I dozed off working on a cover letter last night and didn’t realize until I was in bed that I hadn’t posted here.

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Grey Kitten and I talked for a spell in the wee hours one night after Rudi headed to bed. Sometimes a 3-hour time difference can be a good thing.

2. A friend’s mom has come through her brain surgery as well as can be hoped for.

3. My team’s game on Monday was against an opponent who struggled to put together plays. So we stayed afterwards to play a split squad scrimmage (plus a couple others) and had a blast before heading out to the bar.

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

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl focuses on the things that make me instantly want to read a particular book. Here are ten of mine:

1. It’s been recommended by someone I know who shares similar tastes in books.
2. It’s written by an author I enjoy. (These include Jasper Fforde, Sherry Thomas, Rainbow Rowell, and T.J. Klune, among others.)
3. It’s part of a series I like. (The Veronica Speedwell books come to mind.)
4. It’s on a topic I’m interested in. (This more pertains to nonfiction than fiction, obviously.)
5. It’s got a clever title. (I love me some puns.)
6. I’ve heard or read an interesting interview with the author.
7. It’s set someplace interesting.
8. It’s got a catchy opening line/paragraph/scene.
9. Or, if it’s a collection of poetry, I like whatever poem I randomly flip open to.
10. It’s got a cute cover. (You can’t judge a book by its cover, but it sometimes can make you want to pick it up and look at it more.)

How about you? What instantly draws you to certain books?

I was supposed to take part in a volleyball tournament on Sunday, but, alas! it’s been cancelled. Worry not, though, I’ve got other things I’m hoping to do:

• Play volleyball (I mean, just not as part of a tournament)
• Go to a baseball game (it’s Star Wars Day at Nats Park and some of our friends want the free Hawaiian shirts they’re giving out)
• Plant the rest of the seedlings I bought yesterday (I’m down to five plants — three members of the gourd family, a tomato, and some kind of pinkish flower — that need to get into the ground)
• Shop at the farmers market
• Do laundry
• Bake something
• Take down the Christmas cards
• Send some mail
• Switch out my winter and summer wardrobes (All the clothes are out, which makes for unmanageable piles everywhere)
• Read

How about you? What’s on your weekend to-do list?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Two pounds of strawberries, a bag of greens, and my first peas from the garden

2. Rudi turned 50 this week. We threw a big party with dozens of our local friends at a beer garden to celebrate. And I made him a playlist with songs, stories, and photos from friends from all over, ranging from his Salt Lake school friends through our college friends to those we’ve met since moving to D.C.

3. Karen and I finally got to catch up in person for the first time since Thanksgiving. Six months is too long between visits, but we milked the afternoon for all it was worth!

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

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic at That Artsy Reader Girl invites us to share the things that keep us from our books, whether good or bad:

1. Volleyball: Although I do keep a novella in my volleyball bag, it doesn’t get dipped into all that often.
2. Gardening: I know I could plug in my audiobook, but time in my plot is more a “listen to a baseball game or music” sort of activity.
3. Hanging out with friends: The very best reason not to read.
4. Streaming tv: Once upon a time, when nothing appealed, I’d turn off the tv. Now there always can be *some*thing on.
5. Sleeping: More napping than actually sleeping. Sleep is important, or, at least, that’s what they keep telling me.
6. Shopping: Again, another activity that could be done whilst listening to an audiobook, but I just usually don’t.
7. Riding a bike: One of the major drawbacks of this mode of transportation.
8. Thinking: My brain processes information audibly, which means it’s really hard to layer written words on top if I’m thinking about something too much.
9. Driving locally: I can listen to audiobooks on long, highway-based trips, but not if I’m driving somewhere that’s direction-intensive.
10. Playing games on my phone: This is probably my least excusable interference.

How about you? What gets in the way of your reading time?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. This was a good week of volunteering, with the kids being attentive and having fun.

2. I harvested a pint of strawberries from the garden. They were delicious!

3. Most of the team went for drinks after the game on Monday. It was really good to catch up with folks!

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