1. On Monday, I took the day off from work, and Rudi and I drove to Delaware for the day to go to Bethany Beach. There was a steady 20 mph breeze, which meant that a fine shower of sand literally rained down upon us for several hours, covering our blanket — and us — with a layer of granules. Otherwise, we had a lovely day. We waded in the water, soaked up some sun (clear skies and low 80s), and ate fish sandwiches and Dairy Queen Blizzards (our favorite ice cream shop just off the boardwalk is still only open on the weekend at this point in the season) and doughnuts from a new-to-us chain. We stopped at a farm stand for strawberries and pickles. And we were home in time for our favorite tv show.
2. The purple irises at the park by our house have bloomed, filling the hillside verge with deep violets and greens.
3. We finally got to our first baseball game of the season on Friday when the Mets came to town. It was a pleasant evening for a game under the lights and, despite a shaky showing by the bullpen, the Mets pulled off a win. (We also went today for a day game with Sarah and one of her friends, in which the Nationals held off the Arizona Diamondbacks.)
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world recently?
1. I take a long weekend and head to Connecticut for the first time since Christmas. I eat pizza, make scones, catch up on sleep, and visit with my folks and a couple friends. Completely worth the 20 hours of solo driving.
2. Rudi returns from a trip to the compost pile at our garden with the final half dozen violets of the spring and reports of flowering strawberry plants in our plot.
3. Although we’re terrible at remembering to go to art shows before they close, we make it to the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition at our neighborhood museum days before it goes. Somehow I didn’t take a photo of the ice skater, which was my favorite of his works, but I did capture the draft and final work for an ad for a brand of bike chain:
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world recently?
1. Last Thursday’s farmers market had asparagus and today’s had the first strawberries of the season. I shared some with my coworkers, and then Rudi and I followed a risotto supper with bowls of berries and cream.
2. Wisteria is blooming along the canal and honeysuckle doesn’t seem far behind. The air is tinged with their odor.
3. I sit on a bench at the waterfront and snack on Turkish bread products, sip hot tea, and read as the sun inches its way toward the horizon.
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world recently?
1. I say this every year, but pink dogwoods always look like a flock of butterflies have paused for a nap in a tree. Cherries are beautiful, but dogwoods just give me that extra burst of joy.
2. Disturbed may have appeared more than a year ago on Conan, but I only came across their performance this week:
3. We had to take Jeremiah to the emergency vet on Sunday for what turned out to be a urinary tract infection (but that we feared was a blockage, which can be fatal). He has three medicines that we’re giving him and the first couple days he was a relatively docile patient. In the past 24 hours, though, he’s become a little feisty and has taken to squirming while we dose him. Clearly, my boy is feeling better.
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world recently?
It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to recount three beautiful things from my past week:
1. My cell phone carrier gives its customers perks once a week. Sometimes it’s a few bucks off Dunkin Donuts, other times it’s a free movie rental. This week, though, was a free season pass to MLB TV, which will let me watch non-local games on my phone. While we’ve been part of a season ticket group to the Nationals since they moved to town, my heart lies with the Mets. And since the Nats games are blacked out, but New York is not, this is truly an outstanding gift. Plus, the New York tv games are hosted by two players and one of the radio announcers from when I was a teenager, so it’s really worked out for me. (At least it does until the Mets intentionally walk a player to load the bases. Then it’s just time to turn the game off, because chances are it’s over anyway.)
2. I was delighted to find, when I wandered down to the garden last weekend, that my violets were blooming. (A fifth of our plot is set aside for violets and strawberries.) I was so pleased to find them that I did all of what was supposed to be two weeks’ work, just because I knew there was a nosegay waiting for me at the end of it all.
3. Having enjoyed the series back in the day, we borrowed the Absolutely Fabulous movie from the library last weekend. The first part of the film was painful to watch and eventually we just decided there was no point to continuing on. We fast forwarded to the final couple minutes just to see how it turned out, but even then it didn’t really feel like we’d gained anything. But since we’d spent nothing to watch it, turning it off seemed like a win.
1. Our friend Sam is in town. We spend a nice evening together getting caught up and eating tacos and ice cream.
2. The roller coaster weather has both killed off a bunch of flowers and encouraged early leaf growth — and we’re lacking blue skies to show the remaining blooms off with the best contrast — but the cherry blossoms reach their peak and we brave the crowds to witness it.
3. We’re reminded about Saturday’s Earth Hour with just enough time to spare to make supper and dig out candles to light the apartment in the darkness. We eat risotto and then Rudi plays the guitar while I knit. The hour passes and then another.
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world recently?
