Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My mother’s 3-month scans came back clear.

2. As I was driving north this evening, I saw a beam of light in the twilight. “Is that a … rainbow?” I asked Rudi incredulously, because we were right around sunset and the sky before us was very cloudy. It was and it was enormous, and there was a stunning sunset sort of off to the side that I peeked at when the horizon to that side cleared a bit.

3. Neal, Chris, Julie, and I had dinner and games and Chris’ alma mater’s Cinderella story basketball team on tv Saturday night. It was a lot of fun to hang out together.

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

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl asks us to share movies and/or tv shows that would have been great books (and, in many of my examples, series):

1. The Librarians — A crew of really smart folks bopping magically around the world in an effort to keep magic out of the hands of the public? Yes, please!
2. Chuck — Young guy languishing in an electronics superstore with his slacker BFF gets sent a computer program that puts national secrets in his brain. Rather than just taking him out, the CIA and NSA agree to have handlers to utilize him for spy missions. It has Janet Evanovich-like vibes all over it.
3. Almost Paradise — An ex-undercover-DEA agent moves to the Philippines, intending to run a hotel gift shop while collecting his medical disability payouts in paradise. But almost immediately, he gets caught up in an international drug smuggling incident and befriends a couple of local detectives. He helps with their cases; they give him rides places and a sense of purpose.
4. Ted Lasso — This feel-good comedy is just begging to be a novel, or maybe an interconnected series, à la Jasmine Guillory, that focuses on each of the main characters.
5. Abbott Elementary — I think this one would be a standalone romance novel, but I do wonder if it would lose some of the charm of the entourage.
6. Parks and Recreation — Interestingly, I feel like this one could solidly hold its own as a standalone comedic work, despite the stable cast of regulars.
7. New Girl — Begging to have started as a modern Millennial romance.
8. This Beautiful Fantastic — This charming, underseen romance would be delightful as a book.
9. Miss Scarlet and the Duke — In a mystery book series, a titular character would have to be written out because an actor wanted more out of his career.
10. Sports Night — This could have been a standalone novel.

How about you? Are there shows or movies you wish had been books first?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Rudi and I walked around the Tidal Basin to check out the cherry blossoms. Because it was right around dusk and a bit chilly, the crowds were manageable.

2. Monday was my teammate Katie’s birthday and we went out to fête her after our victory.

3. I had a hankering for a Cowbelle smoothie bowl (and the homemade nut butter that tops them), and since they no longer come into the city for farmers markets, we trekked out to Leesburg for them. The afternoon was breezy, but sunny, so we sat on their patio to eat.

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

Happy Spring! It’s the quarterly Top Ten Tuesday week at That Artsy Reader Girl, where we share what’s on our TBR lists for the upcoming season. Here’s what’s on mine:

1. A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn
2. The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr
3. Breanne Randall’s The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic
4. The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
5. An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin
6. The Stargazers by Harriet Evans
7. T.J. Klune’s Bookshops & Bonedust
8. Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle
9. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
10. Leslye Penelope’s The Monsters We Defy

How about you? What’s on your to be read list for this spring?

Somehow I lost a day this week… But still, three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My team is back together after nearly two months off the court, and getting folks back in the right spot brought me such a sense of peace. Plus, we won, which is always a cherry on the sundae.

2. Our baseball ticket draft was this week. I’m not sure I’ve seen Pat since last year when we drafted tickets, so it was good to see him and to hear how his two youngest are off to college in the fall (destination(s) TBD).

3. Sarah and I pushed our dinner off by a night to accommodate the draft, so we dined in her neighborhood instead of mine. The food was decent, the drinks frozen, and we got to sit at a table next to the fountain/firepit on the patio.

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

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My Saturday team wins our volleyball league championship.

2. My Wednesday team makes it into the playoffs and all the way to the semifinals. I have a couple of really good games, and my serving (often a weak spot) is off-putting enough to the other team that they call a time-out to try and throw me off.

3. Rudi and I listen to a bunch of the cds we bought in London. They range from collections from a decade ago to this year’s dance club hits.

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