Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. We had a big rainstorm Wednesday night. It wasn’t enough to put a dent in the drought, but with still no water on at the garden, the 1/4–1/2″ of rain makes a huge difference to the plants in the ground. And it helps tamp down the dust for outdoor volleyball.

2. Nearly everyone on the team has signed up for this next season of volleyball. It sometimes requires cajoling and multiple messages to get a few of our friends registered in time, but it’s worth it knowing we’ll get to spend time together this summer. Plus, it makes it less stressful for me knowing our roster is deep when people call out for a game.

3. The Mets swept their series against the Tigers this week, and their young 20-something outfielders had a very good showing (including the one making his major league debut). We caught part of two of the games on tv and are excited to see them play in person next week.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My team’s schedule has gotten harder as the season progressed, with our final three games against the best teams in the league. We lost the last two weeks in nail biters, and there was a distinct chance that if we failed again we wouldn’t advance to the playoffs. So, we didn’t. We scored point after point, slowly surprising the undefeated #1 team and ultimately beating them in straight sets. It’s not to say we didn’t make mistakes; we all absolutely did. But we also pulled off great plays, covered where we should have, and stayed out of our heads when things didn’t go our way. It’s been a while since we’ve had a magical game like that, where we were wholly in synch, and it truly felt amazing.

2. Sunday afternoon, I took myself up to the annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. As per usual, I arrived a little later than I would have liked, but still had a couple hours to eat a funnel cake; watch a sheepdog demonstration; admire sheep; wander past every vendor; and buy sparkly yarn, honey, and plants for the garden.

3. Rudi and I had tickets to this afternoon’s baseball game and the Nats ended the day victorious. The weather turned out to be perfect, a former team favorite since traded away (Josh Bell) had a hit for the other side, and our team played a good game of baseball across all nine innings.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Saturday volleyball resumes in earnest, and old faces stop by to celebrate.

2. My team heads out to dinner after a well-fought loss. It’s so good to gather together around a table.

3. The old garden manager and I finally get a call together where he tells me that it won’t be possible to add me to our old bank account after all and that I’ll need to open a new one. It has long been leaning in that direction, and it’s nice to finally have a concrete answer, even if it means more work for me.

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Today’s baseball game was a gorgeous sunny day. After biking across town, Rudi and I stopped for popsicles on our way to our seats. And we followed the Nationals’ loss with ice cream cones, which we ate by the river.

2. When they renovated D.C.’s main library a few years back, they added a green roof deck, which is probably my favorite thing about downtown. Sarah and I met there to work, and after she headed out for evening activities, I stayed to read until the sun sank behind the neighboring buildings.

3. Rudi and I picked a leek from our garden on Wednesday. We have a couple bags of nettles in the fridge from last week’s farmers market, so I’m hoping there will be some soup tomorrow night.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. WMATA, the agency in charge of public transportation around the D.C. area, sometimes wraps its trains and buses with advertising or seasonal adornment. Today, I got to ride the cherry blossom train, and as I was walking up the street from the station, the wrapped bus passed me by.

2. People singing along with their car stereos as they pass my apartment.

3. The tulips in my garden plot bloomed.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. On Saturday, we were able to run outdoor pickup for the first time this year. The breeze was a bit strong on the Mall, but that gave us the added benefit of getting to watch kites between points!

2. Some of us went out after the game Monday night. It’s been ages since we’ve done that, so it was nice to catch up.

3. Rudi and I had lunch with Sarah today for her birthday. I didn’t rise quite early enough to get two dozen cookies baked ahead of our departure time, but I did manage a dozen oatmeal scotchies to gift her.

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