Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A new little girl, Juliet, enters our world, courtesy of our friends John and Nicole.

2. Sunday was my birthday, and while it will not go down in history as among my favorites, it did have some highlights: At the farmers market, I mentioned to my favorite baker that it was my birthday and she responded by giving me a box of treats — heart-shaped cookies, rice crispie treats, and a chocolate cakelet, which alleviated the need for me to bake on my birthday.

I got to sleep in, read, and play volleyball, three of my favorite things to do.

Greetings from friends around the country filled my text messages as the day went on. Calls from a few special people and presents from my family and Grey Kitten helped chase away the blues, as did a birthday dinner at my favorite pizzeria with Rudi, who made it home from ski coaching in time to share it with me. And my day ended with new things to read and wear and eat and listen to.

3. Since I was heading to Bethesda tonight for an author event anyway, I decided to check out a doughnut shop there that an article had included on their best-of roundup for the region last week. (For what it’s worth, this list pretty much just included every yuppie doughnut shop in the area, so I’m not sure how useful it was other than alerting me to this Maryland baker I wasn’t aware of.) I brought home three varieties from 202 Donuts for us to try, including a yeasted apple cider doughnut that was surprisingly good.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A bouquet of daffodils (less than $2 from Trader Joe’s):

2. The clerks who work Sundays at the post office next to Union Station are friendly and upbeat.

3. It’s not good for them, because I doubt single digit wind chills invite them to stick around, but I saw these outside the National Museum of American History today:

Snowdrops and Croci

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

Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Just as I don’t want a blizzard every winter day, I also don’t want to see a heat wave. But the occasional day at 60, where I can walk out during the day in a sweatshirt, is wonderful.

2. A pre-Super Bowl trip to Trader Joes with no lines and chips on the shelves.

3. Realizing that the sun still hasn’t set at 5:30 and that it isn’t dark until 6.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Seen on a car parked in the neighborhood: “Love u mom!” drawn into the salt/dried mud covering it.

2. Each and every person who said, “Good job!” or “Keep it up!” or “Thank you!” when they walked past me shoveling over the weekend. Also, the girl on the first floor of my building who came out to thank me and to offer to make me a cafe au lait. Also, the neighbor out shoveling her walk who offered me a broom to help in clearing off the car and then, when she was done, offered to help me finish up.

3. Garlic bread made with my homemade ciabatta.

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

Three beautiful things from the week before D.C.’s major snowstorm (the local meteorologists keep tossing around terms like “top ten storm” and “devastating”):

1. The cold air that comes off all my wool outerwear when I take it off inside a nice warm building (because it’s not coming off me).

2. I’ve added a second volleyball session this winter in order to help stave off my depression this winter. Both got started this week, and it seems like both teams (the other one is my team from the fall) will be good fits and lots of fun.

3. In addition to all the books I’m going to read, knitting projects I intend to finish, and treats I plan to bake, I picked up a bunch of films at the library to watch while I’m recovering from the snow, ranging from classics to superheroes to YA sci fi to Bollywood to a bawdy volleyball film starring Burt Reynolds.

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

I dozed off last night without hitting publish and awoke partway through the night recognizing I’d done so. I thought about getting up then and posting this then, but common sense prevailed and I closed my eyes and drifted back to dreamland.

Three beautiful things, posted slightly late, from my previous week.

1. The first dusting of snow for the winter finally arrived in the District. It quickly blew/melted away, which made it even more welcome.

2. Putting in a pair of new contact lenses.

3. A decadent, if overpriced, cup of thick hot chocolate, the memory of which lingered on the lips like a first kiss long after it was gone.

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