It’s been a discouraging week here in the Burrow, with work frustrations dogging both occupants and necessary housecleaning taking away from our normal evening enjoyments. On these sorts of weeks, it’s particularly important to find those little stand-out moments so that we don’t collapse under the weight of Alexander-type days.

Here are three beautiful moments from the past seven days:

1. Our fridge is overdue for a clean out. Not only do I not have dried-out herbs on my fridge bottom any more, but I also don’t have things blocking the light, so the fridge looks particularly bright and cheerful every time I open the door. (I’ve done it a lot since cleaning it out, to be honest…)

2. After a particularly crabby day at work, I decide to retrieve Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and read a few chapters at the local Starbucks, where they have a patio, before sunset. To be honest, after Harry and Hermione’s Christmas visit to Godric’s Hollow, I feel a lot better about how my day has gone.

3. Grey Kitten’s birthday arrives, and he instructs Rudi that we need to celebrate it cross-coastedly. Rudi returns from his dinner run with two delicious cupcakes from our local ice cream shop. His is vanilla mango and mine is chocolate raspberry.

How about you? What’s beautiful things have you noticed this week?

As the Triple H (sounds like a ranch, doesn’t it?) days of summer descend on us, we are nearly but not yet quite to the halfway point between Memorial and Labor days. I feel like I’ve frittered away the past five-plus weeks and now have to hustle to make some more summer memories for the year.

Here are five things I haven’t yet accomplished that I’d like to do before summer’s end:

1. Cook s’mores over a campfire (or a grill).
2. Watch an outdoor movie (or go to the drive in).
3. Catch a show at Fort Reno.
4. Rent a canoe and paddle in the C&O Canal.
5. Go to the beach. Coming back doesn’t have to be part of the plan.

How about you? What’s still left on your seasonal to-do list?