A day late, but three beautiful things from last week:

1. One of my practice squad got promoted up to the game group and did reasonably well in her first match (and with vociferous support from her teammates)!

2. Six of us from my team got together out in Virginia, so Harmony and Sergio, neither of whom are playing right now, could join us for supper. Four of us stayed out ’til after 11.

3. Sunday was the Adams Morgan Day neighborhood festival, and I got to wander through a few shops and stalls, eat my annual Jyoti samosa (which is as big as your head), listen to some music, and run into Chris and Julie. I miss the street being closed, but it was still a fun way to spend a weekend afternoon.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. With a gorgeous Friday night ahead, I bike across town with my beach chair and snacks to a new-to-me park, where they’re showing My Neighbor Totoro, which I’ve never seen. Luckily, it’s dubbed, because the crowds are such that I would never have been able to read the subtitles!

2. My middle school team decisively wins their first match of the season. (I celebrate by buying myself a slice of pizza and a bag of Jordan almonds.)

3. Rudi and I both had eye exams this week, and I have new contacts (in the right prescription) for the first time in too long.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Karen and I get to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon together. It is hard to believe I was her son’s age when we became friends.

2. My folks and I have a pleasant, temperate Labor Day weekend together. Mum and I get part of the garage organized.

3. I have taken a part-time, seasonal job as an assistant middle school volleyball coach, and this week was my first time meeting the girls and the coach. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun!

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Anna had a belated birthday party, so we got a chance to see her and Greg’s new house. It’s very nice, with a back deck to enjoy on pleasant evenings, and we spent a little while out there talking with them after everyone else left. They said it was their first party ever, so it felt lovely to be included.

2. I harvested what, to this point, is the only squash of this summer’s gardening. There are some more flowers on the plant, so there’s a chance that I could get more.

3. I’m up in Connecticut this weekend, so not around for the final days of the outdoor pool season. So Wednesday afternoon, I headed over and spent a little while paddling around the pool. I didn’t get to the pool as much as I’d meant to this summer, but some is better than not at all.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. We played volleyball until past seven on Saturday. We were exhausted, but the sun had been relentless, the skies cloudless, and the humidity punishing all afternoon. By the time our court was finally shaded by park’s tree border, we couldn’t just leave. So eleven of us played on, pouring our all into the final matches, clothes soaked through, but sunglasses finally abandoned, before we packed up for the week and headed for supper.

2. Rebecca, my D.C. friend, as opposed to dearest Rebs, turned 25 this week and invited us to join her birthday celebration Friday evening on the roof deck of Union Market. I met a couple of her non-volleyball friends, but otherwise got a chance to spend time with the Saturday volleyballers in street clothes.

3. The heat and humidity broke earlier this week and this afternoon’s baseball game required a sweatshirt!

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Introducing the cats to bubbles. We’ve never had cats who’ve taken to them before, and some have found bubbles quite distressing. So we didn’t have high expectations, but both they and we have found this a delightful new pastime. Ember spikes them like volleyballs. Coal takes turns hitting them with one paw, then the other, and then using both.

2. Salads brimming with the tiny cherry tomatoes from our garden. Nothing tastes quite so good as supper you’ve helped grow.

3. Discovering the vending machine in the food hall nearby that offers books by local authors instead of snacks. Desperately need a hit of poetry to get through a lagging afternoon? Got you covered! A y.a. novel to appease the younger sibling while the older one is getting a campus tour? Done! I look forward to finding these in more locations, like train stations and airports.

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