Thursdays means it’s time to think back on the beauty of the last week:

1. Sam and Alexis got married six months ago, but if you spend any time with them you really pick up on the fact that they still totally get a kick out of saying “my wife” or “my husband” when speaking of each other. It’s cute to see two people who are so in love.

2. Growing up, my brother’s favorite meal was chicken, rice, and broccoli (also known as Chicken Divan). He wasn’t at my folks’ this weekend when Mum made a batch, but we thoroughly enjoyed it in his honor.

3. Today the National Park Service announced their best guess as to when the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin will be in peak bloom. A number of friends have suggested they might come visit during that time, so it’s exciting to be able to provide them with info. (It’s March 27-April 1, the first week of the Cherry Blossom Festival, by the way.)

Three beautiful things from the last week:

1. Last night was Meetup and I texted Susan to ask, “r u going 2 mtg?” She was and asked if I wanted to walk over together. And then John and I walked home together after it was all over. Eight blocks is not an onerous distance when there are people about, but it’s definitely better when you have someone to talk to.

2. On Tuesday morning as I was racing around practically before the sun was up in order to get to jury duty on time, the kittens were showing undue interest in something under the laundry basket. I whined loudly, “I don’t want to deal with cockroaches and the judicial system on the same day,” (or something to that effect) and Rudi arose from our nice warm bed to rescue me from the big, nasty . . . red pen.

3. When the judge tells you, “See you Monday morning at 9:30,” and not “See you tomorrow,” thereby allowing you to go to Boston to see a concert as planned.

Three beautiful things from the last week:

1. After a bunch of coworkers joined my friend (and former student employee) Jason and me for dinner Saturday night, one of them said that seeing us interact made her want to get in touch with some of her former students.

2. Today, some of my coworkers took me out to lunch to belatedly celebrate my birthday. It’s nice having coworkers who care enough to want to take me out, and it’s nice that I get to make my birthday last more than just a day.

3. At the party we went to at the City Museum Sunday night, they had an ’80s cover band. Suzanne, Chickona, and I are all in our 30s, so we knew the words to far too many songs — and sang them loudly while dancing along.

A pre-St. Louis, post-birthday Three Beautiful Things:

1. Last Sunday when I went to the farmers’ market, many of the usual vendors I buy from hadn’t made it in from their farms because of the previous night’s storm. But the flower vendor was there, and I came home with a huge bouquet of flowers — stock, tulips, paperwhites, anemones, rununculus, and snapdragon. They’re now in vases and empty glass bottles on top of the fridge and make the kitchen fragrant and colorful.

2. As I was walking home from Georgetown on Tuesday, I passed a house where the flowers had been confused by the recent warm weather — forcythia was in full bloom. The yellow sprays just look so cheery, even if out-of-place in February.

3. I was looking at the folk section of the iTunes Music Store on Tuesday and was surprised that three of the artists in the top ten downloads section were unfamiliar to me. I downloaded two of the songs before Rudi told me he’d recently bought the third artist’s cd on a whim after listening to it in the store.

If it’s Thursday, it must be time for Three Beautiful Things:

1. Twice in the last week, I’ve fired up the old oven. The first time, I made cranberry bread (with fresh cranberries I bought before Thanksgiving!) because I didn’t have all-purpose flour. The second time, I made chocolate chip cookies — half for us and half for the supportive coworkers who put up with my whining last week.

2. When I left work last Friday, I took my book to Lafayette Park and read in the sun. A nearby charter school was also using the park, and it was such fun to watch the kids jumping rope, playing football, and running around. It was hard to believe it was February!

3. Neighbors of ours must have been celebrating the Lunar New Year last weekend, because their apartment was bedecked with red streamers, and festooned with red carp, and otherwise cheerily decorated.

How is it that it’s not even 7:30 and I’m exhausted?

Three beautiful things from the last week:

1. Saturday’s weather was comparable to late April in New England — utterly lovely — and I spent most of the day out enjoying it.

2. While we were eating lunch on Saturday, I looked out the window to notice that the little tree just in front of the restaurant was covered in orchid-colored flowers.

3. Knowing that tomorrow is Friday and that I can go home for the weekend as soon as my meeting ends at 2 p.m.