Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. At Thanksgiving, Rudi and I gave some thought to what Christmassy things we might want to do this year, given that one of our traditions was no longer appealing (an event at the Kennedy Center). I scrolled through recommendations and came upon the Baltimore German Christmas Market, which seemed just up Rudi’s and my alley. Yesterday our schedules and the weather finally cooperated and we were able to spend the afternoon and evening in Baltimore getting some Christmas shopping done and eating tasty treats and soaking in festive Inner Harbor ambiance.

2. I needed to do some shopping on the other side of town and asked Sarah if she might be free for a drink. She was — and also came along on the rest of my shopping expedition, which made it a thousand times better than it would have been otherwise.

3. I proposed to our volleyball team that we have a first ever holiday party this year and several folks asked for a gift exchange to accompany it. I found several great gifts, which were stolen several times in our white elephant swap, and came home with a very artistic ocarina, which I could immediately identify because of Karen.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A gorgeous sunset during my walk home from volunteering

2. Monday was lots of team time. Kris, who doesn’t play with us anymore since getting concussion syndrome, and I met up for lunch and to catch up. Then we had playoffs that night, with a big gap between games, so five of us went out for supper together. Four of us ended up staying after we lost to get in a little more playing time.

3. Sunday was our tree-trimming party, and Rudi and I put on the final ornaments Wednesday night. This is the first year that our tree includes most of Rudi’s ornaments from Salt Lake.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Coming home to Coal and Ember after a bunch of days away

2. Settling on what I think will be a fun white elephant swap present for the team party

3. Brunch with Sarah

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. So many houses along the Garden State Parkway already have their outside lights up as we drive north for Thanksgiving.

2. My friend John holds a Shrek-themed birthday party at a bar. I worry ahead of time that he will be disappointed by how few people turn out in costume, but his friends commit to the theme, and dozens of us make appearances as characters from the series.

3. The playing squad of the middle school volleyball team has an end-of-season party. It’s the first time I’ve seen most of the girls since the loss, and it is good to see them back to their ebullient selves.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My roomie came down for the weekend, and we had a lovely time catching up on all our news and all the news we had about others we love. It was laid-back — an outside lunch, a walk in the woods, browsing in bookstores, and playing with my cats — but just what I wanted with an old friend.

2. I organized an in-person meeting of the garden managers, our first one since we took over the running of our community garden earlier this year. We covered all the open questions and left feeling like we each had a few tasks to handle, but that overall we were in pretty good shape.

3. I started adding some songs into this year’s Christmas cd playlist. I’m not really sure where November went (wasn’t it just Halloween last week?), but it feels good to be moving on it.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Chris, Jasen, and Gloria are able to make it out to play at the last Saturday volleyball at Walter Pierce Park. (Saturday volleyball doesn’t stop; it just becomes more selective until the spring.) A handful of us go out for food afterwards, and it’s really nice to catch up with the group.

2. My friend Sergio is back, nine months after his daughter was born. I would have put money on his not being able to return until at least a year had passed, so this is a treat. I ask him to thank his wife for us, because I know she’s the one who’s making this possible.

3. Three big tomatoes come home with me from the garden. The temperature was due to drop, so I picked them a bit early, figuring they’d be the thing I’d be most upset to lose.

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