Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The staff at the Moroccan embassy leaves food and water out for the local wildlife. During the rain, a particularly plump sparrow is waiting its turn for the food while sheltering under a security spotlight.

2. I found a recipe for a coconut curry tomato soup I wanted to eat and procured all the ingredients needed except for panang curry paste. We stopped in vain at two major grocery stores, before an employee in the Asian foods aisle at the third gave Rudi a link to the recipe she uses to make her own.

3. Sarah, John, Nicole, Rudi, and I headed into the countryside over the weekend for our annual apple-picking adventure. I found us a new farm to try way out in Virginia, complete with what those of us who’ve lived in the northeast deemed the best cider doughnuts in the region, which mostly made up for the expensive way they had of selling apples. To celebrate a day of fruit and non-rain, we stopped for supper at the converted mill where we all dined two years ago. Tasty food and drinks helped conclude the trip.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The mail brings a birth announcement from a Christmas card friend: She and her husband had a gorgeous baby girl back in August.

2. Rudi needs to be in Virginia early on Saturday to meet some friends for a weekend camping trip. Since I am on the other side of the river before breakfast, I scout out one of the local doughnut shops that’s cropped up recently in advance of coffeeneuring, which starts this weekend. It’s good to cross another indie doughnut shop off my list.

3. Rudi is able to attend my company picnic (always held during the fall on a weekday) for the first time. Despite a rain shower and muddy grounds, we play horseshoes (thanks to a colleague’s husband for teaching me the rules earlier in the day), mini golf, tetherball, and one-on-one volleyball (after we discovered I’m inclined to treat the tetherball like a well-placed set). We take a spin on the zip line. And we take a goofy photo booth shot with silly hats, glasses, and boas.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. We caught one final baseball game for the season this afternoon, one which had been rained out Monday night. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed our sunny seats, if not the loss to the Orioles. The game finished up at sunset, and we got to bike home as the final light faded away.

2. Rudi made delicious yellow tomato sauce this week with produce from the market (and some tiny tomatoes from our garden).

3. A woman in a maroon jacket completes her rainy day outfit with knee-high shiny red rain boots.

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

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to look back at the week and share three beautiful things from it.

1. Recycled toilet paper at Safeway, since Walgreens has discontinued their green line of household products.

2. Because of a dentist visit, squeezing in a visit to the main library before a meeting. During the weekly Twitter chat I like to take part in, they offer free books (to keep, rather than to borrow) to people who stop in during that time, but it’s way earlier than I take my lunch. It was nice to finally meet the folks behind the Twitter account.

3. In this final week before summer transitions into fall, the weather has been clear and cool and perfect. Even the most curmudgeonly complainer wouldn’t be able to fault it.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world this week? Please feel free to share in the comments.

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A lounge chair opens up on a packed afternoon at the pool. The deck is covered with tiny, dropped acorns at the deep end, making it an uncomfortable alternative space for spreading out a towel.

2. A Labor Day sale allows me to replace the beloved purple hiking/winter boots I lost last Christmas after accidentally leaving them on the roof of the car.

3. The Mets, who currently sit atop the NL East, sweep their series against the Nats, who are in second place. Each game is fraught with more drama than a Mets fan would like (although about how much we expect), but a win is a win at this point in the season.

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

Three beautiful things from the week that transitioned from August into September:

1. The house at the corner, which has spent most of our tenure in D.C. unoccupied and on and off the market, has been sold and the new owners have landscaped the yard.

2. Sarah and I went out to dinner, and when the waiter brought us the dessert menu, Sarah had the wisdom to decide that she could do without, so I agreed we’d just take the check. I would have opted for dessert if the decision had been left up to me, and I would have been so sorry to have eaten any more after heading back out into the warm, humid air for a couple miles of walking.

3. The co-captain from my summer volleyball team emailed to ask if I wanted to play volleyball again with them this fall. I’ve already signed up in another league, but it was really nice to be asked.

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