It’s the Thursday before the National Book Festival. Only two more sleeps! Why, no, I’m not excited at all. Why do you ask?

Before we consider the lengthy list of authors who are coming to D.C. this weekend just to read to me to promote their latest books, let’s look back at three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Four fat pumpkins adorn the front steps of a nearby townhouse.

2. The project I am in charge of at work is rapidly coming due. I suggest an aggressive (and somewhat painful) timeline to the members of my team this week, and no one disagrees or says it can’t be done or complains in the least. And, as of tonight, it looks like we’re on target to meet our goals for this week.

3. I spend the afternoon at the teahouse. I sip chai and snack on naan and chutney and read my mystery novel.

4. [It’s good to break the rules sometimes…] Because I am home alone, there is no one to suggest that I ought not to bake a batch of oatmeal scotchies at midnight. The batch comes out of the oven crispy and slightly caramelized — perfect for eating with tea.

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

It has not been a great week, which makes it even more important to find those moments of beauty tucked between the rest. Here are three of them:

1. Saturday night Rudi and I have an excellent date — one filled with laughter and chocolate. A comedy show at the new Riot Act comedy club is followed up by dessert at Co Co. Sala.

2. On Friday night I wander into Target in search of a more modest yoga top and leave with a purple, stripey cardigan. Years of fall back-to-school shopping habits have not worn off.

3. One of the deal websites is giving away free scoops to our local ice cream shop. The owner jovially calls everyone cashing in the deal a mobster. My dish of Oreo ice cream is particularly creamy and ends with a big chunk of cookie.

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

We’re getting a lot of rain in the mid-Atlantic this week. We’ve been lucky, because although I did discover water seeping into the Burrow in the middle of last night, we caught it early and our solutions have held so far. That said, though, I wouldn’t mind if we had a little sun to help things along.

Here are three beautiful things from my mostly rainy week:

1. A young family of four passes us on the sidewalk. After they’re out of earshot, Rudi and I look at each other and burst out laughing. The toddler had been riding on the back of the stroller, rubbing his sibling’s head like a crystal ball. The baby looks delighted.

2. I decide the tub needs cleaning. After a shameful amount of work (and enough Soft Scrub to later strip the top layer of skin off my right hand), the tub gleams white.

3. Our walk leads us down to Georgetown, where we head to Leopold’s to see if they have any empty tables on their patio. The waitress finds us one next to the fountain, with the caveat that if it starts raining we can’t move inside. We eat savory morsels and drink cool beverages and then find ourselves delicious pastries befitting a holiday afternoon. It’s not until we’re paying the bill that the sky opens up. We walk home under our umbrellas, laughing at our good fortune.

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

It’s been a quiet week in the Burrow. But we’re heading into a holiday weekend and the ceremonial end of summer (which will continue on through most of September, so don’t fold up your beach chair just yet):

1. After a year of not doing yoga, I get to two classes on consecutive days. By Sunday, the muscles in my back ache, but in a good way. Secretly, I am relieved to discover I still have muscles in my back.

2. A man wheels his BMX-style bike past on the sidewalk. It looks like it has been touched by King Midas, as it is spray-painted gold, right down to the tires.

3. Practically up until the day we buy the tickets to go, we have never considered Iceland as a vacation destination. But there’s a deal and the allure of the Northern Lights, and suddenly we’ve booked a weeklong November holiday in Reykjavik.

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

It’s the final Thursday of August, I’ve experienced my first earthquake, and we’re gearing up for a hurricane, but those aren’t even all of the beautiful things from my past week. Here are three more:

1. A young couple stand behind a taxi putting his luggage in the trunk. All of a sudden she launches herself at him for a final, passionate embrace; he nearly falls over from the force of it.

2. I stop by the Little Farm Stand hoping for some ripe peaches, but I’ve arrived too late. She does have white peach butter, which, when spooned onto torn pieces of baguette, make a really excellent conclusion to our rainy picnic.

3. After storms this afternoon, the weather dries out, but it remains overcast in anticipation of Irene’s arrival this weekend. Just before sundown, though, the high clouds are obscured by magnificent, towering puffs of grey and white. Now, these are clouds!

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

Another week come and gone. But before we move on to the weekend, it’s time to look back at three beautiful things from the past week:

1. John and Nicole host a dinner party. The food (all vegan) is scrumptious, and Nicole sends us home with a hunk of chocolate maple cake.

2. After months of practically no rain, we get three storms in less than a week. The absence has made us grateful and glad, and we stick arms out car windows, splash through puddles from under our umbrellas, and fall asleep to its lullaby.

3. When we first arrive at the beach the ocean water feels cold. Tired of inching my way in, I dive under a wave and bob along with the surf. Later the water feels warmer than the air, and I dive back in just to feel warm again.

How about you? What have you found beautiful this week?