timed it perfectly to pull into Gravelly Point to watch.
7. John invited us to join him and his friend Kerri for dinner on Sunday. He altered recipes to make them veggie-friendly for me, as well as cooking up two lamb roasts that smelled very good.
8. I got to talk to my friend Rebs for the first time in a while. She sounded very optimistic.
9. The dogwoods are blooming. They’re another flower I feel look like a flock of butterflies landed in a tree.
10. I own a video of an Easter classic. It made me happy to watch it.
    
    
11. Abe Lincoln walked past me on Saturday. (You should have seen the double-takes he got.)
12. I take my Friday lunch — a CraftLit podcast, my favorite hummus, and sock knitting — up on the office roof deck in the last corner of sun before it disappears behind the building.
13. First asparagus at the farmers’ market. We’ll probably have it for dinner on Wednesday with some leftover Easter chicken.
14. I’m working on some anklets in yarn gifted to me in a swap. It’s called Monet and the way it knits up reminds me of his water lilies.
15. Eggs — hard boiled and dyed.
    
    
16. Country Pleasures Farm is back at the market for the season. It was great to see Eric and Dani and to have blueberry scones for Sunday breakfast once again.
17. After spending several hours standing outside in somewhat chilly conditions, I buy a hot chocolate for the walk home. Feeling returns to my insides and to my hands.
    

18. On Easter morning, I stopped by the French bakery at the farmers’ market. I bought two croissants, a chocolate croissant, and a puff pastry and raspberry jam delicacy that reminded me of a favorite treat from my growing up years.
19. Flip flops were donned for the first time this spring.
20. On Good Friday, Rudi and I went up to Annapolis for the day and got to walk on the beach.
    
    

Maybe a book report tomorrow? Remember when I used to do them?

I wrote a nice intro about my lovely day that WordPress just ate on me. I’m afraid you’re going to have to trust me on that front and proceed on to the three beautiful things:

1. John and Susan were able to join us for Easter dinner. It was my first major holiday away from my family, so it was nice that people we’ve come to consider extended family were willing to celebrate with us. (Plus, we had a very tasty supper.)

2. As I was dodging raindrops on my way home from knitting last night, I noticed a light embedded in the front garden of a house just up the street. Their cherry red tulips were closed tight against the chill night air, resulting in what looked just like a Chihuly sculpture.

3. Monday, I helped teach kids about eggs at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. I was still working out my spiel about why robins’ eggs are blue when I stumbled helplessly for words in front of a six-year-old girl. She listened to me, glanced over, and gave me a gentle pat on my shoulder. Later, a small boy of around two, went to grab mom’s hand and instead found mine. He just held on for several minutes until dad (who was holding his other hand) went to leave and realized his son’s mistake. The boy’s hand slid away as quietly as it had arrived in mine.

What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

It’s been a long day here at the Burrow, so I’m glad Thursday is coming to a close. I have tomorrow off, so will be celebrating a long weekend by adding to my sock collection. (Think I can finish the pair by Sunday night?) But before we bid adieu to Maundy Thursday*, let’s contemplate three beautiful things from the week past:

1. The odor of mulch pervades the air throughout the city. This means that pretty flowers will follow.

2. Monday night I walked home from work, which means crossing through several parks. I’m delighted to report that the city’s fountains are back on! (And, while not meriting its own item, the office roof deck is open again.)

3. Girl Scouts sporting both uniform and volunteer vests pick up litter at the Cherry Blossom Festival. I was very grumpy until I spotted them. Thank you, Scouts!

What’s been beautiful in your world this week?

Rudi and I had a discussion about what “maundy” might mean last week. I couldn’t remember, but suspected it had something to do with the Last Supper. It does, in fact, refer to Jesus’ washing of the Apostles’ feet prior to the Last Supper — and later the washing of the feet of the poor. Most recently, it came to refer to the annual handing out of alms to the poor by British royalty.