Ride #5: Saturday, Nov. 9, afternoon
Altani Gelato and Coffee (202 M St., S.E.)

Because they were holding a book-themed event, I decided to bike over to Canal Park near the ballpark Saturday afternoon. I took the bike trail that runs from Rock Creek Park and along the Potomac and then dumps you unceremoniously into the street at the Wharf Part II construction zone. (Honestly, a sign announcing “sidewalk ends” located on the far side of an intersection and 15 feet from a fence is pointless.) The day was brisk, with a breeze, but not unseasonable for November, and the sun had peeked through the clouds. A sweatshirt, puffy vest, and cowl were sufficient; I can’t actually remember if I was biking with my mittens on or not.

Anyway, I got to Canal Park in time to do a little shopping, but not in time to enjoy the fire pits or s’mores (alas!).

The skating rink at the park was doing good business on its first day of the season, but the line was not long at either the pizza place or the gelateria/coffeeshop inside.

While the gelato flavors looked exciting, I opted for the more traditional baked good and hot drink option. Cocoa would have been my preferred drink, but it was priced as if it were located next to a kids’ attraction, so I opted for a cup of Earl Grey instead. And at the barista’s suggestion, I opted for a pistachio croissant over a ginger puff.

Both were excellent choices, perfect for sitting outside. The croissant was filled the old fashioned way — sliced down its length and slathered with pistachio butter. This guaranteed there weren’t any empty spots! And Earl Grey is always a nice choice on a day with a bit of a chill in the air.

I watched folks skate for a while, as I perused my purchases. I thought about renting a pair of skates for a few minutes, but decided to save that for another day. But it was tempting.

There is a Bikeshare station across the street (and several others in close proximity), and a decent amount of bike parking at the park.

With the sun waning, it was time to move on. Because I didn’t want to miss an art opening (or arrive at it gasping and sweaty), I opted to catch metro to the rest of the day’s adventures. But it was a good stop, and I’ll be back in the warmer months to sample the gelato.

Total mileage: 5.28 miles

I had to be at National Harbor, a Disney-esque (in its plasticness, not in being entertaining) resort and conference center just south of D.C., for work yesterday.

There were several breaks in my day, and, while I was trying to do office work during some of them, I did succeed in getting outside for the last light of the day. Here is the sun setting over the Potomac River.:

I hope you’re having a nice weekend!

Rudi is away for the weekend, so I’m flying solo for the next couple of days. Here’s what I’m hoping to get done:

• Take part in the Garden Work Day and Social tomorrow morning.
• Sleep in on Sunday morning.
• Sign up for the Broke and the Bookish Secret Santa Swap.
• Check out the Christmas Market tomorrow at the Czech embassy.
• Complete a coffeeneuring ride or two.
• Attend a “pop-up reading room” on the other side of town tomorrow afternoon. There will be fire pits and s’mores and a used book sale!
• Cook quince.
• Hang the fairy lights around the living room. (I never tracked down Halloween lights, so I’m just going to get started with the Christmas ones.)
• Switch out my summer clothes for winter ones. I need access to warmer sweaters!
• Find a new pair of jeans. And try to get a little more wear out of my current pair via an iron-on patch.

How about you? What’s on tap for your weekend?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Rudi went to the garden for me today to harvest before the temperature drops tomorrow. I’m hopeful my peppers might survive, but I knew the bush of the basil I’d left behind last weekend would not.

2. Despite not getting up at the crack of dawn, Rudi and I both managed to track down free reusable holiday cups at a national purveyor of hot beverages’ one-day promo event.

3. After several unsuccessful shopping trips attempting to boost my cooler weather professional wardrobe, I found several items at TJ Maxx that I think will now allow me to get through an entire week without stressing about outfits.

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

We could look at this photo as a complete failure, having failed to complete sock or book, by the end of October.

Or…

We could look at it as getting a really nice jump start on the 2020 Halloween season. I know which perspective I’m going with.

Head over to As Kat Knits for what other folks are knitting and reading this week.

I had a day this morning at work. I decided midday that getting out of the office and going outside was key to turning things around. I took my sandwich to a nearby park and tried to read away my frustration, but it wasn’t working. Then some guy sat down nearby and started watching videos on his phone. Fair enough, but it was definitely not going to help me shake off the morning’s frustrations.

But, I thought, some music might help.

My go-to Google Play channel came through with this early Kelly Clarkson hit, which, played at full-blast on my headphones, started the reboot:

Adele was also a good choice from the streaming service, but then I opted to switch to YouTube to pull up two songs from my personal dance party playlist (since I didn’t have my iPod with me): “Accidentally in Love” and “The World Ain’t Slowing Down.”

And that was what it took. Upbeat music at warning-level volume and — ultimately — dancing my way back to the office in the autumn sunshine.

What do you do to turn around a (work)day?