I’m rapidly losing the ability to string words together in a coherent fashion, so let’s get right to three beautiful things from my past week:

1. On Sunday, Rudi, John, Nicole, and I headed out to a Maryland forest for the local renaissance faire. There were people’s costumes to admire and/or marvel at, there was comedy, there was jousting (although I missed all the battle parts and just saw people riding horses…), there was a slide amidst the trees, there were arrows to shoot (my enemies remain safe), and there was a garland to buy. The trees were golden, the skies were blue, and the company was lovely. A perfect day of rest.

2. Just as I reached home tonight, the scent of autumn wafted over me.

3. Ghosts peek out of a neighbor’s windows at me. They remind me of Casper’s friends, though, so it’s okay.

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

I’m neck-deep in a work deadline that’s keeping me late at the office nearly every night and starting to infringe on my sleeping hours, as well. Until that passes (and perhaps a little while after, as I’m starting to resign myself to how much will still be left to do even after the project goes public), I’m afraid we’re looking at continuing the recent trend of posts of music videos and lists and the occasional photo essay that are heavy on pictures and light on text.

To that end, here are three beautiful things from my week past:

1. We pulled into my parents’ driveway at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning. The sky was ink black and, to my amazement, filled with millions of stars. (I had noticed my old college friend, Orion, earlier in the night, but this was something of another scale altogether…) Rudi and I stood outside the car in the chilly fall night just staring up. I breathed to him, “I’d forgotten about stars.” It was nice to be re-introduced.

2. Even when I was good at volleyball, I was terrible at serving. Last night, for the first time in years and years and years, I got both of my serves over the net and in my opponent’s court.

3. I arrived home last night to discover that my keys were not in my purse. And they were not in my bag. I looked (and shook the bags to verify) … three times … each time convinced I’d somehow missed their reassuring jingliness. I knew I’d taken them out of my pocket when I changed for volleyball and put them on my desk with my metro card, but the card was there and the keys were not. In a Shrödinger’s Cat kind of key nightmare, I refused to let Rudi take me to work to see if they were still somehow in my office because the possibility I’d lost them elsewhere was too much to contemplate actively. The panic I experienced this morning when the keys were not on my desk where I last remembered placing them was, however, quickly replaced with joy when I discovered them on the windowsill where I must have left them when I rearranged my bag right before leaving.

How about you? What’s been beautiful or breathtaking or gratitude-inspiring in your world this week?

Today marked the first time since August that we’ve had back-to-back sunny days in D.C. Who wouldn’t call that beautiful?

Three more beautiful things from the past week:

1. We return from Crafty Bastards and the D.C. State Fair with four jars of jam — two peach, a plum, and blueberry lime.

2. Sam is in town for a conference. He spends an evening filled with laughter with us.

3. Our volleyball team wins its first game of the season tonight (before dropping the next three). I’m having a blast so far and am so glad I signed up.

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

When I emerged from the Burrow this morning, I was surprised to discover it was sunny. Not peeking out from between clouds. Not trying to burn through the haze. But actual blue sky and glowing orb sunny. People looked happy and, frankly, kind of dazed. It’s been that kind of week down here.

The reappearance of the sun is not the only beautiful thing from the past seven days. I offer you three more here:

1. When stopping in at one of the local shops for some bread, I find a bag of sour jelly pumpkins. They are coated in sugar, which is a good thing, because they make my eyes water with how sour they are. Neither Rudi nor I can pass the bag without snagging one.

2. Forced to leave the office, but not quite early enough to catch a yoga class, I instead head to a nearby nail salon and get a pedicure. I have to look through every bottle in the shop, but at last find the color I want — my favorite shade of purple.

3. Rudi and I head to Georgetown for a date. We dine out on the patio of a French restaurant we’ve been meaning to try for years. We explore the newly finished waterfront park, complete with fountain you can play in (the other half of the park opened more than a year ago). And we see Moneyball, which, to my great surprise, turns out to be an excellent film. It is not just for number nerds (my expectation), but also for lovers of the game and fans of a good story.

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

It’s the Thursday before the National Book Festival. Only two more sleeps! Why, no, I’m not excited at all. Why do you ask?

Before we consider the lengthy list of authors who are coming to D.C. this weekend just to read to me to promote their latest books, let’s look back at three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Four fat pumpkins adorn the front steps of a nearby townhouse.

2. The project I am in charge of at work is rapidly coming due. I suggest an aggressive (and somewhat painful) timeline to the members of my team this week, and no one disagrees or says it can’t be done or complains in the least. And, as of tonight, it looks like we’re on target to meet our goals for this week.

3. I spend the afternoon at the teahouse. I sip chai and snack on naan and chutney and read my mystery novel.

4. [It’s good to break the rules sometimes…] Because I am home alone, there is no one to suggest that I ought not to bake a batch of oatmeal scotchies at midnight. The batch comes out of the oven crispy and slightly caramelized — perfect for eating with tea.

How about you? What was beautiful in your world this week?

It has not been a great week, which makes it even more important to find those moments of beauty tucked between the rest. Here are three of them:

1. Saturday night Rudi and I have an excellent date — one filled with laughter and chocolate. A comedy show at the new Riot Act comedy club is followed up by dessert at Co Co. Sala.

2. On Friday night I wander into Target in search of a more modest yoga top and leave with a purple, stripey cardigan. Years of fall back-to-school shopping habits have not worn off.

3. One of the deal websites is giving away free scoops to our local ice cream shop. The owner jovially calls everyone cashing in the deal a mobster. My dish of Oreo ice cream is particularly creamy and ends with a big chunk of cookie.

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