I’m pretty sure this is the earliest I’ve ever filed my federal taxes. (I have yet to file the local ones, so there’s still time for things to go sideways, but I’ll do that as soon as I track down a pen with black ink.)

Honestly, I like paying taxes. I believe in many of the things that taxes pay for, like schools and libraries and roads and arts programs and the post office and supporting those who aren’t able to care for themselves or who have served our country. I mean, sure there are things the federal government does with our money that I don’t like, but I choose to believe that most of the money I pay goes toward the good things.

That said, though, I try to balance my withholdings so that we’re at roughly sum zero after I’ve filed. My grandmother used to say that if you’re getting a big return, it just means you gave the government an interest-free loan of your money. While I have no problem giving the government what they feel is fair for me to pay, I do object to giving them money they aren’t entitled to. So, I aim for my paying a couple dozen dollars or them giving me back the same amount each year, and mostly I’ve been pretty successful.

Now I’ll just keep my fingers crossed I did the same with my local taxes.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl invites us to share ten authors whose works we’d like to read, but that we haven’t yet gotten to. Here are mine:

1. Zadie Smith
2. Anne Bronte
3. E.M. Forster
4. Arundhati Roy
5. Simon Winchester
6. Kate Atkinson
7. Adam Silvera
8. Sabaa Tahir
9. N.K. Jemison
10. Octavia Butler

Who are some of the authors you’ve been meaning to read for a while now?

Finally, we got back toward having some pleasant weather, so I spent quite a bit of this weekend outside.

Friday evening, we had drinks on the patio of our local yuppie grocery store/bar.

Saturday, we spent the first part of the day at our garden, doing general maintenance with other gardeners. Rudi and I weeded pathways and raked, and we felt very good about our efforts by the time we headed home in the early afternoon. In the evening, we headed to the ballpark for the Mets-Nationals game and our friend Sarah’s birthday. The Mets’ Pete Alonzo hit a grand slam, which was very exciting for me, but the Nationals failed to recognize Sarah’s special day by playing their best. The temperature kept dropping, so by the end of the ninth we were all well bundled into the winter clothing we’d brought and aching for everyone who came to bat to get out quickly. But overall it was a lovely way to spend a Saturday in April.

Today, I got to sleep in a bit before heading to the farmers market. We later enjoyed the ramps (wild leeks) I picked up in omelettes for supper. In the afternoon, I headed over to Virginia to return a library book. I picked up some doughnuts from the yuppie doughnut shop and four books from the library, and then spent some time sipping a fabulous seasonal drink — a peaches n’ cream tea latte — and reading in the sun (and wind) on the patio of the local coffeehouse. We had our monthly video call with friends on the west coast in the evening and then rounded out the night with some tv.

How was your weekend?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A new baby in our friends’ lives.

2. Playing Topgolf, which was like a mix between a driving range and video game golfing, with my volleyball team on a rainy evening.

3. Finding my favorite Easter chocolates at Target.

What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

I just finished The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin and can’t get past the ugly crying and nose blowing to take a photo for today’s post.

If you like intergenerational friendships or were a teen fan of Lurlene McDaniel and want something that feels the same, but with less melodrama, I recommend checking it out.

Sock picture next week.

I mentioned last week that we’d stopped by Hains Point one night to see the blossoms as we were driving back from Virginia.

Going at night made it less obvious that the trees were past peak-flowering — leaves and blooms blended in the more monochromatic light — but you also lost the lovely pinks that draw people to them in the first place.

I’m glad that we saw the blossoms in any format this year and seeing the cherry trees at night had been a bucket list item. But as with many things you look forward to for a long time (like room service), it pales in comparison to the imagination. Next year, I’ll be back in the daylight.