Tonight will be a red-letter, blue-moon evening, so make sure you celebrate the switch from 2009 to 2010 with your favorite people.

I offer you here three beautiful things from the past week of holidays, visits, and vacation. Trust me when I say they’re only a sample:

1. Heading home after a lovely lunch date with my friend B.W., I opt to take a new route back from Pomfret. It leads me through the forestland of Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, where blue skies have replaced the slate grey ones of my morning drive. The roads are clear, and sun glints down on pines and oaks that look like someone has sifted powdered sugar on green boughs and brown branches. I feel like I’ve driven right into a snow globe, or maybe a movie set from the 1940s.

2. Mum cajoles Gramma into coming out to join us for elevenses yesterday morning — a brunch of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and hot beverages. We had some wonderful meals while home visiting, but this relaxed, final one was probably my favorite.

3. I awaken this morning in a cocoon of soft sheets, warm bodies, and purring cats. It’s a great way to finish out the year.

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