Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The huge, full moon looms just over the horizon, lighting up the night sky between buildings. “Impressive moon, isn’t it?” I say to a man as we wait for the light to change. He turns around, head waving back and forth, trying to find what I’m talking about. “Yes, it is,” he replies when he finally finds it.

2. Our volleyball team needs to win a majority of our games and the team in front of us must lose all of theirs in order for us to make the post-season. Our shortest player gets a kill, and another, whose fingertips just barely graze the top of the net, gets a block. And we come back in our final match from 13-16 to win 18-16.

3. Rudi and I walk down to the garden to see how it’s looking. Stems of ruby and gold and white chard have pushed through the leaf debris and are growing in a lovely, thick row.

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

It’s the first Thursday of March. Today was an oasis of sun and warmth between days of rain, but yesterday brought a bonus day and tomorrow brings the promise of the weekend and of a concert, so I think it all evens out. And the rain can be beautiful, too, you know.

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. We got on the same metro car first thing Monday morning. Her knee-length brocade jacket is two shades of sky blue with a burnt orange design emblazoned upon it. Her scarf matches the deeper blue, as does the bird on her tote bag. I feel happier just looking at her.

2. We seem to have reached a time when people no longer telephone each other for fear they are interrupting real life. But without those calls, people really are far away. I force myself to dial, and after explaining there is no emergency or bad news precipitating the occasion, we spend half an hour catching up.

3. Starburst are required for a photo shoot. After we are done, we eat the props.

How about you? What beautiful things have you noticed this week?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Home in Connecticut for a planned long weekend, I am able to see both Karen and Danny. It’s rare treat to get to see my oldest and dearest friends — particularly on consecutive days.

2. Sitting low on the horizon, the moon serves as a most delicate bowl, waiting to catch Venus and an early evening star, should they tumble in the sky.

3. Mum makes two kinds of cupcakes for my birthday — blueberry-lemon and coconut. Both are delicious, as everything she bakes always is.

How about you? What was beautiful in your world this week?

Three beautiful things from my birthday week:

1. I emerge on Tuesday afternoon to discover that Looped and their knitterly minions have yarn-bombed the walk from their shop down to the Phillips Collection for Valentine’s Day. Trees, tree boxes, fences, and light poles are all covered with pink and red yarn and hearts.

2. I mention that we haven’t had waffles recently — a real shame since I got quite a bit of maple syrup for Christmas. So on Saturday morning, Rudi makes me a batch, which is large enough so we can have a special Valentine’s Day breakfast, too.

3. Phone calls, text messages, emails, and cards arrive from around the world, reminding me that I am a lucky girl.

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

Another Thursday come and gone. Let’s look back at three beautiful things from the past week:

1. I need to get home quickly, and the cabbie who picks me up gets me there quickly, despite potential traffic snarls.

2. Quince, when cooked, turn from an apple-flesh white to a rosy hue. (They also smell delicious when poached with a vanilla bean.)

3. My winter volleyball team (to differentiate them from the folks I played with this fall) cheerfully heads out for drinks after our game. The matches themselves were not particularly good, so it’s especially refreshing that we all end the evening on a positive note.

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

Three beautiful things from the week that marked our ninth anniversary of moving to D.C.:

1. Several events have conspired to make it mandatory that I go to the DMV inspection station the final Friday morning of the month — one of the days they instruct you to avoid at all costs. I wake to rain, but without a choice in the matter, head across town, feeling more than a little grim about the likely wait. But instead of a crowd, I find myself able to drive right up to the building, and my car has its pass sticker in less than five minutes.

2. The bus driver greets all the passengers getting on the bus and cheerfully chats with each of the senior citizens, asking about details of their lives. He’s just the sort of bus driver that Sesame Street and Richard Scarry brought me up to expect.

3. Three sunny days in a row, my coworker Sarah and I leave our desks and go outside. Twice we sit and eat lunch and talk about things that have nothing to do with work. It’s been a long time.

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