Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A visit to the main branch of my library during my mid-week #brownbagdc Twitter book club nets me the opportunity to conduct my chatting in person with the three librarians (Jo, Myra, and Esti) who run it. Because the main branch (sadly, the closest branch to my office) is closing on Saturday for three years in order to do extensive renovations, our chat hosts were offering walk-ins as many free books off their Advance Reader cart as we wanted. I restrain myself to two, and we discuss the possibility of an in-person book club meeting later in the year to do a book swap.

2. The unseasonably warm temperatures has had me wearing my early fall clothing (essentially, also my summer clothing, but with short socks and closed-toe shoes, rather than flip flops, and sometimes a shawl if I anticipate getting home after dark) and spending lots of time outside.

3. The most delicious King Cake I’ve ever had (raspberry cream cheese) and sparkly Mardi Gras-themed nails to match.

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

Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. As Dad and I are chatting on the phone Sunday evening, a dozen or so women walk by me outside singing “This Land Is Your Land.”

2. An adorable 6-month-old tawny terrier named General Grant is at the park with his owner. No one is immune to his charms.

3. Volleyball resumed this week after an unintentional three-month respite. My team was expected to provide someone to ref the match following ours (a normal part of our league), and since Rudi was out on a bike ride, I volunteered to be that person. Except that those teams ended up being a player short of being allowed to play, so I was asked to keep score while playing. (The team I was on did win, but I swear it was legit.) It ended up being a fast-paced, good-natured game of four-on-four.

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

I’m heading over to help our friends pack before their movers arrive tomorrow, so I thought I’d post this before leaving:

Three beautiful things from my birthday week:

1. My parents drove 8 hours down to visit me, spent 3 hours here, and then drove 8 hours home, just to bring me birthday presents and a chair. Hard not to feel loved when people will spend 16 hours in a car just to spend a little time with you.

2. My coworker had a dinner party on Valentine’s Day and made such a sumptuous feast that her guests had no appetite for the seasonal candy she’d put out. I arrived at work yesterday to find a bag filled with probably a pound of M&M’s and Reese’s hearts waiting on my desk.

3. I spied crocuses on Saturday, a year to the day I saw the first bulbs of the season last year.

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

Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. A new (lavender) bra on our first day out together.

2. I hand my travel mug to the Starbucks employee to fill with cocoa and, because I’ve ordered a smaller size than fits in my cup, they hand it back topped with several inches of whipped cream and chocolate syrup.

3. In a week of disappointing decisions, a Washington judge and the West Coast appellate judges who ruled against the Muslim ban.

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

Three beautiful things from yet another hard week:

1. I saw the first green shoots of the bulbs around town this past week. (They always appear in January down here. It always seems wrong, but optimistic.) Spring will come, no matter how bad it gets.

2. Trader Joes had their cheap bunches of daffodils ($1.50 for 10 stems) when I stopped in last weekend. Two bunches join the pussy willows on top of my fridge (the only place the cats can’t/haven’t chosen to get to), cheering up my kitchen.

3. We had a dusting of snow fall one night. While I’m glad to know spring will come, it’s nice to have a reminder that winter will not pass us by entirely. (Mostly I’m getting by in my jean jacket this year. That’s not winter wear!) The snow was pretty as it fell and clung to branches and grass, but did not require shoveling and had essentially disappeared by morning.

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

My second orchid in full bloom

Three beautiful things from a brave new world:

1. Badlands National Park (and later Golden Gate and others) tweeting climate change facts after being expressly forbidden to do so by the president. And the alt-Twitter accounts set up by National Park Service (and, later, other federal) employees. And the mayors and councils of all the sanctuary cities, including D.C., reaffirming their status. It’s reminded me of The Red Badge of Courage, and the chorus of Billy Joel’s “Goodnight Saigon” plays in my head as I read their Tweets.

2. Pussy willow stems are cheap at the farmers market, so I buy a few to cheer up the kitchen. The cats are entranced by their smell, and Corey is particularly fascinated, perching on his hind legs, squirrel-like, for several minutes, so he can get closer.

3. One last dinner with close friends before they move away.

And because we really need more beautiful things this week:

4. Friends send a postcard from their trip to the Grand Canyon. I appreciate being thought of during their travels.

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