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?

Ride #4: Sunday, Nov. 3, evening
Fresh Baguette (1737 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.)

After spending some time at the garden Sunday afternoon, I biked over to upper Georgetown to take care of some errands, with the hopes that Fresh Baguette might be a destination for coffeeneuring.

It was and they had a full selection of tasty things to try, including their namesake item — freshly baked baguettes, which are produced every two hours. While I did buy and tear into a baguette before I left, I also opted for a hot cocoa and pumpkin croissant. Look how pretty that croissant is.

As this was the first day of the return to Standard Time, sunset came awfully early, so I opted to eat at one of their handful of tables, rather than taking my snack outside. As Fresh Baguette doesn’t have any outdoor seating, I would have had to walk over to the nearby rec center, so it seemed reasonable to stay.

Everything I had was delicious.

Because this is in Georgetown, bike parking is horrible. There are definitely no racks outside and even skinny street signs are decidedly lacking in the immediate vicinity. There is bike parking at Safeway up a block, and also probably at the rec center, and back down a block at the library. And there’s a Cabi rack another block past Safeway, so that’s not an unreasonable walk for those of us who use that option.

I consumed my tasty treat, walked over to do my grocery shopping, and then took bike share home, arriving back in Dupont by 6, but still totally in the dark.

Total mileage: 2.48 miles.

Ride #3: Saturday, Nov. 2, afternoon
Northside Social Coffee & Wine (3211 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA)

Saturday after the parade concluded, I hopped on metro out to Arlington’s Virginia Square stop to pick up a book for my new book club (my friend has DCPL’s copy out). Seeing as how it was lovely out, I decided to check out what my local options were for coffeeneuring. I noticed that Northside Social Coffee & Wine was down the road back toward D.C. and decided to head there.

What a pleasant place!

While the second floor is a wine bar, the first floor is dedicated to a bustling coffeehouse, with two rooms of tables. There is also a patio, which is covered by a heated tent outdoors in the cooler months.

I opted for a masala chai and what they called an apple pop tart, but which was made with puff pastry, rather than shortbread. Both were delicious. Because it was sunny and warm, I found the single table outside of the tent that was located in the sun and sat there listening to a guitarist they’d brought in for their Day of the Dead celebration, knitting, and reading.

There is a bikeshare station right outside, and many racks, so they clearly welcome cyclists.

I biked home through Clarendon, Court House, Rosslyn, and Georgetown, and up the Rock Creek Parkway multi-use path, arriving home just before sunset.

I’m so glad I stopped, and I’ll consider returning anytime I’m at the Central Library.

Total mileage: 4.66 miles

The Nationals and D.C. held a parade and rally today honoring the 2019 World Series champions, and I braved the crowd for the parade part. (Honestly, I sort of envisioned the rally as a bacchanalian party, which was not what it turned out to be, but I enjoyed my afternoon anyway, so it’s best not to have regrets.)

I cannot tell you what was happening in the parade in between the buses, because I was far enough back that sometimes I could see the plumes on band members hats, but that was pretty much it. I saw Teddy (Roosevelt, the racing president) on some sort of micromobility device (a scooter, maybe?), and I could see the Budweiser dalmatian, but not so much the Clydesdales. And my cell phone camera was really not up to the task of getting photos that were both zoomed and detailed.

But I was there, and that was what was important.

This is relief pitcher Sean Doolittle, whose name you should know if for no other reason than that he visited indie bookstores on every road trip during the season this year. And he succinctly defended our closer, Daniel Hudson, when he decided to miss the first game of the NLDS for the birth of his third child — a decision questioned by a lot of dude bros, including a lot of media and at least one (non-Nationals) sports team owner. (“If your reaction to someone having a baby is anything other than, ‘Congratulations, I hope everybody’s healthy,’ you’re an asshole.”) He also was the first National to declare he wasn’t going to the White House (and gave measured reasons for his decision — the highlight of which was “I don’t want to hang out with someone who talks like that.”). A huge Star Wars geek, Doolittle famously celebrated the NLDS victory by wandering back out onto the field with his light saber and asking camera crews, “What are you talking about?”

And here are first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, “Mr. National” himself, and manager Davey Martinez (on the far side) holding up the World Series Commissioner’s Trophy for everyone to see. Zimm was the first player the Nats signed as a rookie after moving to D.C., has long been acknowledged as the District’s favorite player when a walk-off homer is needed (he hit the game winner when the Nats moved from RFK to Nationals Park in 2008), and will surprise no one if he announces that he’s going to retire after this season. You may have heard each Nats player had a home run dance. 35-year-old Ryan’s mimics using a walker. (Incidentally, did you know that there is now only one player born in the 1970s in MLB — Nationals relief pitcher Fernando Rodney? Don’t you feel old knowing that?)

Should you ever get a chance to watch one of your favorite teams be feted with a ticker tape parade (or the modern equivalent thereof), I recommend it, even if you are crowd-averse. You’ll be glad you were there.

Both things I had on my calendar for this weekend have been postponed, which means I now have to think about doing other things with my days. Plus, there’s that extra “Fall Back” hour to fill. Here’s how I’m thinking I might use the time:

• Watch the Nationals World Series parade. I’m iffy about the crowds, but someone Rudi knows suggested the last massive sports parade he attended was manageable near the route start, so I may give that a shot. But if it’s too overwhelming, it’s not like they need me there to have the parade.
• Go to the library in Virginia where the book my new book club is reading is on hold for me.
• Do laundry.
• Ride a bike to a hot drink for a coffeeneuring stop.
• Start cleaning my apartment. My holiday party is in a month, and my apartment is more messy than ever.
• Bake something seasonal, possibly using quince.
• Eat pizza.
• Book a rental car for Thanksgiving.
• Finish my shawl. Then I could block it, because although it will be cool, it will also be sunny and dry.
• Visit the garden to pick the last of the tomatoes and basil and pull out dead plants.
• Read Rainbow Rowell’s Pumpkinheads, which takes place on Halloween.
• Spend as much time outside during daylight as possible, since weekends will be the last I see of daylight for the next several months.

How about you? What will you do with your extra-long 2-day weekend?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Did you hear the Nationals won the World Series?

2. The volleyball friend who lives closest to me and I walked home together after our game on Tuesday and both decided it was too beautiful to go inside for the night, so instead we stopped for an impromptu supper at our local watering hole.

3. Five minutes before we were closing up our candy-dispensing operation, our largest crowd of small costumed characters — including a lion, The Stig and a scientist — arrived at our doorstep, ending our Halloween on an up note.

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