Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Most of my volleyball teammates and I went out after the game. One exchange elicited the sort of uproarious laughter that leads to tears. I can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed that hard.

2. Another cyclist and I pass on the multi-use trail. He has a pug riding in each pannier.

3. As I was biking home tonight, there was just the slimmest sliver of a waxing crescent moon off to the west. (If you click through to Flickr, you can make the picture bigger. I’m down near the Capitol in the shot and you can see the lower part of the Washington Monument through the trees at the bottom left. Also, a couple of those sprinklers over the Mall were really misaligned. I did not make it past dry.)

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. An extravagant splurge purchase of lilies of the valley from the farmers market fill my kitchen with fragrance — and I don’t regret a single penny.

2. Moving a couple projects along for someone else to do the next part.

3. Fresh strawberries and ice cream (albeit storebought) for dessert.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Work has announced they wanted to recognize how hard we’ve all been working and has given us a four-day weekend for Memorial Day.

2. Rudi and I have been had two lunch salads made with greens from the garden (topped with delicious strawberry poppyseed dressing from the farmers market).

3. My bike ride home along the river after volleyball this evening was lovely. I had to race down, so there’s nothing beautiful about that, but the ride home included a stop for zaatar fries at the Wharf, the last pinks of sunset over the Tidal Basin, and finally a true appreciation for a face mask as I rode through several minutes of gnats by the Reflecting Pool.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. I pass a blue heron flying low over the Potomac River, I assume doing a grocery run toward the end of the day. With its loopy neck, triangular head, and long legs, it resembles a flying reptile of yore.

2. Violets are my favorite flower, and there’s about a three-week period every spring where they overrun the garden. When I stopped by on Sunday, I was surprised by how tall they’d gotten in just a few days, and I brought home a handful to sit in a glass atop the fridge.

3. After an hour of volleyball and a cumulative bike commute of ten miles, I return home from my first game in 400+ days sore, cold, windblown, and exhausted. Rudi took one look at me after I allowed gravity to pull me to the couch and said, “I haven’t seen you look this happy in a long time.”

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Sarah turned 50 last week, and we opted to celebrate in person.

2. I got the first dose of a COVID vaccine, which means I will be able to start seeing more people in real life again soon. It was super easy, and except that virtual strangers now feel entitled to inquire about what brand of medicine I’m taking, I’m glad it’s done.

3. Tuesdays, I often get a longer break between meetings in the mid-afternoon, so Rudi and I scooted over to the bagel shop to grab lunch and eat outside in the sun.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. So many things you wanted as a kid turn out to be a let down. But you know what wasn’t disappointing? Cinnamon rolls in a can from Trader Joe’s for Easter breakfast, supplemented with holiday sprinkles from the cabinet. The can opened with a satisfying “pop!” and five rolls meant Rudi and I got two nights of desserts out of it, in addition to my breakfast.

2. Trader Joe’s has had my favorite Sumo oranges and work sent me a box of navel oranges, so we’ve been pleasantly awash in citrus.

3. Rudi got his first shot this week, and there’s hope I’ll be able to get mine later this month.

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