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?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The Grand Canyon from 33 thousand feet, all pink & beige & craggy.

2. Seeing a rainbow is beautiful in its own right, but looking down on one from above is amazing.

3. My volleyball team went out for drinks, and the bar had a whole selection of virgin ones. I opted for their plum soda.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A box truck is taking up the car lane and half of my bike lane. When we reach a red light, I move up past him and gesticulate wildly (but politely) to show him that he was invading my space. Normal behavior would be for a driver to pass me and then (maybe) half a block later resume the same behavior. This truck stayed out of the bike lane as far as I watched him. Later, I was on the bike path and instead of going around me without notice, a cyclist announced he and a mate would be going by after a jogger running the other way passed.

2. Earlier in the summer, a friend new to gardening asked my advice about herbs he’d planted that weren’t doing well. From his description (and my subsequent Googling), I suggested it was either something minor or a fatal illness. This week, he shared the bounty of his basil plants to thank me for giving him ridiculous and unhelpful plant diagnoses.

3. My volleyball team, having only won two matches during the regular season, did not have high hopes for the post-season. But we beat two teams (including the #1 seed) to get to keep playing next week.

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

Three (more) beautiful things from my past week:

1. We eat Sunday supper on the back deck at my folks’. Torches (and copious amounts of bug spray) ward away mosquitoes. The weather is perfect. Our barbecue is delicious. And the heavy-duty strand of lights my parents and I hung the day before off the side of the house allow us to see clearly even after the sun has set.

2. Eri and I meet up Friday evening along the Hudson River. We drink smoothies and sit in the park and meet a gigantic and friendly cat on a leash (and his equally friendly owner) and eat veggie burgers and fries outside. Karen and I meet up for lunch on Sunday in my old town. We walk along Main Street and end up at a cafe that moved in after I left and eat tasty crepes and drink Avery sodas on their front patio. We conclude our visit with a trip to the coffeehouse, my favorite spot on the planet to get steamed milk.

3. We pull over to pick up a couple ears of corn from a pair of boys who’ve set up a stand in their front yard. A self-propelled car left over from toddler days holds spare ears.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Dusting on baby powder after a shower on a steamy morning.

2. Rudi was away for the weekend, so I took myself out on a bike ride and dinner outdoors: a tortilla with local corn and tomatoes, new potatoes and summer squash and horchata at a nearby taqueria, followed by a pot of tea and a blueberry shortcake for dessert next door. I know how to show myself a good time.

3. The blue moon rose orange over the Anacostia, peeking out at Shawn and me from behind a Navy ship.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A chubby baby has fallen asleep in its mother’s arms. Its legs and arms waggle beneath her embrace in time with her steps.

2. Neon pink and orange streak through a window of clouds to the west, while pastel pink cotton candy thunderheads pile up to the north.

3. My phone keeps giving me error messages and freezing up, rendering it nearly unusable. Rudi is able to get it working again, clears off some space, and upgrades the operating system. It’s practically like it’s brand new (but still with its cracked screen and familiar apps).

Rudi also fixes my bike, which I messed up when I crashed. (Honestly, it made me feel so much better to discover I’d injured the bicycle as well as myself in the fall. It made it feel like it had been a more legit crash, rather than just falling off.) He gives it a new handlebar and brake lever and adjusts the shifters, so I assume it, too, will work like brand new when I take it out for a spin this weekend.

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