Oops! I somehow thought I was going to get back to a computer on Thursday so I could offer you three beautiful things from the road, but that didn’t end up being the case. Apologies to those of you who pop in here once a week looking for some upbeat content. Here, belatedly, are three beautiful things from last week:

1. Michael’s play, The Quick Brown Fox Jumped over the Lazy Dogs was excellent. I admit that I was worried it would feel dated, but Michael had written new material to keep it current and I feel like the audience got a lot out of it.

2. Rudi and I have been getting up each morning and watching the live stream of the Tour de France on the computer. Rudi has long been interested in the Tour and I have paid enough attention to be able to ask intelligent questions in years past. This year, though, I actively followed along and had many a nice moment cheering a particularly dramatic sprint or heroic mountain climb.

3. Peppers flourish in our garden and this season is no exception, when I doubled the number we normally plant. I stopped by on Wednesday afternoon to water and came home with a handful of hot peppers, as well as three beans.