I’ll be honest, folks: I’m struggling. But that does not mean I’m incapable of noticing beautiful things around me. Here are three from the past week:

1. Monday was lovely — sunny and in the upper 40s/low 50s. I noticed a couple sitting in the garden when I stopped by the rehab hospital in the afternoon, so after Rudi’s therapy, I found out how to access it with his wheelchair and we purchased warm beverages to drink outside.

2. I send a text message, knowing the recipient wouldn’t receive it until the next morning. I awoke to encouraging words and promise of a later phone call.

3. A loaf of ciabatta bread purchased at the farmers market makes three panini sandwiches, including a cheese one I eat with tomato soup the night of the snowstorm.

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

I’ll be honest: This week has kind of sucked. But there have been good moments here and there and I don’t want to lose track of them amidst the negatives. These are three of the beautiful things from the past week:

1. I have heard from nearly everyone I know. Emails and texts, calls and voicemails have poured in from all over the place. My folks have let me vent in my least flattering way. Rudi’s parents have been equally supportive, checking in on him daily. Closer to home, Rudi has been inundated with sweets and reading material and a dear sleepy sheep (courtesy of wee Caroline) who provides much-needed white noise during the night and had so many visitors his first day after surgery that we had to ask people to give us a couple days before returning. John and Nicole have demanded I eat a meal with them this weekend to guarantee I’m not living on cereal (I haven’t been, but it was a valid concern). Sarah, Julia, and Michael helped me get the Christmas lights off the tree and the tree out the door, which would have been nightmarish on my own. And my coworker Sarah brought in a bag of Rudi’s favorite recovery candy and two bags of M&M’s for me today. I sometimes harass Rudi about his gregarious nature and his overly broad definition of “friend,” but I (gladly) may have to eat my own words in this case.

2. Seeing Rudi in the recovery room. Surgery had taken longer than expected (not longer than the doctor had expected, but he maybe hadn’t explained that part to me as clearly as I needed to hear it), so when I finally got to see him, looking relatively good all things considered, it was like every birthday and Christmas rolled into one.

3. The night after the surgery, I was exhausted. Just bone tired. And I knew it. So I brushed my teeth instead of making a cup of tea and went to bed instead of sitting down on the couch. I was asleep just after 11, which is saying something.

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

Today was my semi-annual trip to the dentist, which never qualifies as a beautiful thing, even if a cavity-free diagnosis is one. As is now my wont, I celebrated getting my teeth cleaned by then immediately eating and drinking my way around Capitol Hill.

Three things that do qualify as beautiful from my past week are:

1. We get the opportunity to see legendary blues singer Bettye LaVette in concert at the historic Howard Theatre. The space — and the performance — are amazing, and I recommend you take in both if given the chance.

2. I write and mail the final four Christmas cards I didn’t get out before the holiday.

3. Russian Christmas was this week. Rudi gives me my favorite things: tea, music, and a book (about knitting).

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

My first three beautiful things post of 2014 encompasses the week after Christmas. It was a week filled with lovely things and these were merely three of them:

1. Snow falls through the evening commute, eventually coating everything with a fresh layer of white. I walk out into it, and great flakes oh-so-softly caress my eyelashes.

2. A text conversation prior to Christmas results in an invitation to visit Eric at his place near the Tappan Zee bridge on our drive north. Our late departure eventually rules out such a stop, but we decide to try again on the drive south. He shows us his flat, makes us tea, and provides entertaining conversation. It is a nice visit with an old friend.

3. Our late arrival home (think shortly before sunrise) means a lazy first day back in D.C. We sleep until the afternoon, go out to lunch, wander the neighborhood, and take in a movie. It is wonderful — and rare — to get to spend an entire day together.

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

As always, my weekly post is inspired by Clare’s blog.

Merry Christmas! I hope that those of you who celebrate had a joyous celebration and that those of you who don’t had a joyous day. I think we can all agree a little more joy in the world can’t be a bad thing.

In keeping with that, here is my list of three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Rudi assists me in wrapping the family presents, so I am done far earlier than usual and don’t have to finish after we’ve all headed to bed.

2. It is nice to spend the day seeing and hearing from family, whether those we are joined with by blood, by circumstance, or by choice.

3. No matter how enjoyable Christmas is, the lead-in has been a bit stressful and sleep-deprived for all of us (at least in this house). We mark the day after the holiday by sleeping late, reading, taking naps in front of the fire, eating cookies, and generally resting.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. I happen to have our best camera with me as I am walking home from the concert on Wednesday and discover there is a full moon. I take picture (too blurry) after picture (obscured) after picture (focused on an object in the foreground). Finally, I capture this one:

2. As the train pulls up, I notice the guy in the business suit sitting next to the door because his shirt is a brilliant teal and his tie includes wide stripes of the same color. After I board, he glances down and starts to laugh, gesturing at my neon green, knee-high socks with reindeer on them. “That’s awesome,” he tells me. “It just totally made my day.”

3. We benefit daily from the kitchens of our loved ones at this time of year — spiced nuts wait for me on my desk at work. Rudi brings home a tin of cookies from his coworker. We eat vegan chocolate pudding pie for dessert. Breakfast is Sarah’s cranberry nut bread. And we polish off Mum’s spritz cookies while writing cards during a viewing of White Christmas.

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